Keeping your offices clean and pristine offers many benefits. Clean surroundings boost office morale and increase productivity. When clients and visitors walk into your premises, they are more likely to form a favorable impression of your business if they find an impressively clean office.
Office cleaning can be time-consuming and requires investment in quality cleaning products and supplies. There’s also a significant number of tasks involved, from the minor details to the more major checkpoints. Here are some useful tips to help you keep track of a schedule and maintain a culture that promotes cleanliness in your workplace.
Here are the top 10 essential office cleaning tips to keep in mind when developing a cleaning schedule:
- Build a culture of cleanliness requiring everyone’s participation.
The best way to ensure a clean office is to ensure everyone participates in keeping the surroundings clean and orderly. Professional cleaning services can provide daily office cleaning services before or after office hours. However, keeping the premises clean throughout the day mainly depends on the people using the space. Therefore, making cleanliness and neatness a top priority in office culture is the key to maintaining a clean office environment.
- Tidy your desks at the end of each day.
Employees should make a habit of cleaning and tidying their desks before leaving the office at the end of the day. As housekeeping experts say, the secret to making cleaning effortless is to do a little bit every day. It only takes a few minutes to clean keyboards, throw trash in the bin, wipe the desks, and put away pens, calculators, papers, and other desk essentials into drawers and containers.
Asking employees to do their part will give janitorial staff more time to clean other areas in the office, like the lobby, bathrooms, hallways, conference rooms, and break rooms. Further, it ensures the employees’ privacy and lowers the risk of personal effects getting misplaced or damaged if janitors are no longer required to clean desks and cubicles.
- Clean from top to bottom.
This is a textbook cleaning tip that also applies to office cleaning. Start from the top to the bottom when dusting shelves, cleaning windows, vacuuming curtains, and wiping down surfaces. Apply this rule when cleaning specific items in the room. For example, clean the ceiling fan first, dust the shelves next, then vacuum the floor. This method is a more efficient use of your time, energy, and electrical consumption.
- Mop up spills immediately.
Mop up liquids on any surface that should stay dry, such as desks, window sills, pantry tables, counters, and floors. Water and other beverages can leave stubborn stains behind. Coffee and tea contain tannins, which can leave yellowish-brown stains on wood and other porous surfaces like marble, ceramic tiles, and concrete. Wiping these spills immediately prevents permanent stains that deteriorate the appearance of floors, tables, and counters.
- Enforce a “CLAYGO” policy in the pantry.
In line with making the desire for cleanliness a part of the company culture, establish a “Clean As You Go” (CLAYGO) rule in the pantry or break room. Emphasize the importance of everyone cleaning up after they’ve made a mess not only for the sake of cleanliness but also to show respect for their colleagues in the office.
- Clean refrigerators once a week.
Office refrigerators are considered essential appliances. Unfortunately, amidst the busy workweek, many employees often tend to forget their food in the refrigerator. This is why it’s common for office refrigerators to be full, even though only a tiny portion of their contents are going to be consumed.
To prevent the contents of your refrigerator from becoming a health risk, ensure employees prioritize throwing away perished food. Regularly defrost the freezer, take all containers out, and disinfect inside areas.
- Sanitize high-touch surfaces daily.
High-touch surfaces refer to surfaces and objects that people frequently touch with their hands. These surfaces include doorknobs, cabinet doors, window sills, countertops on the lobby and pantry, light switches, and biometric door panels. Other electronics and appliances like televisions, photocopiers, fax machines, phone handsets, and pantry appliances with keypads are also high-touch surfaces.
Clean these surfaces with a sanitizing wipe or sanitizing solution daily or once a week, depending on how frequently people use them. More than keeping these surfaces dust and oil-free, regular sanitization will prevent the spread of germs and bacteria.
- Invest in an air freshener and scent.
Once you have perfected your office cleaning routine, remember the final touch that can elevate your workspace: using an air freshener. Office air fresheners release mild, pleasant scents that make the workplace smell and feel clean. An office that smells fresh creates a welcoming and comfortable environment for employees and guests.
- Establish a routine cleaning checklist for common rooms.
It helps to create a cleaning checklist for rooms everyone makes use of, like conference rooms, private meeting areas, and washrooms. Expanding on the CLAYGO principle, employees should tidy up before leaving the spaces they use. Checklists will also remind them of tasks that are easily overlooked.
- Schedule regular office cleaning days.
Even with daily cleaning checklists and routines, having your office professionally cleaned regularly will benefit everyone. An experienced office cleaning company is better equipped and trained to thoroughly clean office spaces using commercial-grade cleaning supplies. They can also perform tasks your staff isn’t equipped to do, such as steam vacuuming dirty upholstery and pressure-cleaning stained carpets.
This is just a starter list to help keep your office clean, comfortable, attractive, and work-conducive. However, every business is unique, and your office is no exception; feel free to add or change things up to meet your cleaning needs.
Enjoy Superior Office Cleaning from JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting
JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting is your trusted national franchise with a reputation for exceptional services and impressive cleaning. Arrange a regular or one-time office cleaning schedule, and your local cleaning team will be there on your preferred day and time.