When cleaning an office space, it’s easy to focus on the areas that we typically think of as the dirtiest: toilets, floors, trashcans, and sinks usually receive the most attention. However, despite the fact that only 25% of workers feel that their workplace is clean enough, many parts of the office environment often get overlooked when offices don’t hire an outside professional office cleaning company. Here are a few surprising places that bacteria can accumulate without the attention of professional commercial cleaning services:
Computers
The number one place for bacteria in an office is the mouse and keyboard of a computer. In fact, studies have shown that toilets can be up to 50 times cleaner than a mouse or keyboard! Though washing your hands or using hand sanitizer can help protect you from this bacteria, if the surfaces themselves aren’t regularly disinfected, bacteria can increase up to 31% every day. Keep your keyboard and mouse clean by regularly disinfecting them with a household surface cleaner to prevent the spread of these germs.
Phones
Phones can accumulate an enormous amount of bacteria if you fail to clean them regularly. Research has shown that most office phones have an average of 25,000 bacteria per square inch! If you don’t want this kind of concentration of germs near or touching your face all day, keep your phone surfaces clean with a household disinfectant and you’ll drastically reduce the amount of illness-causing bacteria that you come into contact with every day. Or better yet, hire a professional to take care of it for you!
Water Coolers
Water cooler buttons, which get pressed constantly by every member of the office, are a prime source of bacteria. In fact, approximately 25% of water cooler buttons contain bacteria that can cause illnesses. Since these buttons are surfaces that lots of people come into contact with, germs that accumulate on them can be easily transmitted from one person to another. Use a disinfecting surface cleaner to prevent the spread of these germs among your coworkers.
Chairs
Most people don’t think to clean office chairs frequently, but chairs make constant contact with your skin and clothes, which carry tons of bacteria. Many different kinds of germs and dirt can accumulate on your office chair if you neglect to clean it, so keeping the fabric of your chair clean and disinfected can lead to less transmission of germs between your body and your office furniture. Professional office cleaning companies can often achieve a deeper cleaning of fabric furniture than you can with regular household cleaners, so this might be one to leave to the pros!
These sneaky sources of bacteria may get overlooked when cleaning the office on your own. Since a typical office contains an average of 500 types of bacteria, you don’t want to leave these areas unattended! Companies that offer professional office cleaning services are trained to target these germ-filled spots to keep your office cleaner, healthier, and more hygienic.
