You go into your office and try to pay no attention to the mess. You know it’s dirty, but surely it can’t be that dirty, right? It might be good to have cleaning service, but if you outsource cleaning and janitorial services it costs money, and it’s not worth it when Ben the internet can be tasked to rinse out the coffee maker once a day, right?
Your office is probably a lot dirtier than you can possibly imagine. You ride up the elevator, right? Each elevator button is tome to millions of germs. Then you get to your desk, which is harboring another 10 million bacteria, on average, and your keyboard, chair, and mouse have about 21,000 germs per square inch. In fact, your desk probably has about 400 times more germs than the office toilet.
That’s not all. What about the phones? The office phone has an average of 25,126 germs per square inch, and you don’t even want to know about your own smartphone. One out of every three people goes to work when they’re sick, and they’re bringing along flu viruses that can survive on a hard surface for as long as two whole days.
Ok, so obviously you need some commercial cleaners in there; but are there any office cleaning tips that can help you keep the place as clean as possible between janitorial cleaning? Read on for four that will help you keep things sanitary between bigger cleanings.
- Office Cleaning Tips: Clean your phone and computer safely. A mixture of 70% alcohol mixed with an equal part of mineral-free bottled water is all you need. Put it in a spray bottle and use a microfiber cloth to clean it off. It’ll render any surface germ-free, and it won’t scratch your expensive phone or mess with the oleophobic coating.
- Office Cleaning Tips: Take a butter knife to the air vents. Ever seen how disgusting your air vent slats are? If you want those things to be clean again, it’s possible. The fastest way to do it is to put a rag over one end of any thin, flat object. It can be a ruler, a butter knife, or a popsicle stick: whatever. Spray down the rag with a good cleaner and you can get each of those slats easily.
- Office Cleaning Tips: Clean that nasty office chair. You can clean the armrests and the back with your alcohol and water mixture, but if you want to clean the upholstered part, what do you do? All you need is a half cup of dish soap mixed with a cup of hydrogen peroxide. Spray on, leave for a minute or two, then scrub lightly till stains disappear.
- Office Cleaning Tips: Clean out the carpet. Chances are the carpet around your desk, and elsewhere in the office, is nasty. You can make it smell and look better with some homemade carpet cleaner. If you’ve got mold and odors, go with a mixture of cornmeal and borax. Sprinkle and vacuum an hour later. If the problem is tough stains, a mix of hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol will do the truck. If you just want a better smell, mix rosemary, cinnamon, and cloves into some baking soda. Sprinkle on and vacuum off.
Once your office is clean. you can be productive in peace. If you want it to be really clean, you’ll need janitorial cleaning services, but follow these office cleaning tips and you can help out those professionals and feel better about a clean workspace.