How Dirty is Your Workplace or Business?

If you’ve ever worked in an office, you probably have a few ideas about where the dirtiest places usually are. Kitchens are typically the worst offenders, with all kinds of horror stories about mouldy leftovers, filthy smelly sinks, and microwaves covered in weeks worth of gunk.  

It’s not just offices though, as virtually every workplace and business have areas that are less hygienic than others. Yes, areas like kitchens and toilets are obvious targets, but many will be surprised where some of the dirtiest places in your average workplace are found!

The Workplace Desk

The idea of a workplace desk being one of the dirtiest places may sound odd, yet recent research indicates that your average work desk could have 400 times more germs than a toilet seat! (Ew gross!!)
It does make sense when you consider most desks consist of a large, flat surface area that is not regularly cleaned, allowing all kinds of germs to develop. 

Adding in all the various objects on your desk, from your phone to your keyboard, your pen pot to your letter trays, and even more germs and contaminants are present. After just a few days of work, your desk quickly becomes a breeding ground for dirt, dust, and germs.

Therefore, cleaning an office desk daily is highly recommended. Try to keep it clutter-free to further improve cleanliness, as the fewer objects present the less dirty it gets. Not only that, a clutter free desk is a lot easier to keep clean.

High Touch Surfaces

Keeping on top of disinfecting high touch surfaces is essential for maintaining a well workforce. Daily wiping over these areas with a non-damaging disinfectant will promote a healthy working environment and is essential for keeping up high standards of hygiene.

The Kitchen 

Now it’s time to cover the more obvious places that get dirty, and the kitchen is certainly one of these! Given the shared appliances like fridges and microwaves, and the general amount of food and drink consumed in these areas, it’s clear why they become so unclean.

Sadly, a lot of employees don’t clean up after themselves, so kitchens can quickly become an unclean mess that many employees would rather avoid. 

Kitchen sinks often harbour all kinds of mess and germs due to food and drink being poured down, while the taps are often covered in food and drink residue from all the people using them at lunch. The drain is probably filled with all sorts of nasty gunk and grime, which is not just unpleasant but also presents a health and safety problem.

So regular scheduled cleaning of a workplace kitchen or canteen is essential. Make it easy for staff to clean up after themselves. Provide them with enough supplies to ensure a quick efficient clean up after their breaks, making sure they have adequate waste disposal facilities such as lidded general waste and recycling bins to avoid food waste being disposed of in sinks.

Have you got space to fit in a dishwasher? If so, investing in a dishwasher for the workplace immediately improves the cleanliness of kitchen areas as staff can easily place pots inside, out of sight, and quickly set off on a cleaning cycle when full. This saves your staff both time and effort cleaning up after themselves so they can get back to their work sooner.

The Toilet 

Workplace toilets get filthy, and we all know why!

This is nothing new, as toilets are some of the most visited areas of a workplace. High traffic means lots of people coming and going from the toilet, making it a perfect breeding ground for germs and bacteria. 

There is an obvious reason why toilet cleaning is such an important component of most business cleaning schedules. Strangely enough though, the fact that toilets pose obvious cleaning requirements means they are often cleaner than many other areas!

However, there are still general housekeeping principles to bear in mind with your toilet facilities. Ensure toilet paper, hand soap and hand towels are kept in good supply in all toilets, ensure sanitary bins and other waste bins are being emptied on a regular basis, ensure toilets are well lit for ease of use (a dingy toilet is never appealing to use) and conduct regular checks to ensure the space is always welcoming to its users.

Maintaining clean, fresh and odour free toilet facilities make all the difference to your employees and visitors alike. It shows that you take the cleanliness of your building seriously and can leave a lasting positive impression of your business.

Whether you require a complete workplace clean or want to address problem areas like your kitchen or toilet, Ideal Cleaning is here to help.

We are a commercial cleaning company that provides flexible workplace cleaning solutions for businesses of every shape and size. From one-off deep cleans to on-going maintenance, our cleaning solutions are tailor-made to our clients needs!

For more information about our commercial cleaning service, contact us today on 01642 685321