It can look deceiving but every office has dirty spots that can’t be seen from the naked eye!
It may look neat and tidy in a glance, but it’s no secret that offices are a breeding ground for germs, viruses, and bacteria. With many people confined in an enclosed space for hours every day, it’s bound to get dirty.
You may employ a maintenance crew to clean your office every day, but there are invisible specks of dirt everywhere that cannot be seen by the naked eye. In fact, these microbes may be the culprit of your employees’ chronic coughs and colds.
In this article, we rounded up some of the dirtiest spots in the office, and most of these are objects you frequently use!
Most offices use a single photocopying machine that is shared by an entire department. That start button may look tiny and insignificant, but it’s the one that comes into contact with dirty fingers the most.
A recent study shows that the start button on a photocopier contains more than 1.2 billion colony forming units (CFU) of bacteria. In contrast, a school toilet seat has an average of only 3,200 CFU. If you need to copy something, hold onto that file and grab your sanitary wipes first!
Coffee is a staple in most offices. Employees rely on it as an energy booster to improve their productivity. Because the coffee pot in the pantry is one of the most used appliances in the workplace, you can be sure that many hands grasp its handle daily. To test this theory, a microbiologist from the University of Arizona put viruses from door handles to trace where these viruses would land next. If you haven’t guessed it already, they were found to be on coffee pot handles as well.
Because mugs are used in tandem with the coffee pot, they’re also a favourite nesting spot for nasty germs. If your office provides communal cups, think wisely before you use them. They may look squeaky clean, but if they’re washed and wiped using a shared sponge, the number of bacteria only multiplies. For this reason, it’s best to bring your own a mug and a dishwashing sponge as well.
While on the topic of objects in the pantry, let’s shift our focus on the refrigerator. It’s also one of the widely used objects in an office. Every employee that brings snacks or packed lunch will put them in the fridge and take them out during breaks. Imagine the number of hands that grasp a refrigerator’s handle in a single day!
In a single eight-hour work shift, a regular employer relies on the telephone to make and receive important calls. Despite its importance, the phone is often the most neglected item in the workplace. Make it a habit to start your day by wiping your telephone’s mouthpiece and handle with a new cloth and sanitizer.
Pens and pencils are inconspicuous objects. They’re not technically “office spots,” but they’re still some of the dirtiest items in the workroom. Look at your collection of pens on your table and imagine how many of your colleagues and clients use them. Some people play with them in their mouths, put them in their ears, or even use them as scratching tools.
If our list surprised and disgusted you, don’t despair. You can take practical steps towards keeping a genuinely clean working environment. For starters, place hand sanitizers on every station in your office. It’s also crucial to conduct deep-cleaning sessions regularly.
If you’re looking for office cleaning services to handle your trouble spots in the office, get in touch with us today and see how we can help! Take a look at “why cleanrite” on our website to learn how Cleanrite Services can help you!
Check out more on the blog! 3 Reasons To Hire A Commercial Cleaning Company
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