Here’s what you should know about cleaning an office space

The dirty truth about our offices

After COVID-19 introduced itself to the world, we all became more aware of overall hygiene. Offices are cleaned more often, with (most likely) a focus on the floors, surfaces, kitchens, cantinas and restrooms. But did you know that nowadays most germs are found at places that are easily overlooked? For instance, the microwave or refrigerator door handle, keyboards, computer mice, desk phones and coffee pots . And even the air can be dirty.

The impact of a dirty office on our health

A healthy workplace is clean and stress-free. A clean and uncluttered desk improves employee productivity and helps reducing stress. Moreover, good office hygiene is vitally important for overall happiness, productivity and even (especially!) your health. A lack of germs naturally results in fewer sick people and as such, less absenteeism.

Now let’s get the office clean

Cleaning the office in a way that safeguards the overall health of people isn’t something you can ‘just’ do with a mop and bucket. Basic cleaning methods lack specialized care, such as disinfection and sanitation. Here are 6 ways to clean your office. Properly.

1. Make disinfection your business
Germs are very small organisms, like a virus or bacteria, that can cause illness in humans. They can transmit through (in)direct contact with your environment, like doorknobs, the coffee pot of even buttons from the copy machine. To quickly and thoroughly disinfect an entire space and all its surfaces, you can use the i-fogger. It’s the perfect tool for high-traffic spaces. Just make sure you use it after office hours, so the fog has time to settle. 

2. A clean desk
It can be easy to think that, if our desks are clear and unstained, there’s limited dirt and bacteria on the surface. Think again. According to research, the average desk contains more than 10 million bacteria, which is 400 times more germs than is found on the average toilet seat. The first step to good desk hygiene is having professional cleaners to conduct regular cleaning on the desks. This should involve dusting, disinfecting and cleaning.

3. Cleaning is a good call
Clean and disinfect your desktop or laptop and, most importantly, your desk phone. Phones not only pick up large amounts of bacteria, especially if shared, they also are right next to your mouth and are at high risk of transferring bacteria. i-team offers a variety of products that make cleaning easier at work. These are great for all users: whether inexperienced cleaners or professional contractors. For instance: use the i-scrub 26H to get the dust and surface dirt from your desk before disinfecting or ask your local i-partner for more information about the i-fibre range.

4. Pay attention to indoor air quality 
The quality of the air has a direct impact on everyone who uses or visits an indoor space. Poor indoor quality can result in allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and virus transmission. Moreover, an unpleasant smell immediately tells our senses that a space is unclean and stale air can even negatively impact our mood or result in headaches and fatigue. It doesn’t do much for your company image either. 

Many offices use ventilation, but ventilation alone isn’t enough. Besides the fact that it boosts your energy bill during colder days, it doesn’t filter aerosols out of the air. In other words: germs and viruses can still spread. But there’s a solution. Air purification does filter aerosols out of the air, resulting in a perfectly clean, healthy, and fresh indoor environment. i-air PRO filters out solid contaminants, breaking down all VOCs and neutralising all living harmful microbes - including viruses. In short: it delivers the best air you can breathe indoors.

5. Standard vacuums suck
Many vacuum cleaners aren’t cleaning as well as they need to. On the surface, everything might look great, but underneath there’s a wealth of bacteria and dirt still lurking. The vac uses a HEPA or even a ULPA cassette filter - the highest vacuum cleaner filtration level available - that stops dust and dust mites from being reintroduced after they’ve been vacuumed up. If your office requires hard floor cleaning, don’t look any further than the i-mop, which cleans surfaces quickly and efficiently with minimal chemicals and water usage.  

6. Make the invisible visible 
Seeing is believing. With the i-know kit, you can discover how clean your office actually is. Use the ATP tests* from the kit to quickly check if surfaces have been cleaned thoroughly. But you can also choose to clean your office with the i-scrub 26H with integrated blacklight. The blacklight gives you instant feedback about your cleaning results, while the handy scraper helps you remove stubborn soils.

* ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate) is the name of an energy molecule that indicates biological contamination invisible to the naked eye (organic matter, including human, animal, and vegetable cells, body fluids, insects, bacteria, yeast, and mold). Detection of ATP is recognized as the most reliable quantitative monitoring and inspection method to measure the effectiveness of cleaning procedures

Schedule a demo

Curious about the i-team product range or do you want information tailored specifically to your office space? Schedule a demo now! Contact your local i-partner or contact i-team Global for more information.