When it comes to cleaning your office, it is important to realise what a breeding ground for dirt and harmful bacteria the office can be. With so many people in one small space, and with people sat at their desks and using the facilities for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, it is no wonder that offices are so susceptible to dirt and mess. Indeed £11.7 billion is lost each year by UK businesses on account of people taking sickness leave which, though it cannot entirely attributed to bacteria in our offices, is certainly not helped by it.
Here, we give some of the statistics about just how clean or dirty the average UK office is, and look in more detail at the different areas of the office and which collect the most dirt.
Desks
There are 21,000 germs per square inch on areas including your mouse, keyboard and chair, as well as your desk being home to around 10 million bacteria itself. This is a staggering number, considering it is around 400 times more than the number of germs on an average toilet seat.
Knowing this, people who eat and drink at their desks should take extra care to practice good hygiene and not let the food touch the surfaces before they are eaten. As well as this, desks should be cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis to eliminate the possibility of contamination from harmful bacteria.
The office kitchen
Many workplaces fall victim to bad kitchen etiquette when staff are too busy to wash up their crockery and cutlery, remove old items from the fridge and wipe down the surfaces. Did you know, however, that due to this sort of behaviour, around half of all kitchen surfaces are contaminated with dangerous levels of bacteria. This can only be solved with regular, thorough cleaning using the correct, effective products.
The office bathroom
Office bathrooms can become dangerously unhygienic if not tended to properly, hosting anywhere between 500 and a few thousand fecal bacteria per square centimeter. This bacteria can get on your hands each time you flush the toilet, touch the door handle or even turn on the taps at the sink. This type of bacteria at these levels can pose a serious threat to employees and their health, so cleaning these areas regularly is vital for the wellbeing of your staff.
Regular, thorough cleaning by professional cleaning companies is something your office should have as part of its general upkeep. Here at Alban Cleaning, we are proud to provide an expert cleaning service to all our customers throughout Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas. Whatever the service you require, and whatever basis, we can provide the right solution for you at a great price. Get in touch with our friendly team of experts today to find out more.
