The dirtiest places in your office are usually the ones that go unnoticed. If you ask a coworker which sections of the office they think are the filthiest, a majority will say either the toilet or the bathroom.
There are, however, other sections of the office that are rife with germs that you may be unaware of. Failure to properly clean your Midtown Phoenix office can result in health problems and poor productivity as many employees will call in sick.
With this in mind, JAN-PRO Cleaning and Disinfecting in Phoenix has put together a list of the five dirtiest places in the office. This list will reveal the parts of the office that require more cleaning effort to make them safer for employees and guests.
1. Kitchen/Break Room
You might be surprised to learn that the break room, which often doubles as the kitchen, ranks as one of the filthiest places in the office.
Many people dine in the break room, and they naturally think that it is clean and free of germs, but it’s not. Kimberly-Clark Professional did a study by swabbing over 4500 surfaces across all types of workspaces and office buildings using technology to assess the amount of ATP, a chemical found in all living cells, yeast, mold, and bacteria. In 75% of the break rooms examined, these surfaces had a lot of ATP molecules on them.
- The sink: The sink attracts bacteria and other germs due to the variety of hands and food that come into contact with it. Consider how many individuals have touched the faucet handle. According to the Kimberly-Clark Professional study, 75% of sink faucet handles had ATP counts of 300 or more.
When sanitizing the kitchen, have your janitorial services provider give special attention to the sink area, making sure to get the faucet knobs.
- Sponges and towels: Bacteria flourish in warm, moist environments. When everyone in the office uses the same towel or sponge, bacteria can multiply quickly. "The towel becomes damp and heated, offering fertile ground for the multiplication of bacteria."
- Office Mugs: The University of Arizona study that researched germs on workplace cups discovered that up to 20% of clean office mugs tested for coliform bacteria and E. coli.
- The coffee maker: When it comes to cleaning, the office coffee maker is likely to get overlooked. Most people do not clean it at home, much less at work. On the germ scale, the study found 108 thousand CFU for every square inch on the coffee pot handle, with 99 percent of them being gram-negative rods, a form of bacteria that can be resistant to medications, according to the University of Arizona study.
- Microwaves and Refrigerator Handles: How many people do you know in the office who wash their hands before using one of these appliances? None. So, it should be no surprise that germs thrive in microwave and refrigerator handles, which are contaminated by food stains, spills, and other sticky substances.
2. The Bathroom/Toilet
The office bathroom can be infested with a variety of germs. But Kimberly-Clark Professional believes it ranks low on the list of dirtiest areas in the office because employees are aware of the hazardous bacteria prevalent in the restroom. This, together with comprehensive restroom cleaning every day, decreases the likelihood of germ transmission.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t germs there. It means that since your office cleaning services provider cleans and disinfects the restrooms thoroughly daily, they're cleaner than the overlooked parts.
3. Your Workstation
This is where you spend most of your time. Approximately 10 million germs live on the surface of your desk at any given time. The keyboards, computer mice, and office phones ranked as the largest germ-hoarders in the Kimberly-Clark Professional study.
Germs travel most often on our hands, traveling from items when you touch them. As you move around the office, you pick up germs from everything you come into contact with. So when you get to your desk and touch your keyboard and other stuff, you transfer these germs to your surfaces and gadgets, including the following.
- Mouse and keyboard: According to a study by the Canadian Safety Council, keyboards contain 3,295 bacteria per square inch, while mice contain 1,676 bacteria per square inch, which is higher than what’s found on a regular toilet seat.
Since you use them for hours at a time, they're both covered in dead skin cells, food particles, and dust. Even bacteria that only live for a few hours on hard surfaces will be reapplied every day you use them if you don't keep them and your hands clean.
- Telephone: With an average of 25,000 germs per square inch (University of Arizona study), your workplace phone could be much worse than your desktop. Clean the phone with sanitizer a few times a day, especially if other people use it.
Keep disinfecting wipes that are safe for electronics on hand for everyday use. Wipe down the keypad and phone several times, especially if others are using it. Cotton swabs are also useful for cleaning the intricate parts of the keyboard. Also, think about having these items out and about so that people will see them and want to use them.
4. Door Handles
Everyone in the office uses door handles to get around. CBS News conducted a test in which a non-harmful tracer virus was placed on a single doorknob in an office. In terms of contagiousness and antiseptic resistance, the virus was similar to the typical norovirus. After only four hours, 60% of the office surfaces including door knobs, computers, phones, light switches, and workstations, were contaminated.
Consider washing your hands frequently to help prevent the spread of germs from door handles.
5. The Photocopier Machine Start Button
The photocopier machine start button is one of the most germ-infested areas in the office. According to a study undertaken by Hloom, the average photocopier start button has more than 2 billion colony-forming units (CFU) per square inch. This is also in stark contrast to a typical school toilet seat, which only has 3,200 colony-forming units.
The good news is that you can have yours disinfected by spraying it with a high-quality disinfectant solution or placing an antimicrobial screen on its surface.
What Can You Do?
If you're astonished and a bit disturbed by the fact that many of the most common office areas are also the dirtiest, don't worry. Even when there is heavy traffic, you can make certain efforts to ensure that these unclean places are significantly cleaner.
The sink, coffee maker, and other surfaces should be cleaned every day, with a thorough cleaning once a week to avoid the spread of germs and reduce staff sick days.
Also, make it a practice to use hand sanitizer and keep it on your desk for others. You may even put some in the office kitchen and bathrooms. Instead of washcloths and sponges, use paper towels, and if possible, invest in a dishwasher. It's also crucial to wash your hands to keep bacteria at bay and avoid aggravating the situation.
Hire Commercial Cleaning Services
There's no way to avoid germs 100 percent of the time, and you wouldn't need to. Employee exposure to the stomach flu can be reduced by as much as 80% in a clean and sterilized workplace.
The easiest method to ensure that your office stays clean throughout the week is to enlist a commercial cleaning service like JAN-PRO Cleaning and Disinfecting in Phoenix. They can set you up on a cleaning schedule that meets your demands in terms of time and frequency.
Hiring janitorial services for businesses almost pays for itself in terms of increased productivity and employee morale. Employees who are exposed to fewer germs and bacteria are less likely to become ill and miss fewer days of work. Also, employees who work in a clean atmosphere tend to feel better, have fewer allergies, and are thus more productive.
On the other hand, if your office is filthy and your staff isn't feeling well, productivity will decrease.
Get Professional Office Cleaning Services in Midtown Phoenix
When it comes to office cleaning in Midtown Phoenix and surrounding areas, JAN-PRO Cleaning and Disinfecting in Phoenix is your best choice. They are the leading provider of outstanding commercial cleaning services that keep your office clean and help eliminate germs moving around.
Their cleaning franchisees have years of experience cleaning and disinfecting various offices and facilities. They know the areas that are likely contaminated and use hospital-grade disinfectants to eliminate any germs on multiple surfaces.
Contact JAN-PRO Cleaning and Disinfecting in Phoenix today at (602) 780-1333 to get a free office cleaning quote.
Cleaning and disinfecting services are provided by independently owned and operated JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting franchisees.
