Most offices are cleaned often, if not daily, the floor is mopped, desktops are wiped, countertops in the kitchen are sanitised and cleaned, utensils are not left on desks, a clean kitchen sink, well organised cabinets and many more. However, there are some areas in the office that are covered with dust, dirt, grime and grease. These are areas that are less visible and easily blend into the environment, or hard to reach areas during cleaning. Just because these areas are out of sight, they should not be left out of mind. Make efforts to regularly clean the overlooked areas to avoid a pile of germs and dust in your office space. Eight of the most overlooked areas in your office when cleaning include:
1) Blinds and curtains
It is not very easy to overlook a window glass that has stripes of dirty water or layers of dust. However, blinds and curtains in the office are mostly left for many months without cleaning especially if they do not have visible stains. For these reason, they end up covered with dust, debris, pollen and mould that will affect the air quality in the office.
2) Furniture and upholstery
Furniture and upholstery in the office are cleaned on a basis of, ‘if they look dirt’ situation. However, it is very hard to tell when your couch in the lobby, or the leather office chairs in the conference rooms are covered with layers of dust. Office furniture also includes your cubicle partitions that are made of fabric capable of collecting germs and dust very easily. Regular cleaning of the office furniture and upholstery will reduce the rate at which diseases such as common cold spread in the office.
3) Under office furniture
Some of the office furniture such as desks, couches or seats can be too heavy to move during cleaning. Therefore, the spaces under these furniture are overlooked and left for a long time without cleaning. A regular clean-up of the space under the chair spaces will reduce dust particles in the office. While cleaning the floor space under the furniture, it is also important to wipe the bottoms of each chair and remove cobwebs and insect trails.
4) Fans and air conditioners
Fans and air conditioners are hard to reach and mostly overlooked during cleaning. If you go for months without cleaning your fans and air conditioners, chances are they are covered with layers of dust, mildew and mould. This means that every time you turn the fan and air conditioner on, you are spreading dust all over the office space. This could be the reason there are so many allergic reactions in your office.