Keeping an office spotlessly clean provides a pleasant environment for the workforce and visitors. Employees work better in a clean workplace. A study published in the European Cleaning Journal revealed a direct correlation between office cleanliness and worker productivity.
Having lived through a global pandemic, the British office has learnt to step up its cleaning regime. The enhanced levels of cleaning implemented during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak not only helped to guard against coronavirus infections but this cleaning also reduced the spread of other common illnesses. It has become apparent that diligent cleaning can create a healthier work environment.
We’re all much more aware of how infections spread now, with many still washing their hands more regularly and even wearing masks in crowded areas. Maintaining strict cleaning routines helps eliminate microbes and reduce outbreaks such as stomach bugs and colds among the workforce in the office. IWFM research suggests that despite the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, nearly half of British workers are still concerned about cleanliness and hygiene levels in the workplace. For employees, seeing deep cleaning still taking place in the office will offer much reassurance.
Great quality commercial cleaning products allow office cleaners to maintain excellent health and safety standards. They also enable them to work quickly and effectively without repeating cleaning jobs or buffing out smears and streaks. Stocking essential commercial cleaning products means that any spill, stain or mark can be swiftly and safely dealt with. We expect a lot from our office cleaning team, and to achieve the immaculate, germ busting nightly clean, they need access to premium office cleaning supplies.
To help your office become sparklingly clean day after day, explore our essential commercial cleaning products that every office needs.
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Glass and window cleaners
It’s very common for office buildings to feature a great deal of glass. There’s a real wow factor when the glass in an office is spotless, but on the flip side, any smudges or smears are always painfully obvious.
We all know that cleaning glass can be very labour intensive, so an excellent commercial glass cleaner will make the task much more manageable. With so many people touching the glass in an office and high levels of dust brought in from the street and carpark, a robust glass cleaning solution is required to complete the job effectively.
Given how frequently office glass needs to be cleaned, environmentally conscious offices may prefer to use an eco-friendly glass cleaner such as the Ecover option supplied by Avansas.
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Antimicrobial cleaners
To protect staff members, cleaners must be able to identify germ hotspots and apply effective antimicrobial cleaners. These hotspots include:
- Door handles
- Light switches
- Appliance buttons (include keyboards)
- Windows
- Drinks and water dispensers
- Desk surfaces
- Chair armrests
- Filing cabinets
- Shelving
- Taps
- Toilets
- Sinks
- Kettles
- Refrigerators
- Microwaves
As cleaners know, not all antimicrobial products kill the likes of the coronavirus. Many multipurpose antimicrobial cleaners are very effective at destroying bacteria but are not so good for the notoriously hardy viral particles. Soap based cleaners and a bit of elbow grease are more effective at banishing viral infections, as the soap physically lifts the virus off the surfaces to which it has adhered. This is the same principle behind the effectiveness of handwashing in the fight against Covid-19 and other viral infections.
Daily scrubbing of all hotspot surfaces with hot soapy water isn’t convenient or practical in the office environment because the water could damage equipment and paperwork. Therefore, a virucidal antimicrobial spray is an essential product in the office cleaner’s kit, as these will kill certain viruses simply by being misted onto a surface and wiped off.
These are by far among the most commonly used office cleaning products in 2022, and again you may wish to seek eco-friendly options due to the quantity being used. To produce a pleasant working environment for staff, choose a cleaner with a pleasant fresh scent, avoiding those with a harsh chemical or bleach aroma. Avansas stocks antimicrobial cleaners that contain essential oils, producing a more natural clean scent, which may be more favourable to employees.
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Mop and bucket
When we get home, one of the first things we do is take off our shoes. We don’t like the thought of walking dirt through our homes – it doesn’t feel sanitary. In the office, however, not only do we keep our shoes on, but we’re also joined by the footfall of the entire workforce. By the end of the day, the office cleaners have some pretty dirty floors to contend with!
Many offices feature hard or tiled floors for hygiene purposes as they allow for easy and effective cleaning. A good mop and bucket are essential for office cleaning as they enable the cleaner to lift dirt from the surface of the floor and disinfect it.
With a large surface area to deal with, it’s vital that you choose a large mop head and bucket with a good squeeze wringer to prevent the floor from becoming too wet. Avansas stocks a range of five-litre floor cleaners, including eco-friendly, pine and unscented varieties.
Beyond this daily deep cleaning task, the mop and bucket serve an essential health and safety function too. Liquid spills on the floor are a slipping hazard, and the good old mop and bucket can quickly clear up a spill and prevent a workplace accident.
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Toilet cleaners
The communal toilet isn’t one of the highlights of office working. Employees would prefer to be greeted by a fresh toilet bowl in the morning, and cleaners would undoubtedly like to work with a commercial toilet cleaner that tackles the job effectively.
You shouldn’t cut corners when purchasing a toilet cleaner as it really must be fit for purpose. It needs to disinfect, clean, prevent residue build-up and effectively scent the toilet. If it fails at any of these tasks, that cubicle soon becomes an unpleasant place to make your call of nature.
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Furniture polish
Staff members always notice when their desk has had a freshen up with furniture polish. This polish not only cleans the surfaces of the office furniture, removing fingerprints and the inevitable coffee cup rings, but good quality polishes also reduce the build-up of dust over the following days.
Although it’s not nice to think about, the high number of people sharing an enclosed space in an office leads to large volumes of dust created by dead skin cells. Dust accumulations quickly make an office look uncared for, so the regular use of furniture polish lifts the office’s aesthetic. This makes furniture polish an essential commercial cleaning product for any office.
Some furniture polishes are also designed for use on other office surfaces, such as computer or laptop screens. It can be useful to include a multi-surface polish in the office cleaning kit, as clean screens are always a big hit with staff members as it shows them their workstations are being well cared for.
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Fabric and upholstery sprays
Many office desk chairs include upholstered seats and backs, while fabric chairs and sofas are typical in the office waiting, meeting and communal rooms. These fabrics are exposed to a great deal of human contact across the working week, and they can quickly start to look a little worse for wear. Unfortunately, these fabrics can also readily absorb sweat and body odours. If this isn’t swiftly dealt with, it can become increasingly difficult for a cleaner to ever entirely remove the unpleasant smell from the weave of the fabric.
Antimicrobial and stain removing fabric and upholstery sprays help cleaners freshen up and spot clean office seating without the need to scrub with a soap and water solution. Fabrics are notoriously trickier to sanitise than hard surfaces, which has posed a problem during the pandemic. These handy sprays offer a convenient way to manage the hygiene and appearance of upholstered office furniture.
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Micro-fibre cloths
Beloved by the social media cleaning influencers, micro-fibre cloths are a true essential among office commercial cleaning supplies. Environmentally friendly (since they can be washed and reused multiple times), they’re a versatile and highly effective cleaning tool.
The office environment can be dusty, especially with the static created by computer screens. Micro-fibre cloths are ideal for damp dusting and polishing as they trap particles and dust and don’t leave behind any lint.
Thinking back to all that office glass, these cloths are a dream for that desirable streak-free finish, and they’ll withstand plenty of rubbing and polishing without wear.
They’re suitable for wet use on bathroom and kitchen surfaces, too. And though their initial outlay is higher than some other cleaning cloths, they are ultimately cost-effective in terms of their reusability and the time they save cleaners. Avansas offers machine-washable micro-fibre cloths in packs of ten.
A clean office is an absolute necessity, from keeping staff members protected from infections to producing an environment that makes them feel more motivated to work. Purchasing your commercial cleaning products from the same supplier as your office goods can cut down on the cost of shipping. Avansas offers its customers a diverse range of commercial cleaning products, including bulk volumes and environmentally friendly options. It can also supply you with the safety gear you need to keep your cleaners protected as they carry out their cleaning duties.
Resources:
https://www.hseni.gov.uk/articles/cleaning-your-workplace-reduce-risk-coronavirus-covid-19
