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- In every office building, there are a number of specific areas to maintain during the ongoing pandemic.
- After a professional deep clean, tackle these spaces to keep your building as safe as possible.
- In particular, common areas such as conference rooms, breakout spaces and supply rooms need regular attention.
This article was written by Holly Welles, a real estate writer for The Estate Update.
As COVID-19 persists, offices must put a maintenance plan in place. It may seem daunting to tackle such a significant job, but a clear-cut routine will keep an otherwise tricky undertaking as straightforward as possible. Your priority should be to ensure each employee stays safe. Therefore, you’ll want to tackle a few specific areas.
Following a thorough deep clean, you’ll want to maintain these six spaces going forward:
1. Common Areas
There may be various common areas that you need to keep up with. These spaces include conference, break and supply rooms. If more than one employee has access, you should consider those environments to be communal. COVID-19 can live on particular surfaces for several days. Therefore, you should sanitize every common space daily alongside typical duties like emptying trash and vacuuming rugs.
You should encourage limited access to communal locations. It’s also a good idea to have employees sanitize printers and staplers after they use them. You can supply wipes or sprays to make this task more straightforward. You’ll still have these objects cleaned, but it’s a small effort that could reduce spread.
2. Elevators and Stairwells
These high-traffic locations need attention. You should aim to maintain your elevators and stairwells frequently throughout each day. This process shouldn’t involve excessive work, as you’ll only have to handle surfaces people touch, like railings and buttons. It’s essential to use a recommended disinfectant for each job. This way, you’ll be as in-depth and effective as possible.
A product with a low contact time would be ideal. It’s also essential to remember door handles, as well.
3. Individual Workstations
Create a plan for your employees’ workstations. It’s always best to use professional-grade methods on each cubicle after every employee leaves. A thorough deep clean will tackle desks, chairs and electronics. These areas include keyboards and monitors, so you’ll want to try computer-specific products to handle those. A water and alcohol solution should work as an adequate disinfectant, too.
You should plan to provide employees with the proper supplies. This way, they’ll be able to keep their personal environments clean throughout their workdays.
4. Cafeteria Spaces
An office with a kitchen or cafeteria space needs to take additional measures. It’s best to encourage employees to pack lunches and snacks they can eat at their desks, but you may still need to keep these areas open for refrigerator and microwave use. If you plan to serve food, you should opt for prepackaged to-go boxes. Then, you won’t have to mess with serving stations that could lead to exposure.
As you clean, you can concentrate on high-touch areas like cabinet handles and coffee makers. Don’t forget to wipe down shelves inside appliances, too.
5. Restroom Facilities
You’ll want to take extra care when you clean restrooms. Aside from standard tasks, you should focus on less obvious surfaces like light switches. You may think you don’t have to tackle bathroom stall walls, but you’d be surprised at how far droplets can spread from a toilet. Therefore, it’s best to cover your ground entirely. Be sure to offer extra hand sanitizer and hand soap, too.
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You could block off every other stall and sink, as well. This effort encourages people to maintain a social distance.
6. HVAC Systems
It’s important to consider your HVAC system. Your office’s appliances contribute to every space’s indoor air quality — and COVID-19 can exist as airborne particles, so you’ll want to make an effort to keep your building’s ventilation as clean as possible. The risk won’t be nearly as high as other transmission methods, but it’s crucial to take these steps to keep your employees safe. You can never be too careful.
Therefore, it’s a smart idea to remove and clean filters frequently. You may want to hire an HVAC team to care for your system professionally. And if it’s a nice day outside, you should encourage your employees to open their windows.
Keep These Areas Clean for Your Employees
A clean, maintained space should be your top priority as your office reopens. Try to conduct a professional deep clean beforehand. Then, you can tackle these spaces to keep your building as safe as possible.
Holly Welles is a real estate writer with a focus on millennial experiences at home and at work. You can find more of her research on workforce trends on her own blog, The Estate Update, where she researches the best places to live and work.
