7 Things You Didn’t Know About Commercial Cleaning
One of the most challenging yet essential things to do in an office is to make sure it’s properly cleaned. Given that you might have dozens of people working in a single space for most of the day, eating, drinking, and throwing out garbage, it makes sense that the office can quickly become cluttered, worn, and filthy.
While you can get your staff to clean, you likely won’t have the necessary equipment or expertise to clean deeply or efficiently. In short, it’s a massive waste of time and company resources to try and tackle cleaning yourself.
That’s where commercial cleaning services come in. They provide expert services, have all the tools, and will handle the management of cleaning entirely. But there are probably some things you don’t know about commercial cleaning services and the spaces they clean — things that might illuminate why exactly you should hire one.
Germs, Germs, Germs
It’s very easy to underestimate exactly how many germs are on any given office desk. Since they’re mostly invisible, it’s easy to ignore the problem and just assume that your space is as clean as the eye can see. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
There are approximately 20,000 germs per square inch of space on your office chair, computer mouse, and keyboard. That means that the average employee’s desk can have around ten million bacteria. Compared to other spaces like a kitchen table or toilet seat, it has 100 times more bacteria and 400 times more bacteria, respectively.
Without day-to-day cleaning, the bacteria amount increases 30% every day across all office surfaces. That should make it abundantly clear that you need a professional cleaner to sanitize your space.
Food Mess
Consider also the fact that nearly two thirds (62%) of people consume lunch at their desks, with only 20% reporting that they clean the space before eating off of it. Just imagine how many germs they’re consuming and how many dangerous infections they could be harbouring in their area.
The food will also tend to leave crumbs, making the space visibly dirty and having the potential to attract insects and other pests. Again, a cleaner can fix this issue and remove all the germs that secretly plague your office.
Common Areas
Common areas are also prone to high bacteria and germ levels. Water fountains, fridge handles, vending machines, microwaves, and sinks are the dirtiest surfaces besides computer mice, keyboards, and personal office spaces.
Men’s washrooms are also 20% dirtier than women’s. And the potential for disease vectors is there, with a quarter of water cooler buttons thought to be a potentially high risk for transmission of diseases of all types. Washroom sink handles may also spread diseases. Meanwhile, office phones contain 25,000 germs per square inch, and most of the dust you see accumulating in common areas is composed of dead skin flakes.
Even if you get your staff to clean their own spaces, common areas remain high-risk disease areas, filled with dirt and grit, necessitating the need for a commercial cleaning service that can handle the accumulated mess.
Missed Points
Even with cleaning from your staff, like dealing with washrooms and kitchens, many dirty areas can be missed. It’s easy to forget how many surfaces are touched on a given day, but a commercial cleaner will have the wherewithal and knowledge that target these key locations.
Commercial cleaners hit some common areas that might otherwise be overlooked, including elevator buttons, doorknobs, sink handles, computer keyboards, and light switches. A professional cleaning service won’t miss germs or dirty areas anywhere.
Commercial Cleaning is Hard Work, Literally
While cleaning seems easy, once you begin to do it for an extended period, you’ll realize just how difficult it is. Approximately 200 calories are burned per hour of cleaning work. That may be good for your health, but it’s ultimately very tiring and draining for non-cleaning employees to work on polishing up their space. It’s like trying to sandwich a gym workout between intensive typing sessions at the computer. Get a professional cleaner to handle the hard work for you.
Proper use of Cleaning Products
Another thing you may not know about commercial cleaning is just how to use the products. There are many different products for various types of surfaces and environments. Professional cleaners know what products to use and in the right areas. Many companies also have product dilution centres to ensure the proper mixture of water and cleaning concentrate to complete the job effectively.
The majority of our Time is Spent Indoors
The vast majority of the time we spend is indoors. On average, a North American spends approximately 87% of their day indoors. It’s hard, but try to visualize just how much is touched and interacted with in that time.
Footprints litter the floor, grease and sweet get all over, and little messes form everywhere. You want a place you spend a lot of time in to be as disinfected as possible.
Closing Thoughts
There are many more facts to know about commercial cleaning, but this quick run-down should highlight the importance of getting a professional cleaner to hit your office.
The germ count is one huge factor, with massive amounts of bacteria in the office’s most-touched surfaces. What’s more, these germs spread at a rapid pace if left unchecked. Combined with the fact that non-professional cleaning often misses spots, isn’t appropriate given the exercise amounts, and doesn’t always use the correct cleaning procedure, you likely see the need for an external cleaning service provider.
To learn more about commercial cleaning, call RBC Clean at 289-301-2095 or contact us here.