After dealing with a pandemic for more than a year, it goes without saying that the public consciousness towards cleanliness is certainly on the rise. It has become more important than ever now to focus on sanitation and ensure that public and private spaces are disinfected in a timely manner.
In keeping with the need of the hour, this article hopes to inform the reader about the myriad of ways in which one can disinfect and sanitize their office and workspace.
Things to Do Before Cleaning the Desk
Before you begin the actual task of cleaning out your desk and work space, we encourage you to take some time to plan out the entire activity. Planning is key here as it will help you save some time and effort in this whole process.
You should ideally begin with a healthy purge of all the unessential items in your work space. There are bound to be several documents or tools that do not belong on your table which is why you’re having to conduct a cleaning.
Start by keeping a trash can handy and emptying out all the unnecessary items into the bin. This is also the phase where you can recycle certain items too.
How to Clean the Desk
The first step involved in cleaning out your desk and work space is to unplug all the electronic items in order to avoid any electrical shocks. Switching off the electronics is not enough, and you should certainly unplug them before you start.
It is also easier to organize the electronics if they are unplugged, which is the second reason why you should do so before organizing.
Disinfecting the Office Desk Surface
The next step involves thoroughly sorting through the items on your desk and disinfecting all the important ones that you intend to keep on the desk. This includes various pieces of office equipment such as pens, scissors, calculators, tape dispensers, staplers, etc.
Each of these items should be neatly wiped down with the help of anti-bacterial, alcohol-based wipes.
Next, you can begin to focus on the other items on and around your desk. This includes various things that you tend to touch or use on a regular basis such as switches, lights, pots, and fans.
Make sure to wipe each of these items thoroughly and wait for a few minutes for them to dry before you place them on your desk.
Lastly, before you place all the items back on your desk, you can focus your attention on the desk itself. First use a dry cloth in order to thoroughly remove any dust from the surface of the table. Now you can begin to use disinfectant wipes to conduct another round of cleaning on the desk and ensure that it has been sanitized and disinfected thoroughly.
Wait for at least five minutes for the desk to dry thoroughly before you begin to place the items back on to the desk.
Also read: How to Disinfect AirPods
Cleaning Your Workspace
In this section, we discuss the various items in the workplace that will also need to be sanitized and disinfected for your safety.
Office Chair
Cleaning your office chair well comes down to recognizing the type of upholstery being used on the furniture. First of all, check on the laundry tag of the chair to see if there are any specific manufacturer’s instructions that you need to follow. If not, you can follow the steps mentioned below.
Begin by vacuuming the seat and the remainder of the chair properly in order to remove any dust particles. Once the dry cleaning is complete, you can conduct a wet wipe based on the upholstery. If the upholstery allows for water-based cleaning, you can use a wet cloth that’s been sprayed with a disinfectant to clean the chair thoroughly.
If the chair does not support wet cleaning, conduct a second round of vacuuming and use a dry cloth to wipe down the chair completely.
Laptop and Electronics
Use a can of compressed air to get the dust out of small compartments or vents in the electronics. You can wipe down the outer surfaces using a slightly dampened microfiber cloth.
Computer Screen
Your computer screen ends up accumulating plenty of dust and smudges over time. You cannot use liquids to clean the screen directly as it can damage the device, which is why you will need to wet a microfiber cloth with cold water and ensure that it's fully wrung out before you begin to wipe your computer screen.
Keyboard
Begin by holding your keyboard over a trash can and shaking it to make sure all the dust and debris falls into the bin. Now that all the larger pieces are out, you can use a damp cloth to wipe out the keyboard.
Mouse
Use a toothpick or the sticky side of a post-it note to clean the sections between the buttons of the mouse. The body can be wiped using an alcohol-based cleaner.
Desk Phone/ Headphones
Clean the exterior of these products using an alcohol-based disinfectant wipe.
Office Disinfection: How Often Should You Do It?
If you’re stationed at your desk on a daily basis, it is important to conduct a cleaning and disinfection at least once every two weeks. While these are deep cleaning and disinfecting sessions, they should still be supported with minor cleaning routines of the electronics and other essentials once every other day at least.
Sticking to this routine should help in promoting overall cleanliness and to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmissions.
Hygiene is the Need of the Hour
One of the reasons why individuals are being asked to work at home during the pandemic is because of the heavy foot traffic in these locations that lead to a build up of germs over time. It has always been important to disinfect and sanitize a work space, but the pandemic has shed some light on just how important these activities can be.
By offering plenty of valuable advice in these departments, we are sure that these measures can ensure your safety in the months and years to come.
Luce SG is a trusted professional office cleaning service in Singapore. Contact us to schedule a disinfection and sanitizing service for your office and work space!
