(Originally Published July 01, 2018)
Office Kitchen Cleaning - Looking for ways to keep your office kitchen clean? If you spend a lot of time in your office, you will know just how important it is to have a clean workplace! Due to the often high-traffic nature of office spaces, they can quickly accumulate dust, dirt, grime, and even germs and bacteria. Kitchens are usually one of the worst offenders. In this article, we'll take a look at 7 tips to help keep your office kitchen clean! For more information about office cleaning, contact the experts at Kitchener Clean now!
Your office kitchen should be a place of rest and relaxation during your break times. However, a dirty office can make anyone feel less than comfortable. In worst case scenarios, a poorly cleaned kitchen can actually spread germs and foodborne illnesses.
With regular office kitchen cleaning, you can avoid extra expenses such as exterminators (if mice or pests decide your office is their new cafeteria!) or even costly repairs due to poor maintenance. Follow the tips below to help reduce office germs and dirt, have a cleaner kitchen, and have happier workers!
Creating a culture of food safety and cleanliness is an important step to keeping your office kitchen cleaner than ever before.
At first, it may seem difficult to encourage workers to change the way they've always done things. However, implementing a kitchen policy can help make sure everyone is on the same page.
A kitchen policy can include anything you like, but it is best to create guidelines that are easy to follow and not too drastic. For example, an office microwave policy may ask that workers clean up any spills immediately after they occur, but it may be too much to outright ban "messy" foods from the microwave.
You can also create guidelines about hand washing, dish washing, fridge etiquette, and counter cleaning to help encourage a culture of cleanliness.
After you have implemented an office kitchen policy, it is a good idea to put up signs in the appropriate areas. For example, if you want workers to always label their food for the office fridge, or be mindful of expiry dates, ensure you post a sign right on or beside the fridge.
If you want to encourage workers to always wash their hands before and after eating, post a sign on the door to the office kitchen or just above the sink.
There are many signs available online created for office and workplace kitchens. You can also make your own signs or you can even download our office kitchen and microwave policy here! Posting an obvious sign with large lettering will help give workers a little reminder to do the right thing.
Cleaning up spills right away can help keep your office cleaner and ensure carpets and floors remain stain-free. Check out the quick video below by Martha Stewart Living to see how you can remove common office spills from carpeting before they become pesky stains.
Some office kitchens or break rooms have carpeting instead of tile, or sections of carpeting along with tile. Thankfully, tile is relatively easy to clean and sanitize. However, carpeting can be a bit trickier. Along with the potential for unsightly stains, carpeting can also harbour nasty germs. Spilled food and drink particles can spread in your office carpet creating odours over time, while bacteria and viruses such as norovirus and staphylococcus can live in dirty office carpets!
Ensuring you and your workers not only clean spills right away, but also keep carpets and tiles properly sanitized can help stop the spread of germs and keep your flooring from becoming smelly and stained.
Is the garbage bin your office kitchen always overflowing? Or maybe you constantly have to touch the can in order to throw away your garbage? Selecting garbage bins that do not require employee's hands to touch the can, such as motion activated bins, can help keep employees hands - and your office kitchen - cleaner.
Once you have great garbage bins in place, it's also important to maintain them. Never let bins overflow. Check on the garbages frequently and ensure the bins are taken out, cleaned, and refreshed with a new bag whenever needed.
You can also implement an office compost program and recycling initiatives to help reduce your overall office waste and help contribute to a cleaner environment!
It is difficult for workers to clean their dishes or wipe down spills if the proper cleaning supplies are no where to be found! Offices are notorious for reusing the same dishrags over and over again.
However, according to the University of Rochester Health Encyclopedia, dishrags and towels are two of the dirtiest items in the kitchen! They recommend changing and cleaning the dishrag every single day, and to never use a sponge to clean dishes.
To keep your office kitchen cleaner, make sure you have a large supply of new and clean dishrags, so a fresh one can be used each day.
Every week (or on a schedule that works for you), wash and sanitize all dishrags and towels so your workers will always have a clean cloth to work with. Keep the proper dishwashing cleaners on hand so dishes, utensils, and other kitchen items will stay clean.
Countertops may not seem like a health hazard, but they can quickly harbour dangerous germs and bacteria. Kitchen counters are often used to help prepare food, which in itself can spread germs.
However, take a look at the countertops in your own home or office. It's likely other items have or are currently sitting atop your counter, such as mail, letters, keys, purses, bags, etc.
These items can spread germs - and since countertops are often forgotten, those germs can make their way into your food! Ensure workers clean countertops before and after food preparation.
You should also ensure that countertops are not just cleaned, but sanitized regularly to help stop the spread of bacteria.
Keeping your office kitchen clean and properly sanitized can quickly become a challenge, especially if you work in a high-traffic environment. However, working with experienced and professional commercial cleaners can help give you peace of mind about your office's cleanliness.
Kitchens are difficult to maintain, but professional cleaners have all of the right tools, supplies, and know-how to keep your office's kitchen consistently dirt and germ-free.
A great commercial cleaning company will work with you to identify problem spots in your office, such as kitchens and bathrooms, and create a cleaning plan that works for everyone.
When you work with an office cleaning company, you and your workers can spend less time cleaning and more time working! On top of that, a cleaner office space is shown to boost productivity, reduce sick days, increase morale, and reduce stress!
If you want to learn more about commercial cleaners in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, contact us now for more information!
Ready to work with commercial cleaners to help make your kitchen and office cleaner than ever before? Kitchener Clean is a locally owned and operated family business, so we treat our customers like we would treat our own family - with respect. We value integrity, consistency, and thoroughness with all of our clients. We also use non-toxic cleaning methods to keep you, your staff, and your clients breathing cleaner!
Did you know that Kitchener Clean started out as a home cleaning company? Today we are still firmly committed to cleaning your office as thoroughly as we would our own home. We are also dedicated to great customer service, honesty, and integrity.
At Kitchener Clean, we believe that our Office Care Technicians are a key reason we are so successful. We strive to hire the best Office Care Professionals in the business. We take security seriously so all of our staff are bonded and have undergone police checks. Our reputation is important to us, so we guarantee all of our services. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, simply contact us and we will return within 24 hours to address your concern at no additional cost.
We even guarantee our response time. If we haven’t responded to any client communication within 24 hours of receiving it, we will offer you a free week of Office Care. That is how strongly we feel about the importance of communication and customer satisfaction. We will always stand behind our work. We guarantee it.
“Great quality and feedback, these guys are very professional
and an excellent cleaning company.”
-- Robert, A Kitchener Clean Customer!
Sources:
www.urmc.rochester.edu / smallbusiness.co.uk / Staples.com
