When was the last time you were sick? Being ill is not a pleasant experience for anyone, which may be why we as a society have labeled certain times of year “cold season” or “flu season.” As no one develops a virus spontaneously, it is our close interactions with others that can cause some apprehension.
The last time you where ill, you likely could pinpoint exactly who you thought the culprit was, such as a sniffling child or a raspy voiced colleague. For many people, it is their fellow coworkers who are often to blame for passing around viruses, or at least nearly 100% of people believe their sudden onset was caught at work. That’s not paranoia either, especially when one considers that the average desk can harbor up to 400 times the amount of bacteria of the average toilet seat.
If you are feeling a little sick just looking at your desk, it might be time to think about a regular cleaning schedule. Most offices have cobbled some sort of janitorial services, but it is not enough to empty waste paper baskets. To cut down on the passing of germs each season, it might be necessary to hire a dedicated cleaning service that promises to disinfect, not just clear clutter.
Intensive cleaning services are completed when offices are empty or nearly so. There is the usual cleaning of floors and emptying trash baskets, but also cleaning: bathrooms; office meeting spaces; cubicles or offices; and vacuuming. It is said the employee break room can be particularly bad, with one survey conducted by Staples finding that about half of employees leave dirty dishes in the communal sink. That is simply unsightly, if nothing else.
Another main area of concern is actually where we work the most: our computers, or actually, the keyboards to be exact. One third of employees in one survey feared that the most germs reside within those keys, yet only 10% claimed to have regularly cleaned their keyboard and phone. Strangely enough, people worry about catching a virus from their workstation, but many fear the long-term effects of harsh cleaning chemicals even more.
The answer to this conundrum may be green cleaning services. While any cleaning service will fulfill the obligations listed above, green cleaning services are those businesses that have decided to do the job with products that do not contain any problematic chemicals. A problematic chemical is one that is on the Environmental Working Group’s watch list as a confirmed or possible endocrine disruptor.
Green cleaning services still complete the job they are hired to do of course. It is also important to note that their cleaning products still disinfect surfaces. They can be found easily through an online search for “green cleaning services” in your area.
We all are aware that our offices are fairly unclean. It is difficult to have a number of humans grouped together and not have an area slowly accumulate clutter. Hiring the right cleaning service to come in on a regular basis can combat the natural order of disarray.