Work spaces are gross. The keyboards, the monitors, the tables, the refrigerator, the coffee station, the eating halls, and all that are covered and covered with germs, with more and more coming as more people use those equipment. People can be gross. They may not wash their hands after eating or, even worse, after not using the bathroom.
There are some statistics that back this up. They are:
- People in the United States spend at least 1,896 hours per year at work.
- The average keyboard, chair and computer mouse harbor some 21,000 germs per square inch; your average desk is home to 10 million bacteria.
- Over half of American workers eat lunch and snack at their desk, yet the typical desk has 100 times more germs than the average kitchen table.
- Office phones have over 25 000 germs per square inch.
- The air quality in a closed space can be up to 500% worse than outdoors.
- Typical office workers hands come in contact with 10 million bacteria per day.
And while it may seem like gross is gross (who cares, right?) these work spaces and their germs go far beyond the mere disgusting part. They affect how many sick days we take, how many colds we have, how many times we get a major illness like influenza or bronchitis. It affects how much money we earn. And that is significant.
Imagine this scenario. You are at work, minding your own business. A person comes in and asks to use your keyboard for a second. They want to show you something. But you notice a dirty cloth in their pocket, as if they had been sneezing all day. Their nose is runny. Their face is red. Their eyes are watering. They are sick.
You know the odds of getting sick if that person touches your keyboard. But they do anyway. It’s the polite thing to let them show you what they need to show you. And they do, getting germs all over the keyboard, all over the monitor, all over you, because their illness is airborne.
You’re in trouble now. The first order of business is very simple: You need to get those germs off you. You come first, before your computer. The first thing to do in that scenario is to go to the bathroom and wash your hands. This eliminates many of the germs that have gotten on you due to this person’s mere presence.
The second thing is to wash your face. If any of the germs have gotten on your face, it’s important to get them off areas where they can easily sneak into your system. That means your nose and your mouth especially. After this is completed, it’s time to look at your computer.
Having a set of disinfectant wipes is important for your health and your safety in the business area. Take a disinfectant wipe (that can be used against the computer) and wipe the monitor down. Then take a disinfectant wipe and wipe down the keyboard. Get all things free of germs.
Research supports this. Take these statistics:
- By simply disinfecting your desk frequently, you can reduce sick days in the office by 30%.
- For antibacterial cleaner to be effective it must be left on surfaces for 30 to 60 seconds before wiping away.
Those are some ways of getting rid of germs in the workplace. There are other methods too. Always, always wash hands after a meal or after being in a place where the germs are festering in the place. Always wash hands after using the bathroom. If someone’s sick in a meeting and you’ve had to shake hands, always wash hands after.
And then, when in doubt, call a cleaning service. If you’re suffering from an illness that you’ve contracted from the office, you may want to clean your residence too. This is when you call a residential cleaning service.
A residential cleaning service has different options. They depend on the amount of cleaning needed to be done. A light residential cleaning service will hit all the dust and dirt in the home, vacuuming and dusting. A heavy residential cleaning service will deep clean the house, removing all germs.
Calling a residential cleaning company, a professional cleaning service, or an office cleaning company will help out with sickness in the home and office.
