How Clean is the Average Office?

All you do is sit at the desk, so the office must be clean, right? It’s not like you’re running around and sweating. Plus, you occasionally dust off the top of your desk and maybe your shelves if you feel like it. That must mean that your office is at least pretty clean, right?

How Clean is Your Office?

The unfortunate reality is that your office gets dirty and gross very quickly. The average office can contain up to 400 times more germs than a toilet seat!

While that might sound ridiculous, think about it for a second. You have lots of flat surfaces that get touched routinely in an office for at least eight hours a day and almost all year round. If you don’t routinely clean your office (and do it properly), it’s pretty easy to see how germs build up.

Factors that Impact Office Cleanliness

Cleaning Frequency

This is a bit of a no-brainer but bears mentioning. The more frequently you clean, the cleaner your office will be as a baseline. Of course, you still need to choose the right commercial cleaner to do the job, but a higher frequency is always better.

Occupant Behavior

Both how the individual employees operate and how the company itself operates. If you have a company that routinely brings in outside food, you’ll have more crumbs and grime. If your employees have a lower standard of personal hygiene, you’re going to have a more germ-filled office. It’s that simple.

The Quality of Cleaning You Choose

If you routinely choose a substandard commercial cleaner who uses mediocre products, you’re going to get a mediocre cleaning. Even if you clean routinely, your office will never be as clean as it could (and should) be.

The Dirtiest Parts of Your Office

Keyboards and Mice

This should come as no surprise. The average office worker spends their whole day typing on the keyboard and moving the mouse.

Keyboards are great at harboring bacteria and can hold onto potentially harmful bacteria like E. coli and staph bacteria. Even sicknesses like the common cold are easily passed on when shared keyboards aren’t cleaned.

Phones

That phone on your desk? Yep, filled with germs. It touches everything you’ve touched when you grab the handset. Then, you put that handset right up to your face. It’s no surprise that phones are some of the grossest parts of the office.

Switches and Buttons

These are often overlooked in commercial cleaning. Things like light switches and elevator buttons, for example, are great at holding onto dirt and grime. Everyone touches them throughout the day, so they become a breeding ground for unwanted germs.

Shared Office Equipment

Copiers, printers, and any other routinely used industrial equipment hold onto germs easily. Have you ever wondered if your cleaning crew was cleaning your printer? Probably not, but you certainly will now!

Doorknobs

There are few things more high-traffic than doorknobs and handles in general. Office doorknobs, main doorknobs, bathroom door handles. Doorknobs can transfer germs at an alarming rate and are one of the most common causes of sickness spreading throughout an office.

Restrooms

This one is probably obvious, but it’s worth mentioning all the same. Your office restrooms need routine deep cleaning because they harbor germs incredibly easily. A public space with plenty of doorknobs, switches, and shared surfaces is a breeding ground for germs.

Kitchen Items

Ironically enough, that sponge in your office kitchen is probably holding onto lots of germs.

You need to routinely clean your sponge. Otherwise, the moisture it retains can grow bacteria and mold. Not to mention, when food particles get stuck in your sponge, they leave behind a nasty residue you don’t want to spread around.

How Routine Cleaning Impacts Your Office

Routine cleaning not only makes your office look better, but it also impacts your employee morale. Everyone wants to work in a clean space where they feel safe and healthy.

When you choose a high-quality, professional cleaning service like LM Cleaning, you show your employees that you care about their health and well-being. In exchange, you have a more productive workforce that’s sick less often and happier overall.