While large businesses are familiar with the need to hire an office cleaning agency in order to maintain a safe and sanitary premises, many small business owners fail to take their cleaning needs into account. This oversight can be dangerous; recent research reveals that the average desk may contain upwards of 10 million different types of germs and bacteria—and that’s without even beginning to tackle the rest of the home office area.
As sick days can represent a lot of lost revenue for small business owners, there are very real, practical reasons to keep a hygienic home office. However, as most business owners have enough to worry about without having to factor in time to clean their offices regularly as well, the task of cleaning tends to fall by the wayside; it’s therefore strongly advised that you contact a professional office cleaning agency for assistance.
Hiring a professional will ensure that your home office is cleaned not only regularly, but properly, so that it meets the same high standards set for commercial facilities. An office cleaning agency will not simply tidy your home office—they are also specially trained to sanitise such spaces and to rid them of common allergens, such as dust mites and mould.
In addition to arranging professional cleaning sessions, it’s advised that small business owners take the following steps in order to keep their workplaces functioning in peak condition:
Dust every day, and use proper dusting techniques so as not to damage delicate equipment. Computer monitors, fax machines, printers, and televisions produce a lot of static—making them dust magnets. As dust is not just an eyesore, being capable of producing a range of irritating allergenic symptoms and harming electronics, it’s important to prevent dust from building up in your home office.
Use a microfibre cloth or electronics wipe to prevent damaging electronics while dusting them, and avoid using glass cleaners on screens. Many screens today (particularly laptop screens and the screens of mobile devices) are manufactured with a special anti-glare coating which harsh solvents can easily damage or remove altogether. If you have an area of stubborn soil on a screen and are unsure of how to clean it, either consult the manual that came with your device or ask the professional office cleaning agency you hire to assist you. Generally, however, very slightly moistening the microfibre cloth will be all that is required to remove any dirt or grime that has become stuck to the screen.
Don’t forget the little details when dusting, either; wipe down CDs and DVDs (brushing them off gently rather than wiping them in a circular manner in order to prevent scratches), mice, printers, telephones, light bulbs, keyboards, and any other accessories scattered around your home office. Also remember to dust out-of-sight areas like the top of shelves and the space behind your desk.
Never vacuum computer chips or other electronic equipment; while many people assume this is a safe way to handle internal dust, in reality it can easily damage electronics. If you need to remove dust from the internal components of a computer (or other electronic device), disassemble the device and use a dry microfibre cloth (never use solvents) or have the device cleaned professionally. Compressed air may also be helpful, but remember to never hold the can too close to delicate electronic components.
Keep cords organised. One of the worst obstacles to overcome when cleaning any home office is having a mess of tangled cords strewn around the floor. To make your office quicker and easier to clean, make sure to devise a system of organising cords and tucking them well out of the way, such as through the use of cord clips and guides (which should be available at any office supply store) and by running cords behind your desk and along the wall. After all, you will be much more likely to vacuum and dust regularly if you don’t have to move a tangle of cords out of the way before doing so.
Have carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned at least once every six months. Carpets and upholstery are notorious for harbouring dust and allergens, which work their way so deep into the fibres that vacuuming alone will not remove them. As such, it’s important to ensure that the contract you arrange with the professional cleaning company of your choice includes twice-annual carpet and upholstery cleaning services.
Note that it’s better to leave this job to the professionals rather than purchasing an at-home steam cleaner; professional cleaners both have access to high-quality hot water extraction cleaners (which are capable of a more thorough clean) and understand how to clean carpets without accidentally waterlogging them.