The office may look clean enough when you walk in every morning. Desks are wiped, floors are mopped and the meeting rooms are usually left looking presentable. But some of the things you touch repeatedly through the day are easy to overlook during regular cleaning.You might wash your hands after lunch and still spend the next few hours touching surfaces that have been handled by dozens of people. From shared equipment to the small buttons you press without thinking, certain office spots can become surprisingly grimy.Here are five places in your workplace that deserve a little more attention.
1. Elevator buttons
You probably press an elevator button without giving it a second thought. But in a busy office building, those buttons can be touched by hundreds of people throughout the day.People may press them after eating, coughing, sneezing, travelling through public transport or simply after handling their phones. The same applies to the buttons inside the lift.You don’t need to become paranoid about using an elevator, but washing or sanitising your hands after touching heavily shared surfaces is a simple habit worth keeping.
2. Shared keyboards and mice
That office keyboard sitting at a common workstation may look harmless, but shared computer accessories can accumulate dirt, skin oils, food crumbs and other debris surprisingly quickly.Even your own keyboard can get messy if you regularly eat at your desk. Crumbs can slip between the keys, while the mouse is constantly being handled throughout the day.A quick wipe with an appropriate cleaning product can go a long way, especially for equipment used by multiple people.
3. Office door handles
Door handles are among those things nobody really thinks about until they notice how many people touch them.The main entrance, washroom doors, meeting rooms, pantry doors and even refrigerator handles can all see heavy traffic during a typical workday.Since these surfaces are touched repeatedly, they can easily become overlooked points when cleaning is done around the office. If you’re heading straight from a frequently touched handle to your lunch, cleaning your hands first is a good idea.
4. The office pantry and coffee machine area
The office pantry may be where everyone gathers for a quick break, but it can also be one of the busiest areas in the workplace.Microwave handles, refrigerator doors, coffee machine buttons, kettle handles and shared utensils are all touched repeatedly. Spills and food residue can also build up when people are rushing between meetings.The problem isn’t necessarily one messy incident. It’s the constant stream of people using the same surfaces throughout the day.
5. Shared phones and office equipment
Some office equipment is touched so often that it practically becomes part of the background.Shared desk phones, printers, photocopier buttons, scanners and touchscreen panels can all be handled by several employees. Printers, in particular, often have multiple buttons, handles and trays that people touch while collecting documents.These surfaces don’t necessarily look dirty, which is exactly why they can be easy to forget during routine cleaning.Thumb image: Canva (for representative purposes only)
