Offices and workstations: up-to-date cleaning advice

Whether the pandemic is here to stay, it’s clear that infectious viruses maybe something we all now learn to live with. As restrictions swing between easing and tightening, there has been more movement of people to and from their workstations at home and to the office, as well as communal and drop-in office environments.

High priority cleaning is here to stay

It’s clear that highly transmissible viruses mean the cleaning of our workstations and offices remains a priority. And although the cleaning regimes we learnt to adopt in 2020 when the pandemic first arose, have now become somewhat second nature – we hope! There are good practices for the office, and our personal tech equipment, that are worth observing and continue to apply.

Cleaning the communal, shared office

Official advice is still to clean the surfaces of non-healthcare environments outside the home, twice a day. This means surfaces such as desks, electronic equipment, bannisters, light switches, etc.

And consideration should be given to how many people share the environment, meaning that if there are more people sharing the space at any given time, cleaning frequency should increase.

Good practices for cleaning, to make decontamination easier, include:

• Provision of hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes 
• Clear signs of the directive to wash and sanitise hands regularly, use and disposal of tissues, etc. 
• Have a clear-desk and clean policy at the end of the day/session 
• Consider limiting ‘hotdesking’ so that workstations are shared by as few people as possible 
• Consider designated areas for individuals/small groups of staff to avoid excessive transmission of germs 
• Pay extra attention to cleaning of busy communal areas, such as kitchen facilities 
• Note that waste such as tissues and wipes can be disposed of in the usual waste facilities unless there are positive symptoms of COVID or a positive test

Cleaning rules if a person tests positive in the workplace

The main difference with cleaning the workplace following a positive test result of a worker is that PPE must be worn, and in some cases, extra PPE that covers the cleaner’s nose and mouth.

Full advice can be found on the GOV.UK website for COVID cleaning for the workplace, which also advises referring to the Local Health Protection Teams for further support if needed.

Disinfecting phones, keyboards and personal equipment

In light of the pandemic, manufacturers updated their cleaning guidelines from wiping equipment, such as phones and tablets, with just a microfibre cloth, to include use of an alcohol wipe.

Apple’s updated cleaning guidelines state:

“Using a 70-per cent isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75-per cent ethyl alcohol wipe or disinfectant wipe, you may gently wipe the hard, non-porous surfaces of your Apple product, such as the display, keyboard or other exterior surfaces. Don't use products that contain bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Avoid getting moisture in any opening, and don't submerge your Apple product in any cleaning agents.”

Although published by Apple, this is a good rule to follow for most commonplace computer equipment. And we would also add:

• Turn off all equipment before commencing cleaning 
• Do not wipe, or subject liquid to any openings or grooves of the product 
• Don’t use aerosols – unless it’s compressed air only such as for dislodging dirt from and cleaning a keyboard 
• If using a 70% isopropyl and distilled water spray, spray it onto the microfibre cloth first to apply, not spray directly onto the equipment

Cleaning hacks

While there are many handy cleaning hacks we can’t directly endorse, as our main concern is always your reliable business continuity through manufacturer-advised maintenance methods of cleaning, we did find some interesting hacks along the way researching this blog.

We’d never thought of using adhesive putty to clean the meshes and grills of our earbuds, so that might be worth one considering at our own personal risk!

And, using the sticky strip of a folded Post-it Note to clean the grime out of the grooves out of our keyboards! Again, one to consider at your own risk, but at Cultrix we advise sticking to the tried and tested method of turning the keyboard upside down and/or using compressed air.

But one thing we can all agree on is, living with COVID will for some time, mean regular and proper cleaning of all our equipment, to keep us and our colleagues as safe as possible.

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