We all know about the importance of maintaining a safe and clean working environment. Dusting, vacuuming and mopping regularly are all critical to ensuring the health and wellbeing of your staff.
But it’s also important to maintain the integrity of your office equipment and clean it regularly too. You’d be surprised at how often it gets overlooked when large-scale office cleaning is done — people tend to focus on areas such as floors, kitchens, desks and meeting rooms instead along with large open spaces that can be easily and visibly tidied or cleaned.
Let’s take a look at why cleaning office electronics is so important, and some of the ways of maintaining office equipment.
1. Hygiene
First and foremost, hygiene is one of the most important reasons to be regularly cleaning office electronics. Communal devices such as printers can be used by dozens — or even hundreds — of different employees per week. Not everyone using them is necessarily going to have clean hands, and they may even be ill. Grit and grime can build up for more rapidly than you may realise, creating equipment that’s both gross to look at and gross to use. But with regular cleaning, you can help reduce or even eliminate the chances of staff getting sick.
This applies to personal equipment too, such as laptops, keyboards, screens and mice. Though you might be fastidious in cleaning your hands before you use your desk, dead skin, dirt and other nasties can still build up over time, rendering your desk a biohazard in the process. So make sure you’re cleaning it regularly.
2. Equipment maintenance
Computers aren’t the money sinks they once were, but office equipment of any variety is still quite expensive. Regular cleaning can help ensure that they’re kept in working order for as long as possible. A great deal of damage is caused to office equipment through simply neglecting to dust or clean the device, so cleaning it can keep it in better working order while also saving the company money in the long run.
3. Employee safety
Providing a safe working environment is a critical part of any modern manager’s purview. Part of this is ensuring a clean working environment, too. Although we often tend to think of safe working environments in terms of being debris-free and not having any obvious tripping hazards, it also extends to avoiding health hazards too. Excessive dust, dirt, grime and germs all have the potential to turn your workplace into a problematic place for employees to work — so by keeping your office equipment clean, you’re also providing a safer environment for staff.
Keeping equipment clean
Having the right equipment and supplies for cleaning office electronics is critical. General purpose cleaners, canned air, disinfectant wipes and dusting cloths are all critical tools to have in place. However, make sure you carefully read the relevant instructions for the equipment to avoid damaging them. Harsh cleaning agents are best avoided, and make sure you don’t open any panels or unscrew devices that shouldn’t be touched. Sometimes it’s best to leave it to the relevant repair person or professional cleaners.
Getting the professionals involved
Of course, it can be tricky to get employees to keep things as clean as you might like, particularly if they don’t have any previous cleaning experience. This is where it can be handy to bring in the professionals instead — that way, you’re guaranteed that the work will be of the highest possible quality.
So if you’re tired of trying to work out the best ways of maintaining office equipment, get in touch with the team at Jim’s Cleaning today. We’re able to carry out a wide variety of home office and commercial office cleaning services — no job is too big or too small!
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FAQs
Why should office equipment be kept clean and hygienic?
Offices are often clean on the surface, but sometimes they’re secretly playing host to a wide range of different contaminants and other nasties. If it’s not dealt with properly, this can lead to an unsafe work environment and employees becoming unwell.
Additionally, regular cleaning helps maintain the longevity of the equipment itself. Dust and debris can build up in areas such as computer fans or keyboards, potentially damaging them and causing additional costs to the company. So cleaning office electronics and other equipment regularly can help ensure the health of your employees while also helping reduce costs.
How do you keep office equipment clean and hygienic?
The simplest way is by incorporating it into your wider office cleaning. Whether you use a roster among staff or have professional cleaners come through periodically, make sure that they are aware of which equipment needs to be cleaned. If you’ve got it scheduled in regularly, then you can be assured that it will be taken care of in a timely manner.
In practical terms, it’s important to be aware of which pieces of office equipment are likely to get the dirtiest the most rapidly, and have appropriate cleaning materials stored within easy reach — for example, disinfectant wipes near the office printer.
How do you maintain office equipment properly?
The good news is that most cleaning of office equipment doesn’t have to be a large scale job. Keeping some simple supplies like dusting cloths, canned air, disinfecting wipes and some general purpose cleaner can be great ways to remove grit and grime, while also protecting the health of others.
In some instances — particularly for larger equipment like printers, servers or air conditioning — it may also be necessary to have professionals visit the office periodically for scheduled maintenance. This can help spot issues earlier and reduce the chances of a serious breakdown in the future. Preventative maintenance is better than having to fork out for completely new equipment!
How do you sanitise office equipment?
Tools like disinfectant spray or alcohol wipes are usually adequate to sanitise office equipment. In some instances, it may be necessary to use industrial-strength cleaners, but it’s important to make sure you don’t use any substances that could potentially harm the delicate electronics. Harsh cleaning agents like bleach are usually best avoided.
What are some different methods of cleaning office equipment?
Dusting cloths are great for removing surface-level dust and debris, while alcoholic wipes are ideal for disinfecting surfaces. Spot cleaning like this should be done every few days on your desk, and at least once a week for communal equipment.
However, if you’re unsure as to whether it’s being done properly — or you’re consistently having issues with employees doing it properly — why not speak to the experts at Jim’s Cleaning? Whether you need equipment cleaned or the whole office, we can give you a hand.
How can I clean my workstation?
One of the most important aspects of cleaning your workstation is having a system in place — cleaning top to bottom, left to right. This means that you’re working through the task in a logical order and avoiding potential issues, such as dusting after vacuuming or wiping the desk down, and then needing to repeat the task. Last on your list (but definitely not least), you should also sanitise your desk. This can be done with alcoholic wipes or with an appropriate disinfecting agent.
