Is deep cleaning necessary to keep my staff safe?
If you are in charge of workers, no matter what your business does, you have a responsibility to protect them while they carry out their job. According to government guidelines, you are required to take reasonable steps to keep staff and customers safe at all times. Cleanliness is always a key element to consider when protecting anybody who comes onto your premises. But during this current pandemic of the coronavirus, deep cleaning should be regularly carried out to ensure everyone remains healthy. Is deep cleaning necessary in your business? In almost every case there should be protective steps put into place. To work out what you need to do, take a look at the following considerations:
How to work out the deep cleaning procedures needed
First of all, you should complete a risk assessment. Risk assessments sound scary, but they are simply a way of looking at the likelihood of hazards occurring and the harm they could cause. With coronavirus, studies show that the hazards are likely to occur around frequently touched surfaces and during periods of close personal contact. Look carefully at how and when your staff members and customers interact with surfaces and other people to assess the risks.
How is a virus spread?
It is proven that viruses spread when droplets from the nose or mouth of an infected person are passed to another. When an infected person coughs, sneezes and speaks, these droplets are expelled into the air and land onto surrounding surfaces. That is why close contact between people should always be avoided. If it cannot be avoided, face masks and visors can help prevent the spread. When droplets land on hard surfaces, people who touch the same surface can pick up the virus on their hands. Having a coronavirus deep cleaning schedule in place will remove the virus from surfaces and help to stop the spread from occurring
What is deep cleaning?
Deep cleaning is a cleanse that goes above and beyond the usual daily routine. It’s a cleaning that removes allergens, microbes and dirt beyond the surface, cleaning that goes into gaps and crevices, as well as underneath and behind objects too. What is deep cleaning? A thorough sanitisation that establishes a good basis from which to carry out a regular cleaning schedule. Deep cleaning is also necessary if you have had a confirmed case of coronavirus in the workplace and will help to protect the other workers.
Areas to concentrate on when deep cleaning
The most frequently touched areas will need the most attention. High-touch surfaces will need to be cleaned often, possibly every time they are used. What are the most frequently touched surfaces? Depending on your workplace, these will include:
- Doors – handles, card swipes, access touchpads and locks
- Computers – keyboards, touch screens and control panels
- Till – card machines, keypads
- Countertops – tables and workstations
As the areas used all day in the line of business, these should be sanitised almost constantly. How is a virus spread? Through the transmission of droplets, so the high-touch points in a building need to be cleaned often to stop people passing the virus on.
You might think that you don’t need deep cleaning procedures if your business isn’t customer-facing, but you still need to protect your workers from infecting each other. Not everyone shows symptoms of the coronavirus, so one of your staff members could innocently pass on the illness in one of the common areas at work.
What are the common areas?
- Kitchen – the kettle, fridge, worktops, taps and tables
- Toilets – the doors, taps, vanity area and driers
- Lockers – doors and seating
- Post room – pigeon holes and copying machine
Also, you need to consider shared tools and equipment that get handled by multiple people in a shift:
● Lifts
● Vehicles
● Machinery start buttons
There is a lot to think about when you are considering is deep cleaning necessary. But if you keep your staff healthy then they will be able to carry on with what they do best. If one or more of your team become ill, you will be concerned for their wellbeing, and you could find your company struggling to function. It’s in everyone’s best interest to sanitise thoroughly and regularly.
Hiring professional deep cleaning services
These are unprecedented times, and there have been a lot of changes to make in a short time for everyone. Make life a little easier by employing a professional deep cleaning services team to sanitise your workplace. Award-winning Cleanology has the expertise, the staff and the equipment to make sure your building is cleaned to the highest standards. We can introduce a deep cleaning schedule for you, helping you to keep your staff and customers safe. That’s one less thing on your mind.
To find out more, get in touch with a member of our team today.
