Maintaining a clean and sanitary break room is a critical element of office cleaning. The break room is a common area where employees can relax, congregate, and enjoy meals. Unfortunately, during this season of COVID-19, break rooms can be considered high-risk areas to spread viruses and other diseases. Therefore, hygiene and regular attention are essential. To keep your employees safe and healthy, review these tips to keep the office break room clean and sanitary. Not only is it good for the wellbeing of your team, but it also has other benefits such as reducing health care claims and increasing employee satisfaction.

1. Consider Switching to Disposable Products

Things such as sink sponges and cloth dishrags are harmful to controlling the spread of viruses or bacteria. Switch to disposable paper towels and cloths can minimize cross-contamination in your space. Other items like disposable paper cups, utensils, napkins, and plates can also help to slow the spread of dangerous viruses and bacteria in your breakroom by opting for one-use items.

2. Clean Out the Refrigerator Routinely

It’s not unusual for unpleasant odors to emanate from the break room’s fridge, usually due to old food. Make a habit of emptying the fridge to prevent leftovers and forgotten snacks from accumulating at the end of every week. Once empty, wipe down all surfaces and sanitize the refrigerator inside and outside. Also, consider providing blank stickers so that everyone can label their food with the date, making it easier to identify what is old. 

3. Wipe Down All Surfaces

Dust, grime, and grease collect throughout the week. Since people eat in the break room, the space is likely to become littered with crumbs by the end of every workday. 

Take proactive steps throughout the day to wipe down surfaces with a damp cloth. Don’t neglect high touch points that most miss, such as the faucet handles, drawer pulls and doorknobs.

4. Empty the Trash

The trash might fill up well before the end of the day. Since food particles and odors can attract pests and create a friendly environment for germs and bacteria to thrive, empty the trash as part of your daily office cleaning sweeps.

Don’t forget the inside of the can; the surfaces can pick up odors that linger even when you place a new bag inside. Apply a disinfecting spray to the interior to prevent this.

5. Sweep the Floors

It’s not just the surfaces that demand attention. Floors collect all kinds of dirt and debris throughout the day from heavy foot traffic, crumbs, and spills. Keep floors clean by sweeping and mopping them at the end of the day. If there’s carpeting present, vacuum the floor regularly to prevent tiny particles from becoming trapped in the fibers.

6. Make Hand Sanitizer Stations Available 

For the time’s when employees don’t have access to soap and water to wash their hands often, designated spaces within your business need to have hand sanitizer stations available for employees to use. The CDC recommends “an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.” 

As a business or office manager, continue to refer to these tips to keep the office break room clean and sanitary. If you are concerned about your employees’ and clients’ health and safety and seek janitorial cleaning services, we can help. At Integrity Janitorial Cleaning Services, we help businesses nationwide and throughout the metro Atlanta area. We offer various services to fit your business’s individual needs, whether daily, weekly, monthly janitorial cleaning services, floor care cleaning and maintenance, or COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) Deep Cleaning Services. Schedule a free consultation to see how we can help or call us at (404) 530 0811.