While at different varying stages, businesses across the country are slowly but returning to some degree of in-person employment, prompting many in-house cleaning teams and building service contractors (BSCs) to game-plan the best infection control and safety practices for occupants. Increased sanitation and touchpoint disinfection is a given for facilities, but other key areas of office buildings should not be overlooked both from a health and optics standpoint. With that in mind, ServiceMaster Restoration by Zaba president Diana Rodriguez-Zaba penned an article for Forbes highlighting 5 key places workplaces should think about cleaning as offices reopen. 

Air Ducts

Strong ventilation and high indoor air quality can go a long way toward both minimizing a COVID-19 outbreak or preventing one altogether, while also improving occupant perception and productivity. 

Carpets

While often understated, carpets can be a magnet for allergens, pollutants and other harmful chemicals that can permeate — causing discomfort and/or harm for occupants. 

Floor Mats 

Cleaning floor mats not only provides a better sense of perception, but it also prevents the likeliness of slip and fall accidents and the steep legal repercussions that can come with them.

Upholstery

Similar to carpets, furniture can often serve as a hotbed for allergens, germs, dust and other pathogens. Frequent cleaning of upholstery can not only prolong the life of furniture, but more importantly, prevent the chance of infection in facilities such as health clinics where they are commonly in use by occupants. 

Deep Cleaning

Deep cleaning gained a lot of momentum in the early stages of the pandemic, and many facilities have since adopted it as a routine practice. The dirt removal not only simplifies everyday cleaning jobs, but the promotion of deep cleaning among occupants can go a long way toward alleviating concerns about returning.