Hygiene in the office

Everywhere is teeming with invisible germs, bacteria and viruses – and not just since Covid-19 turned our lives upside down. Many of them are harmless and even important for our health. But then there are those bacteria, germs and viruses that can become dangerous for us and make us ill.
Especially where many people come together and touch the same objects or surfaces in a short time, the risk of infection is particularly high. When shopping, on buses and trains, fatally also in doctors’ surgeries and, way out in front: at the workplace!

Hygiene in the workplace: How are we doing?

A survey of Germans on hygiene in the workplace revealed: over a third do not wash their hands after going to the toilet. And: The tie is not washed for a year or more. We refuse to believe it like that. But the fact is: there is indeed room for improvement when it comes to hygiene in the office or in the warehouse. Or do you regularly disinfect objects such as the mouse, keyboard or lift button, which are bursting with germs?

Why is hygiene in the workplace so important?

Poor hygiene is a major factor in making employees feel less well. In addition to psychological well-being (interesting here: planet know: what happens in the body when you feel disgusted), a lack of hygiene in the workplace also simply makes people ill and leads to higher sick leave.

From a company’s point of view, the topic of hygiene in the workplace is important for its own sake. But employees themselves should also have the right to protect themselves and their colleagues from flu, gastrointestinal infections and the like.

The cleaning portal Helpling has identified the ten biggest sources of germs in the office. Even before the keyboard and the shared printer and copier, the water tap and the coffee machine are in first and second place. So do without coffee? Not an option! But if you know “the enemy”, you can develop strategies!

With a little care, you can keep microorganisms in check and thus ensure that pathogens do not spread unnecessarily.

Practicable hygiene rules in the office

Of course, self-protection is always most effective. Frequent and proper hand washing with liquid soap or hand washing foam (beware, persevere: the pathogens only detach from the skin after 20-30 seconds!) is one of the safest ways to avoid infection. Drying afterwards with paper towels from the paper towel dispenser is just as much a part of it as the trick afterwards: Take one of the paper towels to open the door – that way you don’t have to touch the door handle in case your colleagues before you weren’t quite so conscientious.

You’re going all out in the office?

Daily cleaning is recommended, especially in places that several people touch every day. Make absolutely sure that the cleaning products used do not harm the surfaces to be cleaned in daily use! For door handles, control panels of the copier or the time clock, additional products such as antimicrobial labels can also be an interesting solution: They offer protection against 99.9 % of all viruses and bacteria for at least one year.

Checklist for daily office cleaning

To make your work a little easier, we have a few To Do’s that you should work through daily with a reasonably high frequency:

• Surface cleaning and care of surfaces (desk, shelves…)
• Cleaning floor coverings, vacuuming carpets
• Waste disposal
• Cleaning the sanitary rooms and replenishing consumables such as toilet paper, soap, disinfectant and disposable towels
• Kitchen cleaning (checking fridge contents, cleaning coffee machine and kettle as well as microwave + oven)
• Cleaning of reception area
• Cleaning of lift (operating surfaces!) and staircase (remember the handrail)
• Airing!
• Cleaning your own desk (approx. 1x per week)

Proper hygiene in the warehouse

In addition to the above-mentioned measures for the office, proper hygiene in production and the warehouse also plays a role in ensuring proper hygiene at the workplace.

Because the hygiene conditions prevailing in the warehouse and at the packing table not only influence the well-being and health of your employees, they also significantly shape the image your customers will have of your company and your goods. Dust, dirt, moisture, too much or too little light: the conditions under which your product has been stored and packed can be seen!

How to keep your warehouse clean

Dust damages sensors, conveyor technology and machines. To ensure that little or no dirt gets into the interior in the first place, there is an absolutely simple and effective means for more cleanliness in your storage rooms: the floor mat!

Because: 80% of indoor dirt is literally carried in “on foot”. A large percentage of dirt is “intercepted” when crossing the doormats directly when entering the rooms. Depending on their destination (outside or inside), we offer various designs of dirt-trapping mats. Doormats made of rubber honeycomb, for example, are weather-resistant and easy to clean, and also provide a secure grip and dampen footfall noise and vibrations.

You can find a selection of other doormats in our webshop: Doormats.

Indispensable: Floor cleaning

But even the most effective floor mat will not save you from regular cleaning of the storage rooms. Depending on the size of the storage room, everything from brooms to industrial hoovers to hand-held cleaning machines, cleaning machines with their own travel drive and even ride-on machines can come into question here.

Industrial hoovers such as the dry hoover from KÄRCHER or NUMATIC differ mainly in the capacity of the collection container and the noise level. In addition, compare the built-in or replaceable filters (e.g. HEPA 14), the handling and the weight as well as the cable length.

Cleaning trolley for the warehouse

So-called cleaning trolleys or maintenance trolleys are also super efficient for cleaning larger areas and surfaces. They allow you to organise all cleaning equipment (cleaners, brushes, brooms, rags, mops, cans, buckets, etc.) and move them easily around the warehouse. From the simplest, which allows you to transport a bucket, a mop and some products, to the best equipped with an integrated waste bin, choose the one that will accompany you in the maintenance of all the surfaces of your premises.

Hygiene in the workplace doesn’t have to be complicated!

You see: Proper hygiene in the workplace doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right tips, tricks and tools, it’s even quite easy. So you and your colleagues are well protected against dangerous viruses, germs and bacteria at work!