Doctors are telling us to wash our hands more and try not to touch things that other people have touched.
But have you looked around your workspace? Desks are covered with a lot of mucky items, even if you are now working from home.
So we went to a professional cleaning expert, who showed us the simple steps you can take to sanitize the area around you.
Diamond Quality Clean is a professional cleaning company, which has seen a huge uptick in business the past weeks. Their phones and website have been lighting up with cleaning requests.
At a time when other businesses are seeing a sharp drop in sales, owner Sandy Thebour said "we are extraordinarily busy right now."
Her crews in office buildings are taking extra steps right now, cleaning everything people touch.
If you don't have the time or budget to hire a professional, Thebour says you should start by having disinfecting wipes and spray, as well as your traditional cleaning products (like Mr Clean, etc). Items you should disinfect include:
- Desk spaces/tables
- Keyboards and mice
- Mousepads
- Phones
- Staplers
- Tape dispensers
- Light switches
- Chair arms
"People may not think about all the things on their desk, like their staplers." Thebour said. "Also door knobs, light switches, keyboards, everything that are very commonly touched items in the office."
What you should do and not do
After an initial cleaning with a soap-based cleaner product, she suggests going back for a second, deep cleaning with antibacterial wipes to sanitize.
"We would give them a good cleaning and then go back to them with a disinfectant," she said
Thebour says it is important that you do not soak the keyboard, because moisture inside can make keys stick, or worse.
Use a rag with cleaner on it, rather than spraying the keyboard. Ditto for you cell phone: make sure you do not get any spray cleaner into the ports or speakers.
She says there are also other things in your office space that can also hold germs, such as the arms and back of your chair. She showed us how they even wipe down seating surfaces now.
Microwave and fridge need constant cleaning
If you are still in the office, she says don't forget the community break room, especially the refrigerator and the microwave, which should be wiped more than once a day now. That includes handles and buttons that people touch.
"You really want to get in the front and back of the door handle, she said."
And even if you are working from home, wipe the microwave annd fridge handles frequently as well.
But one caution: Sandy says make sure the product is like Clorox or Lysol and says it kills viruses. Vinegar-based window cleaners do not.
Finally, if someone uses your work area or computer when you leave, Thebour says, double your efforts.
Better yet, request that you not have to share anything, not even a chair, so you stay healthy and you don't waste your money.
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