Coronavirus and Your Office Floors

covid 19 cleaning

Having been over a year since COVID-19 hit the U.S, marking the beginning of a worldwide pandemic, office space, cleaning, and sanitizing procedures have forever changed.

As many companies are deciding whether to have employees come back into the office, it’s important to make sure your business makes both employees and customers feel safe. A clean environment makes employees more productive, and in the midst of the pandemic, it’s important to add additional measures to ensure cleanliness and disinfecting procedures are done more routinely.  

While your entire office should regularly be cleaned, with high-touch services being sanitized daily, we’ll focus on why it’s important to make sure your floors are a major part of your cleaning initiatives.

What Routine Cleaning Do Your Floors Need?

Depending on the types of floor surfaces throughout your facility, you’ll have different needs. The most important things you want to remember are:

Your floors should be vacuumed regularly

Your floors collect the most dirt and debris from outside sources. Not only is dirt unsightly but it can permanently damage your floors. If you’re purchasing your own vacuum to maintain daily and weekly upkeep, make sure to select the best type of vacuum for your facility. We recommend choosing a vacuum with a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particular Air Filter) to trap as much dust, bacteria, and dander as possible. Vacuums with HEPA filters will do a much better job at removing all particles than a regular vacuum and will also prevent them from being redeposited on other surfaces. In addition, dual-motor (one to drive the vacuum and one to drive the beater bar) will ensure the most effective debris removal.  As silly as it may sound, make sure to vacuum slowly as this will trap more debris and bacteria. Pull the vacuum in front of you and pull it backwards over the same path, overlapping paths.

We recommend vacuuming high-traffic areas at least 3-5 times a week and vacuuming all areas at least 1-2 times per week.

cleaning office floor

If you have your own vacuum at your business, make sure it’s cleaned regularly

While it may sound obvious, many forget to keep an eye on the vacuum canister. You’ll want to empty this regularly but also clean out the canister which can be done by using bleach and disinfecting products.

If you choose to disinfect a soft surface, make sure to use a product from the CDC’s EPA List N

It’s important to use a product from this certified list that’s been approved to kill viruses including COVID-19. Make sure to do your research before you select a product as scam products have run rampant during the pandemic.

Avoid using sponge mops – use a string mop or spray vac method instead

Sponge mops are known for moving dirt around. While mopping can help keep your floors cleaner, it doesn’t provide as much disinfecting of the surface. If you do use a mop, make sure to use a string mop and change your water bucket often. The best option, however, is a spray-and-vac method where a sanitizing fluid is applied to tiles and a specialized vacuum is used to extract the fluid from the floors. For disinfecting purposes, we recommend the spray-and-vac method.

Schedule Regular Cleaning & Disinfecting Of Your Facility

During the pandemic, a little peace of mind goes a long way. Having a professionally trained company regularly come in to your business and apply disinfectant or to provide you with the disinfecting services that you’re looking for. Regular cleaning of high traffic areas and surfaces that are touched regularly is essential for preventing illness. Your business should be on a regular and consistent plan with a local commercial cleaning company for both cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. If you’re interested in Jack Laurie Group’s disinfecting services, click here to get in touch with a disinfecting specialist.   To learn some of our top tricks and tips when it comes to cleaning and disinfecting your entire business during COVID-19, read our blog post, “Cleaning & Disinfecting Your Business for COVID-19.”

Schedule Regular Upkeep of Your Floor – A Bi-Annual Restorative Clean

One of the statements we continue to reiterate at Jack Laurie Group is that your floors are a major investment. If your floors look dirty, that’s not dirt, that’s damage. It’s essential you avoid this with regular upkeep of your floors not only to prevent damage and dirtiness, but to maintain your floors’ manufacturers warranty.

One of the most important things you can do when it comes to your commercial floors is to have a regular, we recommend bi-annual, restorative clean. This restorative clean should be a custom plan set up between you and a commercial floor cleaning expert. If you’re already on top of things, you may have scheduled quarterly carpet cleans, but you don’t want to forget the restorative clean! This process includes hot water extraction which should only be done by a professional. If not done properly, this process can result in too much water being used and you run the risk of the floor not drying properly.

As always, it’s best to work with the professionals. Make sure to schedule quarterly cleanings of your floors and a bi-annual restorative clean. By having this scheduled in advance, you won’t have to worry or stress, you’ll be able to plan ahead for the cleanings within your business or office space and you’ll be keeping your employees and customers in a safe, clean environment. To speak with one of our commercial floor cleaning specialists or to discuss a custom floor maintenance and upkeep plan, click here.