As we slowly inch closer to getting back to our office and workspaces, many of our clients have inquired about the proper way to disinfect their office space so their employees can have peace of mind when re-entering the office. To help us help them and you, we have enlisted our friends at Cleaning Service Industries, Inc. (CSI) to provide guidance.

Before anyone heads back to your office, CSI suggests comprehensively cleaning and disinfecting your workspace, including common areas, entry points, bathrooms, pantries, and furniture. The quickest and most effective way is to use a fogging machine that sanitizes with a mist. You may have seen fogging devices on the news. The fogging process is what helped Wuhan Province reopen. CSI uses an EPA approved non-toxic disinfectant and has agreed to give our customers and clients a discount.

In addition to fogging, here are some points of guidance on 8 Ways To Help Protect Your Office Space From Coronavirus, to help you think beyond COVID-19 and protect your office for future pathogens. Some key points from that guidance include:

Educate employees .

We cannot advocate for this enough. Your employees and co-workers will want to know what you are doing and what you plan to do in the months and years ahead to ensure their office space is safe and protected. Transparency here will provide comfort in very challenging times.

Limit surfaces that employees need to touch with their hands.

For instance, install motion lights in conference rooms, offices and bathrooms, and motion sensors in bathrooms and kitchens. Take unnecessary doors off (or keep them permanently open), such as conference rooms, so employees don’t need to touch the door.

Clean office space daily.

Many companies, to save money, skimp out on daily cleaning. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it has taught us the importance of regularly disinfecting surface areas – even if it is just for peace of mind. Employees will feel safer in spaces they know are getting cleaned often and regularly.

When purchasing new items for your office, choose only furnishings and objects that are easy to clean, or self-cleaning.

Careful selection of finish materials that are easy to sanitize and clean will not just protect your employees from pathogens, they will help make your employees feel safer.

Embrace Technology.

If you can and haven’t already come up with a plan to Invest in personal laptops, tablets, and phones for your employees, so they aren’t sharing keyboards and computers. Giving every employee their own devices that they can commute with and is responsible for will limit the number of wires and desk objects so cleaning crews can keep your office space clean and healthy.

Keep Installing hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipe stations.

Just like after SARS and H1N1 offices across the country installed hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. Keep doing this. Even if no one uses it, you are signaling to all employees and visitors that you expect your office to be clean and healthy so employees and their visitors can stay healthy.

As always, please reach out to us if you have any questions or if we can be a resource to ensure you and your employees can safely return to your work and office spaces.