Top 5 tips For Cleaning Your Office Desk

On a desk, you don’t just work. No, you also eat, drink, sneeze, store files, and dust. So many reasons for germs to multiply… An office is a real nest of bacteria! That’s why it’s important, especially in this time of health crisis, to clean our work surface even more often than usual, even if a cleaner has already come to take care of it.

To make your office shine like new, discover 7 tips to clean and disinfect it the right way. This also applies to the space you might have set up at home- if you telecommute. So you can work in a pleasant environment.

How to clean your desk?

It only takes a few minutes to clean your desk. In times of epidemics, it’s a good idea to take the time to do it, if only for your health. Here are our tips for an effective and thorough office cleaning.

1. Ritualize

In order not to forget, we advise you to do it every week, on the same day at the same time to create a small ritual. You can even put this “appointment not to be missed” on your agenda. This could be, for example, the Friday evening after your work week so that you can start working on a clean desk the following Monday. If you ever work on the weekend, you can do it on Sunday night.

2. Sort

Start by sorting: remove all the clutter from your desk (keyboard, mouse, papers, files, folders, notebooks…). This is a good time to tidy up and sort your things. This step is essential before you start the actual cleaning process. Get rid of the documents you no longer need in order to clear your desk.

3. Air out

Next, air out the rooms. Changing the air eliminates bad odors and kills germs, and prevents them from spreading. The lack of ventilation can also cause headaches and thus play on your productivity. Try to air the room between 5 and 15 minutes every day, if you can. Now is the time to dust your furniture. Indeed, too much dust can cause respiratory problems. To do this, take a soft cloth folded in 4.

4. Clean computer tools

Over time, dust and dirt accumulate on your electronic devices. The ones you use every day quickly turn into real dust and bacteria nests. To keep them in good condition, it is important to clean them regularly.

Start by lightly cleaning all screens. You don’t need to use any special product or equipment, just a soft microfiber cloth soaked in a mixture of half distilled water and half white vinegar. You can use this same cloth to remove fingerprints and dust from other surfaces.

Next, focus on all the keyboards in the office; they are often full of dust and detritus. Use a can of compressed air to spray each keyboard to remove dust, dirt, and detritus.

If you don’t have a can of air or don’t want to use one, you can buy a small compressed air vacuum on Amazon. You’re not done with the keyboards yet, as you’ll need to carefully clean each key on the keyboard with a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol. The keys of the keyboard are also nests of germs and bacteria.

In addition, you will have to clean under all the keyboards; they are real nests of germs and bacteria and very often full of detritus. You should not only clean computer screens and keyboards but also all other electronic devices such as central units, fax machines, telephones, printers, etc. Be sure to unplug each device before cleaning.

5. Disinfect contact points

Once the dust has been eradicated, move on to disinfecting by spraying a disinfectant solution on your cloth and wiping your work surface. Don’t forget the electrical outlets and switches. Empty your wastebasket regularly, especially if you’ve blown your nose during the day. Change the bag as soon as necessary.

Final thoughts

For proper occupational hygiene, starting at the beginning can be good. This means reminding employees that each workspace is personal but that they are still part of a common environment. To maintain this ability to live well together, everyone needs to keep their desks clean.

Cleanliness begins with the space allocated to each person. Employees should be encouraged to clean up their living space before they leave at night, just as they should be invested in tidying up their personal belongings and the things they use every day.

Sound off in the comments section below and tell us what you want to read next and if you want to read more about cleaning your office desk.