Cleaning Up Your Office For Spring

It’s almost time for Spring. Baby birds, butterflies, and flowers will start to bloom… and don’t forget about spring cleaning!
The practice of spring cleaning has a long history with many different traditions worldwide. In the 1800s, deep cleaning traditionally occurred in the Spring after layers of soot and grime from the fireplace and traditional kerosene lamps had built up over the winter. This annual deep clean has a cleansing aspect to it for everyone.
Here’s how you can get the best out of spring cleaning for your commercial building.
Schedule a Deep Clean
While the days of fireplace heating and kerosene lamps are gone, winter still tends to leave a feeling of grim over an office. Days of muddy boots tracking snow into the office have taken their toll. In addition, cloudy days may have allowed some mold to grow without the drying properties of natural light.
Scheduling a deep clean can help your office feel new again. Discuss which areas need the most help with your cleaning team so everyone is on the same page. Make it a company comprehensive effort by encouraging employees to clean up their desks and work areas, bring in spring flowers, and work together to create a new environment.
Prepare for Mud
April showers bring May flowers is a happy little saying that keeps everyone looking forward to when Spring is in full swing. Unfortunately, April showers and melting snow in March also mean lots of mud. Are you prepared to handle muddy boots tracking dirt into your office?
Use some of our same tips for winter cleaning during this season. For example, prevent a slippery entryway by putting down heavy-duty rugs. Keep one dry on hand to switch out should carpets become too wet and muddy. You can also request that your environmental hygienists spend a little extra time on the floors to ensure the mud, dirt, and springtime rain doesn’t damage hardwood floors or ruin carpets.
Don’t get into legal trouble. Ensure you put a wet floor sign anywhere water or mud is building up inside your office. Always have a sign out if there’s even the slightest chance someone could slip.
Use Green Cleaning
Springtime is an excellent time of year for rejuvenation and celebrating nature. Using green cleaning methods is a great way to honor the season and do your part to increase your energy efficiency.
Contrary to popular belief, green cleaning doesn’t mean lower-quality cleaning. In fact, in a lot of instances, it means higher-quality cleaning. The equipment used is cutting-edge. It uses less water for a deeper clean without the harsh chemicals that break down your carpets and suggest that you have to replace them sooner. In addition, green cleaning can save you money off of your energy bill by using the efficient rug and floor cleaners.
Green cleaning not only helps protect the environment, but it also helps to protect your employees. We know the toxic chemicals, also known as volatile organic compounds, used in most regular cleaning products can take a toll on the health of your workers, leading to avoidable illnesses that end up needlessly costing your company money.
The last thing you want to do is start a new season with half of your workforce out sick with avoidable illnesses. As more people are out and about, Spring can be a good time of year for the common cold. Cut down on the risk of disease by using better cleaning products that help to create a healthier work environment.
Take Care of Your Carpets
Your carpets have spent all winter collecting crumbs from lunches, being trodden on all day, and soaking up the wintertime slush your employees brought inside with them. Unfortunately, carpets can often take the most damage over the winter. This is because their fibers are usually broken down with harsh chemical cleaners, making them look dirtier faster, and they soak up all the wetness brought inside.
Wet carpets don’t smell great, as you hopefully won’t find out. Especially when the weather begins to warm up in the springtime, you could be dealing with a mold issue. Mold grows best in dark, warm, moist places. Most offices keep the shades down over the winter to help with insulation, creating a darker office space.
As the weather begins to warm, make sure you deal with your carpets right off the bat. Take a close look at them while considering their age and condition. Has that carpet been here since you first started 20 years ago? It might be time for a replacement. If your office begins to smell musty, it might be the carpets.
If you’re not replacing carpets, cleaning them deep is always a good idea. Bring in professionals to analyze the carpets for mold and clean them appropriately.
Let the Sun Shine In
It’s finally Spring! Celebrate by letting the sunshine in.
The sun has a lot of natural healing qualities. It gives your employees a good boost of Vitamin D, dries out the mold, and is even a natural disinfectant. Opening windows and throwing up the blinds on sunny days creates a great office environment and helps dry out carpets.
Remember those moldy, musty, soaking-up-slush all-winter carpets we discussed? Let the sun dry them out for you.