As the top providers of office cleaning in London, Sloane Cleaning Services is well-versed in hygiene. Unfortunately, office workers aren’t always aware of the risks that are associated with the lack of good hygiene in the workplace. If you’re a manager, you’ve probably found that the winter months tend to see the most outbreaks of cold and flu. However, there’s another cause of staff sickness that you might not be aware of – the humble office fridge.
As you can see from this Mail Online article, it’s not just food and drinks that reside in refrigerators. While you might not be able to see them, millions of harmful bugs could also be hiding out among your employee’s milk cartons, sandwiches, and salads. This can lead to food poisoning which, if it’s contagious, can spread like wildfire through workers that perform their duties in close proximity to each other. We don’t know about you, but our office cleaning team in London would rather have a cold over food poisoning any day of the week!
1. Use a fridge thermometer to ensure the temperature is maintained at 5°C or lower to stop germs from growing on the contents of your refrigerator;
2. Regularly check for products that have passed their recommended ‘use-by’ date. Chances are, whoever left them there has forgotten about them;
3. Encourage employees to mark their items. Not only does this prevent arguments breaking out over who ‘stole’ whose sandwich, but it also means that if someone regularly leaves food or drink to go mouldy, you can take them aside for a quiet word, and ban them from using the fridge if necessary;
4. Clean the inside and outside (including the shelves and salad compartments) regularly with an antibacterial spray;
5. Put a notice on or near the fridge reminding people not to put hot or warm items in it, as this can cause the temperature to soar and give bacteria the chance to play havoc;
6. Segregate different food types to prevent contamination. As a general rule, ready-to-eat products should be placed on the top and middle shelves. Raw meat and fish should go near the bottom, and if there’s a salad drawer, it should only be used to store fruit, vegetables, and salad vegetables.
We appreciate that getting your team to commit to regular office cleaning in London can be a major headache. With tight deadlines, trains to catch, and more meetings to get to at short notice, there’s not always time to catch up on the chores or keep your workplace as tidy as you’d like.
In which case, why not let Sloane Cleaning Services take the strain? As part of our popular office cleaning service, we’ll wash-up used crockery and kitchen equipment, as well as give the entire room a thorough clean. And that’s just part of our service. We’ll also empty your bins, polish and dust your desks, vacuum upholstery and carpets, sanitise computer equipment, and more.
All it takes is a call to our team on 020 7584 6500, and we’ll arrange to carry out an on-site, no-obligation free quotation. There’s nothing to lose and everything (including health benefits) to gain!