How Office Bad Habits Lead to Pest Infestation and Solutions
With the number of people using offices for long hours every day of the week, it is no surprise that health levels and the risk of pest infestation need closer attention. While partnering with a professional commercial cleaning company is the smartest thing to do, successful building health maintenance also needs complementary, day-to-day supporting behaviour from the building users to prevent pest infestations.
Let us look at inappropriate sanitisation habits that could lead to pest infestation, have creepy crawlies freaking out guests, and microbes increasing the number of sick leave days.
The Desk Picnic
Encourage your team to take twenty minutes away from their desk to eat lunch or ten minutes for mid-morning snacks. At least 33% of the workforce has a desk picnic daily. It might seem efficient to the team, but it is very inefficient. Taking a break improves mental stamina and creative thought. And eating at your desk showers fine crumbs onto IT equipment on a daily basis.
Put your office keyboards on a diet and get your teams to eat away from desks. There will be fewer pests, less damage to equipment and greater productivity from the team.
Disposing Of Food Waste Daily
When desk picnics happen, food waste mixed with wrappers is disposed of in waste paper baskets which can sit overnight. Next, team members might half eat a snack bar and leave the balance in their desk drawers. Lastly, canteens have food and food-soiled wrappers in their bins which can sit till late at night or overnight.
Many pest infestations are directly linked to these bins. Clean away bins containing food and wrappers every day before sunset and prohibit food and wrapper disposal in waste paper bins.
Changing Bin Bags Regularly & Correctly
Bin bags will have flies buzzing around within a day. Remove the bags daily, before sunset preferably. The replacement liner must be carefully installed so that no waste spills into the bin on the outside of the bag. This requires the bin to be cleaned to avoid pests.
Carpets, Rugs & Soft Furnishings
Carpets, rugs and soft furnishings are very prone to pest and microbial infestations. These should be vacuumed daily and deep cleaned on a quarterly basis. Not only is this a healthier option, but it will also add many years to the lives of your assets.
Correct Chemicals & Equipment
You might think that off-the-shelves pest control products will “do the job”. Unfortunately, pest control needs a multi-faceted approach with diverse products. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Incorrect products can either not work, cause damage or be unhealthy for your staff. Use experts with scientific products and methodologies for healthy, clean buildings.
One Cloth For The Entire Job
Have you ever seen in-house cleaning staff move through an entire floor using just one cloth per person? Yikes, we recommend against that! Our teams use colour-coded clothes for different areas or purposes so that they don’t cross-contaminate your entire office.
Get A Clean Slate
Did you find the above tips helpful? Cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting are what we do best. We’d love to help you achieve maximum health in your buildings, so don’t hesitate to ask.
Need help breaking some office cleansing bad habits? Chat with us at Enviro-Safe today!
