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  Disinfecting, Sanitising, Sterilising & Cleaning – Knowing The Difference!

The pandemic is far from over. While most companies are allowed to operate and work on-site, employers are responsible for providing a secure conducive work environment to ensure the safety of the workforce. From hiring a maintenance crew to an office cleaning company in Singapore, the safety and protection of employees against the risk of infection and illness is paramount to your workplace’s productivity.

The Dangers & Risks Of Unclean Workplace

The quality of your indoor environment is a vital determining component that affects

productivity, employee satisfaction and the work setting. A poorly maintained interior environment is filled with harmful elements that can cause mental and physical fatigue, headaches, allergic reaction and even throat irritation. Hence, a healthy workplace often includes routine cleaning and hiring of a professional cleaning company for a thorough cleaning solution.

Here are some of the most common tell-tale signs of an unclean and unhealthy workplace that every employer needs to know:

Mould growth

Moulds often thrive and can infiltrate your workplace comfort rooms, ventilation system, water pipes, pantry and toilet seats. The quality of your indoor air suffers the most due to mould infiltration. It can even cause illness among employees, increasing sick leave and leaving the workplace less productive. Hence, getting an air filter and hiring an office cleaner services should eliminate the problem.

Heavy clutter

The presence of cluttered papers, boxes, and anything you can see lying everywhere from the floor to the table in an unorganised fashion can pose a risk. Cluttered areas look unprofessional. However, it can cause trip hazards, and evacuation is riskier in the case of an emergency. Should a fire break out, the spread will be quicker, making exits more dangerous to reach.

Frequent trips and falls

Whether it’s an item lying on the ground or your old carpet with missing sections, areas with high traffic should remain clean. What you can do to avoid the problem (aside from calling an office cleaner in Singapore) is to replace worn-out upholstery (such as carpets) and put up signs to remind employees to be aware of leaving their items or belongings.

Frequent sick leaves

A dirty and unclean office environment is often filled with rapid-spreading bacteria and viruses that can make staff sick. When one person gets sick in the office, it affects the productivity and work process of the workplace. Now, when you notice employees are filing sick leaves every now and then, it should serve as a warning sign that your workplace is in serious need of cleaning.

Clean, Sterilise, Sanitise & Disinfect – Understanding The Differences

Understanding-The-Differences-Between-Disinfecting-Sanitising-Sterilising-Cleaning

Now that you understand why it’s crucial to maintain a tidy workplace, it’s about time we explore different ways to protect your employee from possible infection. Bacteria and viruses rapidly spread across multiple individuals, which can be an enormous threat to any workplace. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Thus, hiring office cleaner services and practising healthy hygiene is mandatory.

Many have interchangeably used cleaning, disinfecting and sanitising, but they have a distinction in application with different methods for different needs.

Disinfecting

Disinfecting is a thorough and intense cleaning to eliminate harmful bacteria and viruses on every hard surface. Disinfection uses more chemical-heavy powerful agents or ‘disinfectants’. However, such solutions need proper handling and application. It means that its use should be aware of the ideal usage while wearing protective equipment since chemical exposure is often dangerous for health. Hence, many often leave it to professional office cleaner services.

After the disinfection process, the disinfectant should be left on the surface to give enough time to kill harmful microorganisms. The best possible use for disinfectant is to apply it on high-touch surfaces and heavy-foot traffic areas of the facility.

Sanitising

If disinfecting is about eliminating all bacteria on hard surfaces, sanitising is a form of reducing harmful microorganisms on a surface. It’s often common to assume that sanitising helps you remove bacteria. However, it does not kill or destroy them. What sanitisation does best is to lower the amount down to a safe level based on the criteria of most public health standards.

The advantage of sanitisers is their less use of chemicals. Thus, it is a preferred choice for food contact surfaces. While you don’t need to call for an office cleaner to do the job for you, you should still check the label for the ingredients and chemicals used before using it in your pantry or food preparation area. Understand that sanitisation will not provide a deep cleaning solution, especially if you want a virus-free workplace.

Sterilisation

Sterilisation is perhaps considered the most intense form of office cleaning kailua-kona hi since the process can eliminate all forms of microorganisms, not just harmful bacteria and viruses. Sterilisation is not a process the average person can conduct in their workplace or home since it needs proper training and handling. However, it is common among healthcare facilities.

Cleaning

Cleaning is a simple process of removing visible dirt, grime and dust from the surface. Whatever impurities that your naked eye can see that you can wipe or wash with soap or other cleaning solvent is part of cleaning. One can either pull a DIY cleaning or hire a professional office cleaning company to get the job done.

However, understand that cleaning does not kill or remove bacteria and viruses from surfaces. Nonetheless, it is still an essential solution to keep your workplace tidy and safe for employees. It also helps keep devices and equipment far from getting clogged with dirt and dust, which is vital for maintenance.

If you are looking for professional office cleaning services in Singapore, visit Lukis for an innovative office cleaning solution with years of experience!