As a longstanding, highly sought after Kansas City commercial cleaning company, we have seen it all in the offices and buildings that we clean. From sinks that haven’t been properly cleaned in years to carpets that have seemingly never been vacuumed, we’ve found some very unsavory workplaces over the years.

With these conditions present in more offices than you might think, we’ve become concerned about how employees are dealing with these situations. The first thought is that an office in this condition would be more conducive to germs spreading and thus employees getting sick more often, but really, that all depends on if employees are washing their hands.

Germs don’t just dwell in dirt and dust, but instead are most often spread from person to person and surface to surface via hand to mouth transmission. What are the best ways to prevent this transmission?

1. Disinfecting surfaces in your office at least once a week. (If you don’t have time for it, let our office cleaning service do it for you!)
2. Making sure your employees wash their hands every time they’re in the bathroom.

You might think that your employees already know well enough to wash their hands, but you might be surprised by the findings of a recent study conducted by Michigan State University. Here are some of the startling findings:

• Just 5% of all bathroom-goers wash their hands properly once they’re finished
• Around 10% of people don’t wash their hands at all after using the bathroom
• 33% of people were found to use no soap
• If the sink is dirty, there’s less likelihood that a person will wash his or her hands
• Early in the day, good hygiene is more prevalent
• Encouraging signs to wash hands are helpful and increase the rate and length of hand washing in public bathrooms

So what can you do to help prevent the spread of germs in your office or business? First of all, you’ll want to get a sign that encourages hand washing and make sure your employees know the proper method of doing so. (Using antibacterial soap, wash and scrub for just 15 to 20 seconds for clean, germ-free hands. Unfortunately, researchers found, most people wash their hands for just 6 seconds!) Washing your hands can keep you healthy.

Finally, you’ll want to ensure that the surfaces in your office or retail business are being scrubbed and disinfected regularly. If you do not have your own employee designated to doing the janitorial cleaning, you’ll want to call Elite Clean Co, Kansas City’s best cleaning company.  We look forward to hearing from you!