Can commercial cleaning be an effective method of fighting allergies in the workplace? Read on to find out.

Table of Contents:

• » Why Office Cleaning Matters
• » How to Fight Allergies in the Workplace
• » Allergy Cleaning in the Office
• » What to Look for in Commercial Cleaning Services
• » Summary

Why Office Cleaning Matters

In the past decades, the prevalence of allergic diseases has been on the rise worldwide. According to the American Academy of Asthma and Immunology, allergic rhinitis affects between 10% and 30% of the population and roughly 8% of adults have hay fever in the U.S. alone.

Fortunately, as is the case with most allergies, symptoms are unpleasant but can be prevented if appropriate steps are taken. There are many tips out there focusing on allergy cleaning at home, such as vacuuming carpets, removing clutter, regularly washing curtains—the list goes on. Little is said about the importance of office cleaning, even though individuals spend most of their day at work. Employees with allergies tend to keep their desks meticulously clean but allergens can also be found in shared spaces and on surfaces where office cleaning is not regularly done.

How to Fight Allergies in the Workplace

Keeping your environment clean is the first step towards reducing allergies. When it comes to offices and commercial buildings, however, it is not enough to clean your own desk, since allergy triggers can be found in shared spaces like kitchens, meeting rooms and washrooms as well.

Allergy triggers at work include dust, mold, pollen as well as animal dander. Airborne allergens are difficult to fight because they are everywhere around us, in soft furnishings, carpets and curtains that might contain build-up dust, from fresh flowers and artificial fragrances to humid areas. During pollen season, seasonal allergies can be triggered just by opening the windows. Therefore, it is important to be aware of allergens and implement some best practices to fight them in the workplace.

Also Read: Schedule Your Commercial Disinfectant Cleaning Appointment This Winter Season!

Allergy Cleaning in the Office

• In shared kitchens, daily cleaning is necessary. Discarding out-of-date food, washing the dishes, and emptying the trash daily is a must. Refrigerators must be kept dry and clean in order to avoid mold growth.
• Washrooms must be properly ventilated. Daily cleaning and using mold-resistant, easy-to-clean surfaces is important to keep this zone allergy-free.
• In meeting rooms and common rooms, discarding carpets and upholstered furniture, replacing blinds with washable shades are shown to be very effective in reducing allergies in the office.
• Humidity should be kept below 50% in the entire office which can be managed with dehumidifiers and heating systems.
• Installing an air filtration system helps a great deal if filters are changed regularly.
• Since a lot of people suffer from seasonal allergies, it is helpful during pollen season to keep all windows shut and use air conditioning instead.

There are many aspects of allergy-proofing a workplace but every office is different and they face different challenges. Workplaces that allow dogs will have a hard time reducing allergies without changing their policies. Offices that use fresh flowers or soft furnishings must look into other ways of decorating their spaces. Some of these triggers are easy to eliminate but others aren’t—that is where professional cleaning services can help.

What to Look for in Commercial Cleaning Services

The first thing to ask from commercial cleaning services is if they are specialized in allergy cleaning, and if they are not, do they have the right cleaning that helps reduce allergies in the workplace. Without proper equipment, they might make the situation worse.

Do they use push vacuums or do they use vacuums with HEPA filters? Vacuuming with push vacuums decreases the air quality in the office as they send the allergens back into the air. HEPA filtration is able to trap the particles and mold spores invisible to the eye, and thus helps keep the air clean. What kind of cleaning products do they use? When it comes to commercial cleaning, we think it is impossible to avoid products with strong chemicals. But these products often have substances that trigger allergies. It is important therefore, to ask in advance whether they use ecological cleaning products.

Most high-standard professional cleaning services are aware of the various needs of companies and they offer specialized office cleaning solutions, allergy cleaning among them.

Summary
Most of the time when allergies cause problems in the workplace, it is because of dust, mold and other airborne particles. Fortunately, an allergy-free office is not impossible but companies must be aware of allergy triggers and employ practices that help eliminate those.

At AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance, we offer high-standard commercial cleaning services that can help reduce allergies in the workplace. We use the right equipment and products which help create a cleaner and safer work environment that every employee can benefit from. Feel free to call us at for more information on all our corporate office and commercial cleaning services.

Office cleaning is one such area to look into. Studies have shown that a clean, clutter-free office increases productivity and employee satisfaction. This is even more true during a pandemic when regular office cleaning is essential to comply with the latest health and safety advice while increasing employees’ sense of security. Therefore, it has become increasingly important for companies to establish and maintain an effective office cleaning routine: to help keep germs at bay–and employees happy!

Read on for our best cleaning tips and find out how commercial cleaning services can help keep your office sparkling clean all year round.

Table of Contents:

• » Start with the Shared Spaces
• » Declutter Your Desk
• » Disinfect All Surfaces
• » Set a Cleaning Schedule
• » Hire a Commercial Cleaning Expert with AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance.

Start with the Shared Spaces

Office mess starts in the common areas that everyone uses (but no one is responsible for). Washing dishes at the sink, emptying fridges and bins, wiping off kitchen tables: these mundane tasks can quickly become a problem for offices of any size.

While motivating employees to help with cleaning may work for some companies, it is not the best strategy to achieve a sparkling clean office. For one, employees might think that office cleaning is too time-consuming, and as a result, you might end up with common areas that have only been superficially cleaned. Furthermore, sharing the cleaning duties among your staff can also contribute to unnecessary stress–whether pandemic-related or not.

For spotless results, it is best to leave this task with a commercial cleaning company to make sure that COVID-19 health and safety standards are met (when employees should not be tasked with cleaning the common areas).

Also Read: Commercial Cleaning Tips to Stay Safe When Returning To Your Workplace During COVID-19

Declutter Your Desk

You can still encourage team members to tidy up after themselves, but such cleaning duties should only concern everybody’s own workspace. Small tasks like throwing out unused items, keeping your office supplies organized, wiping down your desk after a meal won’t take long, but help prevent clutter which in return, boosts productivity.

And, by being responsible only for your own space, you will naturally pay more attention to cleanliness all around the office. If everyone follows through, the mess will have no chance of showing up in the shared spaces.

Disinfect All Surfaces

Wiping crumbles, food stains, and liquids off desks goes a long way, but some surfaces are an easy target for bacteria and viruses to thrive on.

Therefore, consider the following disinfecting tips:

• In the common areas: Disinfect phones, doorknobs, light switches, and shared equipment (including microwave ovens, fridge handles, shared computers, and projectors).
• Around private desks: Disinfect your phone, screen, mouse, keyboards, and the entire surface of your desk (especially if you have meetings at your desk).

Always make sure you have disinfectant spray and wipes available (buy them in bulk). For intense disinfection in washrooms and areas where you regularly receive visitors, consult your office building cleaning services. A commercial cleaning company can give you further cleaning tips, as well as advice on how to comply with the latest COVID-19 rules while carrying out your disinfection tasks.

Also Read: How Commercial Cleaning Can Reduce Allergies in the Workplace

Set a Cleaning Schedule

A cleaning schedule helps identify the zones that need special attention (washrooms, shared kitchens, or meeting rooms) and establish when and how to clean them. It should include all essential cleaning tasks and the person responsible for them. Items on the schedule should range from daily cleaning (vacuuming and mopping the floors, sanitizing washrooms, emptying the bins, and so on), and weekly tasks (polishing hardwood floors, emptying fridges) to monthly and quarterly deep cleaning duties (cleaning fabric chairs and curtains and carpets).

Every office is different and needs a different cleaning routine. A lot depends on the layout of the space, size of teams, working hours, lunch habits, furnishings, and other factors. The right office building cleaning services can help identify the areas that need regular care and advise you on an effective cleaning routine tailored for your office.

Also Read: The Ultimate Daily, Weekly, And Monthly Office Cleaning Checklist

Hire a Commercial Cleaning Expert with AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance

As we begin another year in the shadow of a pandemic, companies must review their office cleaning processes and find ways to improve them.

Even if your employees are motivated to clean at work, specialized commercial cleaning services for offices usually bring better and safer results. Commercial cleaning experts, such as AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance, can take the burden off your shoulders when it comes to daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning tasks, and at the same time, ensure compliance with the latest COVID-19 regulations.

At AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance, we offer full-service commercial cleaning services to help stick to your office cleaning routine in the new year and beyond. Call us for more information about our full range of office cleaning services.

What exactly are these trends, and how will they benefit businesses in 2022? Read our top ten list to find out:

Table of Contents:

• » 2022 Top 10 Commercial Cleaning Trends
  • 1. Sustainability
  • 2. Steam Cleaning
  • 3. UV-C Technology
  • 4. Deep Cleaning
  • 5. Battery-Powered Equipment
  • 6. Efficiency Tools and Planning Systems
  • 7. High-Tech Cleaning
  • 8. Consistency
  • 9. Transparency
  • 10. People Focus
• » Hire a Commercial Cleaning Expert with AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance!

1. Sustainability

Sustainability is one of the leading commercial cleaning trends for 2022. Moving to a cradle-to-grave philosophy and minimizing your environmental impact has never been more urgent for businesses. When it comes to commercial cleaning, this starts with reviewing your purchases, tools, and processes and prioritizing sustainable solutions, including ecological cleaning supplies, sustainable packaging, and using refillable containers whenever possible.

2. Steam Cleaning

Steam cleaning equipment (heating up small amounts of water and using the resulting steam to disinfect surfaces) is widely used in hospitals. An effective disinfection method, steam cleaning is affordable and environmentally friendly. Therefore, it’s expected to become a popular option for office cleaning services this year.

3. UV-C Technology

Ultraviolet-C technology uses ultraviolet radiation at wavelengths between 200 and 290 nm to kill bacteria and viruses. As cutting edge as this sounds, UV-C has been used in hospitals since the 1960s and is a known disinfectant for air, water, and nonporous surfaces, making it an ideal choice for commercial cleaning services as well.

4. Deep Cleaning

In 2022, just vacuuming the floor and some dusting no longer means a clean office. Instead, companies are expected to clean and disinfect surfaces regularly (including door handles, countertops, tiles, and grout). A professional COVID-19 cleaning service can help adopt such hospital-grade cleanliness standards using EPA’s list N products whenever possible.

5. Battery-Powered Equipment

More and more office building cleaning services are switching to battery-powered cleaning equipment this year. The energy density of batteries has increased over the years; they have also become smaller, lighter, and more durable. As a result, they can be used to conveniently clean large areas such as airports, office buildings, hospitals, and schools. While the next breakthrough (for machines in the cleaning industry and anywhere else) will be sustainable batteries, the rechargeable quality and longer life cycle are a step in the right direction.

6. Efficiency Tools and Planning Systems

Investing in the latest machines is one way of embracing technology; using smart planning tools is another. In 2022, office cleaners ditch paper checklists and opt for tablet-based cleaning systems for scheduling, planning, and analyzing the cleaning process and results. Commercial cleaning services can leverage this data to find the areas that need more attention and provide you with a better overview of the results.

7. High-Tech Cleaning

Demand for high-tech cleaning equipment is growing as office cleaning services look for ways to increase their productivity. From UV-C vacuum cleaners to futuristic equipment like exoskeletons (to support cleaning staff in demanding physical tasks), anything goes in the spirit of harnessing technology for sparkling clean results and employee safety.

8. Consistency

Consistency means never skipping a schedule. Using the same reliable products, and following the prescribed cleaning methods to maintain high standards is a must for commercial cleaning services for offices. Doing so not only leaves a clean, safe environment but also builds long-term trust and reduces employee anxiety.

9. Transparency

As your employees return to the office after long periods of working from home, they should be briefed on the latest cleaning requirements and best practices. This includes sharing the cleaning schedule and the steps taken to disinfect the office to prevent outbreaks so that everyone feels safe being back to work.

10. People Focus

While your employees may not be commercial cleaning experts, starting a conversation about their needs will help outline your office cleaning schedule. Some questions to ask:

• Who has allergies, and what cleaning methods will ensure their safety?
• Are there any suggestions about the products in use?
• Are there any cleaning tips to share?
• Is the cleaning schedule realistic, or does it interrupt other activities in the office?
• Which is the best commercial cleaning services near me?

Ask your employees anything that makes sense for your company’s culture. Involving them in this topic may help improve your commercial cleaning practices in 2022.

Hire a Commercial Cleaning Expert with AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance!

While sustainability, technology, and hospital-grade cleanliness are all important trends in the cleaning industry, your commercial cleaning company needs to understand your unique needs first to be able to offer a personalized service.

AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance has years of commercial cleaning experience in various industries. So whether you’re looking for COVID-19 cleaning services or green cleaning tips, AF1 Cleaning & Maintenance experts can help you develop the best strategies for your organization. Call us to get the most out of your office cleaning in 2022.