Covid-19 has many of us working from home to stop the spread of the pandemic. Although it can be exciting to design your home office, it is also essential to understand the importance of cleanliness when deciding the layout. A clean home office is vital to ensure you and your family stay healthy and for your peace of mind. One of the most important areas in your office is your desk. You might assume that it is clean because you are the only one touching it, but if you have a family, this area can become a way to transmit viruses. The following checklist will help you make sure that your desk and home office is as clean as possible.
Home office DIY cleaning checklist
Hiring home cleaning services when you work from home is one way to maintain a high standard of hygiene during these times. However, if you do not have one, here are some cleaning home office ideas to get you started.
One of the first things that you should do is to assemble your DIY cleaning tool kit. Commercial cleaning products are designed to eliminate viruses, but they are not always available. This list offers some natural solutions that you might already have in your pantry. Here is a list of some things that you might want to include.
Dry Products
- Baking Soda
- Bucket
- Duster and dusting cloth
- Lint Roller
- Mop
- Salt
- Scrubbing sponges
- Rags and microfibre cloths
- Vacuum
Wet Products
- Antibacterial wet wipes
- Commercial disinfect products for surfaces
- Lemon juice
- Vinegar
How to make your own natural all-purpose cleaner
You might have noticed the list contain some ingredients that can be easily found around the home. These are great if you would like to avoid using harsh chemicals around your home. Below are two different recipes for an all-purpose cleaner you can try out at home:
Ingredients for all-purpose cleaner #1
- Vinegar
- Water
- Lemon
Instructions: Mix together 1-part vinegar, 1 part water and lemon to boost your natural cleaning agent. Pour into a spray bottle for ease of use. Note: Avoid using this cleaning solution on granite as it may etch your stone.
Ingredients for all-purpose cleaner #2
- ½ cup detergent
- ½ cup vinegar
- 4 cups of hot water
- 4 teaspoon borax
- 8 drops of essential oil
Instructions: Mix together all the ingredients until combined. Once the water has cooled down, pour the liquid into a spray bottle to start cleaning.
How to deep clean your home office space
A clean home office design is the key to making house cleaning and office cleaning easier. Everything should be arranged in a way that it is easy to wipe down quickly. This is true whether you hire house cleaning services, or you will do it yourself.
One thing that you need to be aware of is that there is a difference between regular cleaning, deep cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning means removing dirt and dust from surfaces. Organisms, like viruses, can land on dust particles and travel throughout other areas of the house. Deep cleaning is a more thorough version of cleaning. For your home office, this may mean emptying your drawers and cleaning inside them or cleaning behind your furniture.
Disinfecting involves using products that destroy viruses and bacteria. All three types of cleaning are necessary to remove viruses from the home because dirt and dust give organisms many more places to hide. Here are a few tips for antiviral sanitation of your home office if you plan to do it yourself.
Keep your electronics dust-free
Your keyboard and monitor can be kept dust-free by using a microfibre cloth. You should never use wet wipes or products that are not designed for computer monitors because it can remove the protective coating. You should also never use a wet wipe on your keyboard because the liquid can get into the keys and damage it. Using a brush attachment on a vacuum can help you get dust from the cracks and crevices of your keyboard. This will also help to preserve its life span, too.
Tips for cleaning your keyboard – You can purchase an air duster bottle to blow out dust, dirt and crumbs that are stuck deep in your keyboard.
Regularly clean your desk with spray
It is recommended that you wipe down your desk with a spray that kills viruses at least once a day. If you are sick, or someone in your household is sick, it might be a good idea to do it more than once a day. Keeping your desk clutter-free will make the job easier.
Vacuum or sweep under your desk
You should vacuum or sweep under your desk at least twice a week to keep it clean. This is particularly important if you eat at your desk as crumbs and food scraps can fall to the ground.
High traffic areas
It is a good idea to vacuum or mop high traffic areas at least once a day. Viruses can get picked up on shoes and transported into the house where they can travel to other areas of the home. This will at least reduce them and minimise their travel. It might be a good idea to mop your entrance every time someone comes in from the outside.
Tips for keeping your floor clean – Avoid wearing shoes inside your home and opt for comfy slippers to keep your feet warm indoors.
Lamp and dusting bulbs
Do not forget to dust your lamps and lightbulbs at least once a week. You also might want to disinfect light pulls and switches once a day too. These are items that are touched by many people every day, and they are an area that we often overlook when cleaning.
Keeping wires tidy
Keeping your wires tidy with cable ties or other organisers helps you keep them dust free and makes them easier to clean regularly.
Ways to disinfect your desk
In a 2018 study, it was found that desks are an area that harbours a large number of pathogens, even more than a toilet. Professional cleaning companies will often give a quick disinfecting wipe of items on the desk, but many will not move excess paper and clutter to do it. You should have a place for your files and papers that are off your desk. At the end of the day, it is a good idea to wipe the items down with wet wipes. Here is a list of things to be sure not to miss when cleaning your desk:
- Clean under desk protector pad
- Clipboards
- Desk drawer pulls
- Filing cabinets
- Headphones and headsets
- Message boards
- Pens and pen holders
- Phone
- Printer and FAX (especially the keypad)
- Wi-Fi routers and equipment
Supporting & hiring local cleaners
As you can see, home cleaning to control pathogens is more complicated and time-consuming than regular cleaning. Hiring a professional cleaning service might be the best way to make sure that everything is done on a regular basis. You can also hire a professional cleaner to tackle the cleaning for the rest of your home.
There are environmentally cleaning services that use green cleaning products for regular disinfect cleaning and experience in residential cleaning. Here a few tips to help reduce the spread of coronavirus when interacting with your home cleaning professional.
- Keep your distance – When communicating, make sure that you keep the recommended distance from others.
- Use email – Use email to transmit cleaning lists and instructions when possible.
- Masks and glove – Make sure that your cleaners wear masks and gloves for both your protection and theirs. Leaving around hand sanitiser and soap is also a good idea.
- Notify your whereabouts – Try and stay in one section of your home, while your cleaner is cleaning the rest of your house.
Contact local cleaners
Other things around your home to deep clean & disinfect
The focus of this article is on keeping your home office clean, but since your home office is part of your home, keeping the entire home and its surroundings clean is very important. Here are some other items that need disinfecting to prevent viruses from entering your home.
Car
Even though you should be avoiding leaving your home during this time, you need to be cautious about bringing the virus home with you and only grocery shop and run errands that are absolutely essential. Your car is one way that viruses could make their way into your home.
It might be a good idea to give the steering wheel, hand brake, and any other surfaces that you touch a good wipe down whenever you get into your car. Keep some hand sanitiser with you to clean your hands before touching your wheel. When you must go out, it is essential that you keep your car clean, too. Here are some areas of your car not to miss.
- Carpet and seats (especially if you have pets or small children)
- Dust between air vents
- Indicators and buttons
- Steering wheel and hand brake
- Wipe off the dash and doors
Mobile phone
One of the dirtiest items that we own is our phones. We are constantly putting it down on dirty surfaces and then picking it up and putting it next to our face. Others pick it up when we show them something, and it is often passed around from person to person. You should use a special product made for cleaning phone screens. Just like your computer monitor, cleaning your phone with a regular wet wipe can remove the protective coating. It is a good idea to clean it several times a day, and as soon as someone else picks it up as possible.
Yourself
Keeping yourself clean is another essential factor. You need to keep your distance from others, wash your hands frequently, and develop an awareness of cleanliness of yourself and others. Staying home during coronavirus is essential. Keep an eye out for announcements from the government to learn more about how you can prevent exposure to Covid-19.