Isn’t Commercial Office Cleaning Supposed to Make Your Facility Cleaner?
The whole point of a commercial cleaning service is to make a facility cleaner, not dirtier.
We want our office cleaning services to keep illness and bacteria in check, not to spread them around.
While it may seem like your commercial janitorial service is doing these things, if they aren’t using a color coded cleaning cloth system, then you aren’t really receiving a proper cleaning.
A color coordinated cleaning cloth system helps prevent cross contamination in the workplace because it targets and prevents the spread of germs from hotspot to hotspot.
It stops germs from one surface from easily traveling to another.
If your commercial cleaning company isn’t paying special attention to these hotspots and touch points, nor using a color coded cleaning system, they are contributing to cross contamination hazards in your facility.
We know that one sick person can spread pathogens everywhere they go, so imagine what one germ-infested cloth could spread.
For you, this can mean higher rates of absenteeism, lowered productivity, and even high employee turnover.
How A Color Coded Cleaning System Can Protect You From the TOILET RAG
We all pick up our smartphones, turn lights on and off, and use the computer mouse without thinking twice about what bacteria and pathogens might reside on their surfaces.
To reduce the chance that something is taking up residence on your switches and commonly touched areas, insist that your commercial cleaning service provider use a color coded cleaning cloth system.
They must frequently clean hot spots and touch points.
Not only is it easy to implement, it assures that cross contamination is minimized in your facility.
Typically, the color coding system is as follows:
Red — high-risk areas like toilets and urinals.
Yellow — lower-risk restroom cleaning such as mirrors and sinks.
Blue — general cleaning such as dusting and wiping.
Green — food-related services.
Using tools to keep track of high-risk areas and separate them from low-risk areas dramatically reduces cross contamination.
It significantly lowers the risk of transmission of colds, flus, and other easily spread illnesses.
Pushing Your Janitorial Office Cleaning Provider in the Right Direction
If your cleaning services company isn’t already utilizing color coded rags, they aren’t aligning with the industry standard.
You should encourage your commercial janitorial services company to make color coded cleaning cloths a priority.
This helps reduce cross contamination and keeps your office safer and healthier.
A color coded rag system helps teams keep track of their towels and quickly forms a habit of following industry best practices.
You get a cleaner, safer office and visual assurance that best practices are being followed.
Simple Ways to Implement the Simple Color Coded Cloth System
Normally, when a change is implemented to any service or process, time is needed to relearn and retrain.
However, because a color coordinated rag system makes cleaning simpler, not more complex, this is not an issue.
This change is welcome, but it does require basic training and on-the-job reinforcement.
A good starting point is posting a color coding chart that gives cleaning staff a clear visual guideline.
If you make your office cleaner aware of the danger of cross contamination, most will take steps to avoid it.
Color coding towels and cloths also offers employees a sense of engagement and responsibility in keeping your office clean and safe.
Using Color Coded Cleaning Tools As a Management Strategy
As noted, color coded cloths make cleaning easier, more efficient, and more effective.
But there’s another benefit — they are a powerful management tool.
They make it easy for supervisors to quickly see what cleaning your facility requires, what is being done, and what might be overlooked.
For example, if fourteen red mop heads are normally used in your building but only five appear during wash, a supervisor can quickly see that something is wrong.
This may indicate mop heads aren’t being replaced often enough or certain areas aren’t being cleaned as required.
While not the only quality assurance tool your commercial cleaning company should have, it is an effective one.
Protecting Your Facility From Cross Contamination So You Can Focus On Success
Color-coding cleaning tools may seem like a basic change, but it is a BETTER approach to cleaning.
It is low cost, easy to train, and assures higher quality and more effective cleaning.
Any type of facility benefits from this simple change, from health care cleaning to school cleaning to industrial cleaning to office cleaning.
Reducing the risk of cross contamination protects your facility and supports the quality your customers deserve.
Here at Stathakis, we use the color-coded cloth system company-wide to reduce the risk of cross contamination and systemize health-conscious cleaning practices.
