Dirty Keyboards are Bacteria Hives
October 19, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning News, Office Cleaning, computer cleaning , 2 commentsAccording to a survey from a well established office supplies company dirty keyboard are bacteria hives that could increase the transmission of cold and flu as the cold season approaches.
Bacteria’s are an essential part of our day to day lives, we have it in and outside our body and without them we would be very sick indeed. While I’m no advocating dirty lifestyles certain types of bacteria work as defence systems of our bodies.
Speaking to BBC News, cleaning expert Aggie Mackenzie said that 99% of bacteria’s are harmless and it is with the 1% that we need to be watchful of.
The survey swabbed a number of office keyboards from around the country and found bacterias such as Staphylococcus, Bacillus and Micrococcus, indicating a poor level of hygiene and that changes in office habits like hot desking and eating while working are the cause of such dirtiness.
Dr Lisa Ackerley, an environmental hygiene expert, said: “This research has shown that there are some very unhygienic desks right now in office across the UK, which is very worrying as those who work in open-plan offices tend to start coming down with illnesses this time of year.”
She added: “Keeping equipment such as keyboards, phones and desks as germ-free as possible is even more important during the cold and flu season.”
Despite need for a change in habits of office workers, office cleaning companies should take the blame for the dirtiness found on the surveyed desktops. It is an essential part of any office cleaning job to make sure keyboards and phone are cleaned and disinfected regularly.
Carlos Garcia, owner of an office cleaning company in central London said: “The results of this survey are rather worrying and show that office habits should be revised and office cleaning companies should emphasize with their workers the importance of cleaning and disinfecting desktops”.
It is important to note that electrical equipment can not be cleaned with any polish or cleaning product. Use the wrong products and you will end up damaging them.
If you are not sure what to use, Total Clean Services Ltd offers bespoke computer and telephone equipment cleaning, for more information please contact us.
Office Cleaning is on the Rise in Central London
August 3, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning News, Office Cleaning , 2 commentsDemand for office space is high all over the UK but in particular London, where more and more companies are looking for commercial spaces in the capital. A new development or should I say redevelopment by a well-known property firm that is being built in central London should benefit central London office cleaning companies.
The new commercial complex being built in Covent Garden will consist mainly of Grade A office spaces. The project is a redevelopment by Legal & General Property and it will cost the company £65 million making it the biggest project of its kind in this particular area in 2012.
In total 55,000 sq ft are being built with a focus not only in catering for the growing demand of office spaces in the area but also with great emphasis on sustainability. For starters bicycle units and showering facilities are being implemented to encourage workers to cycle to work.
This is great news for office cleaning companies providing their services in central London where the market seems to be saturated due to the lack of office spaces in the area. But new developments such as this one from L&G is giving new hopes for London office cleaning companies which are already working hard to secure future contracts once these new buildings are ready.
While office cleaning companies are working hard to provide competitive quotes for their services, the demand for property is becoming so intense that property market analysts are predicting that rents would spiral due to such high demand and lack of new office space.
Grade A Offices Construction to Boost Office Cleaning Industry
July 5, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning News, Office Cleaning , 1 comment so farDemand for high-profile offices is on the increase in London where at the moment the segment is experiencing shortages due to the lack of Grade A office spaces available. But a recent report from the CPA (Construction Products Association) says that things are about to change considerably over the next five years.
Back in May we reported that demand for Grade A offices is high across the UK including London and the construction of such office spaces had dropped considerably over the past year. But this new report from the CPA gave new hopes for the construction industry as a whole.
The report says that in the next five years the building of offices will climb by more than 50 per cent. Growth of high-profile London offices is set to have a positive impact upon the construction industry as well as on indirectly related business such as London office cleaning companies and estate agents.
Commenting on the industry as a whole, CPA economics director Noble Francis stated that output in 2011 will retreat by 0.5 per cent, “followed by a greater fall of 2.8 per cent in 2012. In 2013 output will be broadly flat with just 0.2 per cent growth, before a return to some significant growth of 3.4 per cent in 2014″.
One of the biggest high profile projects waiting to be announced is the new one million sq ft Goldman Sachs offices to be built beside the current London headquarters of Goldman Sachs. A dream come true to any London office cleaning company.
According to Property Week Goldman Sachs has up to 1.5 million sq ft of office spaces in London and it is planning to buy even more spaces like Plumbtree Court which is currently let to PricewaterhouseCoopers and has a market value of £94 million.
This is great news for cleaning companies providing office cleaning services in London. With more offices being built specially these high-profile offices, the cleaning industry will surely benefit from it.
Determining the effectiveness of your office cleaning company
June 13, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Office Cleaning , 1 comment so farOffice cleaning services is a type of service that requires constant evaluation. The effectiveness of an office cleaning company is determined not only by the quality of the service provided but by a series of side-factors including reliability, trustworthiness and a few others.
To determine how effective your office cleaning company is we have compiled a list of questions you should ask yourself and your current cleaning company:
1. Are you happy with the current services provided?
2. Are they doing a thorough job?
3. Do they respond to problems quickly?
4. Is your office inspected regularly by one of their supervisors?
5. Are they adequately equipped to handle emergencies (floods, fires, etc…)
6. Do they cut corners and do just enough to get by?
7. Have they ever left a job half done?
8. How important is safety to them?
9. Do they use adequate safety equipment?
10. Are the employees properly trained to work with the chemicals they handle?
11. Are they responsive to areas where they could improve their service?
12. How quickly do they respond to complaints?
13. Did they provide a health and safety assessment prior to starting work in your premises?
14. Are they open for suggestions? In the end it is your office and you should know what is best for it.
Office cleaning is one of the most challenging types of cleaning there is due to the wide range of building styles and internal set-ups. That is why you need an office cleaning company with is fully customisable to suit your business.
Total Clean offers office cleaning services with over 15 years experience to provide individual, bespoke benefits to a wide rangw customer base. If you are looking for reliable, competitively priced office cleaning in central London, London’s West End and surrounding areas, contact Total Clean for a no obligation quote.
Office Cleaners Should be Paid More, says research
June 10, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning News, Office Cleaning , 1 comment so farA recent research conducted by the Institute for Public Policy Research revealed that two-thirds of the British working population would support government action to increase the wages of low-paid workers, including office cleaners.
The report also concluded that the gap in pay between top and bottom levels of a organisation is constantly growing and government, business and trade unions should sit down to discuss ways to make pay fairer for low-paid workers. It also revealed that there is strong public opposition to this growing pay gap.
The research interviewed 2,337 members of the public and the great majority, 82% agreed that it is down to the Government to redress growing pay inequalities in both the public and private sectors. Using the example of office cleaners who earn on average £14,000 – should get a 19% pay rise, suggested the research.
When questioned about the findings of this research Chairman of the British Cleaning Council Mark Woodhead said:
“These results chime with our own efforts to raise the status of cleaners, and show that in the public’s mind, cleaners are not being paid fairly, people clearly want to see cleaners who work hard and do a decent job receive more recognition and better rewards. “Fair pay and the value we place on cleaning is one of the major challenges we face as an industry, and it will be a key component of the debate on corporate social responsibility that will take place at our October conference.”
The British cleaning industry is a multi-million pound industry that needs to be closely monitored by the government and trade unions like the British Cleaning Council so injustices are not committed to its workers and so the money doesn’t stay at the top of the pyramid.
In October the British Cleaning Council will hold a session on fair pay and living wage at the annual British Cleaning Conference in London.
About the British Cleaning Council
The British Cleaning Council is the voice of the UK cleaning industry. It was established in 1982 to coordinate the affairs of the industry and to be responsible at home and abroad on industry matters. http://www.britishcleaningcouncil.org/
Tickets for the British Cleaning Council can be purchased at the following web address: http://www.britishcleaningcouncil.org/cleaningconference.html
For competitively priced London office cleaning services please contact Total Clean for a no obligation quote.
Demand for New Offices is high across the UK
May 17, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning News, Office Cleaning , 2 commentsOver the past year the construction of office spaces in the UK has declined considerably with only 38,000 square feet of new units under construction or set to be built this year. Not the kind of news office cleaning companies around the country would like to hear.
According to industry experts the supply will remain very limited in the forthcoming year. The segment that is experiencing the biggest shortages is the Grade A segment where developers who strategically position themselves could reap the benefits of this shortage.
Meanwhile this is by no means good news for office cleaning companies across the country who will find themselves competing for contracts as competition gets tougher.
But luckily for office cleaners working on one of the six key industrial areas that shouldn’t be of any concern as the number of vacancies in these areas is below four per cent, indicating that there is still a demand for new offices.
That is exactly what is happening in London, where a surge in office sales and rents should increase the procurement for office cleaning services.
The demand for office space is growing rapidly but not a sufficient pace to change the mood of investors and incite them to invest in building more Grade A offices not only in London but across the land.
For competitively priced office cleaning in London contact Total Clean Office Cleaning Services.
Surge in Office Sales to Benefit London Office Cleaning Companies
May 16, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning News, Office Cleaning , 3 commentsLondon office cleaning companies are preparing themselves for a highly likely surge in the procurement for their services. This follows a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealing that office sales lead the way in commercial property sales in the first quarter of 2011.
According to 43% of surveyors demand for office spaces in London has increased considerably, in particular for “Grade A” offices which in some areas the lack of new stock is leading to lower levels of availability.
The increase in interest for office spaces in London is a clear sign of the economic recovery of the financial services industry with more and more companies looking to expand their operations in the capital.
This is great news for London office cleaning companies who should experience an increase in the demand for their office cleaning services.
But the industry might face a long term problem as supply is falling quickly and offices being constructed not only in London but across the UK are at a low level.
“The survey does encouragingly suggest that demand to take up space is growing outside of the capital but not at a sufficient pace to change the mood on the rental outlook,” commented Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.
For competitively priced office cleaning services in central London and surrounding areas contact Total Clean Office Cleaning Specialists.
High Standard Office Cleaning Starts with Adequate Education
April 13, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Office Cleaning, commercial cleaning , 4 commentsThe UK commercial cleaning market has evolved into an ever so competing with numerous, maybe thousands of cleaning companies operating across the land. Evidence of this is by creating a simple forage on Google maps for office cleaning services in central London and you get thousands of answers. So how to determine which one is the most accomplished out of all of them?
As you will find in any trade competent schooling is what splits professionals from amateurs. But I’m not only speaking about schooling to become a proficient professional I’m also referring to continuous training to keep employees up to date with the current trends and methods of the market.
In office cleaning services its exactly the same, organisation’s that administer constant guidance with their staff tend to offer greater quality services for the basic fact that better skills associated with the cleaners experience results in quicker and more efficient services.
Misinformed are those who believe you don’t need training to administer a simple feather duster or to clean a carpet. Well I would agree that there are no secrets to sweeping a floor but office cleaning goes way beyond that.
Were you aware that there are Health and Safety procedures for Office Cleaning and a risk assessment must be accomplished before any cleaning task can start?
Every last form of floor must be cleaned in a specific way. Ceramic tilling ought not be cleaned with rough abrasive cleaners; vinyl floors need special attention and appropriate products. To clean carpets is a whole new science; each stain must be cleaned in a specific way with a different chemical.
Speaking of chemicals that is another zone that needs appropriate attention. All cleaners must be skillful to handle the products they work with for two simple reasons. First to avoid accidents like the one that happened in a McDonald’s business establishment serving food and drink in late 2010, when an employee was left in part blind due to the use of an acid-based cleaner. Second, so they don’t use the incorrect product on the wrong area.
Another type of seasoning that must be conducted with office cleaners is individual relationship. Nobody likes a cantankerous cleaner that goes around in a bad state of mind without talking to anybody at all. Most of the time, office cleaning services are carried out in non-working hours but if the service is done during office working hours the office cleaner must be amenable and always try to have a smile on his or her face.
Commercial cleaning companies that supply periodical schooling to its staff tend to provide faster and more effective cleaning services than those who simply avoid it.
As you can see commercial cleaning goes way further the feather duster and rag and the finest businesses are those who are up to date with the most recent trends of the market.
Do you offer periodical training for your cleaners?
Office Cleaning Made Effortless
March 14, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Office Cleaning , 5 commentsA clean and organised work environment is fundamental to further output. How would your clients react if they strolled into your business to be faced with clusters of paper work everywhere, dirty carpets and disorganised desks?
If I entered into such an office, I would turn back and exit straight away and I gamble you would too. With that mind set I’ll share with you some effortless to execute office cleaning secrets to assist keep your office glistening clean at all time, be it a city office or a home study.
Generally city business units are cleaned by professional recognized cleaning companies but there are certain things that can be done to help improve the cleanliness of these work places.
This first tip may sound obsolete but you would be surprised how many office blocks still haven’t used it to their work environment. Reduce paper clutter by bringing in a digital filing system.
It’s likely your concern already has a network, and that’s a positive starting point. Next comes a complete overhaul of the network’s file structure. This will take some time and cautious consideration. A common rule-of-thumb is that an effective digital file system – when compartmentalized – reflects exactly how the organisation is organised and leaves room for future modification and likely change.
Construct a cleaning and organisation inspection team, the idea here is to select two or three employees, determined on the amount of your workforce, to go around the office inspecting tables and drawers.
This inspection team should report directly to the office manager or to you. They should give out warnings for those who don’t keep their workstation organised and then issue penalties. That way you will incite your team to keep their tables and drawers organised at all times.
For home office workers you will have to be your own inspectors, even though you might not get any person visiting your office. Remember what was said in the beginning of this article – A clean and organised workplace boosts productivity.
Encourage recycling by adding recycling bins in your office’s kitchen and around the office. Select a day of the week to do a “paper recycling day”. You can use the cleaning and organization inspection team to go around the office asking for people to dispose of aged paper work that won’t be filed.
Premium help
As my last piece of advice, I would recommend you seek specialist help to enhance even more the cleanliness and hygiene of your office. Recruit an office cleaning business and get them to do the dirty work for you.
Total Clean Office Cleaning experts with over 15 years of experience cleaning offices in central London and surrounding areas.
Creative Office Cleaning Tips
January 11, 2011 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning Tips, Office Cleaning , add a commentA clean and organised work environment is fundamental to boost productivity. What would your clients and prospects think if they walked into your office to find clusters of paper work everywhere, dirty carpets and disorganised tables?
If I walked into such an office and I would turn back and leave straight away and I bet you would too. With that mind set I’ll share with you some easy to execute office cleaning tips to help keep your office sparkling clean at all time, be it a town office or a home office.
Generally town offices are cleaned by professional office cleaning companies but there are certain things that can be done to help improve the cleanliness of these work places.
This first tip might sound obsolete but you would be surprised how many offices still haven’t applied it to their work environment. Reduce paper clutter by bringing in a digital filing system.
It’s likely your business already has a network, and that’s a great starting point. Next comes a complete overhaul of the network’s file structure. This will take some time and careful consideration. A general rule-of-thumb is that an effective digital file system – when compartmentalized – reflects exactly how the business is organised and leaves room for future amendment and likely change.
Create a cleaning and organisation inspection team, the idea here is to nominate two or three employees, depending on the size of your workforce, to go around the office inspecting tables and drawers.
This inspection team should report directly to the office manager or to you. They should give out warnings for those who don’t keep their workstation organised and then issue penalties. That way you will incite your workers to keep their tables and drawers organised at all times.
For home office workers you will have to be your own inspectors, even though you might not get anyone visiting your office. Remember what was said in the beginning of this article – A clean and organised workplace boosts productivity.
Incite recycling by adding recycling bins in your office’s kitchen and around the office. Pick a day of the week to do a “Paper recycling day”. You can use the cleaning and organization inspection team to go around the office asking for people to get rid of old paper work that won’t be filed.
Professional help
As my last piece of advice, I would recommend you seek professional help to enhance even further the cleanliness and hygiene of your office. Hire an office cleaning company and let them to do the dirty work for you.
Got any office cleaning tips you would like to share with our readers. Do not hesitate to leave them in our comments section below.
