Returning to your office brings the potential to rebuild relationships amongst work teams, serve customers, and increase productivity for your business. Cleaning and sanitation are at the forefront of every sound re-opening plan, and it is vital to have the right supplies to maintain a clean and sanitized workplace.
With the rise of COVID-19, cleaning and sanitizing became even more essential in our daily lives. However, exposure to the powerful chemicals existent in cleaning supplies can create other concerns for your employees that you should be aware of. Many cleaning supplies contain Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs that can reduce air quality and may subject your employees to yet another health risk upon returning to the office.
Learn more about the importance of sanitizing your office, what are VOCs, and how to create a clean office.
Why sanitize the office?
With social distancing policies in place, you may be asking yourself why additional cleaning and sanitation is needed for an office environment. As with many other viruses and allergens, COVID-19 is transmitted through microscopic droplets in the air that can linger for some time, as well as on the surfaces your employees touch every day.
Stopping the spread of disease in your workplace (especially COVID-19, where workers may be asymptomatic) requires diligence and the use of cleaners with powerful chemical compounds. While effective against dangerous viruses and bacteria, without proper ventilation, frequent use of such cleaners can raise your office VOCs to dangerous levels. To keep your environment as clean as required, but also keep your employees safe with improved air quality, we recommend the use of a specialized air purifier such as the Enviroklenz Mobile Air System with UV Light.
In addition to removing harmful VOCs from your workplace, an air purifier with UV action also eliminates other airborne allergens and harmful bacteria from your office air.
What are VOCs?
Volatile Organic Compounds, also known as VOCs, are everywhere. It’s possible that the materials used to build your office itself contain VOCs. VOCs are harmful, mostly manmade chemicals that are used to produce an assortment of industrial, cleaning, and even everyday office products. VOCs are found at dangerous levels indoors more than outdoors. When VOCs build up, they can pose a significant health risk to you and your employees. Because VOCs are invisible, they are often ignored in the average workplace, until someone falls ill.
VOCs are found in paints, stains, paint stripper, many cleaning supplies, common pesticides, lumber, copiers and printers, correction fluid, dry cleaning solution, even in permanent markers.
As mentioned before, the most effective way to clean your air of invisible VOCs is to use a specialized, high-powered air purifying system. The Enviroklenz Mobile Air System Plus combines Advanced earth mineral technology for toxic and noxious odor removal with HEPA filtration and ultraviolet germicidal radiation (UVC) to remove airborne particulates and allergens and inhibit the growth of captured microorganisms (such as bacteria, mold, and virus).
Best practices to keep the office clean
In order to avoid the build-up of VOCs in your office or work environment, we suggest seeking out green products that are low to zero VOC. During the global health crisis created by the spread of COVID-19, it may be difficult to find zero VOC products that are as effective as you’d like in combatting the spread.
It is for this reason that our UV air purifying system provides enhanced value. Not only does is successfully clear the air of harmful VOCs, it is also a second layer of protection against airborne pathogens.
Create a clean office checklist
While stopping the spread of allergens and disease can be a challenge, the good news is that there are many options on the market for creating a sustainably clean work environment for your employees and customers. Draft a written workplace policy to gain buy-in from your staff, with clearly identified roles in keeping the office clean with the following supplies:
- Sanitizing sprays and wipes
- Sanitizing sprays and wipes appropriate for each surface, including wood, tile, floors, and electronics.
- PPE
- Gloves, masks, and other personal protective equipment for employees to use while cleaning.
- Disposable cleaning supplies
- Such as paper towels and contactless delivery systems including touchless faucets and dispensers when possible.
- Air purification equipment
- Air purification equipment, specially made for clearing harmful VOCs as well as airborne viruses and bacteria.
EnviroKlenz® Medical Disclaimer:
“Any information that is provided on this website is not for the use by any commercial or personal entity without expressed written consent of the blog author. The material and statements illustrated within this blog are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases or medical conditions. Nor does the author in any way guarantee or validate the validity, totality, or efficacy of any claims and will therefore not be held responsible for the content of any claims. Always consult your medical physician for any specific medical advice or recommendations.”
