How Professional Cleaning Services Can Ensure a Healthier Workforce

Winter is flu season, and dreaded by every parent with school age children. They know that schools and playgrounds are just a merry-go-round of infections. However, it’s not just schools but also offices and any other kind of building where large numbers of people gather, that are home to infections that are passed from person to person. A professional cleaning service that thoroughly cleans all areas and surfaces greatly reduces the risk of infection and all the disruption that brings.

Schools: reading, writing, and…bacteria?
Most parents are worried, and rightly so, about the school environments into which they send their children everyday. As far back as 2002, the National Center for Education Statistics published a study that revealed the sorry state of the nation’s schools. Two thirds of them, or 66%, had at least one problem. These problems related to cleanliness, vandalism and necessary repairs.
The study found evidence of overflowing trash, graffiti, and ceilings that were cracked or broken.
Such a physical environment is unfortunately a magnet for bacteria and mold, which can produce a range of ailments from minor to serious.

Business productivity suffers due to sick days
As mentioned above, offices as well as schools suffer from flu epidemics and other types of infections. In fact, businesses lose more than $225 billion dollars a year due to employees having to take sick days. That corresponds to a 54% decline in productivity. For all businesses, but especially for small and medium businesses, that’s a heavy loss.
Typical office furniture can harbor thousands of germs. For instance, a mouse, keyboard or even a chair can be home to 21,000 germs per square inch. That’s right, per square inch. A desktop typically houses as many as 10 million bacteria.
Not only are germs widely prevalent, they’re a hardy lot and can survive long enough to infect a large number of people. On a hard surface like a desk, telephone, mouse or doorknob, a flu virus can survive for two days.

Professional cleaning services can help beat infections
With all those germs and bacteria out there, it’s not surprising that somewhere between 5 to 20% of all Americans get flu each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). As many as 80% of all infections spread through hands coming into contact with contaminated surfaces.
All of this underlines the benefits of hiring a cleaning company. Professional cleaning services can play an important role in keeping down infections and sickness. Regular cleaning can reduce the possibility of infection. Cleaning companies tend to schedule their work for the second or third shift, to avoid disrupting daily routines.

Green cleaning is here, and it’s better
Many professional claiming services are now offering green cleaning services, which are better for humans as well as the environment. It costs less and is healthier.
Commercial cleaning services recognize the importance climate change risks that can affect their operations.

Most professional cleaning service are trying to incorporate green cleaning methods and materials into their operations. Healthier buildings mean healthier and more productive people.