Many hands make light work.

In smaller offices, it’s not uncommon to find a cleaning rota and checklist that teams share duties on.

Washing the dishes, running the mop around, dusting the desks…

Let’s be honest, though; cleaning isn’t what your team’s there to do. Even with the best will in the world (and the ultimate office cleaning checklist), things get missed. Areas will be forgotten about entirely – probably until the day you move to a different office.

There are plenty of places in the office that everyone forgets to clean – and a few that everyone hopes will just go away if they ignore them! Here are some of the likeliest places in the office to find uncleaned.

Places in the office least likely to be cleaned

Under and behind the bins

Office bins fill up fast, but besides getting a new bin liner a couple of times a week, they’re not given much attention. Next time you throw away a tea bag or banana skin, have a look at the wall behind the bin. And if you’re feeling brave, the floor underneath it!

The fire extinguisher

These lifesavers should be inspected and serviced once a year. That’s no good for a cleaning schedule, though, and we’ve seen some very dusty examples in our time.

A dusty fire extinguisher will probably work just as well as a clean one in an emergency, but it won’t do much for the look of your office – so you may as well give your fire extinguishers a clean while you’re doing the rounds.

Buttons and light switches

Grubby light switches and lift buttons are a common sight in many offices. They can make an otherwise clean office look tired and unloved – and that grime is harbouring an unsettling number of office-bound germs, too.

Little details can make big differences. People interact directly with the buttons on copiers, lifts and light switches in your office. Making sure they’re clean adds to a positive experience. Oh, and don’t forget to dust the topside of the light switches.

The dishwasher

So, you tackled the full office sink problem by getting a dishwasher for your office – hooray!

After being used two or three times a day for a couple of years, your glasses and mugs are starting to come out with a distinct, pond-like aroma. And sometimes, there’s little sandy bits stuck to them. Yuck.

Yes, they do the cleaning, but office dishwashers need to be cleaned, too. There’s usually a little mesh part with a drain that collects bits of food – and that can fill up with all kinds of stuff over time. Give it some attention, and run a self-clean cycle once in a while.

Vents and extractors

Are vent grates and extractor fan intakes can get really dusty, as airflow leads dust particles straight to them. We don’t spend much time looking at these parts of an office, but they can contribute to the overall dustiness of an environment. They can be a bit tricky to reach sometimes, so make sure you’ve got all the cleaning equipment you need – like extendable dusters and step ladders.

Blinds

Blinds. They can be a real nightmare to clean! Every cleaner has different advice on how to clean office blinds, depending on the type of blinds and their equipment. The only important thing is that they get a regular dusting to avoid even more work later.

If you’re noticing that the blinds in your office are being left dusty (usually because nobody wants to clean them), be warned that this can lead to stickiness, requiring a much deeper clean in the long run.

Behind and under office furniture

Part of the reason why office computers collect so much dust is because they’re kept under desks rather than on top of them.

Office furniture creates a natural stop for dust, where airflow is restricted and particles can settle.

It’s important to pay attention to the areas behind and under desks, filing cabinets, drawers and office machines. These bigger objects rarely get moved, which can form dust traps over time.

Out of sight usually means out of mind – but all that dust can be bad for air quality and your office equipment, so make sure you add these areas to your rota.

Office cleaning in Cardiff (and those hard-to-reach spots)

Are you done with dusting? Has the vacuum cleaner sucked the life out of you? Then let The Abbey Cleaning Service do it for you. For reliable office cleaning in Cardiff – and the wider South Wales area – that gets in all those hard-to-reach spots, call 029 2067 9323 or use our contact form today.