When it comes to sanitation in your office kitchen, you can never be too careful. The kitchen can be a hot-spot for messes and pathogens, especially if there are a lot of people sharing the facilities. This makes it important to pay special attention to the office kitchen when considering workplace sanitation. To get you started, we’ve put together some guidelines to consider when keeping your office kitchen clean.
Employees Cleaning up After Themselves
The most common issue is employees not cleaning up after themselves. This could mean spills on table’s, counters, and even the floor from a water cooler. The other thing is there garbage and crumbs from their food they eat during their time in the kitchen. There should always be a respect factor in your office kitchen to clean up after yourself no matter the circumstance. If there is an issue, recognize it with a sign and/or memo to the employees stating to clean up after themselves.
Keeping the Refrigerator Clean
The refrigerator is a difficult thing to keep clean at all times. Sometimes we fall behind, and things on the inside get old and out of date. This is not a good way to practice sanitation methods in your office kitchen because it leads to a very dirty fridge mold and even sickness. To prevent this from happening, there should be a schedule once a week to remove everything from the refrigerator. You can an employee or the janitor can schedule a time once a week to do this to maintain the sanction of the fridge every week.
Coffee Maker and Soda Machine
A coffee machine should be cleaned out twice a week with a round of vinegar or coffee cleaning solution. This prevents bacteria and mold buildup in the water reservoir of the coffee pot and the inside as well. If you own an instant coffee machine, you should cleaned it at the end of every day. Instant coffee makers tend to build up bacteria much faster because they receive more use than a conventional coffee pot.
Some office break rooms have a fountain soda machine for their employees. If you do have one, the biggest thing is making sure that it is clean at all times. The reason for this is bacteria buildup, mold, and it draws bugs into your kitchen really easily. A fountain soda machine is not a wise addition if you cannot maintain its cleanliness daily. If you do have one, however, the best way to clean it, every day is to soak the tip of the soda sprayer in a solution made for it. The other thing to keep clean in the drain and platform it is sitting on or things will get very sticky and dirty.
Microwave
Your microwave will see things from popcorn to reheated hot dishes from the night before. The stains, messes, and smells this could sometime be nasty. The best cleaning procedure for this is to put a cup of vinegar in your microwave for one minute and then wipe it out easily once a week. When cleaning your microwave makes sure to get under the plate. By doing this the food doesn’t get stuck in the spinning mechanism and prevents the plate from spinning. If you don’t clean it you will end up having to replace your microwave sooner than later.
The best way to keep your office kitchen clean is to have someone clean it once a week at least. You may have your employees cleaning up after themselves and follow all the above but having someone deep clean once a week can make certain of good sanitation in your office kitchen. If you follow these guidelines you will be following proper business sanitation in central Texas and everywhere else.
