Anti-Bacterial Computer/Telephone Cleaning
What's lurking in your keyboard?
If there's an outbreak of coughs and colds in your office, the culprit could be your keyboard. Almost two-thirds of computer keyboards are harbouring germs and even mould, according to a report in The Independent.
Phones, desks and keyboards were all found to be harbouring bugs that could help illness spread among office staff.
Two-thirds of office workers eat lunch at their desk but don't clean their workstation afterwards, leaving germs to fester. Computer staff, lawyers and accountants were said to be the most unhygienic office workers, while social workers were more likely to have mouldy food on their desks. And it's not just food sneeze on your keyboard and the bacteria could spread.
Dr Lisa Ackerley, one of the UK's leading food safety experts, said: "This research has shown that there are some very unhygienic desks right now in 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.
"Keeping equipment such as keyboards, phones and desks as germ-free as possible is even more important during the cold and flu season."
At Capital we
think about hygiene all the time and we'd like to reassure our
customers that we use the most effective cleaners and cleaning
processes, all designed to reduce cross contamination.
Today, with health and safety high on the agenda, computer cleaning is still in great demand and with hot desking being a feature of many offices, sanitisation of keyboards and telephones is essential in order to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
In 2008 we got together with our suppliers to source a completely new range of cleaning products, created exclusively for our use.
We found out that scientific tests had identified Caflon 6411 (Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride) as the anti-bacterial agent that is most effective against germs commonly found on keyboards and telephones.
Capital's casing cleaner and anti-static solutions now contain Caflon 6411 as do the wipes we use for telephone handsets and keyboards. The casing cleaner we use for computer towers, cases, keyboards and mice has two ammonia compounds that are effective against e-coli, salmonella and listeria.
For telephone ear and mouth pieces our sachet-protected anti-bacterial wipes have similar properties yet are designed for comfortable use near the face.
As Derek Ettridge, Purchasing Manager at Capital notes "The space underneath a keyboard is a great place for germs to lurk. We are infecting our own keyboards every time we cough and sneeze. Tiny fragments of dropped food can cause a fungal growth."
For this reason keyboards receive particular attention when they are cleaned. Derek explains: "We apply some cleaner to our special brushes and by holding the keyboard at an angle we can get underneath the keys and brush down. We also pay careful attention to all key punches. Our cleaners kill most germs, fungi and viral infections."
It takes an experienced Capital operative about six minutes to clean a typical workstation, longer for one which has not been maintained well. Our operatives are given gloves to wear when they work. This has up to now been an option; we are now advising that gloves should be worn all the time. We are also providing anti-bacterial hand gel on all sites.
Computer equipment is a costly investment for any organisation it makes sense to look after your investment.
We have been providing computer cleaning services to thousands of organisations for over 20 years.
Regular preventative maintenance is also essential. It can not only extend the life of equipment, but can also help prevent equipment failure.
A planned programme of regular computer cleaning will also enhance the office environment and can promote staff morale and performance.
We have a quality control system that ensures optimum service delivery every time. And along with our after care service we guarantee customer satisfaction.
Cleaning specifications are designed to meet the client's individual needs.
We can carry out one off or periodic cleans at any time, anywhere and on any type of electronic equipment.
