A comfortable, clean, well-designed workspace is essential to your productivity and well-being at work. Desks and partitions are commonplace in the modern office. There are many benefits to adding partitions to your office space. They give structure to an empty space that provides workflow. They give employees a sense of space and ownership of their space. They are practical but also add a nice aesthetic to your office. Slowly but surely, we are seeing a decrease in the cramped cubicles. It is easy to imagine an office space where as many desks as possible are stuffed into a single room.
This has been the standard office design since offices were invented. You might be lucky enough to have a more open-planned office, or you might still be cramped in a cubical. But either way, it’s essential that you keep your walls, desk, partitions, and cubicle clean.
If you are at a messy, dirty desk, you will be less persistent, wearier, more frustrated, and less efficient in your work. And nobody wants to make their work more difficult than it already is.
How do you clean office walls?
When cleaning, everyone vacuums, dust, and wipes down their desk, but few people remember to wash their walls. But walls, especially in offices, are touched, dirtied, spilt on and lent against all the time.
There are many types of walls, such as painted walls, brick walls, wallpapered walls, and fabric walls. And so, it is essential that you clean your walls according to their type. The most common type of wall in an office is a painted wall. And there are many different types of paint, oil-based, satin or gloss finish and latex paint.
How to clean your painted office wall
- Use a cloth or sponge and soak it in your cleaning solution. For oil-based paint, use white vinegar and water. For a satin finish, use dish detergent or white vinegar. For a gloss finish, mix white vinegar and dish detergent; for latex, use warm water and non-abrasive all-purpose cleaners. Avoid harsh chemicals on your walls; don’t scrub them with coarse fabrics or scrubbing brushes.
- Ring the cloth or sponge out. You don’t want to make your walls too wet as it can damage the paint and wood and lead to mould build-up.
- Wipe down the wall using a circular motion. Start at the top left-hand corner and work your way down as if you’re writing on a page.
- If you have stains that won’t come off, make a baking soda paste with water and gently scrub it off. If the stain still doesn’t come off, seek professional assistance. You don’t want to start using harsher chemicals and damaging the wall more than before.
- Take another cloth or sponge and soak it in water.
- Ring it out until it is almost dry.
- Wipe the wall a second time to remove the solution and any excess moisture.
- Dry the wall off with a paper towel or dry cloth.
- Let it air out. Turn on your fan, open the curtains, windows, and doors and let the sunshine on it. You don’t want your wall to remain damp in a cold dark environment.
How to clean cubicle walls?
Your desk might not be beside a wall but surrounded by a cubicle. Cubicles give you a private works space where you can separate yourself from your colleagues and focus on your own tasks.
But the walls of your cubicle are different from the walls of your office. Cleaning is a little more tricky than wiping it with a wet cloth or sponge because most cubicle walls are made of fabric.
How do you clean a fabric cubicle wall?
- De-clutter your cubicle walls – Remove all posted notes, pins, calendars, and family photos from the cubicle wall.
- Clear away all devices – Such as computer screens, keyboards, PCs or anything else blocking you from getting to your cubicle walls.
- Vacuum your cubicle wall – Take the turbo brush off the end of your vacuum and replace it with your upholstery brush. Vacuuming will suck out the build-up of dust mites, dirt, pollens and other allergenic particles. You might find yourself sneezing less after vacuuming your cubicle walls.
- Treat stains – Spot clean any stains on your wall. Test the product before applying to ensure you don’t damage the cubicle walls.
- Clean cubicle walls – Make a solution by combining detergent and warm water in a bottle. Shake until you have created a soupy foam. Take a soft scrubbing brush and dip it into the foam, not the water. This stops your cubicle walls from getting wet. Gently brush the cubicle walls in circular motions, starting from the top left corner and working your way to the bottom.
- Dry it out – Wipe down the cubicle walls with a dry cloth, then let it fully dry out. Blast it with a fan, and don’t put any of your posted notes back onto it until it is fully dry.
- Wipe down your desk and dust all of your devices.
How do I clean a glass partition in my office?
You might not notice the build-up of dust or dirt on your office or cubicle walls, but you will definitely see it on your glass partitions. Glass partitions can make an office space look modern and professional.
They provide soundproofing and make the space feel less cramped. But letting them get dirty and covered in hand prints can make your office space feel dirty and unloved.
Here is the best way to clean your glass partition.
- Clean the framework first. Wipe down the joints and framing before the glass. When cleaning the framing, you might smudge a streak across the glass, but this doesn’t matter if you clean the framing first.
- Dust off the glass. Using a dry paper towel, wipe off any dust on the glass.
- Remove stains. Using water and baking soda paste, scrub off any stains with a soft old toothbrush.
- Use a micro fibre cloth to clean the glass. Other fabrics can leave streaks or trails of lint across the glass.
- Mist the glass with a glass cleaner. Don’t use an all-purpose cleaner as it will leave streaks and could damage the glass. Start at the top and let the glass cleaner run down on its own.
- Wipe down the glass. Start in the top left-hand corner and work your way down the glass panel.
- Stop as soon as you see streaks appearing. This means your cloth has gotten too wet, and you need to replace it with a fresh one.
