The office pantry — where employees looking for respite can take their much-needed breaks. That is unless it’s left in poor conditions, which, in that case, may be the last place they’d want to be! 

After all, an ill-maintained office pantry is predisposed to harmful germs in pantry stock; dirt and dust that can cause skin irritations; and even infestation problems to do with ants, cockroaches, rats, and even shrews.  

With the pantry being a communal place for snacking, dining, and relaxing, it’s of utmost importance that companies do their best to keep this area of the office clean, such that employees have a safe space to truly unwind and de-stress or have their meals in.

In that vein, here are five simple kitchen etiquettes you can incorporate into your company culture, to ensure that your office pantry stays spick-and-span clean. 

1. Microwave Manners

Nobody likes the idea of heating up their food inside a dirty microwave. So, make sure your employees follow these two simple rules: 

First, though covered air-tight containers are a big no-no for microwaves, all employees should ensure that they place a loose cover atop their food whenever using the microwave. This prevents food splatters and spillage—which are the main culprits behind dirty microwaves—while also helps their food get heated more evenly (a win-win, see?).

Second, in the case where there are splatters, make sure they are wiped up with a damp cloth as soon as the microwave cools down. Even better, invest in a non-toxic, food-equipment-friendly cleaning agent to ensure your microwave is the cleanest it can be. This will help prevent food splatters from crusting up and staining the microwave.

2. Clean-As-You-Go Courtesy

The last thing you’d want is a messy kitchen counter and stacks of dirty dishes in the sink. These are prime conditions for pest infestation and bacterial growth, and leaving such conditions to fester may lead you to eventually require professional office cleaning services.

Get your employees to adopt a clean-as-you-go mindset; if everyone picks up after themselves, there’ll be little to no mess to worry about at the end of the day.

3. Refrigerator Resilience

This one’s simple: if there’s rotting food in the fridge—doesn’t matter if it’s spoiled meat, sour dairy, or mouldy produce—throw them away immediately! Make sure your employees keep track of their own food and beverages that they store in the pantry fridge.

You may also want to implement a system where the refrigerator is checked for any expired or expiring items at the end of each week; in other words, make refrigerator resilience part of your office cleaning routine!

4. Alerting Authorities

As much as we hate it, kitchen accidents do happen, and the results can often be a literal mess. In cases where employees find themselves facing spills or other mishmashes that’s too much for them to handle, they should alert the relevant authorities — which in most cases mean the friendly office cleaning personnel!

Aside from food spills, employees should also voice out if ever anything breaks, or if they’ve noticed any essential supplies such as paper towels start to run low.

5. Call In the Calvary! 

And last but not least—in fact, perhaps the most important of all—is an etiquette not so much for employees to follow, but one employers must uphold if they want to provide their workers with a clean office pantry to enjoy. 

Employers should definitely, absolutely, without hesitation, call in for professional help wherever and whenever needed. 

Professional cleaning services exist in Singapore, and affordable expert contractors such as Lifeline Cleaning can get complex office cleaning issues out of the way for you and your employees. 

If your office pantry (or your entire office in general, even) is currently in a dire state, you can also engage us for our office cleaning services, such that your employees can see and feel the difference a clean office and office pantry can make.

That way, they’re bound to be more motivated to adopt the etiquettes outlined above, and everyone can then enjoy a clean office pantry for good! 

Get Professional Cleaning Services with Singapore’s Leading Company in Cleaning Services 

Lifeline Cleaning provides professional cleaning services all across Singapore, including office cleaning, carpet cleaning, restaurant cleaning, and even commercial & industrial cleaning. We also offer disinfection services for premises of all sizes and scales. 

You can check out our professional portfolio here, or simply contact us for any and all inquiries you may have!

What should you look for in a professional commercial cleaning service? Hiring a reliable, professional office cleaning company in Singapore is a decision that should not be taken lightly. You would want the best price, but you need to consider credibility, value and quality of the service that you hire.

Your Budget

When hiring a commercial and office cleaning company, the budget allocated for outsourcing these services is a major concern. You can either choose to hire the services of a large enterprise or a small-scale cleaning company. You would, of course, have to weigh the cost versus the value that these cleaning companies offer. A large-scale cleaning company in Singapore would have the latest cleaning technology and equipment available to provide more professional commercial and office cleaning services. A small-scale company may be more affordable without the cleaning equipment. However, that does not mean they cannot be effective in cleaning the office space. It depends on the size of your office, and the type of cleaning you would require.

Your budget may be a factor in deciding the professional office cleaning services you hire, but it should not be the deciding factor. Below are several other factors that you should look out for before making your choice. Office cleanliness goes beyond having a workable environment as it affects employee welfare, improves productivity, hygiene and health of both clients and employees.

Quality of Commercial and Office Cleaning Service

Keep an eye out for certain qualities that could point to the reliability of the company you are considering to engage.

One indicator would be the training and certification of their personnel. A trustworthy company would train and certify its employees to be better and more knowledgeable workers. Cleaning seems to be an easy task, right? However, there is a lot of expertise needed to clean commercial places thoroughly and effectively.

Innovation is also important in this industry. Having specialised cleaning tools and cleaning solutions is a sign of a professional commercial cleaning service. While they need not always have the most advanced and high tech equipment, a reliable office cleaning company should have more than just buckets, mops and soap. You must use different cleaning solutions and cleaning methods to clean different surfaces and materials.

Customisable Services

Every company has a different way they would approach cleaning. Every office is also different and has specific requirements. The cleaning company in Singapore should be able to offer a range of services and plans that are customisable to your specific needs. As mentioned previously, different materials of the drapes or flooring in the office would require different cleaning methods. If your office space has high ceilings, the company you hire should be able to accommodate them. Carpets are a common feature and the main component of many offices in Singapore. The cleaning company should have office carpet cleaning capabilities to deep clean an area of the office that carries much dirt, girme and bacteria.

Experience

Experience in this industry matters. It is worth your while to research who the cleaning company has serviced for in the past. An honest and reliable cleaning company would be more than willing to share their references and reviews. It can also be beneficial to directly contact these references or past clients to enquire if they were happy with the level of service provided by the cleaning company.

Disinfection Services in Singapore

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the cleaning industry in Singapore and globally. Office disinfection services are now a vital and obligatory part of the services you should be looking out for when choosing professional office cleaning services in Singapore. A clean and sanitised working environment is essential to maintain employee morale and safety. Professional disinfection services in Singapore should be carried out using specialised cleaning and disinfection tools to efficiently eliminate the bacteria in the office and prevent any further outbreak of the Covid-19 virus.

The Lifeline Service

In the end, your decision should hinge on the value and quality of service that best suits your office needs. Lifeline Cleaning is the top professional cleaning service provider in Singapore that provides contract services, professional one-off and regularly scheduled cleaning services to suit your needs. The flexibility, experience, industry connections, and service excellence make Lifeline Cleaning the ideal choice for your office space.

Clean, stain-free floors are essential for employee satisfaction — no one wants to work in a dirty, unsanitary environment. Floors that have clean and pristine-looking floors tend to impress clients and add to the credibility of your business.

Types of Commercial Floors for Office Cleaning

Tile Floors

Tile floors are the top choice of flooring for businesses because of their resilience and durability. They are used in high-traffic areas because they are low maintenance and don’t pick up stains as easily as carpeted floors.

Commercial Carpet

Carpeted floors give offices a homely and comfortable vibe. Places with carpeted floors need to pay attention to how they maintain their floors. Carpeted floors tend to pick up stains easily and collect debris from all the foot traffic.

Commercial Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are beautiful, but they do have their challenges. Dirt and grime embed into the naturally porous surface, making them susceptible to damage in high traffic areas such as offices. It is essential to have regular cleaning and maintenance work done on the floors to maintain professional appearances.

How to Clean Commercial Floors

Depending on your business’s flooring, there are different ways to approach cleaning commercial floors in Singapore.

Tile Floors

Tile floors are easy to clean because of their durability. You mainly need a mop, a bucket, a neutral cleaner with a pH of seven and an air mover. To mop tile floors:

1.  Remove large debris by sweeping or vacuuming.

2.   Avoid adding harsh chemicals into your bucket of water, as the solution can strip the finishing of the tiles and give your floor a dull appearance.

3.   Using a string mop instead of a sponge mop will only push dirty water into grout lines, making them harder to clean later.

4.   Change the water frequently.

5.   Set up your air mover to dry the floor faster. You can also buff your floors dry using a microfiber mop.

For tile floors, you need to pay attention to grout lines that are porous and can absorb stains. Using a neutral, natural grout cleaner will ensure the grout sealants do not break down.

While cleaning tile floors on your own is viable, hiring a professional to clean your tiles commercially will guarantee spectacular results much faster. Lifeline Cleaning’s scrubbing and waxing services will bring in our experts with the latest scrubber and polisher machines to easily get those scuffs and stains off your floors. Some stubborn stains require a higher concentration of cleaner solution or stripping of the wax coating. Our professional commercial cleaners will have the knowledge and equipment to make the right decision for you.

Commercial Carpet

There are three ways to clean carpeted floors:

1. Vacuuming. It is important to regularly vacuum your carpet, even more so right before you start cleaning your carpet to remove as much debris from the material as possible.
2. Spot cleaning with carpet cleaning solution. It is important to regularly vacuum your carpet, even more so right before you start cleaning your carpet to remove as much debris from the material as possible.
3. Deep cleaning. Using wet/shampoo extraction cleaning method with disinfectant chemicals. This deep cleaning method prolongs the colour and life of the carpets as well as prevents airborne and dust mites growth.

We highly recommend you engage our professional carpet cleaning services to take care of stains on your office floors. Our professional carpet cleaning and maintenance services create a safe and conducive environment for your employees. Engaging Lifeline Cleaning to maintain your carpet floors regularly will reduce carpet cleaning or replacement costs over time.

Commercial Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are susceptible to warping or buckling; a gentler approach is required when cleaning them.

1. As always, sweep your floors regularly with a broom or dry mop, especially before mopping.
2. Use a microfiber mop instead of a sponge and yarn mop because these mop heads carry too much water and can cause hardwood floors to warp.
3. Use a solution with a specific pH balance made for hardwood floors.

Commercial cleaning of hardwood floors will be careful to use appropriate sealants that can keep the hardwood finishing looking shiny and new.

Commercial Cleaning in Singapore

Engaging commercial cleaning services to clean your office floors will maintain a high level of cleanliness in your premises at all times. In addition to office cleaning, we also provide disinfection services to keep your business spaces healthy and safe. We pride ourselves in providing affordable and effective disinfection and sanitation services for premises of all sizes and scales, so any organisation can have the best cleaning solutions within reach.

Get in touch with us to find out how we can provide unique solutions for your commercial spaces.

Moving Away from a COVID-Zero Plan

If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that the COVID-19 virus is here to stay. The Singapore authorities have announced plans to change their management of COVID in Singapore. Right now, we are in the transitional phase to learn to live with the coronavirus and manage its transmission.

As Singapore shakes itself out of living under lockdown conditions, many Singaporeans are apprehensive about returning to work at the office and worry about the risk of contracting the coronavirus. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has released requirements for Safe Management Measures to prepare for a return to the workplace in January 2022. The government views the workplace as a place where the risk of transmitting the coronavirus is high.

Why Do You Need a Safe Workspace?

To transition into living a life with COVID, a professional cleaning service provider plays a vital role. Lifeline Cleaning is a professional cleaning service that offers commercial cleaning in Singapore.

Keeping office spaces clean and disinfected will be vital in managing the transmission of the COVID-19 as we prepare for this transition into a seemingly “normal” life. The high human traffic at offices and opportunities for intermingling increases the risk of a cluster forming. We have to do our best and stay vigilant to ensure that our local transmission does not skyrocket once we return to working at the office.

Our staff at Lifeline Cleaning are fully trained to ensure our service meets the National Environmental Agency’s guidelines for professional office cleaning and disinfection. General cleaning must be combined with regular disinfection to maintain a sterile and clean work environment.

Why Are Office Disinfection Services Important?

Disinfection services protect your office and by removing and killing harmful bacteria and viruses. Our disinfection services and technology will help you eliminate 99.9% of surface bacteria and viruses on contact.

Misting

Our biodegradable misting is an efficient disinfection method that gets rid of harmful viruses and bacteria and is safe for use on food processing equipment. Misting should be undertaken periodically to sustain the virus-free status.

General Cleaning with Disinfectant

You should watch out for high-contact surfaces in your office – places where many hands and bodies come into contact daily. Doors, handles, handrails, desktops, and keyboards are some examples, to name a few. These places need regular cleaning and disinfection, and Lifeline Cleaning offers thorough office disinfection services curated for your office’s specific needs and considerations.

We are aware of the staggering work arrangements that most offices will adopt and can cater our service to complement the new work arrangements. This way, your office will always remain sanitised throughout the day.

Comprehensive Cleaning Services Company in Singapore

Lifeline Cleaning prides ourselves on our comprehensive services to help our clients ensure they get the best value for commercial and office cleaning.

Professional Carpet Cleaning Services

Apart from cleaning high-touch surfaces, carpets and other soft furnishings can be a breeding spot for bacteria and should not be forgotten. Office carpets need regular deep cleaning with the proper specialised tools. Our professional carpet cleaning services will sanitise your carpets in the office and remove stains and grime to give your office a healthier and fresher look.

Dusting Services

You can engage us to remove dust accumulation in the hard-to-reach places on the ceiling. Maintaining a dust-free environment removes any allergens and keeps the air in the office breathable and healthy.

Get the Best Cleaning Company in Singapore

Having a cleaned and disinfected workplace will provide you and your co-workers a peace of mind when you return to work. A safe workplace is a beautiful workplace.

We also offer other professional cleaning services such as restaurant cleaning and commercial cleaning. Contact us soon to get started on the office cleaning plan for 2022 with a reliable cleaning company.

Dust, composed of up to five thousand different small particles of materials such as animal dander, the skin we shed, soil particles, smoke and ashes, bacteria, pollen, hair, insect parts, fibres, fungi, and dust mites, can find its way into your home or office and settle on everything. While most types of dust don’t cause severe illnesses, they can cause allergies and sickness. These include symptoms such as coughing, eye irritation, sneezing, and in severe cases, asthma or hay fever.

In offices, dust can cause your employees to fall sick more often. However, it is quite difficult to keep the workplace dust-free since dust can enter your workplace from many different sources. The workplace is also filled with areas that can accumulate dust quickly. A lot of these areas are out of plain sight and hard to reach, so it can be easy to overlook them.

What are some of the effective ways to dust in order to maintain a clean and comfortable working environment?

1. Wipe With a Microfiber Cloth

Microfiber cloths are a highly recommended tool for dusting. From windows to the floor, experts continue to recommend this specific cleaning tool. Its many advantages range from it saving money and outlasting other cleaning cloths to it being safe for the environment and being able to remove 99 per cent of dust on surfaces.

A microfiber cloth works by using its millions of fibres to lift and hold dirt, grease, grime, liquids, and bacteria. The positive-charged polyester fibres and negative-charged nylon fibres actually attract and pull up whatever is on the surface you’re cleaning.

Invest in a microfiber cloth and clean your tabletops at least once a week with it. For dusting, leave the cloth dry and wipe top-down. A damp cloth, on the other hand, would work better for disinfecting. You can spray antibacterial cleaner on it and wipe the table down. After each use, wash the microfiber cloth with water as per its recommended temperature.

2. Use a Blind Duster

Windows can be cleaned regularly, but what about the blinds or shades that cover them? They need some extra attention too. Blinds are great at keeping a room cool, blocking out light, and providing privacy but they are also great at collecting dust, hair, and other dirt that the wind brings. They can be a hassle to clean – but they don’t have to be.

Gather your cleaning supplies first. To tackle your blinds, you are going to need either a specific blind duster or a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment. Begin by fully lowering the blinds. Hold the bottom of the blind in one to stabilize it and use the vacuum cleaner or duster to dust, starting from the top and working your way down. Flip the blinds and repeat the process. If dusting is not enough, dampen a fibre cloth with warm water and wipe them down as well. Open them up and let them air-dry.

Clean your blinds at least once a month so the dust accumulation won’t get too bad.

3. Vacuum Carpeted Floors Regularly

Carpets are at a higher risk of dust accumulation. They contain small fibres that can trap a huge amount of dust and dirt. Soon enough, it results in a dusty matted carpet, especially in an area with high foot traffic.

There is no other way around carpet maintenance apart from engaging professional carpet cleaning services or with a vacuum cleaner. And that is a basic first step towards keeping it clean daily. In the long run, carpets need to be professionally cleaned and maintained from time to time to ensure longevity and hygiene level. It maintains the quality of the carpet and upkeeps the cosy and comfortable ambience of your corporate environment.

4. Engage Professional Dusting Services

Your regular janitor might keep your office clean, but they might not be able to keep your office space dust-free, which is why engaging office cleaning services regularly might be a better idea. Janitors might not be able to reach higher areas such as checkered ceilings or running overhead pipes above 3 meters, above the air-conditioner, and above the lights. Engage the help of Lifeline Cleaning’s dusting services to reach the most difficult and unreachable areas where dirt and dust usually accumulate.

Keeping your office dust-free is not always a walk in the park. Get in touch with Lifeline Cleaning today to get a free consultation and leave all your worries (and dust) in the hands of a trusted professional!

COVID-19 has brought unprecedented human and humanitarian challenges to everyone in the world. Even though the pandemic was an event that even the most extreme business-continuity plans hadn’t envisioned, companies rose to the occasion and acted swiftly to safeguard their employees. For many, this meant a complete shift from their offices to working from home. However, as we are closing towards a 2-year mark since the start of the pandemic, the situation seems to be slowly turning tides again. Although work-from-home remains as the default arrangement, more workers are returning to their offices. With staggered starting hours and the implementation of flexible working hours, companies are finding their way back to having their employees at their desks.

Being able to return to offices to work does not negate the need to keep the concern for workplace safety and cleanliness at an all-time high. In fact, it just makes it all the more a priority. Measures such as banning social gatherings at work have been put into place to reduce the chances of interaction. Now that workplace gatherings are banned, how else can we keep the office clean and safe for staff?

Why is Keeping the Workplace Clean and Sanitary Important?

Early in the pandemic, cleanliness became a high priority. And the importance of frequent cleaning and disinfecting has only increased since then. Workers are increasingly emphatic that the interior of office buildings need that extra layer of defence.

Keeping the office clean can inhibit the spread of communicable diseases. Serious respiratory illnesses are generally spread through coughing or sneezing, touching objects with contaminated hands, and touching your face after touching contaminated objects. This means that COVID-19 can also be spread easily through close contact and airborne particles.

An unsanitary workplace can also cause employees to fall ill more frequently. Thus, it is of utmost importance to keep the workplace safe for employees to return to. In addition to limiting your exposure to the infection, what else should be done to keep the workplace clean and safe?

Declutter Work Desks

The best place you can start with is the work desk. Encourage employees to keep their work desks clean and clutter-free. A messy desk equals a messy mind. It can make individuals feel overwhelmed, stressed out or defeated. With a simple daily routine of decluttering the table, employees can experience a sense of peace and satisfaction, both physically and mentally.

So how does one go about decluttering their desk? Set some time aside for it every day, perhaps 10 minutes. Decrease the paper clutter by digitising as many files as possible. Print documents only when necessary and immediately shred or dispose of the ones you don’t need anymore. Provide your staff with drawer organisers and allow them to customise it by labelling it for all the items on your desk, such as stationery.

Sanitise your own tabletop regularly. This includes your keyboard as well as other high-touch surfaces. Due to the ban on workplace gatherings, you might be eating at your desk. Hence, this should be a daily practice. The visual distraction of a cluttered work environment can make you unproductive and less likely to focus. Stay motivated with a neat and orderly work desk.

Disinfect Shared Spaces

Many areas in the office are accessed by more than one group of people. Places such as the pantry, lobby area and meeting rooms need some extra tender loving care. Use an antibacterial cleaner to clean the surfaces and any objects such as telephones in these areas. High-touch areas such as doorknobs and elevator buttons need to be regularly wiped down too. It will be easier for your employees to remember to clean and sanitise their workspaces when they are equipped with the proper tools they need to do so. Some basic products they must have access to include hand cleaner and hand sanitiser, paper towels, sanitising sprays, and disposable wipes.

Contamination on surfaces touched by employees and customers is one of the main ways that COVID-19 spreads. Hence, it is important for these places to be kept disinfected. Hand sanitisers should also be placed at prominent places around the workplace and regularly refilled.

Engage Professional Disinfection Services

Daily cleaning is great, but it is not enough to remove bacteria completely. Once every few months, the office needs to go through thorough disinfection. It is crucial for maintaining a hygienic and pleasant working environment. Deep cleaning curbs the spread of infections and takes care of clutter and dust.

How is deep cleaning or disinfection different from regular cleaning services? Deep cleaning leaves no stone unturned, seeing to it that all the nooks and crannies, surfaces and corners are cleaned and sanitised. It is a thorough office cleaning procedure that is vital to keep the virus at bay in workplaces.

Professionals are usually brought in to conduct deep cleaning services as they are equipped with the experience to expertly get the job done. At Lifeline Cleaning, we provide disinfection services for premises of all sizes and scales in Singapore. The treatment is affordable, effective, and most importantly safe. We use the Ultra-low Volume (ULV) fogging machine that is designed to produce very small droplets, thus ensuring even coverage with low volumes. The ULV fogging machine relies on an auto dry process, meaning that surfaces do not require rinsing after.

Get in touch today to get a free quotation!