The lunchroom is the social hub of your workplace and is likely the highest traffic area in your building. Given the high concentration of people, activity, food, and beverages, messes will occur. Left unchecked and poorly maintained, your cafeteria environment will deteriorate.

Lunchrooms often tend to take to the worst smelling odors that inhabit them. Stale air, caused by overflowing trash cans, dirty microwaves, and an overcrowded refrigerator can create an uncomfortable funk in the room.

As all of these small flaws begin to add up, your once fresh and relaxing lunchroom can turn into a a greasy, smelly, dirt den. At Bennett Building Services, we deeply understand how your work environment affects the morale, health and productivity of employees and occupants. It is important that employees benefit from having a clean and safe environment to relax while on a break.

We've put together this checklist to walk through the steps we take to clean and disinfect lunchrooms.

Cleaning Checklist: Lunch Room

Daily Cleaning

1. Clean Microwaves: Dirty microwaves can become a health risk as a breeding ground for germs and a cross-contamination of a variety of foods. Additionally, buildup of food residue becomes odorous over time and deteriorates indoor air quality.
   
2. Clean and Wipe sinks and counter: With an all-purpose cleaner, spray and wipe down these surfaces, removing stains and buildup.
   
3. Wipe down and Sanitize all surfaces, and handles: Target door, cabinet, and refrigerator doors handles, tabletops, chairs, and vending machines. Cleaning and sanitizing thoroughly is done with a two-step process. First, with the all-purpose cleaner, wipe down the handles and cabinet. Next, with a disinfecting solution, wipe down the handles and allow to air dry. It's important to do an initial wipe of the surface before applying a disinfecting solution. 
   
4. Waste Disposal: Remove all trash, recycling, and compost. Removing trash regularly improves indoor air quality, and reduces chances of rodent and insect infestations.
   
5. Sweep: Sweep entire floor working from the farthest corner to the door. Special attention needs to be focused near and underneath tables, by counters and around trash cans. 
   
6. Vacuum: Carpeting in lunchrooms should be vacuumed daily, and stains should be treated as soon as possible. Floor runners should also be vacuumed daily. 
   
7. Mop: Working your way out of the room, wet mop all hard surface flooring paying special attention around tables, counters and trash cans. 

Weekly Cleaning

1. Dusting: Dust high to low. Clear the tops of cabinets, fridges, vending machines, tables, microwaves, toaster oven, window sills, and table bases. 
2. Detail Sweeping: Sweep under and around vending machines, refrigerators, and in corners where a dust mop may miss some excess dirt.
3. Detail Cleaning: Wipe down cabinets and exteriors of waste bins. 
4. Refrigerator Cleaning: Clear and clean out the refrigerator. Set a time each month for employees to clear out their containers. Clean wipe stains and residue from spillage. Throw out expired food and condiments.

What's The Takeaway?

Clean businesses are more productive ones. Lunchrooms are a key element of a thriving workplace. Improving office health and safety improves employees morale, reduces absenteeism and turnover and keeps your office on track and productive. Maintaining clean and safe common areas within the workplace takes constant and consistent care. 

We are ready to improve the appearance, odor and productivity in your office. Bennett Building Services is a trusted local janitorial for the Columbus area. We design unique, personalized cleaning programs to meet the needs of each facility we service. Schedule a building walk through for a free quote or give us a call at (614)-603-9021.