If you stop and take a moment to really look at your office walls, you may be surprised at just how dusty, grimy, and scuffed they may be.
Because it doesn’t have to be done often, washing office walls is a common task that is easily overlooked. The walls of your office collect marks, fingerprints, and all manner of dirt, especially if your workplace is a busy one.
Cleaning your office walls may not be something you give a lot of thought to or include in your usual cleaning routine. However, the walls really do need a good wash from time to time to prevent the office space from looking dirty.
This effort will make a huge impact on the look and feel of the office, not to mention the health of your employees.
Why Cleaning Your Walls is Important
While not always visible, walls can get very dirty over time. Dust, mold, and cobwebs can be the biggest offenders when it comes to dirty walls.
Mold can also be a big issue if your walls are not cleaned regularly. Cleaning your walls can reduce the overall pollutants in your office and create a cleaner atmosphere for you and your employees.
If any of your employees have asthma or allergies, cleaning your walls is a task you will want to put on your maintenance list.
Whenever your windows are open, it provides an opportunity for pollen and other outdoor allergens to settle on your walls. This can trigger allergies in the office.
If your painted walls need a wash, these six simple steps will help you get the job done.
(1) Know the Paint Type
Before you do anything, determine what type of paint was used to cover your walls. For walls with gloss or semi-gloss paint, a wet solution can be used to thoroughly wash your walls. Eggshell or flat finish walls should be dry dusted, so as not to ruin the paint. (1)
(2) Pick a Perfect Day
Spring and fall are the best seasons for washing your walls. Spring cleaning motivates us to give our spaces a good once over from top to bottom after a winter with heating systems blowing out additional dirt and particles.
As we head into fall many companies perform maintenance checks to prepare their office for winter months. With open windows and additional summer traffic, office walls have likely collected marks, scuffs, dirt, and pollutants.
(3) Dust First
To get the best results, take care of dust and cobwebs that may have accrued on walls, cornices, skirting boards, and corners. Use a long-handled sturdy duster for this job, or even a microfiber cloth to wipe down the entirety of the wall while taking extra care to get into the corners.
(4) Be Safety Conscious
After dusting is complete, you can begin scrubbing the walls. Before you pick up your mop or wash cloth, always ensure that safety guidelines are being followed.
Use a proper and stable step ladder to reach the top of your walls, not a wobbly chair or an office chair with wheels on it. Do not stand on office desks or tables.
(5) Products to Use
A simple, colorless cloth or flat mop and a bucket of hot, soapy water is all you need to get the job done. Work from the top down, wiping and scrubbing in gentle circles. Be sure to change your soapy water whenever it starts to look dirty.
Wipe down door jams, wall trim, and around light switches with a wet cloth. For doors, you might need to scrub just a bit to get any fingerprints off.
(6) Rinse the Walls
Now that you have cleared the cobwebs from the corners and scrubbed off the last of the marks, give your walls a quick rinse. Use a fresh clean cloth and refill your bucket with clean water. Do not add soap or cleaner.
Starting at the top again, run over your clean walls to remove any suds or leftover dirt. And that’s it! Clean, blemish-free walls! Be sure to check back next week when we talk in depth about cleaning cubicle and partition walls.