Preparing Your Office for Flu Season: A Disinfection Checklist
Published · Updated
Before flu season, increase disinfection frequency on high-touch points — door handles, elevator buttons, light switches and shared equipment — add weekly electrostatic spraying in shared rooms, stock touchless sanitiser at entrances, raise restroom service frequency, and communicate the plan to occupants. Most of this can be added to an existing contract seasonally.
The checklist
Flu and cold season is when high-touch disinfection matters most — and it is the easiest time to fall behind if your cleaning program is not built for it. This is what we recommend facility managers put in place before cases start climbing.
- Increase disinfection frequency on door handles, elevator buttons, light switches and shared equipment (printers, keyboards, phones).
- Add electrostatic spraying for breakrooms, conference rooms and other shared spaces at least weekly.
- Stock touchless hand sanitiser stations at entrances and near high-traffic common areas.
- Increase restroom service frequency and restock hand soap proactively rather than reactively.
- Communicate the plan to occupants — visible effort reduces anxiety and improves compliance with hygiene practices.
When to put it in place
Before cases climb, not after. A disinfection program started in response to an outbreak is dealing with transmission that has already happened; one started ahead of the season is reducing the transmission that would otherwise occur.
For most DMV facilities that means having the seasonal scope agreed and scheduled by early autumn, so it is running before the first wave rather than being negotiated during it.
Why the high-touch list is short and specific
The surfaces on the list above are not the dirtiest in the building. They are the ones touched by the most different people in the shortest time, which is what actually matters for transmission between people who never meet.
A door handle touched by four hundred people a day carries far more transmission risk than a desk touched all day by one. Concentrating effort where hands overlap does more than treating every surface equally.
Adding it without renegotiating your contract
We build seasonal disinfection add-ons into existing contracts with no long-term commitment required. That is deliberate: a seasonal need should not require a permanent change to your program or a new agreement.
Frequently Asked
What surfaces should be disinfected during flu season?
Door handles, elevator buttons, light switches and shared equipment such as printers, keyboards and phones. These are the surfaces touched by the most different people in the shortest time.
How often should an office be disinfected during flu season?
High-touch points should be disinfected on every service visit, with electrostatic spraying of breakrooms, conference rooms and other shared spaces at least weekly.
Does disinfecting replace regular cleaning?
No. Cleaning removes soil and disinfection reduces pathogens. They are different jobs, they use different products, and one does not substitute for the other.
Can seasonal disinfection be added to an existing cleaning contract?
Yes. Office Care builds seasonal disinfection add-ons into existing contracts with no long-term commitment required.
Related
Services: Disinfection Services · Daily Janitorial Cleaning · Day Porter Services
Guides: Cleaning Frequency · Janitorial vs. Deep Cleaning · Green Cleaning & EPA Products
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