Before the advent of computers and other technological breakthroughs in office equipment which have boosted productivity and efficiency at work, the common office cleaning supplies being used then were just the vacuum cleaner, the mop, the broom, the wiping cloth and the ever reliable and useful duster. In this modern day, sanitizing the room has become more than just cleaning the floor and tabletops. It now includes cleaning the office computer monitor, keyboard, printer and its other peripherals. That being said, more and more kinds of office cleaning supplies have been created in order to address a wide range of cleaning requirements for the office.

However, even in this computer era and with all those advanced office equipment and communication gadgetry, the old tools for cleaning the office has not become obsolete. In fact, they have proven themselves to be so useful as before and probably will always be. They have somewhat created a dynamic combination between the cleaning supplies and materials being used to clean the modern office and the various accessories and equipment therein.

With the above, we will enumerate in brief these most common cleaning supplies currently used for the office.

Most modern office has carpeted floors in order to enhance the looks and ambience therein which, in turn, will impress an elegant look to any office visitor. Hence, a trusty vacuum cleaner will most likely be the appropriate equipment for cleaning the office carpet of pesky dusts.

Anti-static cleaners are mostly used for the computer monitors. Dusts tend to attach themselves to computer screens due to the static electricity generated. You might notice that even after a few minutes after cleaning the screens, another set of dust particles would tend to set in. Using anti-static cleaners can be effective against such dusts.

Mops, brooms and dustpans have been used since the time of our forefathers. They have not evolved much into anything sophisticated. But still they are as reliable and useful as ever. I could not think of any other equipment that can make these two obsolete.

Like most anti-germ cleaning agents, most cleaning products are concentrated solutions with the primary purpose to get rid of grimes and oils left at various office areas, furniture and equipment by various office occupants such as co-workers. Some cleaning chemicals may also be formulated mildly in order to avoid damaging the sensitive electrical or electronic equipment at the office. Many of these are well-known in their generic names such as: gum remover, ink stain remover, multi-purpose cleaner, bleach, air duster or even the plain old whiteboard cleaner.

Ink stain removers are usually used to get rid of stains resulting from ink spills, blotted ballpoint pens and in some cases, lipstick stains. Most of these stains cannot be removed by plain water alone.

Gum removers are chemicals primarily formulated to remove gum stains from the office carpet. They can also be effective for rug cleaning too. It is quite surprising why people irresponsibly leave those sticky gums on the floor. There may be situations where waxes may end up on those nice looking carpet floors. This remover will also get rid of those wax stains with relative ease.

All-purpose cleaners are generally used against grease and hardened dirt. They usually act by dissolving those hardened dirt and some stubborn grease. Formulation of all-purpose cleaners are mild to gentle thereby making them safe to use on tabletops and other office fixtures.

Bleaches are commonly used as disinfectants and the most active ingredient in them is chlorine. Chlorine is widely known as an effective disinfectant as it has the ability to kill a wide variety of harmful pathogens and microbes. These disinfectants can be applied either by manual wiping or by using a cleaning equipment such as an indoor washer. It would be unlikely to use heavy duty equipment such as power washers. They are mostly applicable for outdoor use where no items can be damaged by the splashes from the pressure washer parts such as the nozzles not to mention the large amounts of cleaning solution discharge they bring. Moreover, air dusters normally come in the form of a can filled with compressed air. They are normally used to remove those accumulated dust in sensitive electronic office equipment such as computers, fax machines, photocopiers and printers where any liquid cleaner may cause damage.

Cleaner Ingredients – many types of cleaning solutions or concentrate may contain chemicals which might not be suitable for some office equipment or furniture finish. If applied improperly or you made the mistake of using the wrong office cleaning solution, these might cause visible damage to the finish to the leather surface of an office sofa, or corrode some metal parts of an office table or even create a visible stain on the table top which is impossible to remove. Every office cleaning solution has a warning or directions for use in the labels of their bottle or container. Make sure that you read and understand what are stated in the labels before you use them for cleaning around the office.

Chemical Poisoning – cleaning ingredients such as tile and grout cleaning solutions contain a good deal of chemicals in order to remove those unwanted and ugly stains, oils and grimes which may have been adhering to a lot of office equipment and furniture pieces. In any office, the floor area can probably be considered the most dirty of all because of consistent contact with shoe soles. Hence, stronger solutions will be needed to get rid of those sticky dirt and the harmful microbes that might come with them. With this in mind, it should be duly noted that these office cleaning chemicals should not be openly stored where an unsuspecting toddler, who might have come to visit you in the office, might accidentally ingest some of those chemicals.

Furthermore, do not make a stupid mistake in using these solutions to clean personal utensils such as spoon, coffee mug or plates which you might have in the office. Fortunately, several developments in manufacturing office cleaners have led to the creation of non-toxic and organically based products which are not harmful when ingested, of course in a few quantity.

Allergic Reactions – some office cleaners may contain some chemicals which might trigger some allergic reactions to those who happen to inhale their fumes or when they come in contact with the skin. If you are the allergic type of person where any irritant might trigger some histamine release, you should read every label on those office cleaning supplies to determine if they contain some allergens.

Office cleaning agents and other cleaners commonly used for LCD screen cleaning are usually in liquid form and can be purchased at numerous office or computer supply stores. They vary by brand name though but their prices do not vary much with each brand. These cleaning liquids are much different that those used for cleaning glass surfaces which contains ammonia. Avoid using these types of cleaners as they might damage the screen because they contain a lot of strong abrasives. Actually, liquid cleaning solutions for LCD screens are mostly made up of water as the primary solvent and alcohol with a tinge of anti-static chemicals which repels most dust. That being said, if one wishes to save a little bit of money, one can easily prepare a solution using isopropyl alcohol and water. The usual ratio for the mixture is one to one although some would prefer to have more water than alcohol. However, the safest bet is to never put more isopropyl alcohol than water into the mixture. On another note, do not use ordinary tap water for the mixture as it contains minerals and disinfectants such as chlorine which may have adverse effects on the LCD screen. The best choice would be to use distilled water which can be mostly bought at convenience stores or some gas stations.

Now that we have the right cleaning solution for the screen, we would now need the appropriate wiping material. Never use any rough cloth on the screen. Doing so may create deep scratches. Soft cloths such as chamois, flannel and other lint-free cloth are good choices. One important thing to keep in mind is to only damp these cloths with the cleaning solution and not to get them very wet in order to avoid some liquid drips which might damage some components. Wiping away the dust and dirt from the screen only requires gentle pressure. Exerting too much pressure might damage the LCD material and the components beneath it.

1.    Make sure that you have the appropriate office cleaning supplies for your type of floor. If your floor is made up of exotic tiles then a wipe and shine floor application solution might get the job done. Also, don’t forget to apply a grout cleaning solution to the tile grout to keep them looking like new. If your floor is of the carpeted type, then a vacuum cleaner or a carpet shampoo might be the appropriate type of cleaning supply.

2.    Keep an adequate amount of your cleaning supplies. It is better to have stocks of cleaners when you do not need them yet than to have none when you really need it at a moment’s notice.

3.    Make it a habit to exert a bit of effort into doing some maintenance cleaning of your office floor. The cleaning supplies normally associated with maintenance floor cleaning are cleaning solutions, antibacterial agents, mops, brooms, pail and some other tools of the cleaning trade.

4.    General floor cleaning should be done at least once every quarter and more often if your office takes in large quantity of visitors on a daily basis. This way, no dirt, grime or dust would get to accumulate in big quantity in some office areas not covered during the maintenance cleaning chore. For bare floors, a good polishing machine can make the office floor look shiny as a mirror. On the other hand, carpeted floors are the ones that need general cleaning more often than bare floors aside from the regular use of carpet cleaning machines. Carpet shampooing and steaming must be done regularly especially during the rainy days where moisture from the shoes can be absorbed by the carpet making them suited for bacterial and mold growth.