How to Eliminate and Prevent Tough Smells in an Office Setting

There are many moving parts to any work environment, making it challenging to keep track of them. With numerous people moving around the office, there are bound to be accidents. Some will leave behind spills, trash, or other unwanted filth. If these incidents occur in places that are not visible, they are not likely to be cleaned right away, if ever. After all, how can it get cleaned when someone doesn’t report a spill or know about hidden trash? This can go unnoticed for a while, leaving behind a terrible smell.

Many people think about emptying garbage cans or vacuuming floors when thinking about a professional cleaning company. Of course, this only scratches the surface of the services they provide. A professional cleaning company will also find and eliminate those lingering, disgusting smells that nobody can seem to locate.

Here are a few problem areas where bad smells occur the most.

Trash Cans

When investigating a bad smell, trash cans are the logical place to start. Even though many people take out their trash, it doesn’t resolve the problem. Sometimes simply taking out the garbage isn’t enough as things can spill outside the bag.

You’ll need to clean the trash can by removing it and scrubbing it with a good cleanser in many cases. The next step is to allow it to air dry to make sure the smell is gone. If you have a recycling bin, you may want to clean that as well. Even though it holds only paper products, it can absorb a funky smell. It may also need some attention and scrubbing to keep it odor-free.

Communal Refrigerator

Often a communal fridge is a place where people with good intentions bring their lunch but sometimes forget about it. If not cleaned regularly, it can get pushed to the back and left for a while. Over time, an undesirable smell can develop.

This is also true if food or drink gets spilled and not cleaned up immediately. People also tend to bring in products they may use once or twice and forget. This could be salad dressings or condiments that often remain in a neglected fridge long past their expiration date.

There are a few ways to tackle and altogether avoid unpleasant smells from occurring in the workplace refrigerator. If agreeable, place a sign on the outside of the fridge telling everyone that food will be discarded by Friday afternoon. It may take some getting used to, but hopefully people will remember to remove their forgotten meals.

Another approach would be to assign someone to clean the fridge each Friday afternoon. Have a sign-up sheet where everyone takes turns completing this task to avoid unfairness. This may be a more challenging option to implement as people may not be open to this idea. It is worth a shot, though, to keep the fridge clean and free from lurking odors and mold.

Keeping the fridge clean also entails a routine cleaning of all the shelves and compartments. We recommend using an all-natural solution such as hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. This way you do not have to worry about any harsh chemicals near your food. It would be easiest to perform this task when all leftover food has been removed. Time this with your weekly fridge cleanout by designating someone.

You can also schedule this service with your professional cleaning company. Let them take this task off your plate so you have one less thing to worry about.

Kitchen Sinks

Many things get sent down kitchen sinks, especially in a workplace environment. Remnants may not get rinsed entirely down, causing the drain to smell bad.

A good remedy for this is a combination of water, baking soda, and vinegar. Let the combination of baking soda and vinegar bubble up and sit for a few minutes, and then rinse with hot water. This should eliminate the odor and clean out the interior of the drain.

Microwave

Microwaves are one of the most used appliances in the workplace. People often don’t cover their food when they use them, which leaves messy stains all over the inside. Not only does this look gross, but it can also cause bad smells.

A good remedy is to heat a bowl of water, vinegar, and lemon slices in a microwave for five minutes. This will loosen all of the grime. You should then be able to wipe down the microwave with a clean microfiber cloth.

For more cleaning tips, see 21 Amazing Cleaning Tips Straight from Our Professionals.

Bathroom

Lastly, are the dreaded smells coming from the bathroom. Sometimes no matter what we do to avoid them, they still pop up in workplace bathrooms. So much so that we dedicated an entire blog post to How to Identify and Eliminate Bathroom Odors. Here we discuss the different types of odor-causing problems and how to eliminate them.

Of course, one of the best ways is to hire a professional cleaning company to tackle it for you! They can provide proper equipment, treatment, and techniques to treat and resolve any tough odors.

These are just a few hot spots that can create a bad smell in a work environment. If there is still a lingering odor that you can’t seem to find and get rid of, it may be time to call a professional cleaning company.