Posted on December 16th, 2025.

In any busy building, people touch the same surfaces all day long: doors, elevator buttons, counters, railings, and shared equipment. Those everyday moments keep work moving, but they also give germs plenty of chances to spread. If cleaning is only focused on what “looks” dirty, it is easy to miss the invisible risk.

That is where common area sanitization becomes so important. When you treat high-traffic spaces as health zones, not just high-use zones, you cut down on illness, protect your team, and create a space people feel good walking into. It is a practical way to show that health and safety are built into how you run your facility.

With a clear plan for sanitizing, consistent routines, and the right support, you can keep your shared spaces cleaner, safer, and more productive all year long.

The Importance of Sanitizing Common Areas

Common areas are the “public” parts of your building: lobbies, hallways, restrooms, break rooms, conference rooms, copy stations, and shared workspaces. These spaces bring people together, which is great for collaboration and culture, but it also means they see more contact than almost anywhere else. Every touchpoint is a chance for germs to move from surface to surface and person to person.

High traffic plus high touch equals higher risk. Viruses and bacteria can live on hard surfaces long enough to be picked up by the next person who comes along. That is why desks, door handles, elevator buttons, handrails, tables, and restroom fixtures are such common sources of workplace illness. When these areas are not sanitized regularly, colds, flu, and other infections spread faster and stick around longer.

The impact shows up in sick days, schedule gaps, and slower projects. When multiple people are out at once, teams scramble to cover tasks, deadlines slip, and stress rises for everyone else. Sanitizing common areas is a simple way to reduce that chain reaction. Fewer germs on shared surfaces mean fewer chances for your staff to get sick in the first place.

There is also a psychological side. People feel more comfortable and focused in a clean environment. When employees and visitors see that common areas are cared for, they read it as a sign of respect. It tells them their health is taken seriously, which can build trust and loyalty. A clean lobby or restroom sends as strong a message as a polished presentation.

Sanitizing is also part of your responsibility to the wider community. Healthy workplaces help keep families, customers, and partners healthier too. In times of heightened awareness around illness, organizations that maintain clear, visible cleaning standards stand out as reliable and responsible. That reputation matters for attracting clients and retaining staff.

Putting sanitization at the center of your building maintenance is not only about today’s germs. It is about building a long-term culture of safety. When you tie cleaning schedules to policy, set expectations for shared spaces, and support those standards with the right tools and partners, you keep your facility ready for routine days and unexpected health concerns alike.

Effective Strategies for Cleaning High-Touch Areas

To sanitize common areas well, you first need to know which surfaces matter most. High-touch areas are the things people handle constantly without thinking: door handles, light switches, elevator buttons, shared keyboards and mice, phones, copy machine panels, break room counters, appliance handles, restroom faucets, and toilet flush levers. These should never be an afterthought in your cleaning plan.

It also helps to understand the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. Cleaning removes dirt and debris with soap or detergent and water. That step makes surfaces look better and removes some germs, but it does not necessarily kill them. Disinfecting uses chemicals designed to kill viruses and bacteria on surfaces. Sanitizing reduces germs to safer levels based on public health guidelines. For high-touch surfaces, cleaning and then disinfecting is usually the strongest combination.

A basic process for high-touch areas looks like this:

• Begin by putting on disposable gloves to protect yourself from germs and cleaning chemicals.
• First, engage in a cleaning step by using a soap or detergent solution to remove visible dirt from the high-touch surface. Be thorough, as this cleaning will make the subsequent disinfecting step more effective.
• Rinse the surface with water to remove any soap or cleaning agent residues.
• Apply a disinfectant approved by your local health authority. It’s important that the disinfectant stays wet on the surface for the recommended contact time, which is usually specified by the product label, to effectively kill germs.
• Avoid wiping the surface dry right away to ensure the disinfectant has adequate time to work.
• Once the surface air-dries, dispose of gloves properly and wash your hands with soap and water immediately.

You can also support sanitization by encouraging daily habits among your team. Hand hygiene, shared equipment etiquette, and basic awareness of high-touch spots make your cleaning program more effective. When employees use hand sanitizer stations, wipe down shared desks, and respect posted guidelines, they become active partners in keeping the environment healthier.

Over time, these strategies build a hygiene-focused culture instead of a “clean only when it looks bad” mindset. When cleaning high-touch areas becomes part of the normal rhythm of the day, you reduce risk without constant reminders, and your common areas feel consistently cared for rather than occasionally “spruced up.”

Leveraging Professional Services for Common Area Maintenance

Even with strong internal habits, keeping common areas truly sanitized can be a big job. Professional cleaning services can help you close the gap between what your team can reasonably handle and what your building actually needs. Trained crews know how to identify high-risk surfaces, select appropriate products, and apply them correctly for maximum germ control.

Working with professionals also brings structure. Instead of guessing how often to disinfect certain areas, you get a plan built around your building’s layout, traffic patterns, and business hours. That plan can include daytime touchpoint cleaning, after-hours deep cleaning, and targeted attention to spaces that see seasonal spikes in usage, like conference rooms during meeting-heavy periods.

Professional cleaners come with specialized tools and products that most in-house teams do not keep on hand. From hospital-grade disinfectants to equipment designed for larger commercial spaces, these resources help reach corners, crevices, and surfaces that are easy to miss. That kind of thoroughness is especially valuable when you want your common areas to meet higher health and safety expectations.

Some of the key advantages of using professional common area cleaning services include:

• Customized cleaning plans: Programs tailored to your facility’s layout, traffic patterns, and priorities.
• Advanced training: Staff who understand how to treat different surfaces and apply products safely and effectively.
• Time efficiency: Less time pulled away from your core operations to manage and perform cleaning tasks.
• Consistency: Regular, reliable schedules that keep high-touch areas from being overlooked.
• Cost-effectiveness: Protection of finishes and reduced sick time can offset service costs over the long term.
• Health compliance: Up-to-date knowledge of health and safety guidelines, helping your business stay compliant.

Beyond the checklist, professional services can help reinforce your commitment to health across the organization. Employees notice when restrooms, break rooms, and shared spaces are consistently clean and well maintained. Visitors see the same thing. That confidence supports morale and gives everyone one less thing to worry about during busy days.

When you have a trusted cleaning partner, you also gain flexibility. If you need to increase frequency during flu season, adjust service for a new floor of offices, or respond to a specific concern, you can make those changes quickly. Instead of scrambling to assemble supplies and staff, you simply work with your provider to adapt the plan. That responsiveness is a real asset for any growing or changing business.

Related: Flu Season? Here's How Office Cleaning Helps

Cleaner Common Areas, Stronger Business

A clean-looking lobby or break room is a start, but true common area sanitization goes deeper. By focusing on high-touch surfaces, using the right products and methods, and staying consistent, you reduce the spread of germs and support a healthier, more confident team. That stability shows up in fewer sick days, better focus, and a better experience for everyone who walks through your doors.

At TenStar Cleaning Company, we build our services around those goals. We design cleaning and sanitizing programs that match how your space is actually used, with special attention to the common areas that shape daily experience the most. Our crews focus on thorough, reliable work, so you can focus on running your business while knowing your environment is being cared for.

Contact us today and experience true cleaning excellence.

We pledge thoroughness and reliability, so give us a call at (901) 552-7434 or send an email to [email protected].