Employee Cleaning Guidelines

To clean and maintain spaces during COVID-19, Facilities Management and Development (“Facilities”) is preparing enhanced cleaning protocols and implementing new technology such as electrostatic disinfection sprays and sanitizing agents to support the prevention of viral transmission through disinfection. 

As a reminder, general public health guidelines for COVID-19 precautions continue to advise that the best method for stopping the spread of illness/infection is through:

• proper and frequent handwashing, 
• avoiding touching your face, 
• practicing physical distancing and staying home if you are ill.

What employees need to do

Clean communal equipment 

When working in shared spaces, employees should wipe down communal equipment and frequently-touched surfaces with disinfectant wipes before and after use. Examples include:

• printers and photocopiers
• filing cabinets
• refrigerator handles
• small kitchen appliances (kettles, coffeemakers, microwaves)
• countertops
• faucet handles 
• keypads and touch screen surfaces

Faculty and staff are all encouraged to regularly clean and disinfect:

• personal work surfaces
• tools and devices, such as phones, tablets and laptops

Everyone is reminded not to share personal tools and equipment, including:

• personal keyboards
• phones
• desk accessories

Special care for electronics

Follow equipment manufacturer guidelines on cleaning sensitive and delicate electronic equipment as not all cleaning solutions are compatible with all components — camera lenses and touchscreens, for example. 

Do not use any cleaning solutions in any computer ports or openings in electronic devices.

Ryerson-provided disinfectant wipes

To help with this, disinfectant wipe dispensers are being installed in all major administrative office units on campus. 

To ensure the effectiveness of disinfectant wipes, the treated surface should be visibly wet and allowed to air dry. 

Leaders consideration for purchasing additional wipes 

Facilities will be providing disinfectant wipes, if individual departments choose to purchase additional cleaning products, please consider purchasing cleaning agents with ammonium chloride, sodium hypochlorite or isopropyl alcohol-based solutions, which are effective against microbial growth. 

The Public Health Agency of Canada has posted guidelines for hard surface disinfectants, external link that are effective against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. 

Clean your desk 

Engaging in a clean desk practice allows for easier cleaning and removing personal and work items provides greater information security.

Employees and departments are encouraged to adopt a clean desk practice for those who use desks or common surfaces as part of their work:

• Place all personal belongings that typically reside on desktops in personal cabinets, drawers or take them home.
• Remove all personal and work items from desks at the end of the day.
• Disinfect the surface of the desk, keyboard, mouse, and telephone at the beginning and end of each day using department supplies.

Learn more about general cleaning guidelines

Have a concern about cleanliness on campus? Contact Fix It.

If students, faculty or staff have concerns about cleanliness anywhere on campus or see hand-sanitizer or disinfectant-wipe dispensers that need to be replenished, they may contact the Facilities Help Desk at fixit@ryerson.ca or 416-979-5091 and custodial services will be dispatched to address the issue.

We rely on our community to help us optimize the condition of Ryerson buildings, facilities and grounds. By streamlining all requests through the Facilities Help Desk, we’re able to track areas for improvement and strategically implement increased support where needed. Together we can foster a culture of best practices for cleanliness to protect our community.