How to Make Your Office Smell and Feel Nice
Summertime and the living’s easy…but working in a stuffy office during a heatwave? Not so easy. The warmer season can mean hot, stifling offices with poor air circulation, not to mention unpleasant odours. People are more productive if their workspace air quality is good and their environment is fresh and inviting, so it’s worth it to take a few simple measures to keep your office feeling and smelling fresh, especially when the temperatures rise.
Houseplants
Add a few houseplants to your office to clean the air. Indoor plants improve air quality by producing oxygen and absorbing toxins. Plus, they look nice and create a refreshing atmosphere! Some of the best houseplants for air quality are ferns, peace lilies, snake plants, and ficus.
Use Green Cleaning Products
Cleaning is important for making sure your office smells fresh, but the chemical-laden fumes from many cleaning products are unpleasant and potentially harmful. Switch to naturally derived green cleaning products instead. If you hire a commercial cleaning company for your office, choose one that uses eco-friendly, all-natural products like Anago.
For a DIY natural way to remove undesirable odours, leave a bowl of vinegar out overnight—this absorbs other odours in the air and the vinegar smell will dissipate quickly once you remove the bowl from your space.
Diffuser
Make the office smell fresh and inviting with a scented oil diffuser Make sure that you only use 100% pure essential oils so as not to bother people with scent allergies or sensitivities. Essential oils don’t contain any synthetic ingredients and work wonders for making a room smell fresh and less stuffy. Energizing scents to try in the workplace: geranium, eucalyptus, grapefruit, peppermint.
Air Circulation
It’s important to get the air moving in your office, especially when temperatures rise. Poor air circulation contributes to the buildup of allergens and toxins, which can cause poor health and reduced productivity. Open windows and prop open doors for fresh air if possible and set up in opposite corners of the room to create a cross draft. Locate any air vents in the office and make sure they aren’t blocked by furniture or boxes pushed up against them.
Air Purifiers
Indoor air is generally a lot more polluted than outdoor air so you may want to get a compact, portable air purifier for your office, especially if you do not have openable windows. Air purifiers are also helpful if the outdoor air quality is bad, for example during wildfire season here in Vancouver. Look for a purifier with a HEPA filter and be sure to clean the filter regularly.
Keep it Clean
Make sure floors are regularly vacuumed, trash is taken out, and general cleaning is performed regularly to keep the air smelling fresh. Encourage employees to keep their workspaces tidy and hire a trusted commercial cleaning company.