Elevator Cleanliness and Best Practices Tips to Protect You and Your Property

Protecting your tenants, visitors and employees is always a priority but what steps can you take now as we prepare to re-enter an evolving business landscape? Elevators are the most frequently used form of motorized transportation in the world and therefore also one of the most contaminated areas in your building. Here are a few best practices to keep you and those in your building safe.

Tips for Property and Facility Managers  

• Test your elevator phones. Ensuring your elevator and other emergency phones are in proper working order is of utmost importance. Our step-by-step guide will allow you to determine not only if your phones are working but if you are subscribing to a common industry practice (line sharing) that causes elevators to fail inspection. 
• Clean and disinfect all elevator buttons and other frequently touched surfaces periodically throughout the day. Cleaning removes the germs but disinfecting kills them. You want to do both! Be sure to choose products appropriate for the finishes in your elevator.
• Post signage asking riders to avoid overcrowded elevators and to practice social distancing.
• Post signage letting riders know that all high-touch surfaces are being cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis to help keep them safe.
• Provide sanitizing wipes and/or hand sanitizer near elevators and escalators

 Tips for Elevator Riders

• Wear a mask and avoid riding with those not wearing masks.
• Face the wall (silver lining – new excuse not to make small talk in elevators. ????) 
• Limit the number of people in an elevator to 3, but always best to ride with your own party or better yet ride alone.
• Wait for the next elevator to avoid overcrowding; it’s not rude to step off.
• Avoid touching your face after pressing the buttons
• Wash hands, use wipes or hand sanitizer after leaving the elevator
• If able, you can always take the stairs and get your steps in.

Plans to restore tenant confidence are paramount. Limiting contact will continue and extend not only to who you allow on your property but how. If you don’t already have one, establishing a business continuity plan outlining protocols to promote continued worker safety and the steps you need to take as you move forward is a good place to start. These plans should be transparent, nimble and include operating procedures, areas affected as well as techniques and products used. They should also become a part of your property’s overall Emergency Action Plan. The impact of the actions you take will have far reaching implications.