How to Disinfect High-Touch Surfaces | Hygiene Direct NZ
How to Disinfect High-Touch Surfaces in Commercial Buildings
Some surfaces in a commercial building are touched dozens—or even hundreds—of times during a normal working day.
Door handles, light switches, reception counters, lift buttons, shared equipment and washroom fixtures can all become high-touch surfaces simply because so many different people interact with them.
For facility managers and commercial cleaners, this creates an important question:
How should high-touch surfaces be cleaned and disinfected effectively?
The answer isn't simply to spray every surface with disinfectant as often as possible.
An effective programme involves identifying the important touch points, removing visible contamination, choosing an appropriate disinfectant, following the correct dilution and contact requirements, and setting a cleaning frequency that reflects how the building is actually used.
In this guide, Hygiene Direct looks at how to develop a practical high-touch surface cleaning and disinfection programme for commercial buildings.
For professional products, browse Hygiene Direct's Disinfectant Sprays & Commercial Disinfectants or our wider range of Commercial Cleaning Chemicals. Hygiene Direct supplies ready-to-use and concentrated disinfectant options for a variety of commercial applications.
What Is a High-Touch Surface?
A high-touch surface is simply a surface that people touch frequently.
The exact surfaces will vary considerably between buildings.
A school, for example, has different touch points from a warehouse or office.
Common examples include:
- Door handles
- Push plates
- Handrails
- Light switches
- Lift buttons
- Reception counters
- Meeting room tables
- Shared keyboards
- Touchscreens
- Taps
- Toilet flush controls
- Kitchen appliances
- Shared telephones
- Vending machines
- Shared tools and equipment
Hygiene Direct's own workplace cleaning guidance identifies areas such as door handles, lift buttons, reception counters, touchscreens, kitchen surfaces, meeting-room tables, washroom fixtures and shared equipment as common high-touch surfaces.
The first step in improving your cleaning programme is therefore identifying the surfaces people actually touch.
Why High-Touch Surfaces Need a Different Cleaning Approach
Not every surface in a building receives the same amount of contact.
Consider an office wall compared with a door handle.
The wall might go days without anyone touching it.
The door handle could be touched repeatedly throughout every working hour.
Treating both surfaces with exactly the same cleaning frequency doesn't make much sense.
A better approach is to divide the building into:
High-touch surfaces – frequent cleaning attention.
General surfaces – routine scheduled cleaning.
Low-touch surfaces – periodic cleaning as required.
This allows cleaning resources to be directed towards the areas that need them most.
Step 1: Map the High-Touch Points in Your Building
Walk through the building as if you were an employee, customer or visitor.
Start at the entrance.
What do you touch?
Perhaps:
Door handle → reception counter → lift button → door handle → light switch → chair → meeting table.
Continue through the entire facility.
You'll quickly identify touch points that may not be obvious from a standard cleaning checklist.
Different areas should be assessed separately.
High-Touch Surfaces in Offices
Common office touch points can include:
- Entrance doors
- Reception counters
- Lift buttons
- Stair handrails
- Meeting room tables
- Door handles
- Shared printers
- Photocopiers
- Shared telephones
- Kitchen appliances
- Taps
- Light switches
Shared equipment deserves particular attention because multiple employees may use it throughout the day.
High-Touch Surfaces in Schools
Schools and education facilities may include:
- Classroom door handles
- Desks
- Shared learning equipment
- Light switches
- Handrails
- Bathroom fixtures
- Computer equipment
- Staff-room appliances
- Reception counters
Hygiene Direct's SteriGENE product information specifically includes schools and early childhood facilities among its listed applications.
High-Touch Surfaces in Healthcare and Aged Care
Depending on the facility, frequently touched surfaces might include:
- Door handles
- Bedside furniture
- Handrails
- Call controls
- Shared equipment
- Reception areas
- Bathroom fixtures
- Staff workstations
Healthcare and aged-care environments may have specific infection-prevention procedures, so cleaners should always follow the facility's requirements and the directions for the disinfectant being used.
Specialist products such as SteriGENE are available from Hygiene Direct for applications that include medical, hospital and aged-care environments.
High-Touch Surfaces in Hospitality
Hotels, restaurants and hospitality venues can have particularly varied touch points.
These may include:
- Entrance doors
- Reception counters
- EFTPOS terminals
- Menus
- Tables
- Chair backs
- Lift buttons
- Door handles
- Bathroom fixtures
- Shared equipment
Guest accommodation creates another layer of frequently touched surfaces such as switches, handles and controls.
The cleaning product selected should always be appropriate for the particular surface and application.
High-Touch Surfaces in Gyms
Fitness facilities contain large amounts of shared equipment.
Touch points can include:
- Equipment handles
- Weight machines
- Benches
- Touchscreens
- Lockers
- Door handles
- Taps
- Counters
- Shared accessories
SteriGENE's listed applications include sports and fitness environments, although operators should always check the specific product directions and surface compatibility before use.
High-Touch Surfaces in Warehouses and Industrial Buildings
Warehouses may have fewer customer-facing areas but can still contain many shared touch points.
Examples include:
- Door handles
- Shared terminals
- Control panels
- Handrails
- Staff-room equipment
- Time clocks
- Shared tools
- Equipment controls
- Washroom fixtures
Cleaning plans should reflect how frequently these surfaces are actually used.
Step 2: Clean Before Disinfecting Where Required
One of the most important distinctions is the difference between cleaning and disinfecting.
Cleaning removes:
- Dirt
- Dust
- Grease
- Food residue
- Organic contamination
- General soil
Disinfection involves using an appropriate disinfectant according to its directions.
If a surface is visibly dirty, simply spraying disinfectant over the contamination isn't necessarily an effective substitute for cleaning.
A practical process may therefore involve:
Clean → apply disinfectant → observe required contact time → follow finishing/rinsing instructions
The exact procedure depends on the individual product.
For more detail, read:
Disinfectant vs Sanitiser: What's the Difference?
Link this to Blog #1.
Step 3: Choose the Right Disinfectant
There isn't one disinfectant that's automatically right for every high-touch surface.
Consider:
- Surface material
- Workplace environment
- Required efficacy
- Frequency of use
- Dilution
- Contact requirements
- Whether rinsing is required
- Manufacturer recommendations
Hygiene Direct stocks a range of Disinfectant Sprays & Commercial Disinfectants covering ready-to-use and concentrated formats.
For a complete product-selection guide, read:
How to Choose a Commercial Disinfectant for Your Workplace
Link this to Blog #2.
Step 4: Consider Ready-to-Use Disinfectant for Targeted Cleaning
Ready-to-use disinfectants can be particularly convenient for high-touch cleaning.
Rather than preparing a new working solution each time, the product is already supplied at its intended working concentration.
For example, SteriGENE GREEN High Level Hospital Disinfectant 500mL RTU is supplied in a ready-to-use spray bottle pre-diluted at 1:100.
This type of format can be useful where cleaning teams need convenient access to disinfectant for targeted areas.
Step 5: Consider Concentrates for Larger Facilities
Ready-to-use products aren't necessarily the most economical choice for every operation.
Large facilities and commercial cleaning contractors may use significant quantities of disinfectant.
A concentrate may therefore be more appropriate.
For example, SteriGENE CLEAR High Level Hospital Disinfectant 1L is a concentrated product with Hygiene Direct's current information specifying dilution rates of 1:100 for high-risk conditions and 1:200 for lower-risk general-purpose disinfection.
Larger users can also consider SteriGENE CLEAR High Level Hospital Disinfectant 5L.
We'll compare these approaches fully in our next guide:
Ready-to-Use vs Concentrated Disinfectant: Which Is Right for Your Business?
Step 6: Follow the Correct Dilution
If you're using a concentrate, correct dilution is essential.
Don't assume:
More chemical = better disinfection.
Using more concentrate than specified can increase:
- Chemical cost
- Residue
- Waste
- Potential surface compatibility issues
- Chemical exposure
Likewise, under-diluting the product may mean it isn't being used according to its documented instructions.
Use the concentration specified for the particular product and application.
Step 7: Don't Ignore Contact Time
This is one of the most important parts of commercial disinfection.
Contact time refers to how long the product needs to remain on the surface under the conditions specified by the manufacturer to achieve its stated efficacy.
A cleaner shouldn't automatically:
spray → immediately wipe → move on
without checking the directions.
Different disinfectants may have different requirements.
Make contact time part of staff training and cleaning procedures rather than leaving operators to guess.
Step 8: Use the Right Application Method
The application method should suit both the product and the surface.
Depending on the manufacturer's instructions, this may involve:
- Trigger spray
- Cloth application
- Disposable wipe
- Reusable cleaning cloth
- Mop application
- Other approved methods
Hygiene Direct also carries SAYNO19 Non-Alcohol In Use Surface Sanitiser Wipes, which are designed for common hard surfaces including touch points.
Having several application formats available can make it easier to match the cleaning method to the environment.
Step 9: Be Careful Around Electronics
High-touch surfaces increasingly include electronics:
- Touchscreens
- Keyboards
- EFTPOS terminals
- Control panels
- Phones
- Shared tablets
Don't automatically spray disinfectant directly onto electronic equipment.
Follow both:
the equipment manufacturer's cleaning instructions
and
the disinfectant manufacturer's directions.
Where appropriate, apply the product using the recommended method rather than saturating equipment.
Step 10: Check Surface Compatibility
A disinfectant may be suitable for one material and unsuitable for another.
Commercial buildings contain:
- Plastics
- Stainless steel
- Glass
- Painted surfaces
- Rubber
- Laminates
- Fabrics
- Timber
- Electronics
This becomes particularly important with high-touch surfaces because the chemical may be applied repeatedly.
Always check the product documentation.
How Often Should High-Touch Surfaces Be Disinfected?
There isn't one frequency that suits every building.
Cleaning frequency should reflect:
- Number of people using the building
- Number of people touching the surface
- Type of facility
- Operating hours
- Workplace procedures
- Level of contamination
- Risk associated with the environment
A door handle in a busy public building may need attention much more frequently than a meeting-room light switch used twice per day.
The important principle is:
clean according to use and risk, not simply because the checklist says “once daily.”
Don't Forget Shared Spaces
Some of the most important touch points aren't at individual workstations.
Shared spaces can include:
Meeting Rooms
- Door handles
- Tables
- Chair backs
- Shared screens
- Remote controls
Staff Kitchens
- Fridge handles
- Microwave controls
- Kettle handles
- Taps
- Cupboard handles
- Benchtops
Washrooms
- Door handles
- Taps
- Dispensers
- Flush controls
- Handrails
Reception Areas
- Counters
- Door handles
- Shared pens
- Touchscreens
- EFTPOS equipment
An older Hygiene Direct workplace hygiene guide also highlighted meeting-room door handles, tables, taps, kitchen appliances and chair backs as commonly overlooked touch points.
Avoid Cross-Contamination While Cleaning
Cleaning a high-touch surface is only useful if the cleaning process isn't simply moving contamination somewhere else.
Consider:
- Cloth-changing frequency
- Colour-coded cleaning systems
- Cleaning direction
- Hand hygiene
- Disposable versus reusable materials
- Correct laundering of reusable cloths
A single heavily contaminated cloth shouldn't simply travel around the entire building.
Work From Cleaner Areas Towards Dirtier Areas
A logical cleaning sequence can help reduce unnecessary cross-contamination.
Rather than randomly moving between surfaces, establish a repeatable route.
For example:
Office areas → shared spaces → kitchens → washrooms
The appropriate sequence will depend on your building and cleaning programme.
The important thing is that staff follow a consistent process.
Don't Mix Disinfectants
Never improvise by combining cleaning chemicals unless the manufacturer specifically directs you to do so.
Mixing incompatible products can:
- Create hazardous reactions
- Release dangerous gases
- Damage surfaces
- Affect product performance
Use disinfectants according to their label and Safety Data Sheet.
Make High-Touch Cleaning Easy for Staff
A complicated system is less likely to be followed consistently.
Consider creating a simple high-touch cleaning checklist for each area.
For example:
Reception
☐ Entrance door handles
☐ Reception counter
☐ EFTPOS terminal
☐ Shared phone
☐ Touchscreen
Meeting Room
☐ Door handle
☐ Table
☐ Chair touch points
☐ Remote controls
☐ Shared equipment
Kitchen
☐ Fridge handle
☐ Microwave controls
☐ Kettle handle
☐ Taps
☐ Benchtops
This gives cleaners a repeatable process and helps prevent commonly missed areas.
Train Staff on the Product, Not Just the Cleaning Route
Knowing what to clean is only half the job.
Staff should also understand:
- Which product to use
- Correct dilution
- Contact requirements
- Surface compatibility
- Required PPE
- Storage
- What not to mix
Hygiene Direct's wider Commercial Cleaning Chemicals programme includes assistance with product selection, staff training, wall charts and SDS support.
Review Your High-Touch Cleaning Programme
Buildings change.
You might:
- Add shared equipment
- Rearrange workspaces
- Increase staff numbers
- Install touchscreens
- Change cleaning products
- Introduce new procedures
Periodically walk through the facility again and ask:
What are people touching now?
Your cleaning programme should evolve with the building.
A Simple High-Touch Surface Disinfection Process
For many commercial environments, the process can be summarised as:
1. Identify
Find the frequently touched surfaces.
2. Assess
Determine what needs cleaning and what requires disinfection.
3. Select
Choose a suitable product.
4. Clean
Remove visible soil where required.
5. Apply
Use the disinfectant according to its instructions.
6. Wait
Observe the specified contact requirements.
7. Finish
Follow any wiping or rinsing directions.
8. Record
Where appropriate, use checklists to maintain consistency.
9. Review
Adjust frequency according to use and workplace requirements.
That's much more effective than simply telling cleaners to “spray everything.”
Commercial Disinfectants from Hygiene Direct
Hygiene Direct supplies professional cleaning chemicals and disinfectants for businesses throughout New Zealand.
Disinfectant Sprays & Commercial Disinfectants
Browse ready-to-use and concentrated commercial disinfectants for a range of professional cleaning applications.
SteriGENE GREEN High Level Hospital Disinfectant 500mL RTU
A convenient ready-to-use spray format, pre-diluted at 1:100.
SteriGENE CLEAR High Level Hospital Disinfectant 1L
A concentrated disinfectant available for a wide range of professional applications.
SteriGENE CLEAR High Level Hospital Disinfectant 5L
A larger concentrated format for higher-volume cleaning operations.
Commercial Cleaning Chemicals
Explore Hygiene Direct's wider professional cleaning chemical range.
Need help selecting a disinfectant for your workplace? Contact your local Hygiene Direct branch.
He Waka Eke Noa – We Are All in This Canoe Together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common high-touch surfaces in a workplace?
Door handles, light switches, reception counters, handrails, lift buttons, meeting-room tables, shared equipment, kitchen appliances and washroom fixtures are common examples.
How often should high-touch surfaces be disinfected?
There is no single frequency appropriate for every building. Frequency should reflect how often the surface is touched, the type of facility, workplace procedures and the level of contamination.
Should you clean a surface before disinfecting it?
Where a surface is visibly dirty, cleaning is generally an important first step. Always follow the instructions for the disinfectant being used.
Can I spray disinfectant directly onto a touchscreen?
Don't assume that you can. Check both the equipment manufacturer's cleaning instructions and the disinfectant manufacturer's directions before applying chemicals to electronic equipment.
What is disinfectant contact time?
Contact time is the period a disinfectant needs to remain on a surface under the conditions specified by its manufacturer to achieve its stated efficacy.
Are disinfectant wipes suitable for high-touch surfaces?
They can be a convenient option where the particular wipe is suitable for the surface and application. Always follow its directions, including any required contact time.
Is ready-to-use disinfectant better for high-touch surfaces?
Ready-to-use products can be particularly convenient for targeted cleaning because no manual dilution is required. Concentrates may be more economical for facilities using larger volumes.
Related Cleaning Guides
- Disinfectant vs Sanitiser: What's the Difference?
- How to Choose a Commercial Disinfectant for Your Workplace
- Ready-to-Use vs Concentrated Disinfectant: Which Is Right for Your Business?