These days, workplaces such as warehouses and offices are placing a greater emphasis on sterilization than ever, and with good reason.

Even as many states continue to reduce their restrictions on how many people can be present in a workplace (among other areas), the threat of COVID-19 and other easily communicable diseases still looms large, and it requires that workplaces practice a greater degree of safety and cleanliness than ever before.

This includes more frequent cleaning of any space or shared surface that encounters a lot of traffic and usage through the workday. Perhaps one of the greatest examples thereof is the employee locker room.

Locker rooms are a common sight in many workplaces, from warehouses to retail stores and everything in-between, and it’s often a crucial part of employee security and safety. These areas, however, can experience a high risk of shared germs due to the amount of traffic and usage they’ll see through a normal day, and it’s important to practice safe usage and constant sterilization in these spaces.

Choose the appropriate lockers for any condition: One of the best ways to keep your locker rooms clean and hygienic is to use the right kind of locker. In high-traffic areas that might experience a lot of dirt and wear, stick with durable solutions like rust proof metal lockers or industrial lockers, and avoid materials like wood that require more upkeep and may be easier to damage.

Encourage individual employee hygiene: One of the fastest ways to prevent infection is to encourage your employees to practice greater personal sanitization. Post signage encouraging employees to wash their hands (or at least use hand sanitizer) whenever they use the locker room or breakroom to prevent them from bringing any unwanted bacteria in with them.

Limit the amount of personal items: While some employees may grumble a bit about this, it will be easier to keep a locker room clean if you can limit the amount of things being brought from home (things that, without proper care, may be the home of unwanted germs and contamination). Make sure employees only bring enough with them what can be fit inside their locker to avoid messes elsewhere.

Provide cleaning supplies where possible: Even with regularly-scheduled cleaning, the potential for germs and dirt can linger inside any locker. Leave cleaning spray and/or disinfecting wipes for your workers to safely wipe down their locker at the end of every shift to curb the spread of germs.

Schedule regular deep cleaning: The entire area around the locker room should be cleaned just as often as the lockers themselves. Schedule your sanitation crew (or cleaning company, if you have outside help) to do the most frequent cleaning of the locker room as possible to help keep the space clean.

Provide as much distance as possible: Social distancing counts for a lot, especially in confined spaces such as locker rooms. Depending on the amount of traffic you’re expecting, and the amount of employees you’ll be bringing in, see what you can do about providing distance – leave an empty locker between lockers in use, for example, or set lockers up around opposite walls so nobody is too close to one another.