We’re largely returning to normal life, but people’s expectations regarding cleanliness have changed for good. You know you probably need a professional cleaning company to protect the health and safety of your workforce and the general public.
You’re considering a commercial cleaning service or janitorial service. But you’ve done a little research and found not all commercial cleaners do the same thing. So you’re not sure what commercial cleaning will include, or whether it’s the right choice for your space.
You want to be 100% sure what commercial cleaning can offer you before you go ahead and pay someone. You can find out here.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll go over what commercial cleaning should include, so you can hire the best company for you and get the most out of your investment. Stay until the end, so we can fill you in on any remaining questions you might have about commercial cleaning.
The Importance of Commercial Cleaning to Business Facilities
The pandemic heightened our collective awareness of the importance of cleaning public spaces. But Covid isn’t the only threat.
Desks and keyboards can be 400 times dirtier than a toilet. An office phone can host an average of 35,000 germs per square inch. 90% of coffee mugs are home to substantial germs.
At any given time, there are countless viruses, bacteria, and other organisms in our environment capable of getting people sick, and potentially even damaging our long-term health.
High-quality commercial cleaning helps us minimize the presence of dangerous germs to keep everyone safe. In a business setting, commercial cleaning has the additional function of maintaining professionalism and employee morale.
Between happier workers and a more comfortable, respectful space, you’ll make more positive impressions on job candidates, business associates, and customers/clients.
To accomplish this, commercial/office cleaning services provide regular cleaning and deep cleaning. Regular cleaning is the basic, routine upkeep that typically happens three to five times per week. Deep cleaning is less frequent and more work, addressing the hard-to-reach spots and labor-intensive tasks.
Commercial vs. Residential Cleaning: What are the Differences?
Most people are at least somewhat familiar with what residential cleaning entails, but most of us have never done commercial cleaning ourselves. So how does commercial cleaning differ from residential cleaning?
Obviously, residential cleaning refers to cleaning services for homes. Commercial cleaning, on the other hand, is cleaning for commercial establishments. This can mean any type of commercial building, from offices, call centers, banks, and business centers to warehouses, factories, gyms, hotels, medical facilities, restaurants, bars, stores, and more.
Cleaning commercial establishments like these usually requires more staff, training, specialty supplies, and equipment than a home. This is especially true if you have a highly specialized space or if it has more demanding health and safety standards, for example, industries like medical, and food/beverage.
Therefore, if you’re researching cleaning costs and cleaning companies for a commercial space, make sure you’re looking at the correct service providers and figures. Make sure the cleaner you’re considering actually provides the specific type of commercial cleaning services you need.
Commercial Cleaning Checklist Your Commercial Cleaners Should Perform
Regular commercial cleaning may look entirely different based on the individual needs of your establishment. This is why it’s important to track down the perfect cleaners and do a consultation in person. But there are some standard practices you can expect to be a part of any commercial cleaning job.
Once you hire a janitorial/cleaning service, they’ll follow a scheduled cleaning checklist of tasks to do at every visit or once per week. Before making your decision and signing a contract, have your own starter checklist and compare it to what they say needs to be done and how often.
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Daily Commercial Cleaning Tasks
Here are the procedures you should expect cleaners to perform on a daily basis, or at each visit if cleaning happens three to five times per week.
Cleaning Area #1: Reception
- Organize any items or décor in the reception area
- Clean entryway floor mats
- Sweep, vacuum, or mop floors
- Dust hard surfaces
- Wipe smudges, streaks, and fingerprints from all glass
- Wipe the main entryway doors
- Empty and wipe down waste receptacles and put new liners in
- Disinfect all frequent touchpoints, including the reception desk/counter surface, phone, door handles, light switches, etc.
- Clean and sanitize any surfaces like chairs, coffee tables, lamps, vents, blinds/shades/curtains, etc.
- Organize any magazines, paperwork, and other waiting area items
Cleaning Area #2: Working Areas/Desks
- Dust shelves and cabinets
- Empty and wipe down waste receptacles and put new liners in
- Dust all electronic devices, especially computer screens and keyboards
- Disinfect high-touch surfaces like desks, phones, chairs, computers, office supplies, fax/copy machines, phones, ear/mouthpieces, etc.
- Replace any misplaced kitchen items like mugs
- Dust windows/window sills, any blinds/shades/curtains
- Wipe windows/glass surfaces with glass cleaner
- Sweep, vacuum, or mop floors
- Recycle discarded paper
- Clean debris under desks or tables
Cleaning Area #3: Pantry/Breakroom
- Discard food waste
- Sweep, vacuum, or mop floors
- Clean and put away utensils and dishware
- Empty and disinfect waste and recycling bins and put new liners in
- Disinfect sinks and faucets
- Clean out appliances like coffee makers and microwaves
- Disinfect all counters and tables
- Clean and refill the water cooler
- Organize all common areas
Cleaning Area #4: Wash Room
- Empty and disinfect trash cans and put new liners in
- Mop, wash, and disinfect all hard surfaces, including doors and fixtures
- Replenish hand soap, tissue, paper towels, etc.
- Wipe mirrors with glass cleaner
Weekly Commercial Cleaning Tasks
The following cleaning tasks can be done once a week in addition to the daily tasks.
Cleaning Area #1: Reception
- Vacuum floor mats and carpets, mop hard floors
- Dust walls and baseboards
- Dust and clean light fixtures
- Vacuum upholstery, curtains, or blinds
- Wash windows and glass doors
- Remove cobwebs from corners
Cleaning Area #2: Working Areas/Desk
- Remove cobwebs from corners
- Dust walls, baseboards, and high surfaces
- Wash windows
Cleaning Area #3: Pantry/Breakroom
- Clean out the pantry
- Empty and disinfect the refrigerator (inform people ahead of time before throwing out items)
- Clean and sanitize the microwave thoroughly
- Clean/polish kitchen appliance exteriors
- Vacuum floors and under furniture
- Remove debris from behind vending machines, microwaves, drawers, etc.
- Clean and wipe down countertops or any surface people eat and prepare food on with disinfectant.
- Clean the interior and exterior of the water cooler
Cleaning Area #4: Wash Room
- Remove cobwebs from corners
- Wipe the outside of soap and paper towel dispensers
- Make sure soap and paper towel dispensers function well.
Monthly Commercial Cleaning Tasks
Certain cleaning tasks don’t need to be done as frequently and might happen on a monthly basis.
Cleaning Area #1: Reception
- Shampoo carpets and polish floors
- Spot-clean any upholstery stains
- Vacuum under, inside, and behind furniture like desks and sofas
- Clean out and vacuum inside HVAC vents to get rid of dust, debris, and bugs
- Change HVAC filters
- Dust ceiling fans
- Deep clean all surfaces
- Polish any wood furniture
- Dust and clean any high windows, walls, and other surfaces requiring a ladder or special equipment to reach
Cleaning Area #2: Working Areas/Desk
- Wash and spot-clean upholstery
- Shampoo carpets and polish floors
- Vacuum air vents
- Polish any wood furniture
- Vacuum under, inside, and behind furniture
- Deep clean electronic devices
Cleaning Area #3: Pantry/Breakroom
- Deep clean all kitchen appliances like microwaves, refrigerators, coffee makers, etc.
- Spot clean walls around food preparation areas
Cleaning Area #4: Comfort Room/Wash Room
- Deep clean and sanitize tile and grout
- Polish surfaces
- Scrub fixtures
Why Should Your Facilities Need a Professional Commercial Cleaner?
Especially if you’re working with a tight budget, it can be tempting to cut corners with commercial cleaning for your business. But there are many reasons hiring a professional cleaning company for your facility is non-negotiable.
Proper Hygiene Standards
All workplaces have health and safety standards of some sort, especially kitchens, medical facilities, labs, and food processing plants. It’s in everyone’s best interest to protect workers and the public with hygiene standard compliance.
Professional cleaners who specialize in caring for your type of space are trained and experienced to follow all regulatory guidelines with the proper materials, equipment, and protocols.
Harmful and Hazardous Materials
If you have a facility in the medical, food and beverage, processing, or auto industry, you’re probably dealing with potentially hazardous materials.
In this case, it’s even more vital to hire cleaners well-versed in specialty spaces like yours. They should know all the required cleaning procedures and solutions to safely clean the space and dispose of waste.
Complete Cleaning Equipment
Any dusters, brushes, mops, rags, vacuums, and products you may have on hand will only suffice to clean up day-to-day messes in between professional cleanings.
Commercial cleaners have equipment like carpet and floor cleaning machines, polishers, ladders, and water-fed poles for cleaning high windows.
Saves You Time
If you own or manage a business, you likely don’t have time to oversee cleaning by your main staff, much less start your own in-house cleaning operations.
When you trust commercial cleaners, you save yourself and your employees time and energy for central priorities. You don’t have to worry about facility conditions falling by the wayside when things get busy.
Proven and Effective Commercial Cleaning Solutions
Professional cleaners have the most effective, commercial-grade cleaning solutions and the knowledge to use them properly.
Household/consumer cleaning products get the job done in the case of standard household cleaning. But when you have a whole staff sharing a space with visitors coming and going and specialized areas, you need stronger cleaning products, many of which need to be properly diluted, etc.
Six Qualities a Commercial Cleaning Company Should Have
Eventually, you’ll start narrowing down and comparing commercial cleaners. At that point, the following factors can be the deal-breakers in helping you make a final decision and choose the best available cleaning company for health, safety, your investment, and your peace of mind.
Professional and Trusted Reputation
Are they dedicated to quality cleaning? Do they handle every step in the process with professionalism? Do they have a trusted reputation? Do they have a majority of positive reviews or come with strong recommendations from other businesses?
You can find out by searching for online reviews and asking around for referrals.
Bonded and Insured
There are important qualifications you should look for such as licenses, certifications, registration, bonding, and insurance.
This is your assurance the cleaning company knows what they’re doing and you won’t be liable for any injuries, health events, or property loss/damage related to the cleaning.
Consistency
The quality of cleaning should be consistent. They should also have high employee retention so the staff who show up to your facility to clean are consistent as well. This way, you’re more familiar with the personnel, and they’re more familiar with your facility and expectations.
Communicative
Everything should be clearly discussed in consultations before you agree to a contract. The contract itself should also state all expectations between both parties.
It should be easy and helpful to get in touch with your cleaners’ customer service if you need last-minute or emergency help, or if you want to make a change to your regular janitorial/cleaning services.
Adequate Cleaning Tools and Equipment
Occasionally, a service provider may use some products or equipment like vacuums client stores on-site. But usually, commercial cleaners will have the necessary equipment, tools, and other supplies.
Well Trained and Friendly Cleaning Staff
The cleaning staff should also be friendly, diligent, and equipped with the training and experience to clean your establishment with excellence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I hire a commercial cleaner or keep the work in-house?
Some facilities have their own in-house cleaning operation, which can have some benefits. But for many establishments, the most efficient and cost-effective option is outsourcing to a commercial cleaning company.
How much does commercial cleaning cost?
Commercial cleaning costs depend on the type of facility, its size, materials, and features. The average cost is about $0.11/sq. ft.
How to find the best Commercial Cleaning Services in Dallas?
Search online and ask around to find the best commercial/office cleaning services for your Dallas facility.
Does your commercial space have any special cleaning considerations?
Do you need cleaning for standard office space, or do you need more specialized help with a medical facility, processing plant, lab, or restaurant?
Dallas Janitorial Services can handle a wide range of cleaning needs for businesses based near Dallas-Fort Worth in almost any industry. Contact us today for a free commercial cleaning quote.
