Look around your office. Is it as clean as you would expect it to be? Has the rubbish been taken out? Is there dust piling up? Are there cups sitting on employees' desks? Are the toilets clean?
If it's not, then you're probably in need of a commercial cleaning service. Or, you need a better cleaning service. But, you're uncertain about what it is they actually do. Will they be able to help me? How do I know that they are what I need to make my site clean?
You may think that commercial cleaning is just a quick vacuum, quick mop, and quick flick of a cloth. But, what if it's actually more than that? What if they conduct other tasks that you may not know about?
What if the tasks you expect a commercial cleaner to do, are just the beginning of what actually gets carried out when they clean your facility? For instance, there is no such thing as a quick vacuum or mop - it goes a lot further than this.
Fortunately, at In-Tec, we have guided hundreds of clients through a cleaner’s scope of works so they can understand exactly what is done by the cleaners at their site - this is what we want for you! So, we do have a lot of industry knowledge in this area! We want you to be able to walk away with all the information you need to answer all your questions about commercial cleaners.
In this article, we're going to take a look at:
- what a commercial cleaning company is,
- what a cleaner actually does when they arrive on your site, and
- what distinguishes a good cleaning company from a bad cleaning company.
What is a commercial cleaner?
It may seem a bit silly to include such a basic question in this article but it's probably the most important question we need to answer first. So, what actually is a commercial cleaner?
Commercial cleaners perform various tasks and duties to ensure an environment is clean.
A commercial cleaner is trained and experienced to recognise what needs to be cleaned and how to clean it. When a commercial cleaner enters a workplace, they analyse what is dirty and what isn’t, and from there, use their time appropriately to clean what needs to be cleaned.
A commercial cleaning company will arrive on your site with all the latest equipment and products needed for the cleaner to perform the work.
So what do they actually clean?
What are the standard commercial cleaning tasks?
We know that commercial cleaners vacuum and mop - these are the most basic tasks a commercial cleaner can do.
But what other jobs do they carry out when they're at your site? As you can probably tell, commercial cleaners don't just complete the 2 tasks already mentioned.
They are actually doing more than you may realise - let's find out!
Whilst commercial cleaning companies can clean various types of sites like schools, retail stores, shopping centres, offices, and industrial complexes, this article will discuss what cleaning tasks are included in office cleaning (some of these tasks can also transfer to other sites).
Though it may vary slightly from company to company, most cleaning providers have similar duties and responsibilities their cleaners need to undertake when on a site.
Below we have provided a checklist, or what we call a scope of works (a scaled-down version), of all the standard tasks a commercial cleaning company should be doing when cleaning your workplace. We’ve split it into different areas of the workplace to give you a full overview of what duties are done where.
Office space
- Emptying desk bins
- Clean glass walls/doors
- Clean workspace surfaces such as employee desks
- Clean high touch points (e.g., handles, light switches)
- Vacuuming the floor
- Mopping the floor
Kitchen/Lunchroom
- Wipe down all surfaces
- Clean high touch points (e.g., handles, light switches)
- Clean fridge exterior and handle
- Clean inside and outside of microwave
- Restock hand soap
- Restock paper towels
- Vacuuming the floor
- Mopping the floor
Bathrooms
- Cleaning and scrubbing toilets and urinals (including under toilet seats)
- Clean sinks
- Wiping down all surfaces
- Clean high touch points (e.g., handles, light switches)
- Clean mirrors
- Restock paper towels
- Restock toilet paper
- Restock hand soap
- Emptying general waste bins
- Vacuuming the floor
- Mopping the floor
General areas
- Wiping down all surfaces
- Emptying general waste bins
- Clean glass doors/walls
- Clean high touch points (e.g., handles, light switches)
- Vacuuming the floor
- Mopping the floor
Does your commercial cleaner do these standard cleaning tasks?
If you currently have a commercial cleaner, have a think about whether they complete these standard tasks every time they clean your site.
Do they do all of them? Do they do some of them? Or, do they do none at all?
Also, consider whether they are cleaning your facility properly - are they using the correct cleaning products and methods?
These are the types of services you should expect to receive from your commercial cleaner on a weekly basis. They are conducted during every clean. Along with these standard tasks, companies can also request any other tasks they would like their cleaner to undertake such as emptying the fridges.
Now, every commercial cleaning company you go to will promise you they do the tasks mentioned above. And although they may do them, you may have experienced that they are just going through the motions whilst cleaning your site. The cleaners are making something look clean, not actually be clean.
What do we mean by this? Imagine you see your cleaner wiping down surfaces in your workplace. The first question you should ask is, are your cleaner’s cloths clean?
With a dirty cloth, instead of capturing the dirt and bacteria when wiping down surfaces, they are spreading it around different areas of your workplace. The bacteria they wiped with a dirty cloth in the bathroom is now being used to clean the kitchen benches.
Although they are technically ‘cleaning’ and your workplace may look clean, it really isn’t. This is what it means to make something look and feel clean, but not actually be clean.
So, what does proper cleaning look like?
On the surface, most cleaning companies look the same - they complete all the standard cleaning tasks listed above. But, a reliable cleaning company will leave your site clean, not just looking clean. Their job is to capture, lock-in, and remove dirt, bacteria, viruses, and microbes from your workplace.
So how is this done?
Here at In-Tec, our team of cleaners are trained cleaning professionals who understand what needs to be cleaned, how it needs to be cleaned, and also how long it needs to be cleaned for. They use the latest cleaning technologies, products, and equipment to their full advantage - they make sure your site is clean and that all microbes are captured and eradicated.
Conducting ATP tests from time to time is one of the ways our cleaners at In-Tec ensure surfaces are clean. ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) tests can test the bacteria load counts on surfaces. This form of testing is an efficient way of making sure cleaning methods and procedures are working effectively.
Your commercial cleaning company should be leaving your site clean – it’s as simple as that.
How can I tell if my cleaner is leaving my site clean?
There is a big difference between making a workplace look and feel clean and actually being clean.
Your cleaner should be conducting all the standard tasks within your site. But they should also be making sure that they’re doing them correctly. This means removing dirt and bacteria, not spreading it around the workplace. They should also know the difference between cleaning something that needs to be cleaned, and something that does not.
At In-Tec, our main goal is to leave your site clean.
However, it is important to remember that we are cleaners, not magicians. For us to do our job to the highest quality, your workplace needs to be cleaned at a minimum frequency of 3 times a week.
When you invest in a commercial cleaning company, you want to make sure you’re choosing the right choice for you and your business.
The team at In-Tec is here to help with any queries you may have.
Or, if you’re ready to take the next step, schedule a call with one of our helpful team members.
