Archie Heinl | Jan
Ever wonder how your office always turns out so sleek and shiny? Here are some janitorial cleaning tips straight from the experts!
1. Manage the energy you use.
The first of our janitorial cleaning tips comes from Varsity Facility Services, who remind us that sustainability is everyone’s responsibility—including a janitorial services company. They suggest using red, green, and yellow dots on equipment to tell your cleaners which machines can be turned off after hours, which to keep on all the time, and which to confirm with the client. Since cleaners tend to be the last people in the building, they’ll be the last line of defense against wastefully running machines all night that don’t need to be on.
2. Provide sanitizers throughout the office.
A blog from iNX Building Maintenance Services offer some timely flu prevention tips, like disinfecting workspaces and placing hand sanitizers throughout the office. They also make a valid point that cleaning supplies should be in constant supply during cold and flu months. In smaller offices, this can be a great bonus offering or an upsell for clients, to keep these supplies available and stocked.
3. Finishing floors is an art as much as a science.
If you have a big floor care project ahead of you, heed one of the janitorial cleaning tips from the folks at OctoClean: Take your time. If you rush through a floor finishing job, your mistakes will show through more obviously than you might think. The most valuable tool in your cleaning arsenal is patience.
4. Use a Neutral (ph7) cleaner for floors.
According to the CleanFreak blog, “PH matters when it comes to cleaning solutions. Neutral (7 on the pH scale) is the most gentle solution, and there are many neutral cleaners that can be used on a variety of floors that just have foot traffic that needs to be cleaned up.”
5. Break the routine, especially in restrooms.
CleanLink’s janitorial cleaning tips relate to a routine. “Cleaning professionals often develop cleaning habits—especially in restrooms—cleaning counters and fixtures in the same way, etc. Seasonal transitions call for taking a fresh look at restroom cleaning procedures and adopting some new technologies, products, and methods where appropriate.”
6. Encouraging filing as you go.
Emilie Sennebogen points out that, “One of the biggest office offenders is piles of paper…The key is to process papers as you go. Set up a system of trays or file folders that are clearly labeled and make it a habit to use them.” Since you’re not the boss, you might offer advanced organizing services as part of your package to keep certain areas tidy, like filing rooms.
7. Don’t forget the basics.
Tidying magazines in the waiting room, dusting window blinds, and cleaning scuff marks are all important parts of keeping a squeaky clean office.
8. Give things a home.
G&C Commercial Cleaning suggests allocating a place to all of your things and labeling those areas to make sure you put things back where they belong. Before you begin with a client, go room to room in the office making mental notes and making labeling suggestions so that the client can work toward their own tidiness as well.
9. Clean the electronics.
Indispensable among janitorial cleaning tips is to remember to wipe down desktop electronics. Phone handsets especially are magnets for bacteria and germs.
10. Clean the fridge without the chemicals.
For more sensitive offices, or for those who want the greenest clean possible, use distilled white vinegar instead of bleach to scrub mold and mildew from fridge shelves.
11. Don’t forget the walls.
Jack’s Maintenance Service reminds us that walls are a part of commercial spaces, too! Especially in offices, where walls tend to be white or other light colors, visible dirt builds up over time. Jack’s says to add the walls to your cleaning schedule. (It lengthens the life of wallpaper and paint, too!)
12. Change those mop heads.
Does the office smell like a wet dog when you’re done? Before pointing the finger at the office canine, Janiking says to take a sniff of the mop closet. You might be unpleasantly surprised at what you find.
13. Dust from top to bottom.
What goes up must come down. Make sure you take care of higher surfaces first, so you don’t end up cleaning the same surfaces three or four times.
14. Go in with a strategy.
You make plans to organize yourself personally and professionally, why not do the same for your workspace? Busy Bee Cleaning services says, “focus on the areas which are used the most, and therefore receive the highest amounts of traffic. During office building cleaning, owners should pinpoint the areas in which customers spend the greatest amounts of time. In most cases, cleaning a reception area, bathroom, and other similar spaces should be of utmost importance when it comes to office cleaning.”
15. Install mats at all entrances.
Another bit of advice from CleanLink is to install mats wherever there are entrances to the workspace. Mats help collect dirt, snow, and other debris before it ends up on the office floor.
16. Don’t forget to deodorize!
This tip from BBC Cleaning Service is for the fridge, but feel free to use it elsewhere. Whether using a green or natural product or a traditional chemical, it’s important that the final product smell as clean as it is! For the fridge, BBC says, “For extreme leftover smells, combine coffee grounds and baking soda in a bowl and leave it in the fridge for a while. It will smell great afterward.”
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