From restaurants and offices to hospitals and care facilities, the commercial cleaning business represents a diverse industry that requires an extensive amount of knowledge about a wide range of environments.  Another one of these environments that you may not often consider is your local gym or fitness facility.  Gym cleanliness is especially important because of the risk of contact with germs.  In fact, just a few years ago MRSA outbreaks throughout North America highlighted the importance of keeping gym and workout equipment clean.

In this article, we’ll outline a comprehensive fitness facility cleaning checklist, but first, let’s discuss some of the top concerns that customers have about gym cleanliness.  The most common concerns included unpleasant odours, unsanitary equipment, messy or dirty washrooms and change rooms, floor and carpet stains, unclean surfaces, and the lack of products for wiping down equipment after use.  Now, let’s look at each of these concerns more closely and you’ll see a fitness facility cleaning checklist start to take shape.

Odours

Gym odours can be difficult to eradicate, and commercial cleaners must focus on the source of the odour.  Gym equipment, lockers, benches, and other surfaces including floors and walls need to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.  Sinks, toilets, showers, and drains must also be thoroughly cleaned to prevent the spread of bacteria and to eliminate odours.

Unsanitary Equipment

In recent years, gyms and fitness centres have tried to address the risk of bacterial outbreaks by installing paper towels and sanitizing sprays throughout their facilities.  This gives customers the opportunity to wipe down and sanitize equipment immediately after use, but commercial cleaners should also clean equipment on a daily basis at a minimum.

Washrooms, Change Rooms, and Locker Rooms

Fitness centres are shared facilities that must be maintained in order to ensure customer satisfaction.  Washrooms, change rooms, and locker rooms must be cleaned thoroughly.  This involves cleaning floors, walls, and other surfaces including mirrors, counters, and benches.  Toilets, sinks, and shower stalls must be sanitized regularly throughout the day.

General Cleaning

Finally, as is the case with any public space, care must be taken to clean floors and walls and remove any stubborn stains.  Surfaces throughout the fitness facility must be wiped to ensure they are free of dust and other debris.  Moreover, gym owners or managers should ensure to install paper towels and sanitizing spray throughout the facility and to encourage patrons to wipe down equipment after use.  These cleaning stations must be kept adequately stocked so that customers can easily clean their equipment.

Remember, keeping your fitness facility clean and sanitary is about much more than the appearance of your gym.  Indeed, the health and safety of your patrons and staff alike will rely on proper gym cleaning procedures.

As a business owner, you may not be aware that there are a couple different kinds of cleaning companies at your disposal.  Janitorial franchises are just as you would expect: franchises of a particular janitorial company that are operated independently but under some guidelines from the franchisor.  Alternatively, an independently owned janitorial company hires their own staff and provides cleaning services directly.  So which type of janitorial service is best for your business?

There are distinct pros and cons to both janitorial franchises and janitorial companies.  One problem that arises regardless of the type of janitorial business is staff turnover.  It’s a well known fact in the cleaning industry that maintaining staff for the long term is incredibly difficult.  In fact, staff turnover rates of less than a year are not uncommon.  Both franchises and the company suffer the monetary and time costs of training new staff, and this issue almost certainly impacts the quality of the cleaning work offered to clients.

Though staffing problems can affect franchises and companies alike, janitorial companies often have more flexibility with their staffing.  Hiring and firing is a much simpler process for the company as franchises will almost always involve long-term contracts.  As such, a franchise that is operating below company standards cannot easily be terminated, at least not without establishing some kind of breach of contract.  Now, you might want to argue that staffing consistency that would be offered by a janitorial franchise is a major pro for the franchises.  In fact, maintaining consistent staff is only a benefit if that staff are qualified and hard-working.  If there are problems with the quality of cleaning work offered by franchises, your business may not have as much flexibility to make the changes you need.

Cost for services can also be another important consideration.  When you are working directly with a janitorial company, you often have more flexibility with the services offered and the cost for those cleaning services.  Franchises often have much stricter guidelines around the work they offer and the rates they charge so that the franchisor can maintain consistency across all its janitorial franchises.  Especially for small business owners, it often makes more sense to go direct to the source where you can negotiate your terms and contract length.

Finally, an independently owned janitorial company will often take more pride in their work.  After all, the owner’s name is on the line.  With franchised janitorial companies, the operator is not ultimately responsible for the company’s brand image.  Though this difference in perspective may seem minor, it can actually have a major impact when it comes to results.  If my reputation is likely to be compromised, you can bet that I’m going to go above and beyond to ensure my clients are happy.  On the other hand, a franchisee can hide behind the franchisor’s name.

So when it comes to choosing between a janitorial company and a franchise, I would always want to work directly with the company owner so I can ensure the quality services I need are available at a price I can afford.