When we think of warehouses, cleaning protocols are likely not the first thought that springs to mind.  It’s just a warehouse, after all; why would we need it to be clean?  In fact, a clean, organized warehouse promotes a safe and healthy work environment while also ensuring the warehouse space is utilized to its optimal efficiency.  There are many cleaning tasks that should be considered when it comes to keeping a warehouse tidy; so before you hire professional warehouse cleaning staff, consider this checklist of items carefully.

Outside the Warehouse

Sure, we’re talking about keeping the warehouse clean, but you also want to keep the areas surrounding your warehouse in good order.  Access to your warehouse is likely very important with respect to moving the goods housed within the warehouse.  As such, you want to regularly inspect parking lots, pathways, and roads on site to ensure areas are free from damage and debris.  Obstructions should be cleared, signage should be visible and easy to read, and snow and ice needs to be managed to prevent accidents.

Warehouse Supplies

Obviously, the goods and products stored in your warehouse need to be neatly and clearly organized.  In addition, all the supplies required to operate your business need to be organized in the warehouse.  Forklifts should be stored appropriately with fuel and associated materials secured.  Dangerous chemicals or other warehouse materials should be stored properly; in fact, every item in your warehouse from equipment to stock should be kept in a designated place.

The warehouse office should be adequately organized and working spaces within the office should be regularly cleaned to promote efficiency.  Your employees should have access to clean spaces for lunch and coffee breaks as well as storage for their personal belongings.

Warehouse Floors

With respect to safety, ensuring warehouse floors are properly cleaned and free of obstacles and debris is very important.  Wet, oily, or dirty warehouse floors can pose a significant risk to the health and safety of your staff members.  As such, warehouse floors must be swept and washed regularly.  Cleaning staff should have access to appropriate signage to indicate that floors are wet or slippery; and your staff should be aware of procedures for reporting dangerous spills.

Warehouse Organization

As already mentioned, your warehouse and all items housed within should have designated storage spaces and your employees should know where to find and keep all items.  Storage spaces should be clearly labeled, and signage must always be visible.  Ensure shelves are not overloaded, not only with respect to their weight-bearing capacity but also when it comes to physical space, i.e. you don’t want items stacked precariously or haphazardly.  Unwanted stock or unnecessary supplies should be removed from the warehouse to ensure you have enough space for more important items.  Finally, as in any working environment, washrooms and toilets in your warehouse should be regularly cleaned; garbage and recycling needs to be emptied; and windows and doors should be kept clean and clear of debris.

It’s that time of year again…Spring Cleaning!  And if you’re anything like me that means you’re tearing through your house, eliminating clutter, and cleaning every nook and cranny.  Spring cleaning is not just for your residence, though.  Office spring cleaning is equally important and satisfying.  Nothing feels better than having a neat and organized space!  Let’s look at some tips that will help you spring clean your office.

Tools You’ll Need for Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning in your office and spring cleaning in your home are very different endeavours.  You’ll need a mop and broom at home, not to mention some other cleaning supplies, but what do you need to clean your office in the springtime?  First, you’ll want a shredder for destroying sensitive documents that you no longer need.  If you don’t have a shredder in your office, contact a local shredding company and get some boxes for these documents to be picked up and destroyed.

In addition, make sure you have tools for organizing your desk – file folders, labels, and storage space come to mind.  You can even create organizational trays, one for papers you need to keep, one for filing or storage, one for trash or recycling, and one for shredding.

Finally, make sure you have a duster, cleaning wipes, surface cleaner, a cloth or sponge, and trash bags so you can sanitize and declutter your office as you go.

Set a Schedule

We’re obviously busy when we’re at work, so you’ll want to dedicate some time for spring cleaning.  Block off an afternoon in your calendar well in advance so that you’ll have the time and focus for nothing but cleaning.  Ideally, you’ll schedule your spring office clean for a time when you can shut down your computer and ignore a ringing phone – interruptions will slow you down.  Maybe even consider spring cleaning the office in the evening or on a weekend.

Visualize your Perfect Workspace

Getting organized before your spring cleaning will help you create your perfect workstation.  Desk clutter can be distracting and create inefficiencies, so carefully consider how you’d like your desk and storage areas organized so you can keep important files and documents close at hand.  You can even implement an inbox/outbox tray system on your desk, or if you already employ such a system consider a “to-do” tray dedicated to your most pressing work.

Sanitize!

High touch areas such as your keyboard, mouse, and telephone should regularly be cleaned with sanitizing wipes, but you can dig a little deeper during spring cleaning.  If you eat at your desk, your keyboard will likely be full of crumbs, so consider using a vacuum or compressed air to clear out the keyboard debris.

Evaluate Cleaning Contracts

Finally, an annual review of your office cleaning contract just makes good sense.  You can evaluate cleaning schedules, unforeseen cleaning needs, and the cost and quality of your service.

Any business owner can attest to the challenges of maintaining a clean and sanitary working environment.  Whether you are operating a small office space or a large industrial warehouse, keeping the workplace clean helps improve worker safety and productivity while also ensuring you make a positive first impression on potential clients.  Still, many business owners try to save money by keeping their cleaning services in-house.  So when is it time to consider working with a professional janitor?

First and foremost, it’s important to recognize that professional cleaning companies bring not only cleaning expertise, but they should also have all the equipment required for your cleaning job.  Many business owners make the mistake of thinking commercial cleaning is as straightforward as residential cleaning when in fact commercial cleaning typically requires specialized cleaning equipment and professional skills.  So while you may be able to rely on your staff to empty recycling or trash, there are many cleaning tasks that will be outside the scope of their abilities.  Working with professional janitorial companies ensures that your entire workplace is cleaned adequately, efficiently, and affordably.

Another reason it might be time for you to consider a janitor is you’ve noticed your workplace efficiency beginning to suffer.  Sure, it seems reasonable to ask staff members to clean their own desks or workspaces by wiping surfaces and emptying trash, but the reality is time spent cleaning is time spent away from other day-to-day responsibilities.  Many business owners discover staff productivity increases once they start working with professional janitors.  Hiring dedicated cleaning staff ensures that workplaces are kept neat and tidy so that your staff can focus on the most important aspects of their jobs.

Even if you already have dedicated, in-house cleaners, you may still want to consider professional cleaning companies.  As a business owner, you can save yourself the time and effort of managing cleaning staff and ensuring quality cleaning by hiring a janitorial company.  You can work closely with janitorial management to develop a cleaning contract that fits the needs of your business and then leave cleaning staff management and quality control to them.  If you have any concerns with cleaning staff, you would direct those concerns to the cleaning company and they’ll do the rest.

Typically, professional janitorial services are a cost effective way to ensure your workplace is safe, clean, and presentable to staff and clients.  For as little as $20-$30 per hour of cleaning, you can find a cleaning company that provides the services you want when you want them.  You will have the freedom to determine which cleaning services you require and you can schedule cleanings for a time that is convenient for your business.

What can you flush down a toilet?  It seems like a question with a very simple answer, and yet countless plumbers can tell you that people sometimes flush very interesting things – syringes, electronics packaging, squirrels…no joke!  Even though these are all things that have really been flushed, there are a number of items you may not have considered dangerous to flush.  Let’s have a closer look.

To Flush

Realistically, the list of things that should never be flushed is much longer than the list of flushable items.  So, let’s start with the easy topic.  What can you flush down a toilet?  Keep in mind, this advice pertains to North American toilets – in many countries around the world sewage systems are either very old or less advanced and it is not advisable to flush anything but human waste.  Things aren’t so different in North America where you can flush human waste and toilet paper.  And that’s it.  You really shouldn’t flush anything but those things that come out of your body and toilet paper.

Not to Flush

So really, what not to flush isn’t really complicated.  Is it urine?  Is it feces?  Is it toilet paper?  If you answered no to any of these questions, DON’T FLUSH!  Nevertheless, let’s have a closer look and try to understand a bit of the “why” behind reasons not to flush.

First, let’s start with other paper products.  Tissue, paper towel, or any form of paper other than toilet paper should never be flushed.  Toilet paper is designed to break down when it’s wet; this is not true for tissue paper or paper towel.  In fact, these kinds of paper will absorb moisture, hold their form, and ultimately can cause blockages to your pipes or the community sewage system.

Also, never flush anything of a pharmaceutical (or black market) drug nature.  Many people believe flushing drugs is a safe method of disposal, but wastewater treatment facilities may not be equipped to remove the chemicals often found in drugs.  If they’re not removed, they’ll eventually end up in lakes, rivers, or even groundwater systems.

There are a wide range of other items that should never be flushed:

• Drugs! Once again, never flush drugs of any kind.
• Fats, oils, and grease as they can block sewer systems when they cool.
• Garbage, sand, metals, wood, plastic, animal remains, fish, cat litter (even if it’s “flushable”), feminine hygiene products, napkins, diapers, or glass.
• Corrosive cleaners or substances.
• Flammable or explosive substances.
• Automotive liquids including but not limited to anti-freeze or brake fluid.
• Paint or solvents.
• Fertilizer.
• Medical equipment.

This is just a sample list of the items you should never flush down your toilet.  So, just to be clear, there are only 3 items that you can flush down your toilet – urine, feces, and toilet paper.

Time and time again we hear the same question from business owners, “why do I need to hire a janitorial service?”  It seems like a valid question.  First of all, you are likely already employing some staff that has the ability to clean up after themselves.  More importantly, it is difficult to see how regular janitorial services will translate into business growth for you.  In fact, many business owners see janitorial services as an extra cost that can reduced or even eliminated entirely.  Nevertheless, there are some key ways professional janitorial services can help your business.  Let’s have a closer look.

Professionalism

Sure, you’re a professional person.  You work hard and you’ve build a business that reflects your professional values.  Still, as much as we don’t want to admit it, companies often fall victim to clients and consumers judging a book by its cover.  You may have the most effective business model, product, or service in your market but if potential clients are not impressed by your building or office, they’ll be put off.

A well-maintained office tells potential customers and even your employees that you are serious about the work you do.  More importantly, a clean office or building also shows people that you pay attention to details.  Ultimately, you need to consider a clean work environment as the face of your company; a face that lets you make an excellent first impression.

Focus

You and your staff have important work to do, and you need not be distracted by daily cleaning tasks or a messy working environment.  Even the smallest business with office space will benefit from the peace of mind knowing that your workspace will be well-maintained.  Requiring you or your employees to take up cleaning tasks distracts them from the daily work that helps your business grow.  In addition, working in a disorganized or messy environment can have a negative impact on efficiency and productivity.  Professional janitorial services help you and your employees focus on the work that makes your business run.

Expertise

Finally, you wouldn’t expect any Joe Blow to step in and run your business as well as you do, would you?  So why would you assume that you have the skills, tools, or expertise to effectively clean your own offices.  From floors and windows to bathrooms and kitchens, professional janitorial companies not only have the experience necessary to maintain a spotless office, they also have the tools and equipment to get the job done efficiently.

So, when it comes to the question of how a janitorial service can help your business, there are actually a wide range of benefits to consider.  Professionalism, focus, and expertise are just three of the many reasons you should hire experienced cleaners for your business.