Commercial Cleaning During COVID-19

The pandemic has affected how we engage in our daily lives in so many ways, but one area that has likely been impacted the most is how we address commercial cleaning.  For the safety of staff and customers, commercial cleaning during COVID-19 has needed to be more thorough and more frequent.  We’ve needed to invest in new cleaning supplies in addition to training staff on proper cleaning and disinfecting procedures.  It has become very challenging for many business owners to keep abreast of best practices and guidelines for commercial cleaning during COVID-19.  With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the basic principles of commercial cleaning for the pandemic.

Cleaning versus Disinfecting

Though the risk of infection with COVID-19 from surface contact is low, cleaning and disinfecting is still an important operational requirement.  Not only should staff and visitors to your facility be encouraged to regularly clean their hands, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces can help reduce the risk of infection.  But, what is the difference between cleaning and disinfecting?

Cleaning with soap and/or detergents can remove contaminants and germs while also damage COVID-19 particles to reduce virus transmission.  If there have not been any COVID-19 exposures in a facility, daily cleaning is considered sufficient to maintain the health and safety of your commercial facility.  On the other hand, disinfecting with approved products will kill and remove remaining germs and viruses to provide added protection.  You may need to disinfect if there has been a COVID exposure in your facility or if you are concerned about potential risk because there is a high rate of transmission in your community.  Any time you become aware that a person with COVID or COVID-like symptoms has visited your facility, you should clean and disinfect the space.

Cleaning Plan

It’s important to ensure that all surfaces in your commercial building are regularly cleaned and disinfected as necessary.  Your plan should include a more regular cleaning schedule for high-touch surfaces such as door knobs, faucets, keyboards, and more.  Additionally, if your space is used by people who cannot reliably practice hand and respiratory hygiene (such as children), more regular cleaning should also be considered.  You may want to start with a cleaning checklist where you identify all surfaces that need to be cleaned and then determine how often those surfaces need to be cleaned.

Once you have created a cleaning plan, you may decide that regular disinfection may be needed.  This is likely the case in high traffic commercial facilities particularly in areas with a high rate of transmission.   When disinfecting, ensure to follow product labels carefully and only use an approved disinfectant.  These products will have safety information and explicit instructions for how to ensure disinfection.

Ultimately, many of these tasks are best managed by professional cleaners to ensure they are completed thoroughly and safely so that you know your commercial facility is clean during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s spring! The sun is out and it’s starting to feel warmer.  With flowers blossoming and birds singing, it’s almost like an invitation for a new start in our homes as well.  Spring commercial cleaning offers the perfect chance to tackle a more thorough home cleaning and start the season feeling refreshed and revitalized.  With that in mind, finding the right time and getting organized for spring cleaning are often the main barriers to going deeper than our daily cleans.  So, hold on to your socks…we’re about to share some spring cleaning tips that will motivate you to get started.

Make a Plan

When you look around your home do you feel overwhelmed by amount of work you have to do?  You’re not alone.  One of the biggest mistakes folks make when considering spring cleaning is they are disorganized.  The most important piece of advice we can give you is to realize that it doesn’t all need to be done in a day.  Now, some of you are saying…I’m getting this done in a day – and that’s great!  But it still can be helpful to make a plan.

Start by making a list of all the cleaning tasks you want to accomplish room by room.  This will be your spring cleaning checklist – and trust us, when you see yourself making progress through your list, you’ll find yourself more motivated to keep on cleaning.

Set a Schedule

Next, give yourself a time-based goal for your cleaning.  We’ve found it helps to set a timeframe for each room – you may decide to clean the bedrooms in one day, the living room another, and save the garage for the end (nobody likes to clean the garage).  Whatever you do, schedule yourself enough time to tackle all the cleaning tasks on your list.

Out with the Old

Always…and we mean ALWAYS start your spring cleaning with removing clutter.  Clearing out items that you no longer use or feel is unnecessary for your life not only clears out your space, but it clears out your mind.  Once the clutter is gone, the cleaning is much easier.  It is also so much easier to organize the things you need and want when you have more space to do it.  You can hold a garage sale, donate old items to charity, or even hire a removal company to take your junk and sort it for you.  You will feel so much better when the clutter is gone.

Leave No Stone Unturned

That couch you’ve never moved…those patio chairs that have never been cleaned…the walls and windows – whatever it is, spring cleaning is the perfect time to clean every nook and cranny.  Once again, we want to remind you that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your spring cleaning is something you can tackle piece by piece so that you still have time to do the things you love.  Of course, you might be like us and the thing you love is spring cleaning, but each to their own!

The most successful businesses have one very important characteristic in common – organization.  Business processes are organized, employees are organized, and the environment is organized.  Indeed, efficient and effective operations rely on it, and one part of the organization of a business is cleanliness.  Working with a professional cleaning company helps to ensure your office or commercial space is in optimal condition to allow your employees to do their best work.  So then, let’s take a closer look at all the reasons why you should hire a commercial cleaning company.

Comprehensive Cleaning Services

From surface level cleaning tasks such as garbage and recycling removal to more deep cleaning tasks such as floor and window cleaning, a commercial cleaning company is well-equipped to manage all office cleaning chores no matter how big or small.  More importantly, your commercial cleaner will work with you to develop a cleaning plan that suits your needs –  you decide the daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly tasks that you require to keep your business environment clean and efficient.

Cost Efficiency

Many business owners consider hiring commercial cleaners an added cost to their operations.  That being said, whether you work with a commercial cleaning company or not there will be costs associated with keeping your commercial space clean.  Additionally, because commercial cleaners have the skills, tools, and supplies needed to tackle any commercial cleaning task, they represent a cost-efficient solution to regular commercial cleaning.  ON the other hand, if you attempt to manage commercial cleaning tasks independently, you will likely need to invest in expensive supplies and equipment while also training and managing cleaning staff.

Cleaning Expertise

Speaking of managing and training cleaning staff, working with commercial cleaners guarantees that the people handling the cleaning tasks of your business know what they are doing.  Plus, your commercial cleaners oversee all aspects of cleaning operations from hiring and managing cleaning staff to scheduling and completing cleaning tasks.  Professional cleaning companies ensure that the job is done well and will provide reliable services that allow you to maintain focus on the most important aspects of your business.

Entrepreneurial Success

Finally, one of the main benefits of working with a commercial cleaning company is how they can enhance your own entrepreneurial success.  With better focus on your business goals and an environment that promotes productivity, commercial cleaning allows you to limit distractions so your own work is done better.  Employees also benefit from a clean and sanitary workspace that will ultimately reduce unnecessary absences related to sick leave.

When it comes to keeping your running optimally, there are many great reasons to hire a commercial cleaning company.  At the end of the day you’ll benefit from more efficient operations, expert cleaning services, and improved workplace health.

We are all stepping up our cleaning game to protect our friends, families, clients, and colleagues during the coronavirus pandemic.  When it comes to cleaning and disinfecting washrooms during COVID, we want to take special care to ensure surfaces and objects are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected because the COVID-19 virus may live on surfaces for hours or even days.  Frequently touched washroom surfaces including doorknobs, light switches, cabinet handles, faucet handles, toilet flush levers, and countertops are the most likely to be contaminated, but we also want to be mindful of other washroom surfaces including floors and toilets.  So, what do you need to know about washroom cleaning during COVID?  Read on.

Cleaning and Disinfecting

Cleaning and disinfecting are not the same.  Cleaners such as soap and detergent can reduce the number of germs on surfaces but do not always completely kill all germs.  Cleaning is certainly important for reducing the risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19, but disinfection is another step in the process.  Disinfectant products kill all germs on surfaces.  Health Canada approves a variety of disinfectants for hard surfaces that are known to kill the coronavirus; always look for a product with a drug identification number that is approved by Health Canada.  If you cannot find an approved disinfectant, you can also create your own solution by diluting bleach.

Chlorine bleach is a very strong disinfectant that will kill bacteria, fungus, and viruses, but it can also be harmful to your skin, eyes, and lungs – so you must take care to handle it safely.  Never mix bleach with other cleaning products and always dilute bleach before cleaning surfaces.  Health Canada recommends that you only dilute bleach as needed; in other words, do not mix up a large container of diluted bleach that is stored for future use as you want to reduce the risk that the diluted bleach is mistaken for another product and used accidentally for other purposes.  When diluting bleach for disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces, follow the label instructions.  Bleach that is 5% sodium hypochlorite can be diluted by pouring bleach into water (and never by pouring water into bleach) with concentrations as follows:

• Mix 1 teaspoon (5ml) of bleach with 1 cup (250 ml) water, or
• 4 teaspoons (20 ml) of bleach with 4 cups (1 litre) of water.

Also, it cannot be stated too strongly (or too often) that bleach should never be mixed with other cleaning products or chemicals.  Additionally, bleach is not safe for cleaning skin.  It is always important to wear goggles and a mask when diluting bleach and to do so in a well-ventilated area.

Finally, you want to create a cleaning and disinfecting process that begins with cleaning surfaces before disinfecting.  After disinfecting, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

How to Pick the Right Janitorial Company in BC

Have you ever tried to find a janitorial company in BC?  There are a lot of them, and many serve multiple communities in the province.  So, when it comes to choosing the right janitorial company, it can be hard to know where to start.  You can look at their online reputation and the services they provide, and still you might find yourself with a long list of qualified and reputable janitorial companies that meet your needs.  To that end, we’ve compiled some suggestions on how to pick the right janitorial company in BC.  Read on.

Experience

Ideally, you should choose a janitorial company with experience.  Are they established in your community?  Do they have a track record of success?  A lot of the time, you can do a quick online search or ask friends or colleagues for referrals, and with a little extra research you can gather information about a company to determine if they are reputable, established, and experienced.  The best janitorial companies will often have a long service history in your community and positive reviews to match.

Skills

Make no mistake, skills and experience are not necessarily the same thing.  In fact, different janitorial companies may specialize in different types of cleaning such as commercial, industrial, residential, or some combination therein.  When you are researching janitorial companies in BC, make sure the company offers the skills and equipment that you need.  There’s no sense in hiring a residential cleaner for a commercial property or vice versa.  You may be able to gather some of this information online, but don’t be afraid to contact different companies to get more information about the specific services they offer.

Referrals and References

Perhaps the best kind of advertising is word of mouth.  When a trusted friend or colleague recommends a janitorial company, you can rest easy knowing they have been vetted by somebody who shares your expectations for quality cleaning and customer service.  Even when you don’t have access to trusted referrals, you can ask potential janitorial companies for references.  After all, you want to know the company you are working with offers effective cleaning services that are trustworthy.  You should also take some time to gather information about the company’s safety record to ensure the health and safety of your staff as well.  Additionally, depending on the kind of business you operate, you want to make sure your janitorial company can adhere to your privacy and security policies.

Always remember to take some time to shortlist and vet various janitorial companies in BC and you’re sure to find the right fit for your company.  When you contact these companies you want to make sure they offer trustworthy services that meet your needs and budget.