In British Columbia, strata housing includes a wide range of housing varieties including condos, townhomes, duplexes, and sometimes even single family homes.  Some of the benefits of strata housing include improved security and shared housing maintenance that make home ownership more affordable and convenient.  As you might expect, strata janitorial services are cleaning services that are managed by the strata committee to ensure that common areas including gyms, elevators, stairwells, hallways, and outdoor spaces are maintained and sanitary.

In a nutshell, strata janitorial services include all the cleaning tasks required to care for common, open spaces of a strata property.  Strata owners benefit greatly from these services which are managed centrally by the strata committee.  In the long run, strata janitorial services improve the health and safety of a facility while also ensuring the property maintains its value today and into the future.  Indeed, without proper janitorial services, common spaces in strata properties can fall into disrepair rather quickly which presents not only as a health and safety issue, but also can hasten property damage and undermine property values.

There are many strata janitorial services provided by professional cleaning companies including floor care, window cleaning, pool cleaning, and lighting maintenance, not to mention general cleaning duties.

• Floor maintenance – from buffing, stripping and sealing floors to regular vacuuming, strata janitors will professional clean and maintain all the common floors in your property. Working with a professional cleaner also ensures the different types of floors are properly cleaned.  Indeed, not all floors can simply be vacuumed or mopped to keep them clean and sanitary.  Strata janitorial service providers know the best treatments and cleaning procedures for different floor types and they have the equipment, cleaners, and skills to handle them all.  That means that even in a property with several different types of floors, your janitor will be able to effectively clean them all.
• Window cleaning – interior and exterior windows require regular cleaning to maintain the appearance of your building. Once again, strata janitors have the equipment and cleaning materials to keep your windows clear and squeaky clean.
• Pool cleaning – if your strata property has a gym or pool facility, strata janitors ensure effective and thorough cleaning of these facilities. Make no mistake, effective pool maintenance requires specialized skills and knowledge so should always be managed by professional cleaners.  Regular testing of the water ensures a safe and sanitary swimming experience for all strata residents.
• Lighting maintenance – strata cleaners are trained to inspect and change emergency lights whenever they require replacement. This is incredibly important for ensuring the safety of your building, common areas, and residents alike.

These are just a few of the tasks that professional strata cleaners can manage so that your home and its property are always clean and well-maintained in common areas.

One of the great cleaning debates is whether companies should hire professional cleaners or go it on their own.  After all, you have plenty of cleaning experience when it comes to keeping your home in order; but, will this translate to office cleaning?  In fact, the skills, equipment, and supplies required for office cleaning are not exactly parallel to those required for smaller home cleaning tasks.  So, even though you’re mindful of your monthly budget as a business owner, working with professional janitors for office cleaning has many benefits.  In the long run, professionals tend to be more thorough but also more effective when it comes to commercial cleaning.  Indeed, the benefits of working with professional cleaners can be attributed to expertise, tools and supplies, and even your own efficiency.

Expertise

Hiring the right person for the job is critical to a company’s success – and this is as true of cleaning jobs as any other role in your company.  Professional cleaners have the background and knowledge base to efficiently and effectively clean office environments.  Even different offices will have different cleaning requirements – something you’re not likely to fully comprehend if you don’t have professional cleaning experience.  For example, carpet cleaning and laminate floor cleaning require different products and equipment. Moreover, ensuring a sanitary environment is critical to maintaining workplace health and safety.  Sometimes this means using specialized cleaning materials that require expert knowledge when it comes to handling those products.  If you overlook professional cleaners’ expertise, you not only run the risk of operating a poorly maintained office, but you may also be liable if cleaning materials are stored or used incorrectly.

Tools and Supplies

Just as professional cleaners have the expertise to identify the right tools and supplies for particular jobs, they also have access to those tools and supplies.  Consider your own business – whatever product or service you provide, you likely have the most advanced technology or equipment to ensure your work is done well.  Likewise, professional cleaners will have a suite of cleaning products that are effective no matter your office cleaning requirements.  They rely on professional products to thoroughly clean, and they can usually offer specialized services that include the use of environmentally-friendly cleaning products.

Efficiency

As a business owner, you need to use your time effectively. By extension, you want to optimize employee efficiency.  When you self-manage your own cleaning or require staff to participate in cleaning, this distracts from the central work of your business.  Working with professionals allows you and your employees to focus on more important tasks while also limiting workplace distractions.  Professional commercial cleaners can be scheduled to provide cleaning services on a schedule that will be less disruptive so you can make your business more successful.

A clean and sanitary workplace is fundamental to the success of your business.  This is not an overstatement.  Not only does the appearance of your office or business help make a good impression for clients and customers, but it also supports the health and safety of your staff.  Happy customers and healthy employees are inarguably fundamental to the success of your business, and so it is important to choose a janitorial service that will help you keep your workplace in optimal condition.  Still, with many janitorial companies serving any geographic area, it can be difficult to know which to choose.  Indeed, when it comes to how to hire a janitorial service, the process involves so much more than selecting the first company that appears in an online search.

As with any hiring process, you want to narrow your search of janitorial service companies to a few qualified applicants and then select the company that meets your needs and budget best.  So, while you may begin your search online, it is also valuable to get referrals from trusted friends or colleagues.  Also, keep in mind that janitorial companies often specialize in cleaning certain environments – the cleaning services offered for commercial spaces differ from those required in industrial spaces, for example.  And while some companies are large enough to effectively clean any business, you want to make sure you hire a janitorial company that offers the unique services you require.

After you have done your online search and/or reviewed referrals, you can likely narrow your search to three to five qualified companies.  At this point, you want to contact these companies to gather more information.  Some important questions to ask include:

• Is the company insured and what kind of insurance do they offer? If equipment or structures are damaged during cleaning, how can you be sure the company will compensate you for your losses?  Likewise, if a cleaner is injured on the job, you want to be sure that the janitorial company has adequate liability insurance.
• What cleaning services are offered and do they meet your specific needs? You may start by asking companies for a list of available services if you aren’t exactly sure what you need.  But, if you already know what you are looking for make sure to ask if those services are offered.
• Does the janitorial service company have experience cleaning in your industry? Can they provide references from owners of similar businesses?
• And finally, what will the cleaning services cost? This will likely require added information from you including the size of the space, the areas require cleaning, and the schedule of services.  Remember a thorough review of your specific cleaning needs will result in the most reliable quotes.

Ultimately, when it comes to hiring a janitorial service, you always want to conduct careful and thorough research and interview several qualified companies to make sure you get the best cleaners for your needs.

If you are asking yourself whether it’s time to hire an office cleaning company, the time is probably now.  Some business owners opt to manage office cleaning in-house and while this approach may appear to save money on cleaning costs, many people quickly learn that hiring a professional firm is more effective and cost efficient in the long run.  Indeed, working with professional cleaners helps to ensure a well-organized office that meets the highest standards of health and safety which ultimately translates to better workflow, improved productivity, and even better attendance.  So, when should you hire an office cleaning company? Let’s take a closer look.

Health and Safety

First and foremost, it is critical to consider the health and safety of your staff and clients when considering whether or not to hire an office cleaning company.  Professional cleaners not only have the materials and equipment to get the job done right, they have the skills and experience to ensure your office environment is a healthy environment for everyone.  Consider the impact of a dusty office on individuals with respiratory conditions such as asthma or other health concerns including allergies.  Regular office cleaning by qualified cleaners helps to keep workers healthy.  In many cases, this means fewer sick days which can be very costly for some businesses.

Putting your Best Foot Forward

We always learn not to judge a book by its cover, but in reality it’s something we all do – regularly.  When a potential client or new hire enters your office, what are they going to see?  How will that influence their opinion of your business?  First impressions matter in a competitive marketplace, and you want to put your best foot forward by having a clean, sanitary, and organized office.  As you can imagine, if your office is messy or dirty, visitors may think that you don’t care about your business, products, services, or even your clients.  Professional cleaning companies adhere to a strict cleaning schedule with equally strict guidelines so that you can always count on making an excellent first impression on anyone entering your office.

Office Efficiency

Finally, hiring an office cleaning company can make a huge impact on your office efficiency.  Not only are staff more productive in a clean and sanitary environment, but working with professional cleaners means your other staff don’t have to devote their time and energy into maintaining their workspaces.  Additionally, as mentioned already, a clean environment is a healthy environment and not only does this contribute to fewer missed days to sickness, but it generally promotes productivity among staff.

In the end, the question isn’t really about when you should hire an office cleaning company, but why you haven’t already.  Professional cleaners are experts in the cleaning business and the benefits of their skills and experience will have a noticeable impact on your company’s overall success.

Commercial cleaning services represent a highly specialized array of services that require unique skills and knowledge depending on the cleaning context.  In fact, when it comes to commercial cleaning, there are many types of cleaning services depending on the type of commercial facility.  For example, commercial cleaning may refer to cleaning retail spaces, office spaces, and other business environments.  So exactly what is considered commercial cleaning and how does it differ from residential cleaning?

It’s true that commercial services may be similar to residential services.  Just as you would clean the bathroom in your home, you would also clean the bathroom in a restaurant or retail space.  I suppose the main difference is that you might consider commercial cleaning akin to residential cleaning on steroids.  Commercial cleaning tasks tend to be bigger, more frequent, and sometimes even more arduous.  Commercial spaces tend to see more traffic, and we also tend to expect different types of surfaces and materials to be cleaned.

As you may expect, commercial cleaning services must be performed by employees with specific training as well as with commercial cleaning products and equipment.  For example, commercial waste cleanup may require training and experience cleaning up hazardous materials.  Additionally, commercial cleaners will offer recycling and document shredding services to ensure sensitive information isn’t breached.  Whereas you may separate your home recyclables, commercial waste management must be tailored to the commercial environment, the volume of waste, and the specific cleaning requirements for that waste.

Speaking of the cleaning products and equipment, commercial cleaners offer unique skills and abilities.  Commercial spaces often include machinery, technology, and other equipment that must be carefully cleaned to ensure proper operation.  In fact, any good commercial cleaning contract will carefully explain which tasks cleaners are expected to provide to ensure that commercial equipment is not damaged.

Finally, while we might expect residential cleaning services to be detail oriented, the depth and scope of cleaning for commercial services is much different.  For example, a residential cleaner might focus on sanitizing and dusting every nook and cranny of your home, commercial cleaners almost take a macro approach to cleaning.  Certainly, floors, windows, and surfaces will be cleaned, but it’s the approach that differs.  Carpets must be deep cleaned more regularly in a commercial space, and hard flooring will be regularly buffed with special equipment.  Commercial cleaners aren’t usually going to wash the dishes in a shared kitchen, but they will sanitize areas where people eat.

So, when it comes to commercial cleaning, you really can expect everything you would see in a residential setting, but with a different perspective.  Commercial cleaning includes all the tasks required to keep a healthy and safe work environment in offices, retail spaces, buildings, and other facilities and you’ll even find commercial cleaners doing clean-up after floods and fires.  It’s a huge industry where various commercial cleaning companies may specialize in one area or another.