Are you considering hiring professional cleaners for your home or business?  If so, you might be wondering how different residential and commercial cleaning can really be.  Indeed, many cleaning companies offer both residential and commercial cleaning services, but often at significantly different rates.  Understanding the difference between residential and commercial cleaning can help you to see why this is the case, so let’s take a closer look.

Comparing Residential and Commercial Cleaning Services

Home cleaning services typically cost less than commercial cleaning mostly because of the scope of the services.  With respect to residential cleaning, professionals will offer a variety of services, much as you would expect from commercial cleaning.  Cleaning companies will take care of kitchens, bathrooms, windows, and floors in your home which isn’t so different from what you would expect from commercial cleaning services.  That being said, residential cleaning services are usually less complicated simply because of the amount of traffic – cleaning up after a family of four is a much different endeavour than cleaning an office with 50 staff members and countless customers.

Another factor that is important with respect to residential cleaning is the safety and comfort of your family.  Perhaps you have a sentimental nature and you want to know you can trust your cleaners to care for your belongings as you would, not to mention the fact that you’re exposing private elements of your life to professionals.  In this sense, you might say that commercial cleaning services are a little more no nonsense than residential cleaning.

On the other hand, hygiene and sanitation are often much bigger issues in a commercial cleaning scenario.  Ensuring a healthy workplace requires proper cleaning in a commercial environment.  In fact, commercial cleaning services can have a much bigger impact on a company’s bottom line than many business owners realize.  Whether you’re trying to improve workplace efficiency by maintaining a clean and organized workplace or you want to reduce staff sickness by maintaining a sanitary facility, commercial cleaning services are vitally important to the health and safety of your employees.

In short, whenever you are seeking cleaning services, either residential or commercial cleaning, it is especially important to work with professionals that have the skills and experience required for your unique job.  Always carefully vet your cleaning companies by asking friends, family, or colleagues for referrals and also checking references in advance.  You should also carefully consider your cleaning needs and make sure to speak to potential cleaning companies to ensure that they can provide the services you need on a schedule and budget that works for you.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking all cleaning services are the same, this is simply not true.

What is the face of your business?  There is no single answer to this question, though many business owners would be quick to identify resources such as their brand, their product or service, or their personnel.  While these are all fundamentally important aspects of any good business, many entrepreneurs, executives, and managers would also recognize their building and offices as important representations of their business.  Indeed, when clients, colleagues, or other associates visit your offices for the first time, and impression will be made.  What kind of impression do you want that to be?

Whether you want to streamline business operations, improve cleanliness of your office and facilities, or ensure proper maintenance of office amenities, there are myriad benefits to a professional janitorial maintenance plan.  An effective maintenance plan will keep your business running smoothly in a number of important ways from preventing problems before they arise to improving workplace health and safety.

Prevention as a Policy

Preventing building problems is as simple as a regular and monitored maintenance plan.  A maintenance plan takes the guess work out of keeping your building and offices in tip-top condition.  By working with professional janitors on a scheduled maintenance plan, you ensure all the details are accounted for: lightbulbs in stairwells are replaced in a timely fashion, facilities problems are identified and rectified quickly, and signs of possible future problems are recognized so major problems don’t arise.

Health and Safety

One of the most overlooked benefits of a monthly maintenance plan is the health and safety of your employees.  A clean, disinfected office reduces workplace illness so that workers take fewer sick days.  In addition, a well-organized and orderly office will promote efficiency among staff members.  Ultimately, clean, well-cared for offices are productive offices – and productivity means janitorial services have a measurable return on investment.

Cost of Cleanliness

Given the benefits of a janitorial services, it should come as no surprise that the costs of these services are easily justifiable.  That being said, many business owners are surprised to learn how inexpensive a janitorial maintenance can be.  Indeed, working with professional janitors is often much less expensive than hiring, equipping, and managing in-house staff and the cost of services in general is affordable.  Most importantly, the best janitorial companies will work with each of their clients to set up a maintenance plan that meets their individual needs for services and budget.

As you can see, there are many benefits to working with a professional cleaning company and arranging a regular maintenance.  Regular cleaning and maintenance ensures our business puts forward the best first impression while keeping your workspaces in excellent condition and promoting the health and safety of your valued workforce.  And all this can be achieved affordably and effectively for any business model.

The short answer to this question is YES…ABSOLUTELY!  But let’s get into the long answer.  Regardless of your business, maintaining a clean office space is imperative to functioning.  Whether you’re concerned about the health and safety of your staff or making a good impression to customers and clients, a clean office says a lot about you as an employer and as a business.  Though it seems like a simple enough task to keep a clean office, there’s really much more to it than meets the eye.  Indeed, it’s not difficult to justify the cost of janitorial services when you consider what you get for your money.

Janitors Offer Skilled Services

We have a certain bias in our society that creates the impression that janitors are merely cleaners.  In fact, janitors are skilled professionals that not only offer a range of services but can help you understand what cleaning services you need for your business.  That’s right, not all businesses require the same cleaning jobs.  Moreover, professional janitorial companies utilize specialized equipment and cleaning tools to ensure floors, windows, furniture, bathrooms, kitchens, and every aspect of your office are clean and sanitary.

Plus, ask yourself this question: if not a janitor, who is going to clean your offices?  If your answer is that your staff will clean up after themselves, think again.  Not only do different people have different standards of clean, I doubt you’ll have much luck convincing your staff to take turns cleaning toilets!  And even if you manage a bathroom cleaning roster, you still can’t be sure the job will be done effectively or efficiently.

Affordability

Ok, so maybe you’re not talking about asking your regular staff to do the office cleaning, but instead you’re considering hiring in-house cleaning staff.  It’ll be cheaper, right?  Think again, not only do you have to spend your time and energy hiring and managing cleaning staff, but also think about training, benefits, and staff turnover.  By hiring a professional janitorial company, all the hidden costs associated with maintaining cleaning staff are taken care of – and in many cases for less than you would pay for in-house staff.

Health, Safety, and Productivity

Clean offices are productive offices for a number of reasons.  Maintaining a well-kept office environment promotes organization among staff members and ensures your whole office runs more efficiently.  More importantly, by maintaining a sanitary work place, you actually reduce the risk of employee illness.  That’s right!  Sanitation helps to prevent the spread of germs which results in fewer sick days and better productivity.

There are many great reasons to work with a professional janitorial company for your office cleaning needs.  From ensuring you get qualified staff with the right equipment to maintaining a healthy, sanitary workplace for your employees, you’ll definitely rest easy if you choose to work with a janitorial company.

Professional janitorial services are a must have for any business owner who operates an office, commercial, or industrial space.  Not only does proper cleaning help to maintain the image of your business, but it can also improve employee productivity and health and safety.  That being said, budgets are a real thing and business owners (particularly small business owners) are always looking to moderate their expenses.  With that in mind, you must be asking “how much should you pay for janitorial services?”

Any time we’re talking about the cost of services, we need to be careful because many factors will influence the bottom line.  When it comes to janitorial services, there are 4 main factors that will impact total costs: geographic location, cleaning requirements, cleaning frequency, and the facility.  We’ll discuss each of these factors so that you can get a clearer picture of what janitorial services will cost for your business.

Geography

Whether your business is located in a rural community, a city suburb, or a major metropolis will impact the cost of cleaning services, though not always predictably.  For example, rural cleaning services can be more difficult to come by as there will certainly be fewer janitorial companies and therefore less competition for your business; this can often translate to higher costs.  On the other hand, the cost of running a business in a major urban centre is typically higher, so this can also translate to higher janitorial costs.  Travel and parking costs, the costs of cleaning supplies and materials, and the cost and availability of sound labour are all elements that are influenced by geography and will therefore influence the cost of your janitorial services.

Nevertheless, to give you a ballpark idea of cleaning costs, you should expect to pay between $20 and $40 per hour for cleaning services.  In a small city, cleaning costs will typically fall between $20 and $30, whereas you’ll pay upwards of $25 per hour in a larger city.

Cleaning Requirements

Depending on the scope of your cleaning requirements, the cost of janitorial services will vary significantly.  For basic cleaning services, you’ll obviously pay less.  Basic services include tasks such as trash removal, bathroom and kitchen cleaning, and floor and windows.  More comprehensive services cost more because they require more time and energy as well as more specialized equipment.  You can even request environmentally-friendly cleaning services, but you should expect to pay more.  Ideally, you need to make a list of all the cleaning services you require so that your janitor’s quote reflects your specific needs.

Cleaning Frequency

This should really be a no-brainer: The more often you require cleaning services, the higher your monthly costs will be.  Still, you’ll find that the cost per cleaning is often lower when you require more frequent services.

Your Facility

The size of your facility will impact janitorial costs simply because larger facilities require more time to clean, but other factors will influence cost as well.  For example, an office with different types of flooring might be more expensive to clean because your janitor will need to utilize different types of equipment.  In addition, an industrial facility will likely require specialized cleaning equipment that isn’t necessary for most basic office spaces.

In the end, the cost of janitorial services can be very difficult to estimate.  Speak with several professionals in your area and get a quote based on your location, your cleaning requirements and frequency, and the type and size of your facility.

Assuming a “one size fits all” approach to estimating the cost of just about any service is not usually the best approach.  When it comes to the cost of office cleaning, there are a wide variety of factors that impact your bottom line.  From the size of an office to the types of cleaning tasks that are required, business owners should expect professional cleaning services to be tailored to their needs.  However, this also means that each cleaning contract will usually come with a different price tag.  Nevertheless, let’s take a closer look at the cost of office cleaning and some of the factors that will affect cleaning quotes.

First things first, cleaning costs not only vary depending on your needs, but also depending on the cleaning company.  For smaller jobs that require regular trash and recycling removal in addition to light cleaning tasks such as wiping surfaces and vacuuming floors, many companies will advertise a flat rate.  In general, the smallest offices requiring only basic cleaning can be maintained for as little as $30 per cleaner visit.  However, if you require specialized cleaning tasks such as carpet cleaning, floor waxing and/or buffing, window cleaning, or you have extra restrooms that need to be serviced, your cleaning costs will likely be much higher.  For example, if you have only a handful of employees and require once or twice weekly basic cleaning services, your cleaning costs could be less than $200 per month; on the other hand, an average small business with a couple offices, a break room, and a meeting room might cost upwards of $500-600 per month for basic cleaning.

As your cleaning needs become more complicated, the costs associated rise.  In many cases, these more complex cleaning contracts are charged according to the square footage of your office.  Some cleaners charge as little as 5 cents per square foot while others charge closer to 60 cents per square foot.  As you can see, there is quite a range in cleaning costs even from one company to another.  Moreover, most professional cleaners will separate charges for more laborious services.  Expect to pay between 30 and 50 cents per square foot for stripping and waxing floors, around $30-40 per hour for carpet cleaning, and a flat rate (between $10-30 per appliance) for cleaning microwaves or refrigerators.

Interestingly, the cleaning rate per square foot tends to decrease as office sizes increase.  Don’t get too excited though – this doesn’t mean it is cheaper overall to clean a large office, just that the cost per square foot is lower.  For example, if you pay 10 cents per square foot to clean a 20,000 square foot office, your monthly bill would be $2000; whereas, if you pay 20 cents per square foot to clean a 2,000 square foot office, your monthly bill would be $400.

Ultimately, your best bet as a business owner is to clearly set your cleaning expectations and then contact various cleaning contractors to see who can fulfill your needs and meet your budget.