Professional cleaning companies know better than anyone that in public and commercial settings like schools, restaurants, office building, hotels and even hospitals, restrooms are the top source of customer complaints. As you can imagine, this is also one of the most difficult areas to address cleaning and maintenance.
Commercial cleaning has come a long way over the years, and study after study has shown that commercial restroom cleaning must get better in order to effectively limit the spread of disease-causing germs and illnesses. Restroom cleanliness can impact a business’ success, but most importantly, it can impact the public’s health.
Your commercial cleaning company should be using a health-focused approach to ensure your facility not only looks clean, but is hygienically clean as well. This includes:
- Using proper products. Pay close attention to the products that are being used to disinfect toilets and other germ-prone surfaces like door handles, faucets, light switches and paper towel dispensers. A glass cleaner will leave your mirrors streak-free but will not have the cleaning power necessary to kill germs.
- Practicing color-coded cleaning. To eliminate cross-contamination, assign different colors to cloths, mops and brushes and have each represent a specific use (e.g., blue cloths for general purpose cleaning, green for general food preparation areas, red for high risk areas like toilets and floors, yellow for back-of-house cleaning, and black for front-of-house cleaning).
- Finding the source of odors. Restroom odors should be broken down at their source. Not all air freshening products can break down uric acid crystals, the root cause of urine odor.
- Cleaning mirrors and glass. Remove streaks, water marks and soils with a glass and surface cleaner. Eliminate soap scum and grime on sinks and countertops by using products that are specifically formulated to break down scum.
- Cleaning the floors. Remove scuff marks and grime on restroom floors and disinfect them. Restroom floors are a breeding area for over 230 bacterial species compared to 150 species in other areas of the restroom.
Dirty, germ-filled restrooms are often the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cleaning problems. In addition to using a health-focused approach, your current commercial cleaning company should be regularly testing and cleaning fixtures, dryer or paper dispensers to ensure they’re in good working order, restocking essential supplies, regularly emptying trash and sanitary disposal containers before they are full, and dusting or vacuuming vents, ceilings and baseboard.
Cleaning restrooms is a dirty job and an important part of any healthy cleaning plan. If your current commercial cleaning company isn’t delivering the kind of the work you deserve, it might be time to move on. Pick a company that can easily handle a facility of your size while still delivering the responsive, attentive and consistent service that keeps your employees happy and healthy, your customers coming back and your facility operating smoothly.
