The eye level test is a test of how clean a surface is. It is also a visual inspection. It is rooted in the concept of perspective, which is to say that the human eye picks up on different things based on relation to the object being viewed. So just by changing how you look at a surface, you might be able to spot dirt that was unnoticeable from another angle.

Getting Down to Eye Level

You can apply the eye level test to any surface. Just adjust how you are standing or sitting so that your eye is completely level with the flattest part of the surface in question. You will be able to see things from that level that you would not see standing or sitting higher up.

Professional cleaners make use of the test in a number of ways. There aren’t any hard and fast rules for employing it, so we cannot give you a step-by-step process. But here are the basics:

• Walking Through – A cleaner will walk through a space concentrating on all surfaces that are at eye level for most people. Those take priority because of the angle at which they present. Surfaces are cleaned to remove all dust, dirt, and debris.

• Major Surfaces – A pro cleaner will also look at other major services, usually defined as such by size or lighting. Maybe there is a glass conference table in a meeting room. The sheer size of the table makes it a major surface. The cleaner squats down or sits in order to see the table surface at eye level.

• Portable Lighting – In some environments it is helpful to carry portable lighting. Viewing surfaces from eye level is enhanced by shining light directly on the surface to illuminate the smallest particles of dust and dirt. Portable lighting can also reveal smudges and fingerprints that were otherwise invisible.

• Touching Surfaces – The eye level test might also include actually touching surfaces. A cleaner might run a hand across a surface if it looks clean but is suspected of being sticky or subject to a thin residue or film.

Applying the eye level test addresses things that are not consciously seen but still noticed subconsciously. It makes the difference between a room looking clean and it looking extremely clean. Though we cannot explain the difference to you in concrete terms, everybody knows it when they see it. There is just something about an extremely clean room that looks different. It looks better to most people.

It Encourages Thoroughness

So why would a pro cleaning crew rely heavily on the eye level test? Some do just because they take great pride in their work. But there are two particular things cleaning crews focus on with this test. The first is thoroughness. The more thorough a cleaning crew is, the better job they ultimately do.

The second thing the test focuses on is maintaining the highest level of cleanliness in sensitive environments. For example, a tech company’s clean room needs to be absolutely spotless so that sensitive equipment is not damaged. A clean room is the perfect environment for the eye level test.

If you have never heard of the test, you are not alone. Just know that the best cleaning companies make use of it in appropriate environments.

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Professional medical cleaning is a particular type of cleaning service tailored for medical environments. It takes into account things that other types of businesses don’t have to worry about. In the end, it is all about presenting a clean and healthy environment for each and every patient visit.

So, how do professional medical cleaning services impact the patient experience? Consider the following:

1. Sanitation and Disinfection

At the very top of the list are sanitation and disinfection. The last thing any medical professional wants are patients whose visits result in them getting sick. Both they and their patients demand a sanitary and disinfected environment. Professional medical cleaning accomplishes just that.

A commercial cleaning provider who specializes in medical cleaning will utilize the most appropriate cleaning chemicals and equipment to guarantee sanitation and disinfection. Trained personnel know exactly what to look for, how to clean every type of surface in a medical facility, and how to guarantee a thorough job from start to finish.

2. Exam Rooms and Employee Areas

It is also important that exam rooms and employee areas are kept clean. They should be routinely sanitized and disinfected as well. Otherwise, germs in one room can be quickly spread to another. It is not long before dozens of people are exposed to them.

The big thing with exam rooms is that they can look clean but still not be sanitary or disinfected. This is where the expertise of a professional cleaner comes in. Professional medical cleaning is not merely about making services visually clean. It is about getting rid of germs and pathogens.

When exam rooms are kept clean and disinfected, germ control is more effective. When employee areas are an equally high priority, staff are less likely to pass germs around as well.

3. Confidence in the Office and Staff

Although sanitation and disinfection are at the heart of professional medical cleaning services, there is no denying the importance of aesthetic appeal. When a patient arrives at a medical office, they want to be confident of a healthy environment. Imagine a patient walking into a filthy office that has not been cleaned in a while. Is that patient going to be confident about the healthcare services received? Probably not.

An aesthetically clean office appeals to patients. It assures them that both medical and support staff go the extra mile to provide the best care possible. That ultimately leads to a better experience and a happy patient.

Professional cleaners go above and beyond in terms of aesthetics. They see dirt that others don’t consciously notice. They know where to look to find debris, dust, etc. When a good cleaning crew gets done in a medical office, the office looks shiny and new once again. That is what patients expect to see when they visit.

4. A Customized Cleaning Schedule

It is clear that professional medical cleaning creates the type of environment that patients expect. That’s good for business. Yet not every medical office has the same cleaning needs. It’s best for office staff and cleaning service to work out a customized cleaning schedule that ensures the office is kept in tip-top shape.

A clean medical office encourages a positive patient experience. If you would like help cleaning your medical office, don’t hesitate to contact All Pro Cleaning Systems.

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Those reasons suggest that professional industrial cleaning services are worth investing in. At least that’s true for companies without a dedicated cleaning staff capable of doing more than just light janitorial work. Note that there is a difference between cleaning and janitorial.

Basic Janitorial Services

It is not unusual for industrial companies to have a small maintenance staff that manages janitorial services. However, what they do is pretty basic. Janitorial tasks are limited to things like emptying trash cans, surface cleaning restrooms, and wiping down counters and tables in the break room. Spaces are left visually cleaner, but they are not really clean.

A truly clean environment goes above and beyond what can be seen with the naked eye. And when it comes to industrial cleaning, it is definitely more than just wiping down counters and emptying trash cans. Industrial cleaning accounts for all sorts of dirt, debris, germs, and pathogens – most of which cannot be easily seen.

Improving Workplace Safety

Much of what goes into industrial cleaning is a matter of improving workplace safety. One of the best examples is nightly floor cleaning in a tool and die shop. Tool and die operators make heavy use of a liquid coolant to keep both tools and parts cool during the machining process. Yet despite modern machines that are fairly capable of containing the coolant, getting some of it on the floor is inevitable.

Once coolant dries, it makes the floor very slippery. This presents a safety hazard. If coolant is allowed to build up over several days of activity, you have a dangerous situation on your hands. Yet cleaning the floors every night mitigates the risk.

Industrial cleaning accounts for the many different things that create safety hazards for employees. At the same time, the cleaning chemicals a crew utilizes should never create hazards themselves. Professionals know which chemicals to avoid in a particular environment so as to not jeopardize employees.

Fewer Workplace Accidents

Minimizing hazards minimizes risk. When you minimize risk, you also end up with fewer workplace accidents. Everyone is more productive as a result. Employees benefit by not being subject to so many injuries or illnesses. Employers benefit through:

• Fewer man hours lost to injury and illness.
• Fewer workers’ compensation claims.
• Greater productivity.
• Better employee attitudes.

Keeping an industrial environment clean benefits everyone involved. It even benefits visitors. They enjoy the workplace safety benefits, but they also come away with a better impression of the company. That is important to any industrial business whose customers pay visits from time to time.

A Matter of Regulations

One last thing to consider about industrial cleaning is its relationship to helping companies comply with regulations. As you probably know, OSHA mandates a safe working environment for all employees. Their rules for doing so are more specific for industrial environments. Simply put, there are things industrial companies need to do that other types of companies do not.
Professional industrial cleaning accounts for the regulations on a per-business basis. Professional cleaners know what is required for each industry. And because of that, they are capable of developing customized cleaning plans designed around compliance. That is just the icing on the cake, proving that investing in industrial cleaning services is worth it.

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It is not uncommon in such environments for workers to come in and find their desks are as messy as they left them the previous night. They wonder why the cleaning crew came in, did such a phenomenal job elsewhere, but still didn’t touch their desks. Well, there could be a number of reasons. Let us look at a few of them.

1. Unclear Expectations

Many situations like these are the result of unclear expectations. The employer and cleaning crew supervisor may not have communicated clearly enough about each party’s responsibilities. Maybe the cleaning crew didn’t know that desks were their responsibility. Or perhaps they did, but the employee didn’t realize the cleaners are prohibited by their employers from touching messy and cluttered desks.

Miscommunication is pretty common when it comes to commercial cleaning. That’s why we recommend spelling out everything that is expected of a cleaning crew in as much detail as possible.

2. A Fear of Moving Things

The issue could be a fear of moving things among cleaning crew members. Imagine a cleaner approaching a desk with several stacks of papers along with some unopened mail. If the cleaner moves things around and straightens things up, she takes the risk of alienating the person who normally occupies that desk. Maybe he comes in the next morning and cannot find a document he thought was in the stack. Blaming the cleaners could be a course of action.

3. Potentially Sensitive Information

Sometimes cleaners will not go near employee desks because they are concerned that they might be exposed to sensitive information. An employee may have inadvertently left documents out, documents that should have otherwise been put away. Cleaners don’t want to be responsible for sensitive information should there ever be any concerns that it was mishandled.

4. Company Policy

Moving on, some companies have strict policies against professional cleaners tidying up employee desks. They do not want cleaning crews anywhere near desks for the very reasons purposely mentioned. There might also be cases in which company policies prevent cleaning desks so that cleaners cannot ever be accused of stealing something. Companies make such policies all the time. They do it to protect themselves, their employees, and even the cleaning crews.

5. Accessibility Issues

Yet another reason for not touching desks is not having easy access to them. In an especially cramped office where space is tight, it might just be too difficult to get to a desk and clean it efficiently. Throw in time constraints and it could be a situation in which a cleaning crew member either cannot or will not put in the effort because cleaning a particular desk is too difficult.

Cleaning employee desks is always a tricky situation for commercial cleaners. We recommend discussing any issues involving desks with cleaning crew leads. Both cleaning crew and office manager should clearly understand what is expected. Furthermore, those expectations should be passed on to employees.

As long as everyone knows the expectations and does their part, the chances of early morning surprises go way down. That’s good. The last thing a company needs is employees who are unhappy before they even sit down to start work.

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These dirty little secrets are all proactive. They are things you do throughout the day to ensure that end-of-night mopping actually gets the floors as clean as they can be. Otherwise, mopping may offer only limited benefit. So, what are the dirty little secrets? Let us get right to them.

1. Sweeping Throughout the Day

One of the hardest things about maintaining clean restaurant floors is getting to the dirt embedded in corners and the grout between tiles. Less of that dirt would get embedded if floors were swept multiple times throughout the day. Less dirt on the floor means less to grind in as people walk across the floor.

We encourage sweeping whenever possible. Of course, you cannot always break out a broom and give the dining room and kitchen floors a good sweep during the busy dinner hour. But restaurant business comes in waves. With just 15 minutes of downtime, two or three staff members armed with brooms can get a lot of dirt up.

2. Sweeping Prior to Mopping

Both dining room and kitchen floors need a thorough sweeping just prior to mopping. We recommend a stiff push broom to get most of the dirt up. A conventional broom is ideal for getting dirt out of the corners. Once you finish sweeping, there is one final step before cleaning: run a dust mop over the floor.

A commercial dust mop will trap all those small particles the broom left behind. This is especially important in the kitchen, where lots of dirt and debris can go unnoticed. Getting up as much dirt and debris before you mop ultimately means a better mopping job.

3. Pretreat Targeted Areas

The key to successful mopping in a commercial environment is to allow your water and cleaning solution a few minutes to loosen dirt and debris. That’s why you soak the floor down, wait a few minutes, and then soak up all the dirt and water with your mop. Before you start mopping, however, it is a good idea to pretreat targeted areas.

Perhaps you utilize deep fryers in your restaurant. The spaces immediately around your friers will likely have accumulated grease to deal with. Pretreat these areas with a solution of detergent and hot water. Let the solution sit for a little while to break up the grease. Any areas of the floor that tend to accumulate more dirt and grease could be considered target areas. Hit them before you start mopping.

4. Choose Your Mop and Cleaning Solution Wisely

Finally, the most important dirty little secret of maintaining clean restaurant floors is to choose your mop and cleaning solution wisely. In almost every case, a conventional string mop is the most appropriate choice for dirty kitchen and dining room floors. Sponge mops and microfiber mops just don’t do a good enough job of picking up grease and embedded dirt. As for your cleaning solution, you need something appropriate for your floors, but also something strong enough to deal with dirty restaurant environments.

There are both green and conventional cleaning solutions ideal for restaurant floors. Whatever you choose, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for both diluting and mopping. With the right solution and all the prep work done ahead of time, you’ll have spotlessly clean floors at the end of the night.

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There is a definite link between pest control and cleanliness. When business owners understand that link, they can potentially spend less on pest control without any loss of effectiveness. It boils down to a simple equation: do a better job with cleaning and you will also improve your pest control.

This is yet another reason we recommend commercial cleaning services to businesses of all types. From industrial to business and simple office cleaning, a clean environment is less conducive to pests. And a non-conducive environment makes the pest control company’s job a lot easier.

What Pests Are Attracted To

Pests are no different than any other kind of animal in that they are always on the lookout for food, water, and shelter. They will go wherever access is easiest. This is why food service and hospitality businesses tend to have the biggest problem with pests. Pests are attracted to environments that make their survival easier.

Restaurants with pest problems tend to see most of those problems in the kitchen area. But pests can also be found in walk-in coolers, in the dishwashing area, and even out in the dining room. In a hospitality environment – think hotel or motel – different types of pests show up in different locations. Certain pests will hang out in the kitchen while others are more likely to infest guest rooms.

Even offices can have pest problems. Anywhere a pest can find a hospitable environment is open to infestation. Regular cleaning changes the game by making otherwise hospitable environments inhospitable.

How Regular Cleaning Helps

All Pro Cleaning Systems is a commercial cleaning services provider rather than a pest control company. That being the case, it is time to talk about how regular cleaning can help control pests. The broadest view is that of regular cleaning eliminating a pest’s access to food and water. But we can be a bit more specific.

One of the things we always recommend is starting with high-risk zones. At a hotel, for example, the kitchen is a high-risk area for cockroaches, rodents, and other pests. It could be the most critical area in the hotel. In an office, the biggest high-risk area tends to be the break room. A warehouse could be a high-risk area in an industrial building.

Targeting the high-risk areas makes those areas less attractive to pests. The more frequently they are cleaned, the less likely they are to accumulate the types of things pests are looking for. High-risk areas need both:

• Routine Cleaning – Routine cleaning is critical to pest control for the simple fact that it prevents accumulation of dirt, debris, and food sources. It also reduces the buildup of any sorts of residues that could invite pests to investigate further.

• Deep Cleaning – Although deep cleaning doesn’t occur as frequently, it should still be scheduled on a regular basis as a compliment to routine cleaning. Deep cleaning gets behind furniture, under appliances, inside cabinets, etc.

There is plenty more we could say on this topic, but we think the point is well made. If your company relies exclusively on a pest control partner to keep pests at bay, we encourage you to reconsider how your property is cleaned. Professional cleaning services can help enhance your pest control efforts significantly. Feel free to contact us if you have questions.

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Cleaning concrete floors is not difficult if you know what you are doing. Any competent commercial or industrial cleaning provider should be able to manage concrete floors without issue. As for in-house janitorial teams, they can do an equally good job with the right knowledge.

Speaking of knowledge, here are five lesser-known tips for cleaning concrete floors:

1. Use a PH-Neutral Cleaning Solution

Despite concrete’s reputation as a durable flooring material, it is sensitive to cleaning products. This is why manufacturers design cleaning solutions specifically for concrete. Those solutions tend to be PH-neutral. That’s what you need for cleaning concrete without damaging it as you go.

But acidic and alkaline cleaners do a number on concrete. You won’t notice much damage after one or two cleanings, but you will notice it in the long term. Acidic cleaners are especially troublesome because they can actually etch concrete. Over time, the surface becomes uneven and discolored.

2. Repair Before You Clean

We routinely come across concrete floors with large cracks and other noticeable damage. Unfortunately, the damage is often exacerbated by repeated cleanings that are done without repairing the damage first. We recommend avoiding that.

Concrete is a porous material. Cracks and chips allow water in, water that can expand and contract with temperature changes. The end result is more damage. By cleaning floors without repairing them first, you are potentially making the damage worse.

3. Don’t Forget the Degreaser

A properly sealed concrete floor is pretty resilient against stains. However, there is one exception: oil-based stains. For this reason, it is a good idea to hit the floor with a degreaser before starting the cleaning process. Degreasers should take out most oil-based stains. You may have to apply a little elbow grease, though.

4. Consider Your Mop Head Carefully

Just as your choice of cleaning solutions is important, so is your choice of mop heads. These days, microfiber mops are pretty popular because they attract dirt and dust more efficiently. But microfiber mops may not be the best choice for industrial or manufacturing environments.

An old-fashioned cotton mop head works well on any floor as long as it is used correctly. For starters, the mop head should be clean. That doesn’t mean it has to be new. It just means that it was cleaned and dried after the last few years.

An appropriate mopping technique begins with choosing an area of the floor and soaking it. Let the water and cleaning solution sit for a minute or so to loosen stubborn dirt. Rinse the mop head, wring it out (but leave it damp), and then soak up all the liquid and dirt. Be sure to rinse and wring the mop frequently.

5. Consider Applying a Sealer

A clean concrete floor will stay clean for longer if it is protected by a sealer. So after the fact, consider whether the floor needs to be resealed. A high-quality sealer should last quite a while, mitigating the need to apply a new one layer after each and every cleaning.

That just about wraps up our concrete floor cleaning tips. Of course, there are finer details time and space would not allow us to address. The main point here is that there are right and wrong ways to clean concrete. Do it right and it will show.

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Your typical business or industrial cleaning provider shouldn’t have any problem with remodeling or construction messes. Hiring professional cleaners might even be part of the deal a company strikes with its general contractor. But when cleaning is left to a company’s janitorial staff, there may be concerns.

Here is a basic rundown of how to clean up after remodeling or construction projects:

1. Come Up With a Plan of Attack

The first and most important step is to come up with a plan of attack. When you begin developing that plan is entirely up to you. We have seen cases in which cleaning plans began at the same time as construction. We have seen other cases in which cleaning crews waited until construction was fully completed before doing anything.

Regardless, a cleaning plan dictates what will be cleaned, how it will be cleaned, and the order in which it will be cleaned. Not having a plan means attacking the job haphazardly, thereby making things more difficult than they need to be.

2. Assess and Gather Supplies

An important part of the planning stage is assessing the cleaning supplies you will need. Remodeling and construction cleanup can be quite different from day-to-day commercial cleaning services. You may need special equipment and cleaning solutions, depending on what you’re looking at.

Be incredibly careful about mixing chemicals. Construction may have left behind chemicals or residues that don’t play well with chlorine or ammonia-based products. So be cognizant of what needs to be cleaned from a chemical interaction standpoint.

3. Work From the Top Down

Cleaning up after a minor remodeling project could mean working in a contained area that doesn’t include a lot of surfaces. On the other hand, cleaning up after major construction could have you looking at walls, windows, shelving, and any number of built in structures in larger spaces. Here’s the key to both scenarios: work from the top down.

This is one of the secrets commercial cleaning services employ. Working from the top down takes advantage of gravity so that you do not have to clean spaces twice. Dirt and debris will naturally fall, so once higher surfaces are clean, they should remain that way.

4. Work From the Inside Out

A similar principle applies to cleaning floors. Identify the furthest point in the space and start there, working your way toward the front. That way, you will not be stepping on already cleaned floors while moving about the space.

5. Do It All With a Checklist

Wrapping everything up in a nice little package is a checklist you developed back in the planning stage. Arrange all the items in the order that they will be cleaned and then check them off as you go. Your checklist might include:

• walls and ceilings.
• windows, doors, and frames/sashes.
• furniture and built-in structures.
• countertops and cabinets.
• Baseboards.
• hard floors and/or carpets.

You may want to assign a member of the cleaning crew to inspect each item before moving on to the next. You also might have different members of the cleaning crew who are especially proficient at certain tasks. You can account for all such things in your plan.

Cleaning up after a remodeling or construction project can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. With a good plan and a talented crew, you can handle it.

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Every cleaning job has a starting place. When it comes to dental offices, the starting place is the exam room. If you are not sure why, think about how dirty exam rooms get compared to the rest of the office. Exam rooms are likely to be the cleanest spaces of all. So why start there?

They Must Remain the Cleanest

Exam rooms are the cleanest spaces in the dental office because that’s where care is provided. No one wants to see a dentist in a dirty exam room, especially knowing that the dentist’s hands will be in the patient’s mouth. Suffice it to say that the exam rooms must always remain the cleanest space in a dental office.

Starting with exam rooms guarantees you are not tracking dirt, germs, etc. into exam rooms from other spaces. You can concentrate on cleaning and disinfecting, knowing that when you close the door behind you the space is as clean as you can make it in anticipation of the next day’s treatments.

Here is a basic checklist for cleaning exam rooms:

• Wipe down sanitizing equipment.
• Disinfect exam chairs, including head and arm rests.
• Disinfect spit sinks.
• Sanitize hard surfaces including counters in cabinets.
• Sanitize fixtures including light switches and doorknobs.
• Sweep floors and mop (if applicable).

Moving from one exam room to the next is the most efficient way to go about it. If you are working with a cleaning crew rather than alone, multiple exam rooms can be cleaned simultaneously.

Where to Go Next

Where to go following the exam rooms depends on how dirty the rest of the facility is. You want to work from the cleanest spaces to the dirtiest spaces. Most of the time, this would dictate moving to either the office area or break room next.

Office areas typically require surface cleaning, fixture cleaning, and vacuuming or sweeping floors. If there are any concerns about sanitation and hygiene, fixtures and equipment can be cleaned in much the same way they were cleaned in the exam rooms.

In the break room, the biggest areas of concern are countertops, sinks, and tables. They are all candidates for disinfecting. The idea is to avoid spreading germs that employees could pick up and pass along to patients during their exams.

Finishing Up With the Dirtiest Spaces

Finishing up in a dental office involves addressing the dirtiest spaces. In almost every case, these spaces would include restrooms and the waiting area. Some cleaning services prefer to do restrooms first so that they can clean the waiting area on the way out the door. Others prefer to do it the other way around. At this point, it’s a matter of preference.

The underlying concern in all medical facilities is hygiene. That goes without saying. However, a secondary concern that may be equally important is the use of green cleaning solutions. Green cleaning products are easier on the environment but also safer for cleaning crew members and the employees and visitors who will use the facility the following day.

Does your dental practice handle daily cleaning in-house? If so, we would be happy to provide a no-obligation quote. Let us manage your daily cleaning so that you and your team can concentrate on more important things.

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HEPA and ULPA vacuums have specialized filters designed to catch airborne particles that standard vacuums don’t touch. They are built on the premise that all vacuums can transfer particles back into the air due to the way air circulates through them. We can cut down on pollutants and improve air quality by using the specialized vacuums.

High Efficiency Air Filters

It is actually a misnomer to refer to HEPA and ULPA vacuums. Why? Because the two acronyms refer to filters rather than a particular vacuum technology. Here is a bit more detail to make things clearer:

• HEPA – High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are designed to capture airborne particles that are 0.3 microns or larger. A properly working HEPA filter captures more than 99% of such particles. Think dust, pollen, and mold spores.

• ULPA – Ultra Low Penetration Air (ULPA) filters are also high efficiency filters capable of capturing even smaller particles. They are ideal for particles as small as 0.12 microns. Bacteria and viruses immediately come to mind.

As a side note, a micron is equivalent to one millionth of a meter. That is incredibly small. The most impressive thing about HEPA and ULPA filters is that they can capture particles that are less than one micron in size.

They Have Their Quirks

One would expect that a vacuum filter capable of capturing such tiny particles would have its quirks. HEPA and ULPA filters do not disappoint in this regard. For instance, not every off-the-shelf vacuum is powerful enough to maximize HEPA and ULPA filtration. You need a lot of raw power to suck air through such fine filters.

For the record, this is why we refer to HEPA and ULPA vacuums instead of filters. The vacuums have been designed for use with these particular filters. They have been designed with the raw horsepower necessary to maximize their effectiveness.

A couple of other things to consider include:

• Filter Costs – HEPA and ULPA filters do not have to bust the budget, but they are more expensive than standard filters. They are worth the extra money, though. When you consider how important indoor air quality is, spending a bit more on better filters makes sense.

• Filter Replacement – Due to the small size of the particles HEPA and ULPA filters capture, you cannot always see with the naked eye when a filter needs changing. By the time you can see something, the filter may already have lost most of its efficiency. Therefore, filters should always be changed according to manufacturer specifications.

• Vacuum Noise – The extra power required to use HEPA and ULPA filters dictates that the vacuums themselves are louder than normal. This generally isn’t a concern for professional cleaners who come in after hours, but it may be a concern for in-house cleaning staff looking to vacuum during the day.

All Pro Cleaning Systems takes air quality seriously. Air quality has always been a concern of ours, but it is even more important now in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. That’s why we insist on HEPA and ULPA vacuums for interior carpets.

We would be happy to give you a free quote for cleaning your commercial building. If you would prefer to keep cleaning in-house, at least consider the benefits of HEPA and ULPA vacuums and filters.

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Do you lease a commercial office building or warehouse? Is your current lease on the verge of expiring? If there is any possibility that exit cleaning is in your organization’s future, it is important that decision makers start thinking about how they will manage it. The sooner the better. Waiting until a month before lease termination to come up with a cleaning plan is really waiting too long.

Here are some important things to know about exit cleaning at lease termination:

It Could Impact You Financially

It is understood that tenants will leave properties in good condition when they move out. If properties are left dirty and damaged, financial penalties are likely. What does this say about cleaning? It suggests that how well you clean could impact you financially.

Carefully consider the terms of your lease. What does the document say about your exit cleaning responsibilities? We are guessing you don’t want to be left with a hefty bill when you could have spent less money on professional cleaning services.

Carpets Are a Major Area of Concern

Next, be aware that carpets are a major area of concern in office buildings, medical buildings, etc. Commercial landlords are no different from their residential counterparts in that they do not want to replace carpets more often than necessary. But they are also sticklers for stains and other types of carpet damage.

Carpet cleaning is a standard deep cleaning task. Fortunately, commercial cleaning services utilize specialized equipment and chemicals to address even the most stubborn stains. That is good because a stained carpet could mean an expensive bill from the landlord.

There Will Be Hard to Reach Areas

There are always hard to reach areas that still need to be addressed by exit cleaning. Here is the thing: some of those areas cannot even be seen until everything is packed up and moved out. Do you have a strategy for addressing them?

Another thing to consider is the length of time that has passed since your last deep cleaning. The longer that amount of time is, the more challenging cleaning those hard-to-reach areas is probably going to be.

Hard to reach areas include spaces behind fixtures, spaces above cabinets, closet storage spaces, cabinet interiors, and so forth. There is always the temptation to ignore them, but doing so could cost you.

Consistency Goes a Long Way

Believe it or not, consistency goes a long way in exit cleaning. If your cleaning team applies the same standards to every space within the property, a landlord is less likely to nitpick. But if one room is exceptionally clean while another is only marginally so, it will be easier for the landlord to find things wrong with the latter space.

We generally advise coming up with a set of standards that can be consistently applied to every room in the building. The standards should be set as high as possible to insure the lowest risk of leaving the landlord unsatisfied.

Exit cleaning is not necessarily the easiest thing to pull off. If you are looking at lease termination in the near future, it might be worth the financial effort to hire a commercial cleaning service. Letting the pros do it might ultimately cost you less in the long run.

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