Commercial Restroom Cleaning Is a Dirty Job
Commercial restroom cleaning services, it’s a dirty job indeed. So we look to the professionals to keep our office restrooms and facility restrooms in clean, fresh condition for the benefit of employees, visitors, customers and the overall positive image of our facility.
But how do you evaluate your restroom cleaners? How do you know what your restroom cleaning service is and isn’t doing? How do you evaluate what your restroom sanitation service should be doing?
How do you assure you are getting real value from your restroom cleaning and not just a quick once-over that leaves behind odor and germs? And if you have dirty restrooms and your restroom cleaners aren’t delivering on their promises to you, how do you make them step up or step out?
What Too Many Janitorial Services Companies Aren’t Doing
Cleaning restrooms might seem like a no brainer, but there’s actually some real science behind cleaning these most dirty of communal rooms.
Maybe you are lucky and you ended up with a janitorial services company that is serious about their business and serious about your office bathrooms.
If that’s the case, consider yourself lucky because there are far too many janitorial companies out there that are not giving your office restrooms the care they require.
Do your restroom cleaning services stink? Let’s consider what signs might indicate your office restrooms are not being properly cared for.
It could be you can smell it as soon as you walk through the restroom door. Or you see it in the scattered trash, grubby corners and soiled sinks. Maybe your commercial restrooms look okay on the surface but cleaning for health and minimizing disease causing bacteria has been utterly neglected.
Whatever the condition of your restrooms, these are signs your restroom cleaning is lacking:
- There is soil, smudges and dirt on and around door handles.
- Wetness, smears, streaks and worse sully restroom mirrors.
- Your restroom floors are filthy or quickly cleaned with little attention to detail.
- There is an unpleasant, noticeable “bathroom” smell.
- Soap, paper towels and other supplies are not fully stocked.
- There are overfilled trash cans and refuse may have accumulated on the floor.
- Sinks are soiled with deposits and grime. Spilled soap collects on and around sinks.
- Sink hardware is grimy and counters are dirty or have standing water.
- Inadequate maintenance of toilets and urinals is reflected in sediment and grimy buildup.
- Panels and stalls are poorly maintained with grime, fingerprints and graffiti.
- Sanitary disposal containers are broken, damaged or full.
- Floor drains have accumulated soil, dust and debris and the grout is soiled.
What Your Commercial Cleaning Company Should Be Doing
One of the challenges in getting great restroom cleaning services is understanding what great restroom cleaning actually looks like.
Proper restroom sanitation depends on many factors—from cleaning for health to Smart Cleaning practices and attention to small details that separate looking clean from truly being clean.
No janitorial services company is going to get your office restrooms so clean that you’d eat off them—that’s just gross. But the best commercial cleaning companies can deliver consistently clean restrooms that look clean, smell fresh, and reduce the spread of disease-causing germs in your facility.
Office restroom cleaning is very different from cleaning a home bathroom. Commercial restrooms see extremely high traffic and require professional cleaning procedures to stay hygienic and presentable.
Evaluating your restroom cleaning services and performing regular janitorial inspections can help keep your commercial cleaning contractor on track and your restrooms properly maintained.
What do well maintained office restrooms look like?
- Meticulous cleaning of high contact touch points to reduce the spread of germs.
- Toilets and seats cleaned, disinfected and wiped dry.
- Mirrors shiny, clean and free of streaks.
- Behind-toilet areas properly cleaned to reduce odors.
- Urinal handles disinfected and urinal blocks replaced.
- Feminine hygiene dispensers cleaned and restocked.
- Supplies like toilet paper, soap and paper towels regularly restocked.
- Trash and sanitary disposal containers emptied before they overflow.
- Restroom fixtures inspected to ensure proper operation.
- Professional cleaning techniques using chemicals, agitation and extraction.
- Cleaning completed first, followed by disinfecting with proper dwell times.
- Color-coded restroom cloths and mops never used elsewhere.
- Restroom stalls and partitions free of grime and graffiti.
- Floor drains and grout kept clean.
- Air vents dusted or vacuumed regularly.
- All restroom lighting functioning.
- No noticeable restroom odors.
- Corners, ceilings and baseboards maintained.
- Periodic deep cleaning to protect building assets.
- Modern cleaning equipment used for efficiency and quality.
- Regular visual inspections performed.
- Supply closets organized and stocked.
- Cleaning equipment maintained and repaired when necessary.
Getting Effective Service & Real Value from Your Restroom Cleaning Service
If your janitorial services are “in the toilet,” they need to either step up or move on. Maybe you need a clean break and are looking for a janitorial or commercial cleaning company capable of delivering high-quality restroom cleaning.
Finding the right provider isn’t always simple, but with the right information you can evaluate whether a cleaning company can deliver the level of service your facility deserves.
Your office restrooms and commercial restrooms are a critical part of the overall health and image of your facility.
