Many businesses hire commercial cleaners to ensure their premises are hygienic and presentable, and using a professional company such as Unique Cleaning Group to carry out a quality commercial clean helps ensure high standards of sanitation are maintained.

As commercial cleaning is a little different to domestic cleaning, which is the cleaning of people’s homes, it often involves specialist equipment, cleaning products and expertise. Most private homes can be cleaned using everyday equipment and products by someone with no special training or skills, whereas business locations and public spaces need to be cleaned more often and more thoroughly to maintain high standards of cleanliness. As one can imagine, it does take some skills to offer a good commercial clean – here are a few examples of what to look for.

What is a commercial cleaner?

What is a commercial cleaner? A commercial cleaner is an individual or a company that carries out cleaning services in a commercial environment, such as offices, shops, restaurants, factories, bars, and other businesses. Basically anywhere that could potentially get dirty could use a commercial clean, especially public environments where customers may be visiting. 

Cleanliness is important, not only to maintain a business’s professional appearance, but also to prevent the spread of disease or contamination, especially in locations that serve food or drinks. Even if your business does not have customers onsite, ensuring that a workplace is clean and fresh can help to improve workplace morale, and also helps to reduce the chances of staff falling ill and taking sick days.

1. Reliability

A good commercial cleaner should always be reliable – not only should they be expected to arrive on time, but they should always maintain a high standard of quality in their work. If cleaning tasks have to be redone or standards start slipping, it can waste valuable time trying to chase things up and ask for places to be cleaned again. Many commercial cleaners utilise an auditing service to ensure that every job is done thoroughly and consistently. A good commercial cleaner is always a reliable cleaner. 

Most commercial cleaners such as Unique Cleaning Group run DBS checks on all of their employees, which is definitely required for those who offer cleaning services in schools, nursing homes, and other locations where cleaning staff may come into contact with minors or vulnerable people. Even when cleaning locations that are empty, the cleaning company should take some steps to ensure their employees are trustworthy, reliable and can act professionally and appropriately at any job site. 

A good commercial cleaner will usually visit the site that needs cleaning before taking the job on, so that they can give an accurate quote for the service and also ensure they are fully equipped to do the job. Look for a commercial cleaner that is willing to make a visit to the site before you agree to hire them or sign any contract.

2. Health and safety knowledge

Commercial cleaners must have in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of all health and safety regulations that could apply in the environments they are cleaning. Whether it’s knowledge of what cleaning products can be safely used in places where food is prepared, where children and babies will be present, in an enclosed space or in an outdoor environment, all of this is important to be a good commercial cleaner. Here at Unique Cleaning Group, this is something we prioritise, going above and beyond to ensure that our commercial cleaners have the latest training and that health and safety standards are met.

Another aspect of health and safety knowledge is being able to clean areas safely without presenting any risk to the cleaning staff themselves, employees of the business, customers, or the general public. Good health and safety practices include placing signs around alerting people to a wet floor, using cleaning products that won’t make floors too slippery, and properly using, labelling and storing chemical cleaning products. All good commercial clean companies will have an extensive health and safety policy that all staff should adhere to. COSHH regulations apply to potentially harmful substances in the workplace, which would include many cleaning products. Commercial cleaners should conduct a risk assessment with all products used, and ensure that they are used appropriately.

3. Insurance

All businesses need insurance so they are covered in the event of an accident occurring in the workplace, and commercial cleaners are no different. As they could be entering public business premises, they would need to have public liability insurance in case something they did – or failed to do – caused an accident, and compensation must be paid. They should also have professional indemnity insurance in case something they do, or fail to do, results in a loss of earnings for the business they have been working at. If the commercial clean company has employees, which in all likelihood they will, they should have employer’s insurance in the event of their staff sustaining any injury or illness while working.

4. Certifications and accreditations

There are no certifications that are legally required to operate a commercial clean business, but there are professional bodies that do offer certification and accreditation to show that a commercial cleaning company meets industry standards.

Additional certification may be required for commercial cleaners operating in certain environments, like within a hospital, kitchen, or a building site, and would require industry-specific certifications. Some larger buildings may require cleaning of ductwork or ventilation systems, and this would require the commercial cleaner involved to have a TR19 certification from BESA, the Building Engineering Services Association, showing that they have specialised knowledge and training in this particular sector.

5. Quality equipment and products

Most commercial cleaners such as Unique Cleaning Group will provide their own cleaning tools and products, the cost of which is factored into their fees. A lot of cleaning equipment you might use in the home is not suitable for the constant heavy use that a commercial cleaner may subject it to, so specialist equipment is often required. A regular vacuum cleaner is fine for cleaning one house, but if vacuuming needs to be done over a larger area, on a daily basis, or in factory environments where it might pick up a bit more than everyday dust, something more heavy duty is required. Look for commercial cleaners that supply industrial-quality vacuum cleaners, floor buffers, carpet cleaners, and other specialist equipment. Similarly, a few cleaning products from the supermarket is usually all that is needed for cleaning in a home environment, but for commercial cleaners, industrial-strength products are more widely used. They are supplied in bulk and are often stronger than household cleaners. As mentioned before, all commercial cleaners should have appropriate health and safety training to know how to properly use, label, store and dispose of these chemical products.

Some commercial cleaners who offer specialist services or clean in specific locations may require specialist commercial clean products, such as pressure washers, foggers for disinfecting entire rooms, scrubber dryers, and more. If you require these kinds of specialist services, ensure that a commercial cleaner is sufficiently skilled and equipped to complete the work.

 

Trusted commercial clean services

Looking for a reliable commercial cleaner? We can help! Whether your commercial clean requirements are big, small, one-off, or ongoing, our dedicated team is here to take the work off your hands, allowing you to focus on your business. To enquire about our trusted commercial clean services, simply;

Fill out our contact form or call us on 01242 515579