Commercial vs. Janitorial Cleaning Services – Which Is Better for Your Business?

23 September 2024

Commercial vs. Janitorial Cleaning Services – Which Is Better for Your Business?

There are clear benefits to a neat and tidy working environment, not least of which are staff productivity and well-being. But keeping the working environment clean takes hard work, reliability and professionalism, so it’s not surprising that many businesses turn to outside help. When looking at the many professional cleaning options available, two come to mind instantly – commercial cleaning and janitorial services. Both will keep your workplace and office spotless, but there are some big differences between them. 

The former refers to any cleaning service and task performed by a professional that a company hires. The latter falls under commercial cleaning but is focused on office-specific cleaning jobs. It usually involves an expert janitor who performs day-to-day cleaning tasks to ensure proper office hygiene. Aside from keeping your work environment clean, this can all help keep employees safe and healthy, improve workplace productivity, and create a more positive atmosphere in the long run.

What is janitorial cleaning?

This type of dedicated office maintenance service keeps your workplace and business environment clean and hygienic. These services involve different cleaning tasks which trained specialists perform in order to keep office spaces clean and tidy. According to the professionals at Compass Cleaning Solutions: “Janitorial cleaning services usually entail daily workplace cleaning, as well as specialized clean-up events. These can range from HVAC system and windows maintenance to grout, tile, and carpet cleaning.”

Though janitorial services may often be overlooked, taken for granted or even seem to be unimportant, they are essential for maintaining a productive work environment. A sparkling office also shows that your business cares about its people. And if you need to receive visitors in your workplace, janitorial cleaning can help you make a positive first impression. Janitors have numerous responsibilities, from simple daily care and office cleaning to addressing waste removal, sanitation, and office maintenance tasks. The most common janitorial cleaning activities include:

• Providing daily cleaning support
• Addressing cleaning emergencies
• Support for the customer-facing work spaces
• Replenishing sanitation consumables, like toilet paper and soap
• Providing daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance for all work spaces
• Keeping bathrooms sanitary and clean
• Waste removal and bin bag handling
• Vacuuming and disinfecting the carpets/daily carpet care
• Office system cleaning
• Hard-surface floor cleaning
• Dusting and window washing
• Kitchen and restroom cleaning and restocking

Ideally, janitorial cleaning should be flexible enough to allow business users to custom-tailor the service
according to their specific needs.

What is commercial cleaning?

Commercial cleaning encompasses more diverse cleaning services that typically aren’t completed regularly or daily. In some cases, commercial cleaning is a one-off service. Or such cleaning can be arranged to maintain your office and workplace according to a predefined cleaning schedule.

Companies usually hire professional commercial cleaning services two or three times a year to handle more complex cleaning and maintenance tasks where specialist training, tools, and materials are needed. Here are a few most common applications of commercial cleaning to give you an idea:

• Power washing
• Hard surface cleaning and maintenance
• Furniture and upholstery cleaning and maintenance
• Tile and grout cleaning
• Carpet cleaning
• Window cleaning

As you can see, commercial cleaning is a more appropriate office maintenance solution for complex
cleaning jobs that you don’t have to perform as often as janitorial cleaning tasks.

Commercial vs. janitorial cleaning services

You should hire a daytime janitor if your office includes internal meeting rooms and busy workplace spaces. That way, you’ll have someone in-house who can ensure your workplace runs smoothly by keeping the front-of-house areas tidy, taking out trash, replenishing toiletries, etc.

Of course, this also helps your office stay compliant with all the industry health and hygiene standards. You can schedule janitorial cleaning according to your specific business needs, be it on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.

On the other hand, commercial cleaning services are more appropriate for organizations that need large
one-off cleaning jobs that their regular staff may not be equipped to handle. For example, cleaning the windows in an office building, particularly on the higher floors, requires specialized equipment, as does deep cleaning furniture upholstery and grout between tiles. Therefore, these tasks are best left to professionals with the necessary skills and knowledge.

Conclusion

Whether you need janitorial or commercial cleaning services depends on your specific business and maintenance needs. Janitorial solutions are more suitable for smaller, regular cleaning jobs such as cleaning and maintaining your workplace daily.

However, bigger maintenance tasks that require specialist assistance, tools, and materials are better left to trained professionals. Aside from handling the job properly, professional commercial cleaners will also complete complex tasks effectively, efficiently, and safely, following the highest industry standards.

Whichever managers choose, what’s most important is that the outcome is based on the same sound, decision-making process applied to any aspect of the business. Ensuring appropriate use of resources to maintain a productive workplace, which begins with looking after the well-being or your employees.

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