Office Cleaning Melbourne Archives | Page 3 of 3 | Performance Property Services Group

Common Questions on Office Cleaning, Answered

There’s always a first time for everything. Office cleaning was not always a thing until someone realized that it is better to outsource cleaning services than hire people to do it. Outsourcing has been proven to save more while lessening the burden of overseeing the cleaners.

On the other hand, if you do not have your own cleaning arm, then you don’t have to ask your employees to do so anymore.

If it’s your office’s first time to hire a cleaning company, then there must be a few questions buzzing around on your employees’ minds. Here are some of those frequently asked questions of employees and the answers to them.

1. Should I secure anything before the cleaners arrive?

Since you are working in an office, there will always be confidential documents and personal items scattered around. The rule of thumb is this: if you don’t want them to see it, do not place it out in the open.

If you have an important contract that is not meant to be seen by outsiders, then it’s best to stow them away before the cleaning service arrives.

2. Can they be trusted?

This is one of the main concerns of a lot of employees. While cleaning services with great reputations are generally trustworthy, you should not leave out anything that is too risky (or costly) to lose.

Whether it’s a company phone or your own personal gadget, you don’t want them to be lying around especially when they clean and you won’t be there in the area.

3. Will they clean each person’s desks?

Cleaning services often only cover common areas like walkways, pantries, reception areas, etc. However, this still depends on your company’s agreement with them. While some stick to common areas, there are agreements where even the actual desk is cleaned.

4. Should we provide cleaning materials?

Commercial cleaning service providers have their own materials. Most of these materials are for professional use. However, if you have cleaning materials in your office that you want them to utilize, you can always discuss this with them when they arrive.

5. Should I be there when they clean?

You don’t have to be there when the cleaning service arrives. In fact, some cleaning services schedule their visits beyond or before office hours so they do not interrupt business operations.

In any case, you do not have to be in your area when they clean provided, of course, that you do not have any confidential and important documents and items scattered on your desk.

6. Will the cleaners be the same every time?

It’s at the discretion of the cleaning company to either rotate or assign specific people to your office. Nonetheless, it is always better to have the same team clean your office because it creates familiarity in the spaces that need to be cleaned.

It also helps develop a certain level of security since you will not keep entertaining strangers every other week.

7. Do they have green initiatives?

This depends on the cleaning company you are hiring. Ideally, if your company makes it a point to take steps towards saving the environment, then it should hire a cleaning company that does the same.

You can also further discuss with the cleaning company your preferences when it comes to green initiatives. Some companies reuse the plastic bag that covers the trash can if there is no liquid that was thrown there.

You can also do the same or better yet, think of your own steps that you can share with your hired cleaning company.

8. What kinds of training do commercial cleaners undergo?

Commercial cleaners undergo both in-house and on-the-job training. This combination of development will help them have a deeper understanding of cleaning techniques as well as exposure to the different sanitary problems experienced in offices.

Hiring a commercial cleaning service for your office seems to be risky at first, but that is why you have to be careful and critical of the company you are hiring.

Since the common concern of employees revolves around trust, then make sure that you hire a company that has a clean track record with their clients.

Researching reviews of clients and doing background checks can give you a glimpse of whether or not a certain cleaning company is the right fit for your business.

Should you have questions about commercial office cleaning in Sunshine suburb, contact us at 1300 867 872 and we will be very glad to assist you.

How Clean Should The Office Restroom Be?

The office restroom is officially the dirtiest place in your workplace, even worse than the pantry and the desks. One huge reason is that it receives many visitors, some of them not paying attention to their responsibility to clean up themselves once before.

Another possible reason is the fact that people do their business here, and if they have not washed their hands afterward, they may even be unconsciously leaving behind, and spreading, germs. These are the reasons why being particular about the cleanliness of your office restroom is very important.

What Looks Clean Might Not Be

When a messy kitchen or workspace has been cleaned, you can see it with your naked eye. However, a restroom, though the counters and floors are wiped down, might still have a lot of germs, bacteria, and other nasty stuff left behind. Thus, cleaning this part of the office requires more than just mopping.

The consequences of unclean restrooms can be grave. The spread of germs and viruses can lead to employee illness and absenteeism. Worse, these unclean hands will touch other surfaces in the office, like the doors, computers, printers, and pantry counter. With many other people using these shared spaces, the risk of getting many people sick is high.

The Importance Of Disinfecting The Restroom

Beyond emptying the trash and mopping, a good cleaning company will thoroughly disinfect the restroom. Many cleaners miss this step, but this is really the most important part of the cleaning. It is just as vital that they know the right places to disinfect, as well as the most appropriate products to use. Only then can you truly believe that the restroom is spick and span.

Disinfection should be done every single time the restrooms are cleaned. Products should be able to kill 99% of the germs when applied, especially on the surfaces that are very commonly used by employees. This includes the doors to the bathroom stalls, the handles of the faucets, the flush handles, towel, and soap dispensers, and the door handles.

How Often Should The Restroom Be Cleaned?

The cleaning needs of every company can differ, based on the size of the company and the number of employees. Still, the basic minimum is one time a day, even for small or middle-sized companies with very few customer or client traffic. This keeps the restrooms fresh, clean, bacteria-free, and smelling good. Plus, it will reduce the stains on the bathroom fixtures like toilets and sinks.

In bigger offices or high-traffic ones (tons of clients or customers coming all the time), the cleaning should be done much more often. Not only is the cleanliness the issue here, but also the impression you are making on your visitors. A dirty or unkempt restroom will not be seen positively by a guest, so you will want to make sure that your cleaning service is doing regular cleaning of the restroom.

If you are not sure, then a good cleaning company will be able to assess the situation and recommend a schedule that meets your needs. The good thing is that more regular cleaning will take less time, so your employees will not have to run to a different department or floor to do their business. Instead, they will have a reliably clean restroom to use the whole day round.

Frequent visits will also mean no one is running out of toilet paper or soap, which is another vital part of your commercial cleaning company’s services.

At the end of the day, the expectation should be a thorough cleaning done often enough to keep the restrooms looking and smelling fresh and clean (and germ-free!) the entire working day.

Finding The Right Commercial Cleaning Company

Many companies fail to realize how office cleanliness can actually impact their bottom line. The fact is, unsanitary conditions that lead to illness or the spread of viruses can increase absenteeism and affect productivity. A clean and well-maintained workplace can prevent this, so finding the right commercial cleaners is important.

Many facility managers have to struggle with tight budgets and some will think twice about hiring someone because of the higher cost, despite the top service these providers are offering. Some might even be tempted to reduce the frequency of restroom cleanings in an effort to save money.

There are many other ways these facility managers can manage their budget without compromising the cleanliness of the workplace and the health of employees. Daily thorough cleaning of all restrooms is the basic minimum especially when you see a lot of customer traffic. When you do, think of how impressing your clients can actually be good for your business.

Companies should pay close attention to how their commercial cleaner maintains their offices, specifically in an important part like the restrooms. It should be maintained at a much higher standard because you and your employees deserve much better than those public toilets.

Should you have questions and office cleaning concerns, you may contact Performance Cleaning at 1300 867 872 or click here to get a quote.

4 Reasons Why It’s Difficult to Maintain the Office Cleanliness

Many people consider the office as their second home. After all, it is here where they spend almost a third of their day for about 5 days a week.

Because of the sheer number of people sharing the same space and resources, cleaning the office can be more daunting than cleaning a house.

If you have a team of cleaners yet you still see your office dirty, there may be some culprits that you have overlooked. Here are four of them.

1. You Have an Open-plan Layout

If your company provides separate offices or workstations for each of your employees, then this is not an issue. The main concern here is on businesses that have an open-plan layout.

An open-plan workplace can have many benefits to the business. It can help foster better camaraderie, while also allowing supervisors to interact with their team members.

Unfortunately, such an open-space design, exposes employees to disease-causing germs like viruses and bacteria. When an employee has an infection, he or she can spread the germ to all those in the open space.

A larger working space also favours the observance of unhealthy practices. Because of an open-plan workplace, cleaning can be more difficult. Because there will be certain sections of the workplace that remain dirty, it will convey the message to employees that it is okay to litter.

2. You Haven’t Embraced a Paperless Workplace Yet

Look in your office and you will notice that paper is the single most important cause of litter. Almost all desks in the office will have papers on top. These can include reports, memos, notes, and other documents.

While these documents are very important in running your business, they are not the only way. There are now electronic or digital solutions that you can institute in your office to help get rid of the clutter.

Instead of printing hundreds of memos to give to your employees, you might want to email them instead. Create a digital bulletin board where you can post all the important information you want to convey.

You do not have to eliminate paper documents right away. However, if you can reduce your dependence on paper, then you can save money. You also help keep your office looking neater and cleaner.

3. Your Employees Drink and Eat in Their Workstations

There are companies that prohibit their employees from drinking or eating in their respective workstations. They recognise the impact of such employee habits on their productivity.

Crumbs can fall on the keyboard or on the document that an employee is preparing. These can stain the document, requiring the employee to make another one.

While having a bottle of water on your table can help keep you hydrated, this can also affect one’s performance of his or her job functions. If the water spills onto documents, then one has to make the documents again.

Cleaning spills and crumbs in the workstation is easy. However, eating and drinking in a designated area in the office are a lot easier.

Many offices now have a staff room or kitchen where their staff can enjoy their drinks and food. This is also easier to clean as there are no documents and work-related equipment to think about.

4. Your Employees are Overzealous, Reporting to Work Sick

You will have to give credit to a zealous employee. Such dedication to his or her work is something that you do not get to see all the time. However, if the employee’s eagerness to work already borders on overzealousness, it can pose a problem.

A classic example of employee overzealousness is coming to work even though the employee is sick. The problem with many of today’s infections is that they tend to spread very fast.

A sick employee who reports for work for one day has the potential to spread the infectious germ to others in the office.

Employees today can always use different technologies to inform their offices that they are sick. Make sure your employees know that it is okay not to come to work if they are sick.

Learning the possible reasons why you cannot keep your office clean should help you identify more appropriate measures. One of these measures should always include getting the services of a commercial cleaning company. They can help keep your office space in check.

For office and commercial cleaning services, call us at 1300 867 872.

Upholstery Cleaning – Tullamarine Airport

Client: Europcar, International Office
Location: Melbourne Airport, Tullamarine
Problem: Light colour green chairs get very dirty, high traffic vinyl floor
Solution: Upholstery clean every 3 months, clean floor

These chairs at the International Office of Eurpocar at Melbourne Airport in Tullamarine where recently refurbished, only 3 months ago. The light green colour chairs, however, get dirty very quickly. The solution is to implement a cleaning schedule, every 3 months, to keep them looking their best, and apply scotch guard to protect them between cleans.

The vinyl floor, a high traffic area of a similar colour, was degreased and scrubbed back to remove all the built up grime. A regular cleaning maintenance program will keep this area looking clean and ready for customers!

Lift Floor Rejuvenation South Yarra

Cleaning and Rejuvenating a Lift Floor – South Yarra

This lift floor in The Punt Hill Apartments in South Yarra has seen some heavy traffic! After several attempts to rejuvenate the floor themselves, they called us to see if we could help.

We recommended stripping the floor back, a good scrub and neutralise before applying a good quality sealer & polish suitable for high traffic area.

End result –Great outcome!

Procedure:

Apply Diverse Ultra Strip to area required.
Strip back all flooring using black stripping pad with swing buffer
Scrub clean all corners & edges
Neutralise floor-so ready to lay polish
Apply sealer (pinnacle) Johnson product
Apply 3 coats of polish (Johnson)

Cleaning Office Bathroom Tiles

Problem: Build up stubborn Mildew

Solution: Apply Enzyme ( 100% biodegradable) to all tiled areas which have built up stubborn stains and mildew. Allow to sit there for 5 mins to penetrate thru the mildew and grout. Light scrub areas which are stubborn
Wash off with water and your bathroom tiles and grout will be rejuvenated

Contact Performance Cleaning at 1300 867 872 for more all your commercial cleaning needs.

Rejuvenation of Office Entrance Tiles

Location: Melbourne CBD office

Problem: Entrance tiles in desperate need of rejuvenation

After years of neglect , and a recent refurbishment of the office, the client was wanting a solution to the unsightly front entry. A costly replacement of the tiles was not an option.

Solution: Contact Performance Property Services Group.

We applied a heavy solution of U- beaut ( safety degreaser). It is a Biodegradable heavy duty degreaser. After allowing the product 30 minutes to penetrate, we moved the slurry to agitate the Terrazzo.

Gently machine scrubbed on slow speed then vacuumed all the slurry.
The final step was a concentrated pressure clean of the tiles .

Result:The images below showing the before and after speak for themselves!

Another job well done! Our client over the moon as a costly tile replacement has been avoided.

Office Cleaning: Tackling Carpet Stains at an Early Stage

Removing Coffee Stains

Coffee stains are the most common you will find in all offices.

Tackling stains at an early stage will prevent the stain penetrating into the carpet. Leaving the stain too long will most times result in a permanent mark if not treated.

With all our clients our staff have on site a great product to deal with this issue.
Enzyme Wizard-Carpet Spot remover and Shampoo is designed to attack and eliminate tough stains.

Carpet Steam Clean Annually

It has a penetrating action which gets deep down into the fibres of the carpet.
We encourage all our clients to steam clean and deodorise carpets annually.

Toilet Cleaning in South Melbourne

Eliminating Odour in Office Toilets

Location: South Melbourne

Problem: Toilet Odour

We were recently asked by a client in the South Melbourne if we could eliminate the odour in the toilets.

Solution:

Taking on a new contract almost always requires an impact clean. The odour from the mens toilet block is the most challenging task.
We use a product which breaks down uric acid crystals , removing the urea component and eliminating the stain and odour for good.
This product is water evaporable fragrance which leaves no residue behind.

Odour gone!