• 07 Jan, 2020
• Clinton
• No comment

Where has your mop been? 3 questions to ask your cleaner

There is more to infection control than dousing an area with disinfectant.   

With the current focus on workplace sanitation, a lot of businesses have been asking about hospital grade disinfectant, touch points and options for deep cleaning.  These are all great questions, however a key element of infection control is the cleaning process itself, specifically, cross contamination.  Today’s article is about equipment, and the important (but often overlooked) role it plays in an hygiene result cleaning.

Do you provide your own cleaning equipment for use on your site? If, like many businesses, the answer is ‘no’ and you rely on your cleaner to supply, maintain and sanitise their own equipment for use in your workplace, here are some questions to ask yourself:

*Where has that mop been used today before it got to you?

*How is this mop head cleaned and when was it last replaced?

*Does your cleaner use colour coded mops, or is the floor of your kitchen being serviced with the same mop that does the men’s bathroom?

If you’re only paying a cleaner to visit you for a few hours once or twice a week,  then the economic reality is that they are likely to be doing multiple jobs that day before yours.   Like any professional trades person, a diligent cleaner should take pride in their tools of trade. However, you can’t assume that all do. And who wants a mop that’s just been in a pub bathroom on your kitchen floor?

Providing your own equipment on site is a great way to minimise the risk of cross contamination and keep some control over its maintenance.  Including 15 minutes in your scope at the end of each visit for your cleaner to disinfect cloths, empty the vac and clean your mop heads is important to ensure it gets done.  Whilst it might take a bit organising to set up a small cleaners’ cupboard if your workplace doesn’t have a purpose built one,  we suggest this is a worthwhile investment in peace of mind.  As part of our cleaning audit service, we help businesses to find creative solutions in small offices and introduce protocols for their current cleaner if they don’t already have one.

When comparing quotes, ask whether that price includes setting you up with dedicated equipment for your site or what process the cleaner will use each day to ensure only clean and sanitised equipment is brought to your office. As we’ve mentioned in earlier articles, a cheap clean can cost you more in the long run. Equipment maintenance or replacement schedules are one way costs can be driven down to deliver a low hourly rate.

Our next article will discuss minimising cross contamination via cloths and vacuum cleaner maintenance.

Best of luck this winter and feel free to reach out if you’d like more advice. darren@totalcommercialcleaningsolutions.com.au