Does it seem easy to clean common areas on a daily basis? You'd be surprised to see employees working with just a cloth and a spray bottle in hand to clean the entire building! In this article, we'll lay out the basics for preparing your cleaning cart in a hygienic, efficient, and organized way, including the appropriate cleaning products and accessories.
Prepare your cleaning trolley
A housekeeping cart should only contain cleaning supplies and should not be cluttered. The more cluttered a cart is, the less likely an employee will be to clean it at the end of their shift. The cart should be TIDY, EASILY CLEANABLE And OWN.
- A trolley overflowing with products or accessories that are useless for cleaning. Like the method taken should be that of pre-soakinge, very little product is needed.
- Snack to eat. This must be left in the break room.
- Screwdriver or other tools.
- A pack of pencils, paper, books, clips, etc.
The preparation of the housekeeping trolley is THE most frequently encountered non-conformity. In fact, you can't claim to clean effectively with a crowded and dirty trolley.
Here is What should be in your housekeeping cart?
- 1 to 2 pre-soak buckets. One bucket with a light degreaser and another bucket with a bathroom cleaner, for example.
- Of the microfiber cloths in good quantity
- A bucket with a toilet mop, unless a toilet mop is available in every restroom, which is not common. I recommend the one that is flexible with coneThe one with a hard brush tends to cause splashing, which is very dangerous for the eyes!
- A box of nitrile gloves at least 3 mm thick.
- A microfiber duster, expandable if possible. My favorite is the Rubbermaid one that bends according to our needs, very effective at retaining dirt. Machine washable.
- THE flat wash system used in pre-soaking method too.
- Spare wet mops are already pre-soaked in the pre-soaked liquid, so you can simply swap them out for a clean one as needed. Keep an extra bucket for dirty ones.
- 1 dry mop for mopping floors if that is part of your routine work route. For dry mopping, I prefer the Hygen sold by RubbermaidThey are made of microfiber and are very effective. Make sure you don't buy too big or too small. You will find mops on the market in sizes 18, 24, 36, 48 or 60 inches.
Required equipment
- A backpack vacuum cleaner could also be a good choice instead of a mop. It has the advantage of leaving no residue. I prefer two models:
- There RBV 150 NX from Nacecare which is comfortable, light and efficient! Of course, if you're going to get a back protector, you might as well get a battery-powered one, so you won't have any annoying wires between your legs!
- There Proteam's GoFree FlexPro. Very sturdy format, it will be difficult to break it! There is also the 10 format, but personally, I find it too big, but it is a matter of choice. Also available with battery or wire.
Choosing household cleaning products
Now let's look at the choice of household cleaning products, which should only contain 2 or 3 products at most. Unless you have the presence of a very specific bacteria, a simple cleaning is enough to remove microbes on a daily basis. Therefore, we will favor an all-purpose cleaner or light degreaser. Indeed, what leaves greasy residue is the oil from our fingers, also responsible for high-risk contamination contact points or commonly called High touch.
Preferably, I favor the biotechnology since its concentration of enzymes and bacteria can be applied on several surfaces, which are neutral pH and often used with an integrated dosing system. This simplifies cleaning tasks and preparing the cleaning trolley.
Here is a list of general cleaning products
- Innu science: Nu Kleen All – All-surface degreasing cleaner
- Ino Solutions: Ino Bio 2 – Bathroom cleaner
- Solu Net Extra Capsule: All-purpose cleaning capsule
- Green 2 Go Bio: Bathroom cleaner
The organized labor route
Most housekeeping employees have never received any special training. Housekeeping in a large building is nothing like residential. Work schedules identify exactly what needs to be done and how to do it. What I sometimes see as a work schedule is a list of areas to be cleaned. Between you and me, cleaning an office can be interpreted in many ways. From simply emptying trash cans to cleaning high-risk contact points. It's completely different. I also suggest establishing a visual route, which has the advantage of being understood by all at a glance.
The addition of a charter of products, accessories and equipment in all cleaning premises brings more clarity. And of course the housekeeping room should contain only what is authorized. To this end, the use of certain products should be avoided: recurring powder, spray cans, bleach should be among the products to be eliminated!
Basic training
Basic training is a minimum requirement for all employees to ensure proper working methods are used. You'd be surprised how many people work with just a cloth and a spray bottle to clean the entire building!
Here is a link to the description of the housekeeping and sanitation training that we offer to our fully equipped training roomThe number of participants in our training courses is limited to 8 participants to give everyone the chance to have good personalized coaching. Thus, es private groups even have an advantageous rate in addition to being able to personalize the training according to certain parameters.
On that note, I wish you a very happy 2024!
