Housekeeping washing time
I'm regularly asked for lists of cleaning times for housekeeping. I remember asking this myself in my early years. It's true that it's difficult to estimate cleaning time for each building, given that no two buildings are built the same way. So, I'll try to answer this question in the simplest way possible. Let's take a concrete example: the reception area of a prestigious office building.
Calculating housekeeping washing time
- We notice that the walls are shiny,
- there is a staircase, equipped with a stainless steel railing
- A ceramic floor
- Several partition windows just like in the staircase
- Let's assume the entrance is 20 x 20 feet, so 400 square feet.
To make a good decision, you need to know what work needs to be done.
Daytime housekeeping:
- Washing glass entrance doors
- Moping and stain removal from floors
- Remove stains from walls as they appear
- Cleaning and disinfection of the stair railing, door handles, half-moon, light switch.
- You are also asked to ensure order and cleanliness
- Respond to emergencies requested by the administration
Evening housekeeping:
- Mop and wash floors
- Cleaning furniture
How will you determine the cleaning time for your housekeeping?
You will still need information:
- What equipment do you have available?
- The choice of equipment will affect the washing time: Auto-scrubber, wringer, flat mop or spaghetti style?
- What level of quality does the customer want?
- Is one wash a day enough or will it be necessary to wash several times – after lunch, after dinner, before the end of the day, after supper?
- What kind of workers and traffic enters through this entrance?
- Are they workers in suits and ties, or construction workers with boots full of dirt?
- Who provides the laundry products, you or the building?
- Having underperforming products could slow you down.
- What type of laundry employee is there?
- An untrained and unexperienced employee could take double or even triple the time required. They could even damage the surfaces!
- How many emergency service requests does the car wash attendant have to respond to?
- If the employee is constantly disturbed, his work may be affected.
- How big is the room?
- The more cluttered the room, the longer it will take.
I remind you that we are still talking about a piece of 400 square feet! So, do you see that several factors will influence the washing time of this piece? We must repeat this exercise for each piece we have to evaluate.
Washing time assessment tools
Of course, there are tools. The ISSA list is quite expensive. So I put together a document listing all the washing time in 3 languages from Issa and other online sources: French, English and Spanish! However, as you saw above in my article, the washing time housekeeping is relative to several points to consider. The washing times issued by ISSA (ISSA Cleaning Times), are an average, taken in ideal conditions.
Now, as you have surely experienced, housekeeping is not just about statistics. So, to establish your employees' work routes, a good dose of experience is necessary to be able to evaluate correctly. It is also possible to use software to ensure validity. We offer the service of evaluation and recommendations on work routes as well as the quality of work. We can help you improve the quality of the housekeeping of your buildings. Sometimes, it is a better organization of work that is necessary.
Are you a cleaning company and think that having the best price will make you the winner of the bid? This is far from the first point of persuasion. If you have to buy a dress, a house, a car, will you only choose a price? Of course not! You will then have a list of criteria in the back of your head and in your heart. So, if you've figured out where I'm going with this article, you've figured out that laundry and housekeeping times are far from the most important part of the sales process. If you're interested in taking your learning further, here's a course that will help: Sales techniques in housekeeping.
Contact us for help developing your roadmaps.
