Is Your Business Ready for Winter?

Professional Cleaning Services Can Help You Prepare for Inclement Weather

It is time to start thinking about the winter months ahead and making sure your office space is ready. With winter comes melting snow, road salt, and closed windows, which can create problems for the office environment. Preparing for these conditions in advance can help save time and money.

Here are some tips to help you get your office ready for winter.

Schedule a Deep Cleaning

Now is an excellent time to schedule a deep cleaning with your professional cleaning service. This will help remove dust, pollen, and allergens tracked into the office during the warmer months. To promote a neat, clean and hygienic work environment, we recommended conducting a deep clean at least every six months for commercial settings.

When professionals conduct a deep clean, they will remove ingrained dirt and grime from all types of settings. At Cleantec, our team utilizes environmentally friendly, high-pressure and steam techniques to address buildup.

In addition to floors and tops, a deep cleaning is performed on all surfaces, including walls, furniture, windows, lights, and elevators. Your cleaning professional should clean everything from top to bottom, wall to wall, and corner to corner.

These deep cleaning tasks should be performed throughout the year. Other aspects, such as deep cleaning carpets and flooring, should be performed regularly – think quarterly or semi-annually, depending on your facility’s volume of traffic. These specifications should be discussed when negotiating your contract to create a customized cleaning regimen for your company.

Floor Mats

If you do not have them out year-round, it is time to get out those heavy-duty mats positioning them strategically throughout the office. Place anti-slip and waterproof mats at all ingress and egress areas. This will help manage mud, debris, slush, salt, and water, while also preventing injuries.

We recommend investing in a second set of mats to rotate in when the primary mats become too wet. Speak with your professional cleaning service about monitoring this and replacing the mats when necessary.

Day Porter Services

Consider day porter services during the winter months. A day porter is the unsung hero of sanitation and is a worthwhile investment for any business. This individual handles the burden of a clean and sanitized workplace by taking care of the cleaning and maintenance throughout the day.

With the extra trouble of snow, slush, and debris tracking in during the winter months, floors can become unsightly and even damaged quickly. Having a day porter there to make sure floors are mopped frequently can help prevent damage and injuries.

Most companies have a professional cleaning service come in after-hours when most of the workforce has gone home. With a day porter, someone is there during the entire day cleaning up after individuals. They do this without disrupting the operational flow. Day porters keep up with the daily needs of the office with the level of foot traffic it sees.

Instead of waiting for the after-hours cleaning service to do a massive cleaning at night, a day porter can maintain things throughout the day.

Change HVAC Filters, Conduct Maintenance

You probably have a schedule for changing the filters in your HVAC units, but here is a reminder to double-check them. This is also an excellent time to have a maintenance check performed on these components. Doing so will help ensure good air quality and circulation to help keep employees and visitors healthy.

Keeping up on HVAC maintenance also creates a safe work environment, which allows employees to maintain a high standard of work and production rate. Talk to your professional cleaning service about facility maintenance for assistance with your HVAC needs.

Green Cleaning Methods and Products

With the weather getting colder and the windows remaining shut, indoor air quality becomes a more significant concern. Many cleaners contain harmful chemicals that can linger in the air causing respiratory issues, headaches, and other health concerns. Using green cleaning methods and products can help to promote better indoor air quality and less worry.

Knowing what is in the products your professional cleaning service uses helps ensure your employees and customers are protected. Find out what products they are using and request that they use green cleaning methods if they are not already. Health benefits aside, this too will help sustain operations and your bottom line.

Preventative Care

These are pretty standard practices for us all, but stepping up the game a bit during the winter months will prove beneficial. It is time to start thinking about flu and cold season and all the wonderful germ spreading that comes along with it. Protect employees from the flu and prevent illnesses from spreading with the following measures:

• Add more hand sanitizer stations throughout the office

• Host a flu clinic at the office

• Encourage employees to stay home if they are sick

• Motivate employees to disinfect their workspace as well as commonly used equipment

• Display hygiene educational materials around the office as reminders

Speak with your professional cleaning service about increasing the frequency of disinfecting the office. Have them perform daily high traffic area touch-point disinfecting and consider electrospray technology. Both techniques have proven to combat the flu and COVID-19 effectively and help stop the spread.

The electrostatic spray machines used for disinfecting quickly provide coverage of disinfecting and sanitizing solutions. When the chemical exits the electrostatic sprayer, it is given a positive electrical charge. The positively charged droplets are then attracted to all negative surfaces that are visible including the underside and sides. The electrostatic spray technology enables the solution to wrap around an item or surface for complete disinfection.

Using this technology with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved disinfectant for COVID-19 kills the virus more effectively when compared to conventional hand wiping methods. This provides more thorough and complete disinfection.

Snow and Ice Removal

If you are responsible for snow removal on sidewalks, paths, and parking lots, stock up on sand, ice melt material, and snow shovels. You can also speak with your professional cleaning service to see if they provide sidewalk and parking lot maintenance services such as these. Start now to set a plan of action for when the colder, wetter months arrive. If you rent, talk to the building manager to ensure that these things are being taken care of.

You may find it challenging to prepare your office for the winter months. An experienced and reputable professional cleaning service simplifies and speeds up the process. During the cold winter season, they will prepare and maintain your office building.

Cleantec aims to offer helpful information to our clients and friends. We currently serve all of New York, including the Syracuse, Ithaca, Manhattan, Rochester, Utica, and Buffalo regions. We also have operations in Palo Alto, CA; Denver, CO; Muscle Shoals, AL; Tampa, FL; and Sanford, NC. Give our sales professionals a call at (877) 469-0543 for a free consultation and quote regarding janitorial services. Learn how we can help your business achieve your cleaning needs.

Cleantec ensures all staff members are thoroughly vetted conducting background checks and drug testing. In addition to providing professional cleaning services, we are also a supplier of specialized cleaning products and green chemicals. Please call (315) 463-5353 to place an order.