Commercial Cleaning Services
in DuPage County

What should a commercial cleaning program cover?

A commercial cleaning program should cover three layers of work: daily janitorial tasks, periodic deep cleaning and specialty services. All of it belongs in a written scope of work that lists each area, task, frequency and product. Restrooms, entrances and high-touch surfaces should be scheduled by traffic level, not by habit.

Facility managers in DuPage & Will County usually come to us with one of two problems: a building that never looks quite clean despite a nightly crew, or a contract that nobody can measure. Both trace back to the scope. This section explains how a well-built commercial program is structured, what green cleaning really requires and what to put in writing.

What are the main types of commercial cleaning work?

Most buildings need a blend of all three. Problems start when everything is treated as a nightly task, or when periodic work never gets scheduled at all.

Daily janitorial service

Trash and recycling, restroom cleaning and restocking, break room surfaces, touch points, spot vacuuming and entrance care. This is the base layer, usually delivered through a recurring janitorial maintenance plan, with tailored versions for office cleaning and retail cleaning.

Periodic deep cleaning

Work done monthly, quarterly or a few times a year: carpet extraction, hard-floor scrubbing and refinishing, high dusting of vents and light fixtures, upholstery and detailed restroom descaling. Scheduling these as deep cleaning services keeps the daily crew from falling behind. For carpet, the industry reference is the ANSI/IICRC S100 Standard for Professional Cleaning of Textile Floor Coverings, which covers cleaning methods, spot and stain removal and pre- and post-cleaning inspections.

Specialty cleaning

One-off or facility-specific work: post-construction cleaning after a tenant build-out, and specialized facility cleaning for medical offices, schools, gyms and light industrial space where disinfecting needs and schedules differ.

Which high-touch surfaces matter most for building occupants?

A building's occupants spend most of their day there. The EPA notes that Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, so the condition of shared surfaces and indoor air is a workplace issue, not just a cosmetic one.

The CDC's cleaning guidance says cleaning alone removes most harmful viruses and bacteria from surfaces, and recommends disinfecting in addition to cleaning when someone is sick or at higher risk. In a commercial building, the surfaces that deserve a fixed daily slot are the ones many hands touch:

• Entry door handles, push plates and accessible-door buttons
• Elevator call buttons and stair handrails
• Restroom faucets, flush handles, dispensers and stall locks
• Break room refrigerator, microwave and coffee-station handles
• Shared printers, conference room controls and reception counters
• Light switches and common-area tables

Clean first, then disinfect

Disinfectant sprayed over a dirty surface does far less than the label promises. The correct sequence is to remove soil with a detergent, then apply the disinfectant and leave it wet for the contact time on its label. A scope that says "disinfect touch points" should also say who checks that the dwell time is respected.

What does green cleaning mean for a commercial building?

"Green cleaning" is used loosely, so it helps to anchor it to published programs. For products, the EPA's Safer Choice label identifies cleaning products whose every chemical ingredient has been reviewed by EPA and that perform comparably to conventional products. Disinfectants are regulated as pesticides, so for those EPA's separate Design for the Environment (DfE) logo helps buyers identify antimicrobial products that meet its health and safety standards.

For the cleaning service as a whole, Green Seal publishes GS-42, a standard for commercial and institutional cleaning services. It goes well beyond product choice:

Source: Green Seal, GS-42 Commercial and Institutional Cleaning Services (Edition 2.3)

You don't need a certified program to borrow its structure. Asking a provider how they handle each of those four areas is a fast way to compare bids.

What goes into a commercial cleaning scope of work?

A good scope reads like a checklist that both sides can audit. At minimum it should spell out:

• Areas and square footage, including which rooms are excluded or secured
• Tasks per area and frequency, from nightly to quarterly
• Service window, such as after hours, early morning or a day porter
• Products, with Safety Data Sheets on file
• Consumables, meaning who supplies and restocks paper, soap and liners
• Access and security, including keys, alarm codes and sign-in rules
• Quality checks, with an inspection schedule and a way to report issues

Across the industry, a scope is usually built in the same order:

1. Walkthrough. Every area is visited with the facility manager to note floor types, fixtures and problem spots.
2. Zone mapping. The building is split into zones (entrances, restrooms, work areas, break rooms, storage) because each has different soil and risk.
3. Frequency by traffic. High-use zones get daily or more frequent service. Low-use zones get less.
4. Product and method selection. Cleaners, disinfectants and equipment are matched to surfaces and to any green-cleaning goals.
5. Schedule and staffing. Tasks are fitted into the service window so the work is realistic.
6. Inspection and revision. Results are checked against the scope and the plan is adjusted after the first weeks.

Commercial cleaning for DuPage & Will County businesses

Local buildings, local conditions

We work from Lisle with offices, stores and multi-tenant buildings across the area, including commercial cleaning in Oak Brook, Downers Grove and Naperville. Winter here means slush and road salt at every entrance, so matting and floor care usually need extra attention from late fall through early spring.

Because we are also a restoration company, a cleaning visit sometimes turns up a leak or a ceiling stain before it becomes a shutdown. Our guide to business-continuity restoration explains what to do if water or fire does interrupt operations. You can also see all our cleaning services or request a walkthrough.

To build a scope of work for your building, call (630) 241-1111.