IS YOUR JANITORIAL CONTRACTOR CLEANING FOR HEALTH OR APPEARANCE?

You place a premium on maintaining a clean facility, so you hire janitorial contractor. But have you considered your motivation for hiring a crew to conduct a thorough and professional cleaning of your facility? Are you more concerned about the appearance of your building, or is cleaning for health and sanitation your number one motivator?

Cleaning for Health vs Appearance

For many, cleaning is simply a commodity, not an investment into the health of the occupants and the visitors to the building. If they feel that the building’s appearance won’t suffer, they may slash the frequency of service in order to drive down the price of janitorial services. Sure, the office might look clean, but is it truly sanitary? Will the reduction in services affect the health and well-being of the people who spend hours in the facility every day?

In a word, yes. While more and more employers are shelling out big bucks for wellness programs, many of them are cutting costs by reducing the number of visits by the janitorial professionals. Unfortunately, this is simply creating a welcoming environment for contagious illnesses and diseases, such as flu or MRSA. Dr. Richard Besser, a former director of the CDC’s Coordinating Office for Terrorist Preparedness and Emergency Response, stated, ” For Americans to truly be healthier, they must live, work, and play in environments that promote healthy choices and behaviors.”  Imagine the reduction of productivity when a huge portion of your staff is out sick with a contagious illness that could easily be prevented with a regularly scheduled thorough cleaning by a professionally trained janitorial contractor.

Perception of Cleanliness

Of course, appearance is important, and regular cleanings by  your janitorial contractor can help to create a positive impression on anyone entering your facility. Two places where cleanliness is most important are the entryways and restrooms. Naturally you want these areas to look as clean as they can; they’re public areas of your building, and everyone will see if they’re not properly maintained.  It’s important to keep your entryway door free of smudges, the corners free of cobwebs and debris, and the magazines in the reception in order; just as you want the restroom trash to be under control and the counter tops cleaned of water puddles and dripping soap.

However, the appearance of cleanliness in these areas doesn’t mean they are truly clean. A good janitorial service will ensure that your entryways and bathrooms are taken to the next level by thoroughly disinfecting common touch points such as door handles, elevator buttons, sinks and counter tops. Employees and visitors alike will be protected from harmful bacteria and contaminants through daily, thorough cleaning by well-trained janitorial professionals.

How Does Air Quality Affect Health of Building Occupants?

Another factor that you should take into consideration is your building’s air quality. The quality of the air you breathe isn’t something that you can see, but it can certainly have a negative effect on the building’s occupants. According to the EPA, indoor pollution can have a detrimental effect on a person’s ability to do their job. In fact, the EPA estimates a 2-4% performance loss on average due to a lack of ventilation or pollution in the building’s air.

A proficient janitorial contractor will ensure that you, your employees, and visitors to your building are breathing air that’s as pollutant-free as possible. For example, a contractor that is unconcerned about the health of occupants might use old, upright vacuums with cloth bags that trap collect dust and allergens only to release them back into the air. A janitorial contractor that is properly trained in cleaning for health will use HEPA vacuums with sealed containers to keep dust and allergens to a minimum.

A trained janitorial service can strike the right balance between appearance and sanitation; they are specially trained to maintain your building in a manner that will prevent unnecessary absences due to sickness as well as leave visitors and employees with the impression that the office is a clean, well-maintained, and a pleasant place to be. Make the health of everyone who visits your facility as much of a priority as the perception of cleanliness.

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