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Top 5 Cleaning Mistakes Businesses Make (And How To Avoid Them)

Successful businesses understand the importance of a clean environment for both employees and customers. Although it may not seem like a difficult task, maintaining a cleanly appearance and hygienic space takes careful routine and commitment to keep your facility’s appearance at its best. Here are the top cleaning mistakes business owners make, and how you can avoid them.

Using the Wrong Cleaning Products

Invest in cleaning products that are appropriate for the surfaces they are being used on, and read the labels to ensure safety. Disinfect cleaning equipment regularly and be sure to replace any worn equipment for the best results.

Not Cleaning Frequently Enough

Establish a regular cleaning schedule that includes daily cleaning tasks, and weekly or monthly deep cleaning tasks. Consistency is key.

Not Following Instructions

Read product instructions carefully and train your employees on how to use each product and equipment. All employees who perform cleaning tasks should be consistent in performing their duties and using the correct materials for each task.

Overlooking Important Areas

Your daily cleaning routine should include wiping down high-touch surfaces, and using disinfectant cleaners to help reduce the spread of germs. In addition to cleaning your restrooms and kitchen daily, be sure to replenish supplies such as soap and toilet tissue to avoid running out. Regularly change the air filters in your facility to maintain healthy air quality.

Not Hiring Professional Cleaning Services

The best way to avoid these common mistakes is to hire a professional commercial cleaning company. Invest in a general cleaning program by C.M. Cleaning Company, customized to fit your unique business needs and exceed your expectations.

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Your Commercial Cleaning Company Can Help Reduce Maintenance Costs

Your facility’s commercial cleaning company keeps your building clean year-round from top-to-bottom. Did you know cleaning staff has the capability to help reduce overall maintenance costs and improve building safety? Be proactive in preventing building maintenance issues by asking your commercial cleaning company the following:

Condition of Ventilation Systems

Those who clean your facility daily may notice buildup or blockages in your vents. Dusty vents not only impact healthy indoor air quality, but can also increase energy costs and create a fire hazard.

Leaks and Water Damage

It is crucial to stop water damage as early as possible. From clogged drains, stains on walls, to malfunctioning soap dispensers, your cleaners may be among the first to notice signs of water damage.

Signs of Pests

Exterminators must be called at the first sign of any pest or rodent infestation, but your cleaners may see the signs before you do! While they pay careful attention sweeping, mopping, and wiping surfaces, they are sure to pick up on any rodent droppings or lingering insects.

Electrical Issues

As they clean around every nook and cranny, your cleaners get a close up view of wires and outlets that you don’t see every day. Although they cannot diagnose electrical problems, they may notice if something seems off.

Building Security

When wiping down glass doors and windows, your cleaners will be sure to tell if there are any issues with locking or closing. Additionally, if your building uses a pass-card or similar system to access, your cleaners can quickly realize if your security system is not working properly.

C.M. Cleaning Company strives to exceed your expectations, and provide value to your investment in cleanliness and beyond.

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Restroom Cleaning: 5 High-Touch Surfaces You Can’t Miss

Many types of viruses and bacteria are easily spread in restrooms. In addition to toilets, there are many surfaces in restrooms that harbor bacteria. To prevent germ transmission, here are 5 high-touch surfaces in restrooms that you can’t miss:

Door Handles

With each time a person enters or exits a restroom, germs are transferred from the hands onto the door handle, and vice versa. Cleaning and disinfecting door handles regularly can drastically help in preventing the spread of germs.

Dispensers and Hand Dryers

For restrooms that do not have touchless soap and paper towel dispensers, it is important to regularly clean and disinfect any of these “push-style” dispensers because they can harbor bacteria. Another way to be proactive is to place paper towel dispensers and a trash can near the door. This allows visitors and staff to use the paper towel to open the door after washing hands.

Light Switches

Especially in bathrooms with only one stall, a light switch may manually have to be turned on and off with each use. Make sure these receive proper attention too!

Grab Rails

Rails should also be cleaned frequently. Avoid using abrasive tools and solutions to ensure the rails do not rust or get damaged. It is best to use a microfiber cloth and the proper disinfectant solution. Follow instructions on the disinfectant’s label on dwell time and if it should be wiped or air dried.  

Restroom Stalls

In addition to door latches, toilets, and floors, do not forget about the walls! Stall walls are often overlooked, but can be covered in bacteria due to flushing toilets.

In developing protocols for regular cleaning of high-touch surfaces in your facility, you can help prevent the spread of germs and create a healthier environment for all! C.M. Cleaning Company’s general cleaning programs and disinfecting services can help you get there.

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The Easy Difference Between Disinfect, Sanitize, and Sterilize!

The want and need for sanitizing and disinfecting surfaces has drastically increased in recent years in order to take proactive measures to keep yourself and your workforce healthy. However it is important to know the differences in the processes and chemicals for each procedure.

Not sure where to start? That’s where C.M. Cleaning and our trained staff can help! When thinking of preventing illness from a cleaning standpoint, often words that come to mind are “disinfect” and “sanitize”. The issue is that these words are often used interchangeably. While they do have similarities, they are used for different applications.

  • Sanitization: Significantly reduces the overall parthenogenic microbes and bacteria on a surface, thus reducing the chances of getting sick.
  • Disinfection: Almost completely reduces the parthenogenic microbes and bacteria on a surface. Disinfectants require dwell time to be effective against the microbes they advertise to eliminate and for this reason are more effective than sanitizers.
  • Sterilization: The process of decontamination by utilizing a combination of chemical application, heat, and/or pressure to eliminate any and all parthenogenic microbes and bacteria on a surface.

Disinfection, sanitization, and sterilization are all processes of decontamination, however, they differ in application and effect. Sanitizers reduce the overall number of parthenogenic microbes (the microorganisms that make us sick), on an inanimate or living surface. Sanitizers have a more broad and immediate use against a wide range of microbes to reduce the overall number of microbes on a surface, thus reducing the chances of illness.

A disinfectant has a stronger effect than a sanitizer on certain parthenogenic microbes. Disinfectants normally have a more focused and specific use against certain bacteria, viruses, and disease. Disinfectants also require a “dwell time” to be effective, meaning they must remain on an inanimate surface for a certain period of time to be effective against the advertised microbe(s). Additionally, Disinfectant are effective on inanimate surfaces. However, many disinfectants are weakened by organic matter such as living tissue, or feces. To summarize, disinfectants can be stronger than sanitizers, but require a more specific and meticulous application to be effective.

Steps to cleaning
Let’s separate Disinfecting, Sanitizing, and Sterilizing the easy way!

Finally, Sterilization utilizes chemical application to decontaminate, but additionally incorporates heat and/or pressure to completely eliminate any and all parthenogenic microbes. For example, here at C.M. Cleaning we offer “Roto-Vac” service for ceramic tile, a flooring product often used in bathrooms. This process sterilizes a restroom floor by using a combination of chemical (with dwell time), as well as water heated to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and dispensed onto the floor at 900 PSI. the water is then extracted from the floor simultaneously, leaving the floor completely clean and sanitized.

If your place of business is in need of proactive measures this cold & flu season, call the professionals at C.M. Cleaning Company to tailor a solution to your specific needs!

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5 Ways to Get the Most out of Your Janitorial Service

When it comes to choosing your facility’s dream janitorial service provider, it really boils down to handful of things. You want to choose a company that is trustworthy with regard to security access to your building, reliable and gives you peace of mind, and promises exemplary quality and customer service. But, once you’ve found janitorial provider, are you doing enough on your end to get the most out of the service you are paying for? At C.M. Cleaning Company, we are dedicated to a hands-on approach and continued support to you and your facility long after the initial cleaning.

  • Building a strong relationship with your account manager is a great place to start when looking to get the most out of your cleaning service since open communication and comfortability level with us has been our key to success. Account managers at C.M. Cleaning are 100% dedicated to your needs and will go out of their way to make something happen when requested. When you ask us to jump, our only response is how high. We are frequently stopping at your facility to check in with you briefly, inspect your facility for quality, and be proactive about any deficiencies we may be able to catch before you have to hear about it. Having open lines of communication with your account manager can also be a huge benefit in keeping your facility looking it’s best because management will get to better know your facility and pet peeves allowing us to target those areas. Better yet, our service doesn’t stop at cleaning. Need a painter? Landscaper? Construction company? Just ask! We are always happy to provide a reference from our trusted network of service providers. Having pride in your facility and/or business is a cornerstone to success, and having the right relationship with your janitorial service plays a key role in your appearance and business culture.
  • Reporting accidents, spills, or staining immediately upon occurrence can help us help you! For example, if your facility is predominately carpeted flooring, time is of the essence! The sooner we are informed of the spot or stain, the greater likelihood we will be able to remove it. Additionally, the more you can educate us about what was spilled the better. By knowing exactly what spilled, our technicians can gauge their chemical use and method to have the best chance of making it disappear.
  • Letting us know of complaints or concerns as soon as someone mentions something, no matter how small it may be will allow us to squash the issue before it has the chance to escalate. In knowing the exact area or requested adjustment in our cleaning regiment will allow us the opportunity to get in contact with the correct staff member to rectify the situation promptly. Additionally, photos can go a long way! By sending or showing your account manager a photo of the problem area, we can immediately identify the issue and direct our staff to utilizing the appropriate cleaning method to correct the problem the right way- as they say a picture is worth a thousand words!Cleaning teamwork
  • Asking your staff to clear spaces in the appropriate setting is always a huge bonus to our cleaners enabling them to do the absolute most thorough job they can possibly do. For example, when cleaning a classroom, it is much more efficient to clean the space if the students leave the chairs up at the end of the day. In an office environment by clearing clutter on the top of your cubicle panel or desk space will allow us to better remove dust from your space. These acts of pro-activeness all allow our teams to more thoroughly clean your facility resulting in a better appearance, and cleaner environment for visitors and employees alike. The more space you give us to clean, the better result we can provide!
  • Keeping us informed about logistical changes can save everyone a headache! Providing us with your most up to date floor plans, alarm codes, keys, and building access is vital information for us, and unfortunately is sometimes the most overlooked. We understand that sometimes the cleaning company isn’t always the first you think of when making these types of changes, but ensuring that our information is up to date can save everyone including yourself time and frustration. We hate calling our customers after hours for matters as much as you hate picking up the phone at dinner time with your family, so being proactive about changed alarm codes and other security accesses will definitely pay off.

At C.M. Cleaning, your needs matter! We take great pride in all of our customer relationships, so never hesitate to reach out. There will always be an educated point of contact available to help your specific needs or requests. It’s this business mentality that has earned us the slogan “3 Generations, 1 Reputation”

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Risks of Dust in the Office

Dust is everywhere making it easy to ignore until it starts to build up and become visible. Believe it or not, much of the makeup of dust is dead skin cells but some of it can also be toxic chemicals. Lead and pesticides have been found in dust, and when disturbed, these pollutants are put into the air allowing them to be breathed in. The three risks from breathing in dust is asthma, allergies, and dermatitis.

Asthma: Bacteria from by-products found in dust can trigger an asthma attack.

Allergies: Many people are allergic to dust and too much in the air can trigger these allergies to start. Symptoms such as itchy and watery eyes, sneezing and a runny or stuffy nose can occur.

Dermatitis: Inhaling dust can cause skin rashes such as eczema. In homes, young children can also get atopic dermatitis if they have been crawling on rugs with dust inside the fibers.

It is impossible to have a completely dust free home or office, but to reduce the amount of dust you can limit the amount of carpet in an area or perform thorough cleaning. Carpets are a breeding ground for dust and Cleaning bagsrequire more cleaning to prevent the amount of dust. Air purifiers reduce the number of airborne particles which will also reduce the amount of dust. When dusting remember to use products that will pick up and trap dust instead of just moving it around.

Having a dust free office or home will help reduce the chance of the people in the facility getting sick. At C.M. Cleaning we use ProTeam backpack vacuums with HePa Filters to trap dust. These vacuums conveniently trap the dust while cleaning inside the filters instead of releasing it from the carpet and allowing it to go airborne. This allows the air to stay cleaner, and for nobody to be breathing in unhealthy air.

We also use yellow dust cloths that we wrap the feather dusters in so when we dust the particles do not go airborne. These yellow dust cloths grab and pick up more particles to reduce the amount of dust left behind.

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Air Duct and Ceiling Vent Cleaning

Indoor air pollution is the fourth greatest environmental threat to Americans based on the Environmental Protection Agency. Air Ducts can be found in lots of facilities, and while they are running they collect contaminants from the air passing through them. Having your air ducts cleaned can help improve the indoor air quality and the health of your employees.Building dust removal service

Indoor air is found to be 70% more polluted than outdoor air. The cleaning of air ducts can help lower this number. If moisture is present in the duct, then mold can also grow and spread throughout the duct and circulate when your duct is on. Since there is no additional ventilation pollutants that enter the area mainly stay there since they have nowhere else to go. Exposure to mold and pollutants can cause irritation of the eyes, skin, throat, and respiratory tract.  Headache, dizziness, and cold or flu like symptoms are also triggered by contaminants floating in the air and can cause a decrease of productivity of employees. In some people with preexisting conditions such as asthma or allergies, exposure to certain particles in the air can cause immediate attack.  Long-term exposure to higher than normal concentrations of indoor pollutants can lead to chronic issues and in the case of some chemicals, can cause fatal disease including cancer.

Proper cleaning of your air ducts would include: the registers, inside the duct and the interior of the heating and ventilation systems. Cleaning these ducts regularly can help with the wellness and allergies of the people in the building. C.M. Cleaning can help perform these tasks to keep improve your air quality and help the wellness of your employees.