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The CM Guide to Cleaning Restrooms

A before (left) and after (right) photos of a cleaned bathroom!

If you have poor restroom management in your facility, studies have shown that you are losing out on recurring in person sales by more than 50%!

    People connect the idea that poor restroom management means poor cleanliness standards in the facility as a whole. So, if you rely on a recurring customer base, like most businesses do, you are leaving money on the table if you don’t have proper restroom management.

Prepare first by ensuring you have all of the supplies needed for the job. We need all purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, disinfectant, trash bags, refills for all paper and soaps, and finally the tools for each part of the job.

     At CM Cleaning we have a primary focus on Avoiding Cross Contamination. We do this by color coordinating our equipment to the area they are assigned to.This way we are not using the same microfiber cloth on a toilet and an office desk.

     Pre-cleaning starts with dusting the entire area from top to bottom. From the air vents, to the wall partitions, light fixtures, dispensers and all corners.

    Then spray all surfaces with disinfectant. We want to allow for the necessary dwell time. So while that is doing it’s job, we will move onto the next step.

    We take off all large debris from the bathroom, especially around the urinals and toilets. Then we scrub all interiors of toilets, urinals, bowls, seats and drains. Replacing any urinal screens. Then wipe down all toilets and urinals including the seats and undersides.

Next, we apply the cleaner to all high touch point areas such as toilets, shower walls, urinals, sinks, dispensers, and door handles. For any tough stains that we find, or mineral deposits, we will use an acid bowl cleaner.

Then we clean the mirrors with glass cleaner and paper towel. Make sure to take your time so that you do not leave streaks behind.

Refill all dispensers, and remove all paper debris as well. Empty the trash cans, napkin holders, and sharps. Then disinfect all receptacles inside and out, and allow to air dry before adding the collective material.

For the walls, and the dividers in the stalls, our team first spot cleans any easily noticeable stains or marks. Then we apply cleaning solution from bottom to top with allowing for dwell time, and then wiping with a cloth.

Then for the mirrors or any glass areas we spray the glass cleaner and use the squeegee and/or paper towels to get a nice sparkling finish!

Then dry mop the entire floor surface, and toss the debris into the trash. Then remove all trash from any containers. Wipe down the inside of the receptacles as well!

Finally, we wet mop using the mop that is solely for restrooms to avoid cross contamination.

When it comes to the floor drains, we have to be incredibly careful. We do not recommend using any Sulfuric Acid based cleaner – especially if the building has a septic tank. But we do use an enzyme based drain opener in order to dissolve most of the gunk stuck in there.

Time for the final disinfectant. Remember how we sprayed everything but allowed for the dwell time? Now it is time to wipe it all down! Use a microfiber cloth to wipe all high touch areas first. Use different cloths for different areas to avoid cross contamination! Make sure to remove ALL chemicals from the high touch areas to avoid chemical burns! Now you have a pleasant restroom!

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How To Keep Restrooms Graffiti Free

It’s not uncommon for custodial employees to walk into a restroom stall, clean the essentials, mop the floor and then move on to the next one. This type of cleaning covers the bare minimum but there is more that a cleaner with the right eye and training can do. One example of something that may be left behind is drawings on the stall doors and walls, known as graffiti. If you are training and pushing your staff to clean the right way, they should look at a stall from the user’s  perspective which would lead them to notice graffiti on the walls. This is done by going completely inside and closing the door behind them to get the view the customer or user sees.

Graffiti becomes a very common thing in the restrooms, especially at schools and accumulates quickly if not taken care of. Graffiti on the wall promotes more graffiti and most of it tends to be offensive. When the employees at C.M. Cleaning are trained (especially in school environments) we take careful measures to ensure that inspections of restrooms are done and the cleaners are being thorough to prevent graffiti from getting out of control. Taking these measures allows us to stay ahead of the graffiti and have the bathroom looking good.

We also use red microfiber towels in all our bathrooms to clean away the graffiti because if you use abrasive materials it can damage the painted surfaces. By using these cloths and a general-purpose cleaner or graffiti remover which all employees have, it allows the removal of any graffiti to be near effortless.

At C.M. Cleaning we push our employees to go above and beyond to make sure everything, including the bathroom stalls, are cleaned to their fullest to leave the customer happy and the bathroom graffiti free.

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5 Restroom Areas That Are Overlooked

When restrooms get cleaned that are used heavily throughout the day, usually there are some areas that are overlooked. Sinks and toilets usually receive a quick scrub and baby changing stations get a quick wipe down at best. The way the restroom looks will reflect the way your customers and employees look at a business. A 2011 study found that, “99% of United States adults would avoid a business in the future if they encountered dirty restrooms”

  1. Baby Changing Stations- changing stations meet a lot more than just a baby, including food, diapers, and other germs. This makes it important for the entire station to be cleaned not just certain areas. The proper way to do this is to first clean it with a neutral cleaner and then spray it with a disinfectant, making sure to get inside all grooves and crevices where bacteria can hide.
  2. Floor Drains- It is very important to make sure the drains are open especially since they are susceptible to obstruction from floor wax. The drains ensure that if there is ever an issue where water gets on the floor, it would go down the drain and not out into the hallway or onto carpet. Removing the floor drain to clean it with a wire brush can help prevent other damages. It is also important to keep the drain “traps” filled with water or enzyme neutralizer to prevent foul odors.
  3. Feminine Hygiene Receptacles- OSHA requires these receptacles to have proper lining in them to prevent employees from having to tough the trash contents which is not considered regulated waste. Single-useToilet and bathrooms scrubber disposal bags and right-sized liners are a helpful disposal method to conceal odors and waste. The inside and outside of the waste receptacles should be precleaned and then disinfected. In some cases, deodorant pellets can be specially purchased for the receptacles and changed out monthly
  4. Graffiti- It is not uncommon for custodial staff to walk into a stall and quickly clean then walk out. If you are pushing your staff to clean the right way they should look at a stall from a customer perspective which would lead them to notice graffiti on the walls. Graffiti on walls promotes more graffiti and if it isn’t removed daily then it could get out of hand. Not to mention most graffiti can be offensive and persuade the employee or customers impression of the business.
  5. Stall Latches- Like door knobs and handles, stall latches are a high-touch area prone to germs especially because it is used to exit a stall. Latches tend to be stainless steel so a disinfectant suitable for nonporous surfaces could help prevent the number of germs. To really shine these up after cleaning, stainless steel polish applied with a microfiber cloth will do the trick.

At C.M. Cleaning we strive to train all of our new staff the “C.M. way” which includes looking for improvements to be made each cleaning we provide. You can be assured that with us, you’ll have peace of mind that these 5 overlooked areas will be handled appropriately.