An Office Cleaning Plan for Every Season
Routine cleaning keeps an office presentable day to day. But a Toronto year brings salt and slush, pollen, open windows and closed ones, and each season leaves something behind. Planning a little extra work for each one keeps floors, air and surfaces from wearing down between deep cleans.
At a glance:
- Winter: entrances, salt and dry air
- Spring: a deep clean and a declutter
- End of summer: catch up while the office is quiet
- Fall: windows, air and pests
Winter: Entrances, Salt and Dry Air
Prepare the main entrance
The entrance takes the worst of the winter, so set it up before the first snow:
- Secured entrance mats, with extra absorbent mats for the worst days
- Wet-floor signs
- A dedicated mop and bucket for the entrance
- Somewhere for boots, if staff change at work
- Salt for the walkway and parking lot, and a shovel by the door
Then keep a routine: mats dry before people arrive, the floor mopped dry through the day, and mats cleaned and dried at the end of it. That is a lot to add to staff duties; a cleaning crew can take it on daily or weekly.
Remove salt before it does damage
Salt left on a floor scratches and dulls the finish, and salt left in carpet wears the fibres. Water alone will not lift it. A neutralizing floor cleaner, diluted as the manufacturer directs, dissolves salt residue and the grime with it. Entrances and lobbies need extra scrubbing through the winter, and a scrub and recoat or a full strip and wax in the spring.
Look after the air
Heated air in winter is dry, and with windows shut and fewer people going out at lunch, colds spread more easily. Vacuum with HEPA filtration, wipe high and hard surfaces where dust collects (fan blades, window frames, vents; see how to dust an office properly), keep air filters changed, and run a humidifier when the air is very dry. Touch points such as door handles, switches, elevator buttons and washroom fixtures should be disinfected on every visit.
Spring: A Deep Clean and a Declutter
Spring is the traditional time for the jobs the routine does not reach: carpet extraction, washing interior glass and blinds, cleaning under and behind furniture, and repairing the winter’s damage to floors.
It is also the time to clear the clutter that makes cleaning harder. A few habits help:
- Zones. Separate work areas from storage, files and supplies, so desks hold only what is used every day.
- A paper system. Labelled trays or folders for “today”, “this week” and “this month” keep paper off the desk.
- Drawers. Dividers stop catch-all drawers filling up; empty them every few weeks.
- One in, one out. When something new arrives on a desk or shelf, something old goes.
Clear surfaces can be wiped properly, and a tidy office is quicker to clean.
End of Summer: Catch Up While It Is Quiet
Late summer, with people on holiday, is the easiest time to deep clean, because there are fewer people in the way. Focus on:
- Reception and lobby. The surfaces visitors touch, and a deep clean of the floor, which takes the most traffic.
- Washrooms. A deep clean of floors, grout, partitions and fixtures.
- Shared equipment. Printers, copiers, keyboards, monitors and phones, plus desktops, drawer fronts, handrails and door handles.
- The kitchen. Fridges, microwaves, coffee makers and the cupboards behind them.
Fall: Windows, Air and Pests
Fall cleaning matters as much as spring cleaning:
- Air. Once the heating comes on and the windows close, whatever dust built up over the summer recirculates. Deep clean carpets, dust high surfaces and vents, and change filters.
- Windows. The days get shorter, so clean glass lets in all the daylight there is.
- Summer’s mess. Pollen and dirt carried in through open windows and doors over the summer have settled into carpets and corners.
- Pests. As the weather cools, insects and mice look for food and shelter indoors. Keep kitchens free of crumbs, empty bins daily and dust behind furniture.
Fall is also the time to get the entrance ready for winter again.
Let a Crew Plan It
None of this has to depend on someone remembering it, whether your office is cleaned during the day or at night. A cleaning company can build the seasonal work into your routine scope, with the floor and carpet work planned through the year. Evergreen Office Cleaning has cleaned offices in Toronto and the GTA since 1989. Contact us for a quote.
If you would rather leave it to a professional crew, Evergreen’s office cleaning, building maintenance and floor care and commercial cleaning services cover it for workplaces across Toronto and the GTA.