When was the last time you had your office floors professionally cleaned? If it’s been a while, then you are probably overdue for this important service. Whether your office has carpeting, tile, or any other type of flooring, dirt and debris can build up quickly. Proper floor cleaning can make your office a cleaner, more sanitary place to work. Having the right floor cleaning schedule is as important as the cleaning itself. How often should you clean your floors? There are several variables to consider when determining how often your floors should be cleaned.
Why Clean Office Floors Matters
There are many reasons to focus your efforts on maintaining cleaner office floors. Just as you wouldn’t want to leave the other surfaces within your office (including desks, break room tables, and windows) dirty—the same concept should apply to your office flooring.
For starters, dirty floors in your office can create a negative first impression between your business and its employees and its clients. If your employees feel as though they’re walking into a dirty space each day, they may begin to feel as though their health and safety are not valued. Likewise, clients who are greeted with dirty flooring in your office may be hesitant to do business with your company.
And of course, soiled office flooring could cost your business money in the long-run. When carpeting becomes so dirty that stains and grime cannot be lifted, you may be left with no choice but to replace the carpeting entirely. This costs your business money that could have been better spent on other things, such as growing your brand.
Last but not least, it’s important to understand that dirt, dust, and allergens from your office floors can be easily “kicked up” and make their way into the air your employees and clients are breathing. This can affect your indoor air quality an
d leave people feeling sick.
Deciding How Often to Clean Your Office Floors
Now that you have a better understanding of why it matters to keep your office floors clean, you may be wondering exactly how often you should have this type of cleaning done. Ultimately, the frequency with which your office floors should be cleaned will depend on many factors—with some of the most significant ones explained below.
1. Type of Flooring
Some types of flooring will require more regular cleaning than others. Carpeting, for example, has lots of fibers that can easily trap dust and debris. As a result, daily vacuuming in addition to occasional steaming and/or deep-cleaning may be necessary.
Hard flooring, on the other hand, will not trap debris and dirt as readily as carpet. Still, it will require regular sweeping and mopping to keep it clean.
2. Foot Traffic
The recommended frequency of floor-cleaning in your office will also depend on how much foot traffic your floors see. Oftentimes, reception areas receive the highest levels of traffic and will thus need to be cleaned more regularly than other areas of flooring within the office. Some other common areas that may see higher levels of traffic can include:
- entryways and lobbies
- break rooms and conference rooms
- hallways
Meanwhile, areas of your office that receive less foot traffic may not need to be cleaned as often or may not need as extensive of a cleaning.
3. Sealed or Unsealed?
In addition to the specific type(s) of flooring found in your office, the frequency with which your floors should be cleaned can also depend on whether the flooring itself is sealed or unsealed. Some types of office flooring (such as some tiles and stones or concrete) are sealed after they’re installed. This seal-coat can provide the flooring with an additional layer of protection, making the floors themselves less vulnerable to staining and other types of damage.
It is important to understand, however, that these seal-coats don’t last forever and will typically need to be re-applied every five to six months. Otherwise, they lose their protective qualities and may become more prone to damage (thus requiring more regular cleaning). Likewise, if your office has a porous flooring type (such as concrete or brick) that has not been sealed, you need to schedule more regular cleaning services.
4. Protective Mats
The presence of rugs or other protective mats can also provide added protection for your floors, resulting in them needing to be cleaned less often. This is especially true when rugs or mats are placed in high-traffic areas. However, it is important to realize that rugs and mats may still need to be vacuumed, cleaned, and even replaced from time to time.
5. Time of Year
There may be certain times of the year where your office floors see more wear and tear than others. For example, if your office is located in an area that sees harsh winters, there’s a good chance that salt, snow, and other debris from outside will cause premature wear and tear. The same applies during the rainy spring months, where you may end up with more dirt and mud tracked into your office than at other times of the year.
Deep Cleaning vs. Regular Cleaning: How Often?
With all of this in mind, how often do you think your floors need to be cleaned? While there is no hard-and-fast rule, it is generally a good idea to have office floors professionally deep-cleaned twice a year. With this more thorough type of cleaning, you should expect steaming and sanitizing of hard floors as well as shampooing/vacuuming of carpets. A deep flooring cleaning should also include the moving of furniture to ensure that all flooring surfaces are spotless and disinfected. Some cleaning companies may also include stain removal from carpeting and rugs as a part of this service, whereas others may charge extra for it. If you want to learn more about this services, click here.
On top of twice-annual deep-cleaning services, it’s also important to stay on top of routine/regular floor cleaning. Ideally, office carpets should be thoroughly vacuumed at least once a week—and hard floor surfaces should be swept and mopped just as often. This is also a good time to shake out any rugs or protective floor mats of any debris. The best way to stay on top of regular floor cleaning is to hire a janitorial service or another office-cleaning service to handle this on your behalf.
Tips For Keeping Your Office Floors Clean
Ultimately, staying on top of regular sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping is the best way to keep your office floors clean all year-round. Likewise, if you have flooring in your office that needs to be sealed, make sure to schedule floor-waxing and/or buffing services as needed. Otherwise, your floors will only be more difficult to keep clean. If you don’t already have protective rugs or mats in place around high-traffic areas of your office, this may also be a good time to invest in some quality protective mats.
Keeping your office floors clean sets the stage for a great first impression when clients (or potential clients) visit your place of business. Meanwhile, a clean workplace can help to boost your employees’ overall morale and productivity while cutting down on illness and sick days.
As a business owner, you’re busy enough; hiring a professional cleaning service that offers floor cleaning is a great way to keep your office floors looking their best without taking up any of your own valuable time.
