What determines how often an office should be cleaned
Square metres say less about how often an office needs cleaning than you might think. A large office with only a few people in it gets dirty more slowly than a small room where thirty people sit and clients come in every day. So when choosing a frequency, look first at how intensively the premises are used.
The biggest factors are the number of people, kitchen use, the number of visitors and the type of flooring. If staff have lunch and wash dishes in the office, bins fill up quickly and kitchen surfaces get dirty every day. If clients come in, the entrance, toilets and meeting room need to be in order every day, not just on cleaning days.
Recommended frequency by office type
| Office type | Recommended frequency |
|---|---|
| Small office with a few people and occasional client visits | 1-2 times a week |
| Open plan office with many workstations and a kitchen in daily use | 3-5 times a week |
| Office with clients, such as a branch or service point | every working day, at least the entrance, toilets and meeting rooms |
| Multistorey office building | every working day, plus daytime cleaning when needed |
These are starting points, not rules. A schedule where a full clean is done 2-3 times a week and only the toilets and kitchen are cleaned and bins emptied on the days in between often works well. That keeps the most visible areas in order every day, and the monthly fee is lower than with a full clean every day.
For example, in an open plan office with twenty staff, the full clean can be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the toilets and kitchen cleaned and bins emptied on Tuesday and Thursday. What to do on each visit and what less often is covered in more detail in our article on what an office cleaning schedule should cover.
Hybrid work changes the schedule
In many offices, not everyone is in every day anymore. If the team comes in on Tuesday and Thursday, for example, there is little point in cleaning on Monday morning when the premises have been empty since Friday. It is better to schedule cleaning after the busiest days.
With hybrid work, base the frequency on people rather than working days. Three busy office days a week can need as much cleaning as five quiet ones. If attendance changes, for example in summer or after a reorganisation, the schedule can be adjusted.
Floors need more attention in winter
The Estonian winter brings sand, salt and slush into the office. From October to April the entrance, lobby and corridors get dirty much faster than in summer, especially if clients come in. During this period it makes sense to clean the floors more often or add separate entrance cleaning for the winter without changing the whole schedule.
In summer there are often fewer people in the office because of holidays. If attendance drops for a longer period, the schedule can be adjusted by agreement. A quieter office is also a good time for deep floor cleaning and window cleaning.
Signs that the office is not cleaned often enough
The surest sign is that employees start cleaning up themselves. Other signs that the schedule no longer matches how the office is used:
- unwashed dishes are left in the kitchen
- bins are full by the middle of the week
- toilet paper runs out before cleaning day
- dust is back on desks a couple of days after cleaning
- the kitchen floor is sticky
- a smell from the kitchen or bins does not go away
Often the reason is not poor work but simply too few cleaning visits.
How to choose the frequency and change it later
A good start is to choose the frequency based on the busiest use and review it after the first month. If some rooms stay in good order, the frequency can be reduced. If complaints come in, you can add visits or just an extra clean of the toilets and kitchen in between.
Lux Puhastus provides office cleaning in Tallinn and the surrounding area 1-7 times a week, before or after working hours if you prefer. We agree on the frequency during a site visit, and it can be changed later. Office cleaning starts from 185 € per month for cleaning once a week, and you can see an indicative price in the calculator on the office cleaning page. For shops and warehouses, maintenance cleaning is the right choice. We will find the right schedule together: request a quote.