Commercial Cleaning Services

By Dylan Mazeika

Industrial cleaning services can clean the facilities of any size or type of business. While they can perform the day-to-day janitorial duties such as vacuuming, sweeping, and trash disposal, they can appoint experienced personnel for the occasional heavy work.

Estimated costs

Industrial cleaning services run the gamut from the labor intensive, like stripping and waxing tile floors, to those that prolong the life of expensive office furniture. These services may take several hours and perhaps days, depending on the size and complexity of the project.

Common industrial tasks include:

• Washing exterior windows
• Wall cleaning (interior and exterior)
• Pressure washing outside of building
• Grouting tiles
• Maintaining heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment
• Spray paint booths
• Roof fans and ventilators
• Stripping and refinishing conference room tables
• Cleaning and changing filters
• Heat exchangers
• Ceilings and light fixtures
• Carpet extracting (dry foam)
• Parking lots
• "Q-Tip cleaning"

Industrial rates vary widely, largely depending on your line of business, the type of cleaning you need, and the area your facility is located in. Hourly rates start around $15 per hour (usually not including supplies or machinery) and go well past $45 per hour for services that provide cleaning products and specialized machinery.

Unlike cleaning services provided within an office setting, industrial services are often billed per square foot. Rates are reported from 5 cents to 50 cents per square foot with labor-intensive services like stripping and waxing falling on the high end of the spectrum. In addition, specialized facilities that house biotech labs and rooms geared toward the medical industry are typically billed at the higher end of the spectrum as well due to the specialized requirements typically present in "clean rooms" and similar facilities.

Book ahead

For industrial cleaning, you'll have to arrange these services well in advance. Cleaners need plenty of time to get the job done without disrupting work areas or employees. Also, some industrial cleaning companies require that you have a contract for the day-to-day services before they will perform special tasks. If you only want a one-time special cleaning, you may have to shop around for cleaning services that won't require a contract.