For many industries and businesses, warehouses are indispensable in various capacities. They are used to store equipment and production materials, as well as finished products before they are shipped out. In many cases, warehouses are also used as distribution and fulfillment centres. Warehouses present unique cleaning challenges, however, and keeping yours organized, clean and disinfected is crucial for the health and safety of your employees, and for the efficiency and productivity of your facility.
Maintaining a clean, uncluttered and organized warehouse workspace prevents on-the-job accidents, reduces employee absenteeism due to illness from transmissible diseases, boosts productivity, and improves staff morale and job satisfaction across the board.
Routine cleaning and disinfection also protects your warehouse inventory and equipment from dirt and dust, preventing the growth of bacteria, mould, and mildew that can damage your property.
It is best to hire a professional commercial cleaning company that has the resources and expertise to efficiently clean and disinfect your warehouse properly, and who can address the unique needs of your facility.
The best way to maintain a clean and safe warehouse is to commit to regularly scheduled cleaning and disinfecting routines. A clean and healthy workplace is best achieved by the combined efforts of both staff and professional commercial cleaning services.
TIPS FOR CLEANING AND DISINFECTING YOUR WAREHOUSE
To ensure your warehouse facility is being properly cleaned on a regular basis, ServiceMaster Clean has put together the following Warehouse Cleaning and Disinfection Checklists that separate tasks into daily, weekly, monthly, and annual or bi-annual tasks. Having separate lists for different tasks at different times will help you stay organized and ensure the work gets done.
Daily Warehouse Cleaning Checklist
- Sweep and mop the warehouse floor.
- Remove trash and recycling from all areas including bathrooms, kitchens and breakrooms.
- Clean and sanitize the bathrooms.
- Clean and disinfect all shared-use and high-touch areas such as countertops, machinery, and doorknobs.
- Wipe down all heavily used equipment, such as forklifts.
- Implement a “clean as you go” rule for warehouse workers to take care of new messes as they happen.
Monthly Warehouse Cleaning Checklist
- Declutter problem areas to allow them to be cleaned and disinfected.
- Clean floors throughout the warehouse.
- Pull pallets and rotate products on shelves.
- Clean and disinfect kitchen and breakroom refrigerators and throw away expired or uneaten food.
- Check for leaks, mould, and mildew in susceptible areas.
- Wipe down windows and dust/clean blinds.
- Clean under units and shelving.
- Power wash walkways, steps, and landing docs.
Annual and Bi-Annual Warehouse Cleaning Checklist
- Each facility and industry will have its own requirements for annual or bi-annual deep cleaning tasks. Some common ones may include:
- Annual cleaning of ceiling, ceiling lighting and other hard-to-reach areas
- Air-duct cleaning
- Exterior window and property cleaning
- Power washing of exterior property areas
More Tips on How to Keep Your Warehouse Clean
Have a schedule. Don’t let cleaning hinder the productivity of a warehouse—add it into the workflow instead. Cleaning without a schedule may give you a false sense of confidence that your property is clean. Knowing what areas to clean and when and how to do so is key.
Ensure that cleaning supplies are always stocked. Even if you outsource the cleaning to commercial cleaning professionals, supplies such as sanitizers, mops, brooms, etc., should always be available. This helps employees to be able to clean up manageable messes as they happen.
Encourage employees to keep work areas tidy and organized for better cleaning results. This could include having centralized recycling areas. If staff can help keep the warehouse uncluttered, the cleaners can do their job effectively.
Make sure employees know when and where to report when there are hazardous spills or messes or other conditions that need to be addressed immediately, to prevent health and safety risks for workers, and possible damage to your property or inventory.
Preventative protection
To provide peace of mind and in response to the demand for higher standards of cleaning and disinfection, ServiceMaster Clean’s PROTECT-3 ADVANCE™ program provides comprehensive cleaning and disinfecting services including the use of anti-microbial products, to provide continuous, preventative protection for workplace facilities of any scale. A core feature of the program is ATP testing, a technology used in healthcare environments for decades that measures the amount of organic matter on a surface before and after cleaning and disinfection.
HIRE PROFESSIONALS WITH THE RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE TO MAINTAIN CLEANLINESS AND EFFICIENCY IN YOUR WAREHOUSE.
The professionals at ServiceMaster Clean can save you time and money while helping to you achieve a healthier and more productive work environment at your warehouses. We will work with you to create a customized cleaning program to meet your business’ specific requirements and schedule. Learn more about our professional warehouse commercial cleaning and janitorial services today.