Cleaning Methods
We provide all materials and equipment required to carry out all cleaning on the schedule agreed with you.
Cleaning materials we can provide are as follows:
- Vacuum
- Cleaning cloths
- General purpose cleaners & disinfectants
- Mops/buckets
- Brooms
- Floor polishers
- All PPE and warning signs
We can also provide you with consumable items for purchase, subject to availability, including paper towels, soap and dispensers, sanitisers and air fresheners.
Whether you manage your cleaning arrangements in-house or use a cleaning contractor, it is important that your premises are consistently cleaned to a high standard – staff training and quality control processes are key in this respect. Reliability of cleaning is also critical, especially suitable arrangements to cover planned and unplanned periods of absence.
Encouraging your employees to also be conscious of the cleanliness of their work area is equally as important. Please see example check list of what employees can abide by to ensure their work areas stay clean:
- Keep desks tidy, organised and clean
- Clear any cluttered areas
- Empty personal bins daily
- Regularly disinfect workstations (keyboards, mouse, phone, desk, computer)
- Clean up after yourself in common areas (kitchen, staff rooms, meeting rooms)
- Wash and sanitise hands regularly
A deep clean is an additional, systematic clean that is more detailed than regular daily office cleaning. It can be carried out to cover areas normally or not normally serviced as part of the regular cleaning schedule. A deep clean can also be carried out to prevent further infection if you have a confirmed case of COVID-19 or another virus in your premises.
Tasks that can be carried out during a deep clean include:
- High level cleaning
- Cleaning of light fittings
- Cleaning of window blinds
- Moving of furniture, appliances & general contents to clean underneath & behind them
- Carpet cleaning
- Upholstery cleaning
- Cleaning & re-sealing hard floors
- Wiping down of walls and wall tiles
- Descaling & sanitising sanitary fittings
- Additional sanitising of common touch points
Companies should regularly review their cleaning arrangements and consider the use of a cleaning contractor (if they do not use one already). Please see below what you should expect from a commercial cleaning contractor:
- Support – Cleaning contractors should support their customers in identifying how regularly each area of their premises needs cleaning, with particular focus on high footfall areas and common touchpoints. Cleaning contractors should also support their staff and ensure that they have had sufficient training and are also supported by dedicated field and office teams.
- Flexibility – The service provided should also offer the flexibility to respond to any short notice requirements a client may have or any additional cleaning needs.
- Reliability – Professional cleaning contractors must be reliable. They should understand that their customers need them to clean their premises at the agreed times and frequencies. They should be as meticulous about managing cover for sickness or holidays as they are about their cleaning.
- Trustworthy – Customer security should be a top priority and even more so if a contractor needs to clean when a customer’s premises is vacant. Recruitment policies for cleaning operatives should include additional security checks for safeguarding people, processes and premises.
- Consistency – Service consistency is also key. Procedures and monitoring systems should ensure that cleaning is done to the same exacting standards during every visit.
Be sure to ask any potential provider about their reliability of service, consistency and quality of cleaning standards and provisions to safeguard your people, property and premises. You should also question how flexible their service is and how it would offer you great value for money.
Things to consider:
- Experience – how long have they been established?
- Professionalism – are they members of any trade bodies i.e. SSIP’s, British Institute of Cleaning Science?
- Cleaning standards – do they clean to BICSc standards with measurable outcomes?
- Insurance – do they hold sufficient public and employer’s liability cover?
- Absence cover – how do they cover staff illness and staff holidays?
- Training & supervision – how do they train their staff and how are they supervised?
A professionally cleaned workplace will help create a welcoming, safe and productive environment for staff and visitors alike. In addition, minimising infection risks through efficient cleaning will help reduce the cost of staff absence.
Benefits of professional office cleaning:
- Create a strong first impression
- More cost effective than using your own staff
- Boost office morale – a clean office is a happy office
- Reduce amount of staff sickness – a clean, hygienic office will reduce the spread of illness
- Reliability of cleaning
- Consistency of cleaning standards
- Access to additional cleaning services – carpet cleaning, window cleaning, washroom services, floor treatment
COVID-19
To keep workplaces clean and germ-free it is important to take the steps below. This will not only help work areas stay clean and hygienic but will also stop the spread of disease. To see what other precautions businesses should take, to provide a safe working environment, please click here.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
- Put used tissues in the bin immediately
- Wash hands with soap and water often (or sanitiser gel where this is not available)
- Avoid close contact with people who are unwell
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with your hands if they are unclean
- Keep your work area clean and tidy and sanitise your desk, phone, keyboard etc regularly
All sites are fully risk assessed, which will identify any hazards and who could be harmed. It will also state the measures that need to be taken to reduce risks. Staff are fully trained are aware of the Covid-19 policy which explains their responsibility in regard to the spread of the virus. All staff are also provided with the correct PPE to perform their duties safely. We also provide full COVID-19 cleaning guidance for staff which is available to view here.
We will create a daily cleaning schedule to ensure your premises are cleaned to a high standard and sufficiently often. This will include particular focus on frequent touchpoints and the use of leading disinfectant products. The frequency of cleaning can be increased during the current pandemic. In addition we can arrange for deep cleaning and fogging* (sanitisation using fine mist particles) after a case (or suspected case) of COVID-19.
*Please contact your local branch to see if they offer this service
Yes, our methods of work have been developed in line with all best practices of the British Institute of Cleaning Science alongside our health and Safety advisors. Our advisors are amongst the leading HR and health and safety practitioners in Europe and update us regularly with information from the government, Health & Safety Executive and Public Health England. Each customer’s site will be individually risk assessed and the document placed in the site file. A guide to your duty of care can be found here.
Services & Costs
Yes. We will work with you to agree and then deliver a cleaning plan based on the ‘National Specifications for Cleanliness in the NHS: Primary Care Medical and Dental Premises’. Our cleaning service includes regular audits and inspections plus managed absence cover to ensure our high standards are maintained, providing peace of mind for ongoing CQC compliance monitoring.
Things to consider when compiling a medical cleaning plan:
- Functional areas & elements to be cleaned
- Frequency of cleaning (immediate, daily, weekly, monthly, periodically)
- Who is responsible for cleaning each element (clinical staff / cleaning contractor/ other)
- Outcomes expected from cleaning (in line with NHS standards)
- Frequency of cleaning audits
- Method statements
- Risk assessments
Yes – these are usually included as part of our regular contract cleaning service. Tasks in toilets/washrooms would usually include – mopping floors, cleaning and sanitising toilets and urinals, cleaning sinks and taps, wet wiping vertical and horizontal surfaces, wiping wall tiles. Tasks in kitchens would usually include mopping floors, damp wiping work surfaces, cleaning sinks and taps, wiping wall tiles and splash backs. We can also include washing up (loading/unloading dishwashers), cleaning fridges/microwaves and laundering tea towels.
We also offer additional washroom services which include:
- Washroom consumables
- Paper and soap dispensers
- Air fresheners
- Hand dryers
- Sanitary and nappy bin services
- Water sanitising and management systems
- Vending machines
Our contract cleaning service includes vacuuming carpets. We also provide carpet deep cleaning as an additional service.
Regular vacuuming of your carpets will keep them looking clean, but it will not remove deep down soiling. Regular professional carpet cleaning will remove this soiling and enhance the appearance of your carpets by removing stains, eliminating odours and lifting the pile. Professional cleaning will extend the life expectancy of your carpet.
Our regular cleaning service includes mopping of hard floors. Frequency will depend on the specific requirements of an organisation and would be determined during an initial site visit and survey. We also provide floor treatments as an additional service.
Our charge rates are competitive, and our clients receive a value for money service. What you would ultimately be charged is based on the level of service you require. This depends on a range of factors including the size of your premises and the number of people that work there or visit. Following a detailed survey of your premises, we will tailor a schedule and service that best that meets your cleaning and budgetary requirements.
Regular office and commercial cleaning would usually include vacuuming, dusting wiping surfaces and mopping floors as standard. We also provide a full range of complementary services including washroom services, carpet cleaning, window cleaning, floor treatment and consumables.
General tasks could include:
- Vacuum carpets
- Mop hard floors
- Clean toilets & washrooms
- Clean kitchens
- Wipe horizontal surfaces (desks, ledges etc)
- Empty waste bins
- Clean internal glass
- Periodic carpet cleaning
- External window cleaning
Our service is very flexible and, following an initial site visit and survey, we can tailor and deliver a cleaning plan that meets your organisation’s specific requirements. This can be modified to reflect any changes in your organisation and we can also cater for any ad hoc / unexpected cleaning as required.
General tasks could include:
- Vacuum carpets
- Mop hard floors
- Clean toilets & washrooms
- Clean kitchens
- Wipe horizontal surfaces (desks, ledges etc)
- Empty waste bins
- Clean internal glass
- Periodic carpet cleaning
- External window cleaning
Support & Admin
All new staff are supervised until we are happy they are working to our high standards. There is also an option for additional training – Minster Cleaning are an accredited training centre for the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and many of our staff have achieved the Licence to Practice accreditation.
Local management gives the customer access to local decision makers. There are no protracted lines of management to go through to get a decision. Having supervisors that are local is a further benefit as they are able to react quickly to any problems and to carry out regular site inspections.
Minster Cleaning follows and maintains rigorously the requirements of Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. No cleaner would ever be deployed / employed without meeting all applicable criteria within the act.
Under the terms of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) act we have, along with our HR advisors, developed robust systems for assessing the potential of employee transfer(s). We are very experienced operating with this legislation and will keep you informed of the steps we are taking to evaluate any potential transfer. Most transfers are pretty straight forward but it is important that the cleaners are consulted with throughout the process by their current employer.
The quotation process will be dealt with by a single point of contact via the Network Support Centre. You can make contact via this link. For overall effectiveness, the day-to-day operational activities will be undertaken and administered by the local branch nearest to your depot.
Yes. Minster Cleaning are corporate members of the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and our Network Support Centre is a BICSc accredited training centre. Individual branches are also members of the Federation of Window Cleaners and the National Carpet Cleaning Association. All three bodies provide training opportunities and Minster Cleaning have held many individual training sessions with them.
Working with the leading authorities in the industry ensures that the company is always aware of the latest, safest and most effective methods of work when commercial cleaning.
Yes – clients are each assigned regular cleaning operatives. This is key to maintaining service consistency. Our mobile team cover periods of absence, referring to your on-site cleaning specification and schedule to ensure a seamless service is provided.
As a Minster Cleaning client, you would have contact details for a dedicated supervisor to answer any queries and, in the unlikely event of an issue arising, to quickly address this for you. Our friendly office team are also available during office hours.
We provide our clients with a quality, value for money service at a fair price. Our charge rates are competitive and reflective of location and specific requirements. In order to fully understand your service needs and provide you with a quotation, a detailed survey of your premises will be undertaken.
We work to the BICSc* Cleaning Standard Specifications. These standards give a required outcome which can be measured. Regular site inspections are undertaken by our supervisors so that these high standards are maintained. Our site inspection forms allow clients to comment on and rate the service they receive. In the unlikely event of an issue being identified, this can then be swiftly resolved.
*British Institute of Cleaning Science
We have a dedicated team of mobile cleaning operatives to make sure our service to you is reliable and consistent. Their role is to cover absences, whether due to sickness or holidays. Our mobile team is fully briefed on the specific cleaning requirements of a customer prior to carrying out any cover cleaning. This ensures that the quality of cleaning standards remains consistently high.
This depends. We would first need to visit your premises to conduct a site survey and discuss your specific requirements. Only then can we tailor a cleaning plan and schedule that best suits your organisation.
Tasks usually included in an office cleaning contract are as follows:
- Vacuuming carpets
- Mopping hard floors
- Cleaning toilets & washrooms
- Cleaning kitchens
- Wiping horizontal surfaces (desks, ledges etc)
- Emptying waste bins
- Cleaning internal glass
In addition to these regular services, periodic cleaning tasks can include:
- Carpet cleaning
- Upholstery cleaning
- Window blind cleaning
- External window cleaning
- Cleaning and re-sealing of hard floors
