Cleanliness and sanitation are vital in a daycare. Given children’s propensity for catching diseases and spreading bacteria quickly amongst themselves, a daycare center must prioritize keeping the entire premises clean and regularly sanitized. Teachers, assistants, and office staff can and must help maintain cleanliness. However, they also have a more important job of entertaining, teaching, and looking after the kids, so tidying up will become the second or third priority for daycare staff.
Subscribing to professional daycare cleaning services ensures your daycare will always be a clean, safe, and comfortable children’s haven that will earn the strictest parents’ approval. To help you choose a good cleaning company, here are five things we recommend you should check out first.
1. Experience
A daycare’s cleaning requirements differ from those of other businesses. As such, a cleaning professional who’s only ever cleaned convenience stores and retail outlets may not understand the needs of a daycare center. They are likely used to cleaning products with potent chemical ingredients that effectively clean and disinfect floors that see hundreds of customers daily. Daycare centers do not have the same foot traffic volume. More importantly, young children are sensitive to harsh odors and fumes from chemical-based cleaning and disinfecting solutions.
When hiring a daycare cleaning service, it’s best to ensure the company has a proven track record in cleaning daycares. Ask how many daycare centers they’ve cleaned, how long they’ve been in business, and whether their cleaning staff have undergone training and certification. Check reviews from similar clients like elementary schools, preschools, and nurseries.
Experienced daycare cleaning services are more attuned to what children need, so they are the best people to trust with cleaning your classrooms, playrooms, etc.
2. Cleaning Process or SOPs
Besides tenure and reviews, another way to determine the quality of a daycare cleaning service is to look at its cleaning procedure and SOPs. As a customer, you are entitled to ask for an itemized service package. What cleaning services do they offer for the price they charge? Are you satisfied with the coverage, or can other companies do more for less? What’s their cleaning checklist and routine procedure for cleaning a daycare?
You’ll want a daycare cleaning service that has everything covered:
- Standard cleaning services (i.e., dusting, vacuuming carpets, sweeping and mopping floors)
- Cleans all essential areas (i.e., classrooms, play areas, offices, kitchen, and bathrooms)
- Sanitizes all high-touch objects and surfaces (i.e., toys, desks, chairs, doorknobs, bathroom sinks, and urinals)
- Cleans upholstered furniture, windows, and window coverings
- Disposes of the trash
- Disinfects the bathrooms and entryways
- Cleans the HVAC units and vents
A detailed, well-defined checklist speaks volumes of the company’s commitment to avoid oversight and deliver excellence.
3. Quality Cleaning Products and Equipment
Besides having expertise and impressive attention to detail, your chosen cleaning company should be well-equipped and know well enough to use cleaning products that are non-toxic and safe for children.
Expert knowledge and experience are advantageous qualities in professional cleaners. Still, their services will be sorely limited if they don’t have the appropriate tools and equipment for the daycare cleaning services you require. For example, if you supervise nap time in your daycare and provide bedding for the children, you may need steam cleaning and disinfection services for soiled mattresses.
Ideally, your cleaning crew should arrive equipped with cleaning cloths, scrubbing pads, brooms, mops and buckets, disinfectant sprays, sanitizing products, and vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters. It’s also important to check what cleaning products they use. You don’t want strong chemicals with odors that can make anyone, especially children, gag or feel nauseous after hours of exposure. If a cleaning service uses any product that smells strongly of bleach or fresh paint in your daycare, it means they don’t understand your business needs.
Pick a cleaning company equipped to perform the services you need. More importantly, hire cleaning staff who share your concerns about triggering allergic reactions and respiratory problems in children.
4. Flexibility
You’ll want to hire a cleaning company that’s flexible with their hours and services. Flexible cleaning hours are a huge advantage, especially if you are open beyond business hours to accommodate parents working double shifts and needing their kids to stay in daycare beyond the usual hours. It will be most convenient for you, the children, and their parents to hire cleaning professionals who can adjust their cleaning schedules accordingly.
Opt for flexible daycare cleaning services that you can schedule on the weekends to avoid disruptions to your daycare activities and business hours.
5. Transparent Pricing
Finally, one of the most important criteria for choosing a daycare cleaning company is their pricing. Budget is always relevant and crucial for selecting a cleaning services provider. However, it’s best not to be swayed by cheap rates; the prices might be low because they’re not yet inclusive of taxes and other services the company offers as premium or add-on services.
Choose a daycare cleaning company that is upfront with their pricing, can provide a breakdown of their fees, and doesn’t surprise you with additional costs for rendered services you haven’t previously agreed to. You can find out how transparent a cleaning company is about its services and pricing by reading customer reviews and asking for a price breakdown before signing a contract.
Get Superior Cleaning Services From a Certified Cleaning Franchise
JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting is just a phone call away, ready to give your daycare its best cleaning day. We have franchises nationwide that connect commercial clients with certified cleaning professionals with plenty of experience cleaning daycare centers. With our help, you can maintain cleanliness in your daycare, protect your reputation, earn the parents’ loyalty, and focus on improving and growing your business.
Find the nearest JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting franchise and schedule a cleaning service today.