Contract Cleaning for Warehouses in Europe
- Differences between the sanitising, disinfecting, and sterilising
- The 6-step process of cleaning a warehouse
- What products can be used for warehouse cleaning?
- Daily, weekly, and monthly warehouse cleaning checklists
- How to maintain a tidy warehouse year-round
- Is it really necessary to clean a warehouse
- Should warehouse cleaning be outsourced?
Is your warehouse cleaning program covering all the bases?
Maintaining a clean warehouse is one of the largest challenges for business owners. If cleaning isn’t done regularly, the warehouse gets cluttered with all sorts of debris. Bacteria and viruses can grow on unsanitary surfaces and contaminate them. Not only does this create an unpleasant environment, but it can also lead to infestation problems.
In this article, we have included everything you need to know about cleaning a warehouse so that you could maintain a productive, efficient, and safe workplace.
If you don’t have the time or the resources, getting in the contract cleaners often works out even cheaper than doing your own cleaning. Find out how you can get in touch with CIE further down this page.
Differences between sanitising, disinfecting, and sterilising
To ensure that your warehouses are safe places to work, it becomes mandatory to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness. Knowing the difference between sanitizing, disinfecting, and sterilizing will help you to ensure you’re adopting the right procedures and using appropriate cleaning products.
- Sanitising
Sanitizing refers to lowering the number of germs on a surface to a safe level, as judged by public health standards. You can sanitise surfaces that don’t normally come into contact with dangerous bacteria.
- Disinfecting
Disinfecting is meant for serious messes like those involving bodily fluids. You’ll likely want to disinfect things like toilets, sinks, faucets, and high-touch areas like door-knobs that can come into contact with dangerous bacteria.
- Sterilising
Sterilisation is the process of destroying or eliminating all forms of microbial life. It’s carried out using steam under pressure, dry heat, EtO gas, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, and liquid chemicals.
The 6-step process of cleaning a warehouse
Adopting an effective cleaning procedure is crucial for ensuring you fully remove harmful microorganisms.
How to clean and disinfect the warehouse properly? There are generally six stages of cleaning that are important to completely disinfect contaminated surfaces.
#1 Preparation
Remove any items that might present a hazard during cleaning. Remove delicate items or cover them up with protective wrapping to avoid accidental damage.
#2 Preliminary cleaning
Before any in-depth cleaning takes place, remove large spots of dirt. Some warehouses are in the habit of dropping label stock backings onto the ground. Use large brooms to sweep up such materials and be sure to dispose of them properly.
#3 Addressing high areas
Clean any high locations first, including upper windows, heating and cooling ducts, tops of pallets, and pallet racks. Follow safety standards associated with working at heights.
#4 Heavily trafficked areas cleaning
Wipe down all heavily trafficked areas like countertops, machinery, and doorknobs. Clean all heavily used equipment, like forklifts.
#5 Cleaning floors
Remove visible contamination from the surface, such as spillages, dirt, and debris. Make sure to use the right products and equipment for the cleaning activities you carry out. Modern industrial floor cleaners are a great option for removing dirt.
#6 Disinfection
Disinfecting should come after cleaning. It will destroy bacteria and other microorganisms. Disinfection is particularly important for surfaces that may come into contact with food, to prevent any ingestion risks. There are varying levels of strength and effectiveness of disinfectants, which will be used for different settings depending on the level of risk.
Carrying out effective cleaning is crucial for protecting people’s health. To ensure that no spots were accidentally missed, review your cleaning checklist. Also, it’s important to thoroughly clean any clothes and other reusable cleaning products that you use.
What products can be used for warehouse cleaning?
To do warehouse cleaning properly, the proper equipment and cleaning supplies are necessary. Substances involved may vary depending on what you’re cleaning. Here are some of the different cleaners and what they do:
- Cleaner removes dirt from the surface but doesn’t kill germs.
- Sanitizser lowers the number of germs to a level that is considered safe by public health organizations.
- Disinfectant kills infectious bacteria and viruses on hard surfaces.
- Virucide deactivates or destroys viruses.
- Sterilant eliminates all forms of microbial life, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and spores.
Keeping a warehouse clean is an ongoing struggle. Rigorously follow instructions on the product of your choice. Also, cleaners should wear protective gear for handling the more caustic chemicals
Daily, weekly, and monthly warehouse cleaning checklists
To ensure that your warehouse facility is being properly cleaned, we have put together checklists for daily, weekly, and monthly warehouse upkeep. Having separate lists for different tasks will help you stay organized.
A daily warehouse cleaning checklist includes the following:
- Sweep and mop the floor.
- Take out the trash in all areas, including the bathroom, kitchen, and other rooms.
- Clean and sanitize the bathroom.
- Implement “clean as you go” for all warehouse staff.
For weekly cleaning, here are some of the things you must do:
- Sanitize floors throughout the warehouse.
- Clean refrigerators and throw away expired food.
- Check for leaks, mold, and mildew.
- Wipe down windows.
Your monthly warehouse cleaning could include the following:
- Remove items from shelves and dust everything off.
- Deep clean your warehouse’s floors, walls, and walkways.
- Check under units and shelving and clean them properly.
It’s important to regularly review your checklists of cleaning responsibilities to find if there are any improvements to be made. More tasks could be added as the cleaning process is implemented. Once you have identified the most cluttered zones, assign priority cleaning tasks for daily, weekly, or monthly cleaning.
How to maintain a tidy warehouse year-round
Having a clean warehouse will make the operation of your business run smoothly. Aside from checklists, there are other tips you can follow:
- Make each employee responsible for their assigned zones. It could include garbage pick, sweeping, and washing floors.
- Waste bins and recycling bins should be strategically placed throughout the warehouse to aid in discarding items away rather than allowing them to accumulate.
- Take out the trash every day – empty garbage bins before they are full.
- Cleaning tools should be readily available – keep them in a visible location that doesn’t hamper operations.
- Make sure cleaning tools are readily available – to clean up manageable messes as they happen, cleaning supplies like sanitizers, mops, brooms, etc., should always be stocked.
Is it really necessary to clean a warehouse?
Cleanliness is critical for warehouse operations. With regular cleaning, you’ll remain fully compliant with relevant safety regulations, see an increase in your team’s productivity, and prolong the lifespan of your equipment.
- Proper cleaning is crucial when it comes to warehouses as anything stored there is going to come in contact with the world one way or the other. By protecting your products, you are also protecting your customers and the reputation of your business.
- When floors are cleared of debris and products ordered efficiently, it creates a professional atmosphere for staff, suppliers, and customers.
- With an organized warehouse, you can get done more in less time.
Should warehouse cleaning be outsourced?
When it comes to warehouse cleaning, you have two options – clean it yourself or hire a company or warehouse cleaning crew.
If you require your staff to clean, it would be necessary to schedule it during nonproductive work hours. Each staff member should be provided with proper training, all necessary supplies, and proper safety equipment.
One way of handling cleaning activities without interrupting your operations is to outsource them to a trusted company. In this case, no own machines, employees, or other resources are needed. And you can concentrate on your core business.
Find out more about the commercial warehouse cleaning services offered by CIE
As one of the largest commercial cleaning companies in Europe, CIE is always ready to help you meet your warehouse cleaning needs. We understand the unique safety requirements of warehouses and adhere to safety standards. Contact us today and get a free estimate.
Related Topic: Find out about the commercial office cleaning services offered by CIE