Office Cleaning Checklist: Daily, Weekly and Monthly Tasks

A good office cleaning checklist divides the work by how often each task needs doing, because washrooms, kitchens, bins and shared touch points generally need daily attention in a busy office, while dusting, glass and detailed vacuuming can often be weekly, and deeper tasks such as carpet steam cleaning are scheduled every few months.

The right frequency depends on how many people use the space and what they do there, so use the lists below as a starting point and then adjust them to suit your particular office. When we set up office cleaning in Canberra, we agree this list with you in writing at a free site visit.

Without a written list, cleaning standards tend to decline gradually, because some jobs are completed at every visit while others are quietly forgotten until someone complains.

There is also a safety reason, because the ACT's approved code of practice for managing the work environment and facilities says workplace facilities, such as toilets and eating areas, must be kept clean, safe and in good working order. Safe Work Australia's model code adds that cleaning schedules should take into account shift work, the type of work done and how often facilities are used.

These are the tasks that generally need attention at every visit in a busy office, although in a smaller office with only a few employees, some of them may suit two or three visits a week instead.

Weekly tasks prevent dust and grime from accumulating in the areas that people don't touch every day, such as shelves, partitions and the corners of rooms.

Deeper tasks don't require attention every week, but they make a noticeable difference to the appearance and hygiene of your workplace when they're completed on a regular schedule.

There's no single rule for every workplace, because each office is used differently, so treat this as a general guide:

• Busy offices with many staff, visitors or a shared kitchen generally require cleaning every working day.
• Medium offices often suit two or three visits a week, with the bins and washrooms done at every visit.
• Small offices with only a few people may only need a single weekly clean.

Consider who uses the space as well as how many people use it, because a meeting room used by clients every day needs more attention than a quiet back office, and washrooms shared by many people need cleaning more often than anything else.

Even the best cleaning schedule operates more effectively when staff help to keep shared areas tidy between visits, and good hand washing is the simplest step, because the Australian Centre for Disease Control explains that germs spread through shared objects and surfaces as well as by direct contact.

In the kitchen, ask staff to wipe up their own spills, wash their own dishes and assist with clearing the fridge at the end of each week, and note that the NSW Food Authority's hand washing guide is a useful poster for tea rooms. If you keep cleaning products on site, store them safely and keep the safety data sheets where staff can find them.

Once your checklist is ready, it should become part of your cleaning agreement. Our guide to what to put in a commercial cleaning contract explains how to write it as a scope of work, while our guide to commercial cleaning prices shows how the list affects your quote.

At our free site visits, we walk through your premises with you, agree a written task list, and then provide a set price for that work, and you receive a completed checklist after every clean so you can see exactly what was done.

Aussie Duo is a family-owned Canberra business that has been cleaning since 2013, and our commercial cleaning starts from a minimum visit of $187 including GST ($170 + GST). To set up your checklist, book a free site visit or call 02 5501 3316, and we'll reply during business hours, Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm.