Important Cleaning Terms You Should Know About

Whether you’re in the cleaning business or often use professional commercial cleaning services, knowing the cleaning lingo may help you interact better with your cleaners and staff. For cleaners, being familiar with important cleaning terms can help improve efficiency, work quality, safety and results.

These cleaning terms can help business owners better understand and communicate their requirements and ask the right questions when hiring commercial cleaning services in Sydney.

What is Commercial Cleaning?

Let’s start with the most basic one.

Commercial cleaning refers to cleaning commercial facilities such as offices, stores or childcare centres.

Commercial cleaning is different and usually more complex than residential cleaning (house cleaning) due to larger spaces and heavier average foot traffic. It involves using specialized methods, equipment, and cleaning supplies.

Let’s now move on to other professional cleaning terms.

Other Important Cleaning Terminology

Cleaning terms are words used in the cleaning industry. These include terms cleaners use to refer to different cleaning methods, processes and products.

In addition to commercial cleaning, there are various other equally important types and terms in cleaning. Knowing these will help you make better decisions when hiring a commercial cleaning company.

Commercial Cleaning Company

A commercial cleaning company is an organisation that provides cleaning services to commercial facilities. For example, Clean Group is a commercial cleaning company in Sydney.

Commercial Cleaners

Cleaners are individuals who provide cleaning services. A commercial cleaner is someone who specialises in cleaning commercial establishments such as offices and factories.

Cleaning Supplies

Cleaning supplies are products, agents, equipment and tools cleaners use to clean a place. Commercial cleaners use specialised cleaning supplies and high-tech equipment to clean large spaces efficiently and quickly.

Some examples of cleaning supplies include microfibre cloths, cleaning brushes, cleaning detergents, and floor cleaners.

• Microfibre cloth

A microfibre cloth is a type of office cleaning product. It’s a special cloth made of super-fine synthetic fibers (nylon or polyester) and can clean any surface type quickly.

Microfiber cloths can absorb dust, dirt and moisture more efficiently than any regular cleaning cloth.

• Antibacterial

Antibacterial is a type of cleaning agent or disinfectant used to kill or remove bacteria or slow their growth. This is only effective on bacteria and does not work on viruses.

• Disinfectant

A disinfectant is a type of cleaning material or chemical designed to kill or reduce the spread of microorganisms such as the coronavirus (COVID-19).

• Electrostatic sprayers

Electrostatic sprayers are one of the latest cleaning tools. They came into the limelight during the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the most effective COVID-19 cleaning methods. Their efficiency lies in their ability to cover the entire surface, including corners and hidden areas, ensuring up to 100% virus removal.

• Anti stat

Anti-stats or anti-static agents are special cleaning additives or chemicals used in carpet cleaning to reduce the buildup of static electricity and avoid electrical shock in people using the carpet.

Cleaning Methods & Types

Cleaning methods are techniques that cleaners use to clean a place. Different types of premises may require different cleaning methods. For instance, commercial cleaning, which is usually complex and vast, requires more intensive methods than domestic cleaning.

• Dusting

Dusting involves removing loose dirt from surfaces like furniture and upholstery using equipment such as clothes and vacuum machines. It is one of the simplest forms of cleaning.

Routine dusting in commercial premises helps maintain a healthy and safe workplace.

• Mopping

Mopping is a cleaning type that involves using a mop and water or cleaning solution to clean floors or other hard surfaces. This is one of the most effective and quick ways to clean commercial floors. Cleaners nowadays use floor mopping machines to mop and scrub industrial floors quickly and automatically.

• Routine cleaning

This is one of the most common commercial cleaning terms and refers to cleaning with a routine, i.e. regular cleaning. Examples include daily cleaning, weekly cleaning, and monthly cleaning.

• Deep Cleaning

Commercial deep cleaning goes one step further than routine cleaning and involves a much more comprehensive cleaning process. Cleaners pay attention to the areas and corners often missed in basic cleaning.

• Disinfection cleaning

Disinfection involves using a disinfectant or other chemical to reduce or kill microorganisms on surfaces, preventing the spread of infections.

• Decontamination

The term “decontamination” is often used interchangeably with disinfection, but they have slightly different meanings. Decontamination involves removing or reducing the growth of microbial contamination. In other words, decontamination is the process of removing viruses, bacteria, and other harmful substances from an environment or surface.

• Sanitization

Sanitization is similar to disinfection but slightly different. Unlike disinfection, which involves killing pathogens and germs, the sanitization process can only reduce the number of pathogens. It doesn’t kill them. Sanitization can be safely used on food preparation surfaces.

• Eco-friendly cleaning

As the name suggests, eco-friendly or green cleaning is cleaning that doesn’t harm the environment. Many conventional cleaning products contain harsh chemicals that are harmful to our ecosystem. Green cleaning uses specialised cleaning methods and products with minimal environmental impact or carbon footprint.

• Strata cleaning

This refers to cleaning a multi-storey building like multi-unit residential or commercial complexes. Strata cleaning requires a large team with advanced commercial cleaning tools and supplies.

• Upholstery Cleaning

Upholstery is the fabric part of furniture, such as sofas and cushioned chairs. Maintaining soft material is usually more difficult than cleaning hard surfaces and requires special attention and tools. These include fabric cleaners and vacuums.

Dirt Types

Dirt refers to anything that is not clean. It can be dust particles, food waste, mud, and debris. When in contact with a surface or person, it makes them dirty.

The types of dirt are practically infinite. Anything that can make a person or place look dirty is a type of dirt. Examples include dust, soil, mud, cobwebs, etc.

• Cobwebs

Cobwebs are a type of dirt made by spiders using a special material called spider silk. They can build up on ceilings and in corners over time and attract dust and dirt, impacting your place’s appearance and safety.

• Allergens

Allergens are particles that can create allergic reactions upon coming into contact with a person’s skin or entering their body. These are commonly found in the air and associated with various allergies in people.

Misc.

Some other important cleaning terms you should know about include–

• Antibacterial resistance

This refers to a special condition where certain bacteria become resistant to antibacterial disinfectants. Cleaners must go beyond regular antibacterial agents and methods to eliminate such bacteria.

• Dwell Time

Dwell time refers to the time a cleaning solution or chemical needs to take effect when applied to a surface. Some chemicals work quickly while others need to stay on the surface for a few minutes to effectively do their jobs. It’s recommended to leave the cleaning solution on the surface for its dwell time before wiping it off. The dwell time of a cleaning product is generally mentioned on its label.

• Blooming

Blooming or efflorescence is a floor cleaning term and refers to the formation of a white powdery layer on floors, as moisture evaporates, leaving salts on the surface.

• Mould

Mould is a type of fungus that can grow on damp, poorly ventilated walls, floors and other areas. It is usually in the form of discoloured or dark patches and often has a musty smell.

• Grout

Grout is the material used to fill the gaps between tiles. Grout cleaning refers to cleaning grout lines for dirt and grime.

There are various other terms used in the cleaning industry and by cleaners every day. If you want to learn more or are ready to hire a commercial cleaning company, check out our comprehensive range of cleaning services on our website or fill out the contact form to book a free commercial cleaning quote today.

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