A commercial cleaning checklist has one job: to make sure the same work happens every visit regardless of who is doing it. Here’s a complete one, organised by frequency.
Daily / every visit
Amenities, the non-negotiables
These generate immediate complaints if missed, so they belong in every single visit:
- All toilets sanitised inside and out
- Basins and tapware cleaned and dried
- Mirrors cleaned
- Bathroom floors mopped, including corners and behind pans
- Consumables restocked to full
- Kitchen benches, sinks and splashbacks cleaned
- Microwave interior cleaned
- All bins emptied and re-lined
- High-touch points sanitised
Front of house
- Entry glass cleaned both sides
- Reception counter sanitised
- Entry matting vacuumed
- Waiting area reset
General
- High-traffic floors vacuumed or mopped
- Desks wiped where clear
- Meeting rooms reset
Weekly
- Complete carpet vacuum including edges, corners and under desks
- Skirting boards and door frames dusted
- Internal glass and partitions
- Window sills wiped
- Kitchen bins washed
- Bathroom tile and grout attention
- Chair bases and castors
- Waste and recycling area cleaned
- Stairwells
Monthly
- High dusting above normal reach
- Vents and extractor grilles
- Light fittings
- Fridge interior
- Under and behind furniture
- Upholstered seating vacuumed
- Cupboard interiors
- Signage and wayfinding wiped
Quarterly
- Internal windows including tracks and frames
- Blinds
- Carpet spot treatment
- Storage areas
- External entry pressure wash
Periodic (scheduled separately)
| Task | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Carpet steam cleaning | 6–12 monthly |
| Strip and seal hard floors | 12–24 monthly |
| External window cleaning | Quarterly – 6 monthly |
| Upholstery cleaning | Annually |
| High-level dusting (EWP) | 6–12 monthly |
Sector additions
Medical and dental: colour-coded equipment separating clinical from amenity areas, treatment room surfaces after each session, clinical waste handled to practice protocol, documented record retained for accreditation.
Childcare and schools: toys and mats sanitised, nappy change areas, sleep rooms, police-vetted staff only, licensing-ready records.
Food premises: cleaning aligned to your Food Control Plan, with the record supporting verification rather than sitting separately.
Gyms: equipment sanitised including handles and screens, changing rooms and showers deep-cleaned, odour and mould control in wet areas.
Using this properly
A checklist only works if someone records against it. The common failure isn’t cleaners ignoring the list, it’s that nobody ever confirms which items were done, so gaps go unnoticed until they accumulate into a complaint.
Three ways to close that, in increasing order of usefulness:
- A signed sheet on the wall. Better than nothing. Easily backfilled.
- A photo of the completed sheet, emailed. Harder to fake, still just an attendance record.
- Per-task completion recorded digitally, with photos. What we do, every item marked done or not done, visible in the client’s own login.
The point isn’t distrust. It’s that a record removes the need for trust in a service that’s delivered when you aren’t there.