The honest answer is that frequency matters less than most people think, and shape matters more.
The short answer by headcount
| Staff on site | Typical frequency |
|---|---|
| Under 8 | 2 visits per week |
| 8 – 20 | 3 visits per week |
| 20 – 50 | 5 visits per week |
| 50+ | 5 visits per week, sometimes twice daily for amenities |
Override that upward if you’re a medical practice, childcare centre, gym, or anywhere with client-facing reception, those need daily regardless of headcount.
The mistake most offices make
When budgets tighten, the instinct is to cut frequency across the board: five visits become three, three become two.
That’s usually the wrong cut. Bathrooms and kitchens need every visit. Open-plan carpet very rarely does.
A better structure:
- Every visit: bathrooms, kitchen, bins, high-touch points, reception
- Alternate visits: general vacuuming, desk wiping, meeting rooms
- Weekly: detail dusting, skirtings, internal glass
- Monthly: high dusting, vents, under-furniture
This keeps the things people notice and complain about at daily frequency, while halving the cost of the things they don’t. Most providers will structure it this way if you ask. Very few offer.
What actually drives frequency
Bathroom traffic. A single bathroom serving 30 people needs daily attention regardless of anything else. Two bathrooms serving 12 people don’t.
Food. Any office where people eat at their desks needs bins emptied daily, it’s a pest issue, not an appearance one.
Foot traffic and floor type. Hard floors show dirt fast and need frequent mopping. Carpet hides it and needs less frequent but more thorough attention.
Client-facing space. If clients walk through reception, that area is a marketing cost, not a cleaning one. Daily.
Air quality and allergens. Offices with poor ventilation or a lot of soft furnishing benefit more from frequent vacuuming than the appearance would suggest.
Signs your frequency is wrong
Too low:
- Bins overflowing before the next visit
- Bathroom consumables running out between cleans
- Visible dust build-up within two days
- Staff complaining about the kitchen
Too high:
- Cleaners finishing early and standing around
- Areas being "cleaned" that show no use between visits
- Paying for weekend visits to an office nobody enters on weekends
That last one is more common than you’d think. If you have a five-day contract on a building that’s empty Friday afternoons through Monday morning, you’re paying for a Sunday clean of a room nobody has entered.
Frequency by room type
| Area | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Bathrooms | Every visit |
| Kitchen / breakout | Every visit |
| Bins | Every visit |
| Reception | Every visit |
| High-touch points | Every visit |
| Open-plan vacuuming | 2–3 × week |
| Desk surfaces | 2–3 × week |
| Meeting rooms | After use, or 2 × week |
| Internal glass | Weekly |
| Detail dusting | Weekly |
| High dusting | Monthly |
| Carpet steam clean | 6–12 monthly |
Getting it right
Ask your provider to price two options: your current frequency, and a restructured schedule with daily amenities and alternate-visit general cleaning. The second is often 15–20% cheaper for a result nobody can distinguish.