0481 860 794One of the most common questions we receive from new clients is how often their building should be cleaned. It seems like it should have a straightforward answer, but in practice, the right cleaning frequency depends on several variables — your facility type, the volume of daily foot traffic, the nature of activities carried out in the space, whether there are regulatory hygiene requirements applicable to your industry, and your own presentation and hygiene standards.
This guide provides recommended cleaning frequencies for the most common types of commercial premises in Perth, along with the factors that push frequency up or down.
General Principles That Govern Cleaning Frequency
Before getting into facility-specific recommendations, it is worth understanding the factors that most influence how often a commercial building needs to be cleaned:
- Daily foot traffic: The more people moving through a space each day, the faster it becomes dirty and the more frequently it needs cleaning
- Type of activity: Office work generates far less contamination than food preparation, patient care, childcare or heavy industrial activity
- Regulatory requirements: Healthcare, childcare, food service and aged care all have legal hygiene requirements that set a minimum cleaning frequency
- Presentation expectations: Client-facing environments have higher presentation standards than back-of-house or staff-only areas
- Health and safety: Some environments require more frequent cleaning to manage slip hazards, bacterial contamination or infection risk
Cleaning Frequency Recommendations by Facility Type
Small and Medium Offices (Under 20 Staff)
For offices below 20 staff with moderate foot traffic and no regular client visits, a two or three times per week cleaning program can be appropriate. The key constraint is the bathroom and kitchen areas — even in small offices, these spaces deteriorate quickly in a five-day working week if cleaned less than three times per week. Weekly-only cleaning is rarely sufficient for any staffed office regardless of size.
Large Corporate Offices (50+ Staff)
Daily cleaning is the standard for corporate offices with regular full staff attendance and frequent client visits. Kitchens, bathrooms and entry and reception areas require daily attention as a minimum. For CBD offices with high visitor volumes, daily cleaning is non-negotiable from a presentation standpoint as well as a hygiene one.
Medical Centres and Healthcare Facilities
Daily cleaning is the absolute minimum standard for medical centres, dental practices and allied health facilities. Consulting rooms and patient waiting areas need to be cleaned and disinfected daily as a baseline. High-touch surfaces in patient-facing areas should ideally be disinfected multiple times throughout the day in high-volume practices. Infection control requirements in healthcare make this a regulatory obligation, not a discretionary choice.
Childcare Centres and Early Learning Facilities
Daily cleaning is essential, with multiple intra-day cleaning activities required throughout each operating day. Nappy change areas must be sanitised after every use. Toilet facilities require cleaning multiple times daily. End-of-day deep cleaning of all child-contact surfaces is required. Childcare is among the highest-frequency cleaning environments of any facility type.
Retail Stores and Showrooms
Daily cleaning is essential in all hospitality environments. Commercial kitchens require thorough cleaning after every service. Dining areas, bar surfaces and customer-facing facilities need daily maintenance cleaning and periodic deep cleaning of hard-to-reach areas. Commercial kitchen equipment and exhaust canopies require weekly or fortnightly deep cleaning in high-volume kitchens.
Restaurants, Cafés and Hospitality Venues
Daily cleaning is essential in all hospitality environments. Commercial kitchens require thorough cleaning after every service. Dining areas, bar surfaces and customer-facing facilities need daily maintenance cleaning and periodic deep cleaning of hard-to-reach areas. Commercial kitchen equipment and exhaust canopies require weekly or fortnightly deep cleaning in high-volume kitchens.
Warehouses and Industrial Facilities
Warehouse cleaning requirements vary more widely than most facility types depending on the nature of the operation. A general storage warehouse may be adequately maintained with weekly floor sweeping and scrubbing, daily amenity cleaning and quarterly high-level cleaning. A food-grade or pharmaceutical warehouse requires daily cleaning of all product-contact zones and potentially more frequent floor maintenance.
Aged Care Facilities
Daily cleaning of all resident rooms, bathrooms, dining areas and common spaces is required. Common areas and dining rooms may need multiple cleaning passes throughout the day in high-activity periods. Outbreak periods require significantly elevated cleaning frequency and documentation.
Signs Your Building Needs More Frequent Cleaning
- Staff are raising complaints about hygiene or cleanliness more than very occasionally
- Rubbish bins are consistently overflowing between scheduled cleaning visits
- Kitchen or bathroom surfaces show visible soiling within a day of being cleaned
- Carpet or hard floors show significant contamination within one or two days of cleaning
- You have received a complaint from a client, visitor or regulatory inspector about the facility condition
- You are experiencing above-average staff sick days that may have a hygiene component
Let Us Help You Find the Right Cleaning Frequency
We assess every client’s premises before recommending a cleaning program — whether you are in Perth CBD, Joondalup, Canning Vale or anywhere across the metropolitan area — and recommend a frequency that keeps your facility clean, safe and presentable without over-servicing. A well-designed program delivers the right result at the right cost.
