10 Steps in Cleaning Public Restroom

A restroom is a facility designed with adjoining toilet stalls, equipped with faucets and sinks in a small building to let people utilize them whenever they need to. You may already have seen and been aware of what a restroom is and its purpose. Public restrooms are utilized more as they are accessible to the general public. Anyone can access these facilities, from a local truck driver to a worn-out traveler.

However, due to their common utilization and open access to the general public, public restrooms are more prone to getting dirty and germ buildup. It is true that even though restrooms take less space to set up – they contain most of the germs of the entire facility.

It is, therefore, crucial to maintain a strict check on the regular and proper cleaning of a public restroom. Doing so provides the public with a clean, low bacterial environment. It also maintains a good reputation of the business facility providing the service because, let’s agree, no one wants to use a dirty, smelly restroom.

Many commercial cleaning businesses are providing their services. It is a rapidly growing industry.

For instance, the commercial cleaning business in Canada generates $8 billion in sales and has grown at a pace of 2.8 percent per year from 2013 to 2018. You can easily hire these services from any state by a simple Google search – for example, if you’re a resident of Nova Scotia, search for “commercial cleaning services Nova Scotia Canada,” and you will find a list of these services providers near you.

Before going on a cleaning spree for a restroom, one should always keep in mind certain steps and measures to ensure proper clean-up of the facility.

Here are a few steps that will help you:

1. Table of Contents

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   Prepare to clean

You must have all the required equipment for your restroom cleaning spree. From brooms to mops to sanitizing products, every piece of equipment should be on your checklist and available.

Wear goggles if you will be cleaning surfaces such as shower walls and ceilings or if you will be employing a spray of any type. Wear disposables like gloves, hair caps, and a mask, and be thoroughly prepared to fight off those germs populating your restroom.

2. Empty the restroom

Before getting on to your mission clean sweep, make sure there aren’t any guests occupying your restroom stalls. Knock all the doors and wait until they are done and leave. Put up a sign outside your facility to let people know the cleaning process is going on so that they do not enter until it’s finished.

3. Dusting is necessary

Dusting up the whole facility before getting to the actual cleaning part is important. Even though you are not cleaning up a drawing room, it is still very much possible that your sinks, faucets, and doormats might be dusty. For that, start from the surfaces on top and make your way to the bottom. Start with showers, faucets, doors, and mirrors, and go on to dust the floor. Gather all the dust from surfaces with a dusting brush and dispose of it in a dust bin. Empty that in the garbage when done.

4. Disinfect and Clean the Surfaces

One of the aspects of cleaning a public restroom is disinfecting all the contaminated surfaces such as urinals, toilet seats, washbasins, and door handles. Apply a strong disinfectant solution – you can use a microfiber cloth and wait for the desired time for disinfection (as mentioned on the product), then do a thorough scrubbing and cleaning with running water and floor cloth. Repeat this step almost daily in a public restroom. There can be debris and stains stubborn enough to be removed by a local disinfectant/surface cleaner, and for those, you can utilize acid-based cleansers to clean properly.

5. Clean the Walls and Floors

Urinals, toilets, and sinks aren’t the only areas that need cleaning, but also the walls and mirrors in a restroom. Make sure to properly clean the stained walls and mirrors and all the marks, stains, dirt, and anything on these surfaces.

6. Unclog the Drains

Clogging up drains is very common in a public restrooms, where many people use them at once. Acid drain openers and enzyme-based openers are the two best available options. However, acid-based drain openers cannot be used in facilities with septic tanks because they are very harsh. But, enzyme-based drain openers are highly reliable and safe.

When it comes to unclogging toilets, plungers are always the first choice.

7. Re-fill the Sanitizers and Dispensable items

Soaps/hand washes and sanitizers are utilized the most in a restroom. Everyone washes their hands, so these items do not last very long. Make sure to fill them up daily. Toilet paper is a constant need.

8. Empty Trash cans

Empty all your trash bins daily. Waiting for the trash to pile up before emptying them will result in more labor and the spread of debris and bacteria, not to mention the foul smell that will follow and cover the whole environment inside the restroom facility.

9. Polish

After cleaning all the surfaces mentioned in step 4, polish those made up of metal like faucets, sinks, showers, and door handles with a metal polish. It will provide the restroom with quite an attractive and lavish feel. The smell of polish will enhance the overall environment of the facility. You can also use glass cleaners instead of metal polish on such surfaces.

10. Final clean-up and mopping

When all the surfaces are disinfected and cleaned, go through the process mentioned in step 4, and wipe them with a microfiber cloth. Make sure to use a disposable and separate cloth for each surface to avoid contamination risks. To mop the floor, dissolve a liquid disinfectant in water to dilute and thoroughly clean the whole floor. Let it dry completely before making your facility accessible again to the public.

Conclusion

Public restrooms are very necessary and so are their maintenance and cleaning. Public restrooms, as they are utilized by the public almost all the time, need regular cleaning. Following all the mentioned steps, including dusting, cleaning, disinfecting, wiping, mopping, and disposal, will help you make a checklist of what to keep in mind before going on a cleaning mission for your restroom facility.