The Value of Floor Care Equipment in Showing that Your Facility Cares
Floor cleaning is such much more to a facility than just a required custodial task, it’s a marketing asset, especially in the wake of a pandemic. We’re now more alert and sensitive to the cleanliness of surfaces, typically assuming that they are dirty without knowing if they have been cleaned and disinfected properly. So, while cleanliness has always been valued for its safety and health benefits, now in days the emotional response and perception derived from a facility’s cleanliness is a major component in calculating the real value of clean.
Visible Cleaning Cues and Perception
You’ve heard the expression, “you eat with your eyes first,” meaning first impressions spark certain psychological cues about what’s ahead. If you extend this concept past the restaurant plate, you generally decide where to eat, what to buy, where to go, etc. based on perceptions of visible cues – not simply science, data or common sense.
Understanding the importance of first impressions and emotional responses is a key component to developing effective facility cleaning best practices. People will assume that dirt and germs abound without insight into the reality of cleanliness, so marketing your facility to appeal to positive perceptions is critical, especially with businesses re-opening and committed to remaining operational.
Take for example facility restrooms. The space can look shiny and spotless, but with a lack of visual cues – restroom cleaning tools, cleaning solutions, signage, etc. – how can occupants trust that faucets, door handles and restroom floors are in reality, clean?
One remedy to cultivate positive perceptions is to elevate the visibility of your cleaning processes, from publicly posted cleaning schedules to displaying a well-kept janitorial cleaning cart. Something as simple as a cleaning schedule or hand washing best practices poster may seem commonplace, but really what you are doing is visually communicating that you care about the level of clean in your facility , while also triggering a positive perception in your building occupants.
Creating Positive Perceptions with Commercial Floor Care Equipment
Constructing a positive perception of your facility’s cleanliness starts from the ground up, literally making floors a priority. Behind the scenes you show that you care about your floors by understanding the very basics – knowing how to upkeep for your specific floor type(s) and the cleaning schedule and tools required to maintain them.
However, have you thought about how the floor care equipment, which is often in plain sight, impacts the perception of how much your facility values clean? Think of these examples of everyday floor cleaning components and how they can portray a negative perception of how much you care, the custodian and overall facility:
- Janitorial Cleaning Carts
A mismanaged, unorganized cleaning cart can speak volumes as to how important cleaning and disinfecting is to your facility. When a building occupant sees an unkept cart, it’s likely that they will question the quality of clean in the facility, just like if they saw an unkept, disorganized reception area, office, waiting room, etc.And on the other hand, having an organized, professional looking cart can increase confidence in a facility’s cleanliness and allow custodial staff to make a more positive first impression.
- Floor Mopping Systems
No matter how clean your floors, a visually dirty mopping system – whether it’s a restroom cleaning cart or another type of portable floor care kit – screams germs. Especially if the wheels are grimy from working in wet mop environments, true or not, the impression is that your facility doesn’t care about transferring dirt from one area to another. In addition to the wheels, a filthy floor mop and saturated charge bucket contribute to the lack luster first impression.On the flipside, if you consider the latest innovations in floor care products, you’ll find that some features are designed to not only increase the level of cleaning effectiveness, but also to help you win the struggle between perception and reality. For instance, floor kits with built in scrub boards remove debris from the microfiber mop pad and isolate it in the dirty solution bucket. Then a unique wringer agitates the remaining debris off the mop pad and leaves you with a clean mop – both in germs and appearance.
- Floor Mopping Buckets
Soiled equipment is a breeding ground for germs. When cleaning floors, one of the most obvious examples is a single chamber bucket. Most commercial cleaning professionals utilize a single bucket mopping system, meaning they’re mopping with one bucket and with dirty solution. Not only is dirty solution leaving behind potentially dangerous germs and contaminating the mop, but it’s also unsightly to passersby. For a deeper level of clean, and to showcase that you mop with clean solution, a dual chamber bucket alterative will separate clean and dirty solution, preventing contaminated solution from entering the cleaning process and giving passersby a better, cleaner impression.
Showing You Care About Your Floors Starts Here
From sourcing individual floor cleaning tools to complete floor care kits, Unger has helped organizations across a multitude of industries optimize their commercial cleaning best practices and protocols while at the same time helping them to elevate their brand image and perception.
If you would like assistance in evaluating your current floor care equipment and learning more about the innovate alternatives that can help solve some of your facility’s challenges, please contact us.