Cleaning standards create a common language for custodial teams and their clients to talk about expectations and performance.
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What does it mean for something to be clean? It’s a deceptively simple question. Standards take the guesswork out of the process for everyone involved, from the client to the supervisors to the individual custodians.
Standards help teams:
For standards to be effective, they must be integrated into every step of the process. Client contracts, inspection audits, staffing levels, and cleaner training must all be aligned.
Industry organizations assembled a variety of cleaning standards for different environments and needs, the best of which are detailed and specific.
APPA’s five levels of clean were originally created for use in educational facilities. The organization offers corresponding staffing guidelines for each level to help with workload management.
ISSA’s standards for in-house and building service contractor teams incorporate both visual audits and ATP surface testing. They have a separate set of standards for K-12 schools.
ISSA’s standards for K-12 schools focus on unique spaces in educational environments, with an emphasis on high-touch surfaces in the classroom.
Hospital and healthcare environmental services (EVS) teams must comply with Joint Commission standards for surface cleaning, infection control, and more.
The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IIRC) was established by professionals focused on upholstery and carpet cleaning. In addition to professional certification for technicians, the IIRC publishes and sells a variety of cleaning standards.
Other professional organizations have their own standards and recommendations for cleaning based on the priorities of their membership.
Cleaning standards include criteria that a space or line item must meet. The standards usually fall into one of these categories:
Standards might also include suggested corrective actions if a certain line item doesn’t meet the criteria.
Digital inspection forms help keep everyone on the same page about the level of cleanliness required. Another benefit? Immediacy. With paper forms, a failing line item might get lost in stacks of paper or take time to be entered into software. With digital forms, the item can immediately trigger an alert or create a ticket to ensure the problem is resolved quickly.
We partner with industry leaders, including APPA and ISSA, to license inspection forms and custom ratings for our platforms. Additionally, you can customize our forms with any standard your team uses.
If you’d like to hear more about how OrangeQC’s digital quality control tools support industry cleaning standards, we’d love to show you the software in action.
The two main cleaning standards used by grade schools are APPA’s levels of cleanliness and the ISSA Clean Standards: K-12. In higher education, APPA is used almost exclusively.
Yes, because offices and schools are used very differently, they require a different type of cleaning. Office spaces are usually used by the same people each day, and they tend to remain in the same workspace. Schools have much more movement throughout the day and higher occupancy.
Healthcare cleaning and EVS are subject to a variety of regulations and standards, including those from government agencies. Joint Commission accreditation is also usually a requirement for facilities to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients.
For larger hotels and other hospitality environments, the corporate office usually sets cleaning standards. The American Hotel & Lodging Association also publishes guidelines. These focus on spaces like lobbies and guest rooms, as well as functions including laundry, back-of-house, and shared cleaning equipment.
CIMS is short for Cleaning Industry Management Standards. This ISSA-run certification is awarded to effective, efficient cleaning teams that pass an auditing process. Certified teams have to meet a long list of criteria across a range of areas, from quality systems to health and safety.
APPA custodial service standards APPA’s custodial service levels provide a common benchmark for measuring cleanliness. Originally created for use in educational facilities, the levels are increasingly being used outside of education because they are detailed
