Commercial cleaning services carry out their activity in places that are in sight of the public, exposed to the continuous analysis of their clients. Therefore it is necessary that the cleaning of the commercial premises is impeccable. For this, a cleaning company must adapt to what its customers ask for and ensure that everything is in its ideal condition.

Objective:

The main aim of commercial cleaning services in Nashville is to establish effective systems to ensure proper maintenance, cleaning and disinfection, pest control, and waste management.

What are maintenance, cleaning, and disinfection?

  • Utensils and equipment must be kept in an adequate state of preservation to facilitate all cleaning and disinfection procedures. This process is to fulfil the proposed function of safety and prevention of food contamination by physical, chemical agents.
  • Cleaning must remove food residues and dirt that may be a source of contamination: the cleaning methods and the appropriate materials depending on the nature of the food.
  • Disinfection is necessary after cleaning.
  • Certain bacteria, including some pathogens, can adapt to adverse conditions when they form a biological film, they are not effectively removed with standard cleaning procedures with water and neutral soap. They become a thousand (1000) times more resistant to common disinfectants compared to those in the Free State. A routine cleaning routine should be followed for removal.

Cleaning Methods and Procedures:

In commercial cleaning services, cleaning can be done with the individual or combined use of methods (such as heat, scrubbing, turbulent flow, vacuum cleaning, or other methods that avoid the use of water) and chemical methods that use alkaline or acidic detergents.

  •     Brushes and sponges 

Brushes and sponges are used as methods to remove dirt. It can be very effective if appropriately chosen. If more pressure is required to remove difficult soils, the bristles of the brushes can bend, significantly reducing efficiency. In those cases, harder bristle brushes should be used. The same brushes, brooms, or sponges should not be used in the areas of unprocessed products and processing areas of ready-to-eat products.

The sponges became very popular as a manual cleaning material, as they are made of synthetic materials and designed for specific cleaning application. In general, they are specified according to the material or surface hardness that is removed.

Sponges and brushes should be of non-absorbent material intended for nothing more than the tasks for which they were designed. In this way, cleaning services efficiency is optimized, reducing the risks of cross-contamination.

The detergents do not act immediately. One way to simplify this process is to leave the utensils and equipment immersed in suitable containers (tanks or sinks). Many times this procedure significantly reduces the need for manual scrubbing. All cleaning methods, including foams and soaking tanks, require sufficient contact time to release and suspend the dirt completely.

Cleaning and disinfection generally include:

  • Dry clean
  • Pre-rinse (fast)
  • Detergent application (may consist of scrubbing)
  • Rear rinse
  • Disinfectant application

In dry cleaning, a plastic broom or brush is used to sweep food particles and dirt from surfaces. The previous rinse uses water to remove small particles that were not removed in the dry cleaning stage and prepare wet surfaces for the application of the cleaning product. However, careful removal of the particles is not necessary before the use of any cleaning product.

Detergents help to release dirt and bacterial films and keep them in solution or suspension.

During the subsequent rinse, water is used to remove the cleaning product and release dirt from the contact surfaces. That process prepares clean surfaces for disinfection. All cleaning products must be removed for the disinfectant to be effective. Once clean, kitchen surfaces must be disinfected to eliminate, or at least decrease, pathogenic bacteria.

  •     Disinfectant Agents

There are many types of chemical disinfectants available in the market. They may or may not need to rinse before starting the process, depending on the model used and its concentration. Chlorine and chlorine-based products make up the largest group of disinfectant agents used in commercial settings. Chlorine-based disinfectants are effective against many types of bacteria and fungi, act well at room temperature, tolerate calcareous water, and are relatively cheap.

  •     Cleaning and disinfection programs:

Cleaning services and disinfection programs must ensure adequate hygiene of the entire establishment, as well as the equipment used for cleaning and disinfection. Disinfection programs should be monitored continuously and effectively to verify their adequacy and efficiency. They must be documented specifying:

  • Areas, parts of the equipment and utensils that must be cleaned and disinfected
  • Responsible for specific tasks
  • Cleaning method and frequency; and disinfection
  • Organisation of supervision

For any commercial cleaning services, the cleaning efficiency depends on these factors:

  • Contact time: Cleaners and liquids do not act instantly. They need a specific time to penetrate the dirt and release it from the surface.
  • Temperature: Most cleansing agents intensify their effectiveness with increasing temperature.
  • Physical breakage of dirt (scrubbing): The selection of the appropriate cleansing agent and the application methods minimise the need for manual cleaning.

Water chemistry: water is rarely considered pure, due to a large number of existing impurities. Calcareous water, for example, contains calcium and magnesium salts, which react with cleaning substances and decrease their efficiency. Water is especially essential when the disinfectant is chosen.