Cleaning Costs & Frequencies Report

Read What Contracting Profits Editor Corinne Zudonyi Has To Say About Developing and Usage For This eBook

Not since the Great Recession has the jan/san industry analyzed the cost of cleaning the myriad facility types across the United States.

In an effort to answer the demand to benchmark the average price per square foot, Contracting Profits, Facility Cleaning Decisions and Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) joined together, surveying more than 600 facility executives of a dozen-plus building types.

This research outlines and analyzes current cleaning price-per-square-foot averages in commercial offices, K-12 schools, colleges/universities, hospitals, outpatient clinics, religious buildings, government facilities and much more.

Cleaning professionals can use this data to compare themselves to peers. Building service contractors can gauge whether they are pricing themselves out of the market or leaving money on the table. In-house facility cleaning managers can determine if their cleaning costs are too high and need to be more efficient, or argue they can't cut budgets any lower.

Cost per square foot is also broken out by geographical region as cost of living varies across the country, which affects pricing levels.

Covering costs is just the beginning of this report. Facility executives were also asked to provide janitorial staffing levels for their buildings. This data is broken down into three distinct positions: night-time janitors, day porters or day-time cleaners, and project workers such as window washing or floor stripping crews. Data is shared based on facility size to help BSCs and in-house departments determine appropriate staffing levels.

During the Great Recession, cleaning budgets were cut drastically. Daily tasks were spread out during the week. Project work usually performed quarterly was done once a year, if at all. In the years since, cleaning frequencies have slowly begun returning to their pre-recession levels. This report breaks down the frequencies of 16 cleaning tasks in six types of facilities.

Based on this data, most facilities have returned to a normal cleaning schedule. Important tasks such as cleaning and disinfecting, vacuuming and mopping are being done daily, if not more than once a day. Interim carpet cleaning and hard floor buffing are done routinely and project work is back, and even performed more than once a year.

BSCs and in-house managers can use these tables to justify their current frequencies or ask for assistance if areas aren't being addressed often enough.

Corinne Zudonyi
Editor-in-Chief
Sanitary Maintenance, Facility Cleaning Decisions and Contracting Profits