In short: Shopping mall and retail store cleaning is split between a night crew that scrubs the floors, details the restrooms and empties the trash after the stores have closed, and day porters who maintain entrances, food courts, restrooms and any unexpected spills while customers shop. Entrances are of utmost importance because much of the dirt enters on the bottom of shoes. RCO Cleaning services Metro Detroit shopping malls during the night, day or both shifts: (248) 849-0000.
Why is shopping mall cleaning different?
Offices mostly get cleaned while they're empty. A mall or a busy store gets judged while it's full of people. Cups are spilled at 2 p.m., bathrooms experience maximum traffic on Saturday, and the front door takes the weather from every visitor who enters. A plan that only works after hours leaves the facility on its own during its most critical periods.
There's also a safety aspect to consider. OSHA's walking-working surfaces standard mandates that employers maintain floors in a clean and, as far as feasible, dry condition free of hazards such as spills, snow and ice. In a store full of shoppers, that applies to the day shift at least as much as the overnight crew.
Day porters and night crews: two shifts, one plan
| Day porters, during open hours | Night crew, after closing | |
|---|---|---|
| Entrances | Mats dry and straightened. Door glass wiped down. Tracked-in water wiped up. | Mats vacuumed and cleaned, entry floors scrubbed, glass detailed |
| Restrooms | Checked and restocked on a set round, spot cleaned | Full clean and disinfection, floors scrubbed |
| Food court | Tables wiped down after patrons leave. Trays cleared, spills cleaned up, garbage cans emptied before they overflow. | Tables and chairs cleaned, floors scrubbed, trash out |
| Common floors | Spills cleaned up and signed, litter picked up | Auto scrubbing, and burnishing on a schedule |
| High-touch surfaces | Handrails, elevator buttons and door handles wiped on rounds | Cleaned, and disinfected where the plan calls for it |
| Glass and metal | Fingerprints off doors, directories and railings | Storefront glass and railings detailed |
CDC's list of high-touch surfaces for businesses reads like a tour guide through the local mall: shopping carts, counters, door knobs, stair railings, elevator buttons, touch pads and bathroom surfaces. Clean those regularly, the CDC says. Clean other surfaces when they become visibly dirty. If you're using a disinfectant, follow EPA's six steps: use an EPA-registered product, read the label, pre-clean the surface if it's visibly dirty, and leave the surface wet for the entire contact time.
Why do mall entrances need the most attention?
Carpet and Rug Institute suggests a combination of mats: scraper mats right outside the building, wiper and scraper mats in the entryway, and additional wiper mats inside to clean off the remaining debris from the bottoms of shoes. When it comes to sizing, CRI says between 12 and 15 feet is ideal for an office building entrance, but up to 20 or 25 feet for entrances in grocery stores or hospitals. Generally, more length is better. The entrance of a heavily trafficked mall would be on the upper end of that spectrum.
Keep an eye on the wear patterns. CRI points out that if you see heavy wear in one area, your mats may not be large enough. You may also need varying mats for different climate conditions. In Metro Detroit, that translates to a winter setup designed to handle slush and road salt from November through March.
Food courts, restrooms and spills
Food court rounds
Tables are cleared after diners depart, trays taken away and bins emptied before lunchtime crowds fill them up.
Trash that keeps up
Containers sized for the crowd, placed accordingly. Liners exchanged before they're full, not after.
Restroom rounds
Regular schedule throughout the day: check, refill, spot clean, and log for the next person to know.
Spills
Marked with a sign once they are located, cleaned up, and floor dried.
Disinfection where it matters
Toilet facilities and high-touch surfaces, with an EPA-registered product used according to the label.
Timed to traffic
More passes at lunch, on weekends and over holidays. Less frequent on a slow Tuesday morning.
Spills are how a day porter justifies their salary. A spilled smoothie on a hard floor becomes a slip hazard. OSHA's standard lists spills as some of the hazards that walking surfaces should be free of. Every porter should handle each one the same way.
Mark it
We put down a wet floor sign before anyone gets a mop.
Pick up the solids
Cups, ice and food come up before any liquid is cleaned.
Clean it
Grabbing the correct product for the spill and floor, we wipe from the edges inward so it doesn't spread wider.
Dry it
Dry the floor completely. Damp spots on stone are slick spots.
Lift the sign last
Only after the floor is dry, and also, log the spill on the round sheet.
Holiday season cleaning in Michigan shopping centers
November and December bring the highest traffic to a shopping center during the absolute worst time of year for floors. Right when holiday shoppers flood the mall, the slush and road salt hit town. So your cleaning plan during those months should be strategically altered: increase porter hours on weekends and evenings, add additional restroom and food court patrols, lay down a winter set of entrance mats and have extras on hand to rotate in, and staff a night crew to scrub the salt film off entrances nightly instead of weekly.
Plan carpet cleaning, etc., around the season as well. Carpet extraction, floor refinishing and high dusting are done before the holidays or after them. Never during the busy season. The spring scrub and recoat gets scheduled before the first snowfall.
Cleaning outside a shopping center
Customers know if a shopping center has been cared for before they enter the front door. Sidewalks, building entrances, dumpster pads and parking garages all require regular pressure washing, plus attention to gum and stains. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has guidance on power washing for contractors and for the people hiring them: wastewater can contain oil, grease, detergents, solvents and metals, most storm drains connect directly to a river or lake, and letting wash water pool and evaporate in a parking lot is one of the common violations it gives. Find out where the water goes from your pressure washing company.
Storefront glass and upper windows respond nicely to cleaning with a water-fed pole and purified water. Purified water evaporates leaving no mineral spots like tap water does. Also this can be done before the place opens.
A retail store cleaning checklist
Shopping mall cleaning questions
Can cleaning happen while the store is open?
Yes. In a busy hub it does need to. Day porters clean up spills, washrooms, food courts and entrances when the facility is open; the heavier machinery is used after closing time.
How often should mall restrooms be checked?
On a set round daily, more often at lunchtime and on weekends. Full clean and disinfection nightly. Traffic patterns dictate the exact round.
Who cleans the stores inside a mall?
Typically, each tenant arranges cleaning for their own space, and the center staff cleans the common areas. A commercial cleaner can clean either or both.
Who do I call for day porters at a Metro Detroit shopping center?
Request commercial cleaning services that cover both your open hours and night shift with one plan. Cleaning retail stores and shopping centers throughout Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties, whether overnight, during the day or both, RCO Cleaning begins with a free walkthrough. Call (248) 849-0000.
How RCO Cleaning cleans Metro Detroit shopping centers
RCO services retail stores and shopping centers throughout Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties. Night shifts. Day shifts. Both. We begin with a complimentary walkthrough of your floors, entrances and restrooms. Then we tailor a cleaning program to work within your business hours and traffic patterns. Our managers inspect the work. Extra busy on the holiday weekend? RCO doesn't sleep.
Sources
- OSHA: 29 CFR 1910.22, Walking-working surfaces, general requirements
- CDC: When and how to clean and disinfect a facility
- EPA: 6 steps for safe and effective disinfectant use (PDF)
- Carpet and Rug Institute: How to choose the right entryway mat
- Michigan EGLE: Mobile power washing, environmental compliance guidance (PDF)
Next guide
Hotel cleaning standards matter because guests size up a hotel before they ever get to their room. RCO Cleaning walks you through the common areas, hour by hour: lobby, hallways, elevators, restrooms and more.
