Office cleaning checklist: daily, weekly and monthly

Office cleaning is easiest to manage with a three-part list: daily bins, the kitchenette, toilets and frequently touched surfaces; weekly thorough floor cleaning, furniture and appliances; and monthly or quarterly windows, light fittings, upholstery and the areas behind furniture. In an office without a source of dust or chemicals, cleaning under Government Regulation No. 361/2007 Coll. is carried out according to the employer's schedule, so put it in writing.

What the regulations say about workplace cleaning

The following points are general information, not legal advice. Your company's specific obligations depend on the type of operation, so please verify them.

• Schedule: under § 55a of Government Regulation No. 361/2007 Coll., a workplace with a technological source of dust, chemical substances or other contamination is cleaned daily. At a workplace without such a source, which typically includes an office, cleaning is carried out according to a schedule drawn up by the employer.
• Responsible persons: under § 3 para. 3(a) of Government Regulation No. 101/2005 Coll., persons must be designated whose duties include, among other things, ensuring the maintenance, cleaning, and repair of the workplace.
• Products and deadlines: under point 5.3 of the annex to the same regulation, the employer provides the products for cleaning and maintaining indoor areas and sets the deadlines for cleaning access routes in an internal rule.
• Windows and light fittings: under § 45a para. 2 of Government Regulation No. 361/2007 Coll., the lighting systems for daylight and electric lighting, and light-reflecting surfaces, must be cleaned regularly so that they meet the lighting requirements.

In practice, this means having a written schedule, determining who is responsible for cleaning, and remembering the windows and light fittings, which are easily forgotten in routine cleaning.

Daily checklist

• empty the bins at desks and in the kitchenette, replace the bags, take out sorted waste
• toilets: WCs, urinals, washbasins, taps, mirrors, floor; refill toilet paper, soap and paper towels
• kitchenette: worktop, sink, tap, fridge door, microwave inside and out, coffee machine as per the manufacturer's instructions, table
• dishwasher: run it and unload the clean dishes
• frequently touched surfaces: door handles, switches, handrails, lift buttons, shared controllers and telephones in meeting rooms
• meeting rooms: tables, chairs, boards, remove mugs and papers
• floors in the entrance, corridors and kitchenette: vacuum or mop depending on use
• entrance and reception: doors, glass surfaces by the entrance, doormat

For touch points, regular cleaning is usually sufficient. When disinfection also makes sense and how the two approaches differ is explained in the article the difference between cleaning and disinfection.

Weekly checklist

• vacuum all carpets, including the space under desks, and mop hard floors throughout the office
• wipe clear desk surfaces (without moving documents unless otherwise agreed), shelves, windowsills
• wipe monitors and keyboards only with a suitable product according to the manufacturer's instructions, or leave them to employees
• clean the fridge: throw out expired food according to the agreed rules, wipe the shelves
• wash the waste bins on the inside
• clean fingerprints from glass partitions and doors
• wipe radiators and skirting boards

Monthly and quarterly checklist

Frequency	Tasks
Monthly	dust on cupboards and high shelves, light fittings, ventilation grilles, thorough cleaning of the inside of the microwave and fridge, dishwasher (filter and seal)
Quarterly	cleaning windows and frames, blinds, cleaning upholstered chairs and seats, cleaning behind furniture and under heavy cabinets
Annually or as needed	machine cleaning of carpets, descaling and more thorough maintenance of appliances according to the instructions, cleaning of archives and storage rooms

You will find procedures for individual tasks in the articles how to clean windows without streaks and how to clean a dishwasher. The frequencies are a suggested starting point; adjust them to the number of people in the office and the level of use, and record them in the schedule.

Kitchenette and fridge: rules for everyone

The kitchenette tends to be the most problematic place in an office, because everyone uses it and nobody feels responsible for it. Cleaning helps when the rules are agreed and posted: who unloads the dishwasher, by when unlabelled food is thrown out of the fridge, and where used mugs belong. The cleaners then do not have to decide what still belongs to whom.

Cleaning outside working hours, keys and access

An office can be cleaned in the morning before employees arrive or in the evening after they leave. Cleaning outside working hours disturbs no one, but it requires clear access rules:

1. Handover of keys and chips should be recorded in a protocol with the date, the number of items and the name of the responsible person.
2. Alarm codes should be separate for cleaning, so that they can be changed without affecting anyone else.
3. Locked areas (management offices, server room, archive) should be explicitly marked in the schedule: are they cleaned or not, and who opens them.
4. Documents on desks are not moved or read; agree a “clean desk” rule if you want the desks to be wiped in full.
5. Reporting defects (dripping tap, faulty light, broken window) should be arranged through a specific contact, for example a shared spreadsheet or e-mail.

Waste and sorting

Sorting works only when it is simple. By every kitchenette and by the copiers, have labelled containers for paper, plastics and mixed waste side by side; glass and biowaste depending on which containers the building has available. The cleaners then take each type separately to the correct container and do not tip sorted waste into the mixed waste.

• change the bags in the bins according to how full they are, not according to the calendar
• paper containing personal data does not belong in an ordinary bin; it is dealt with by shredding according to company rules
• collect batteries, toners and discarded electronics separately and hand them over for collection

How to write a schedule in one afternoon

1. Go through the office room by room and write down what is in it: type of floor, number of desks, windows, appliances, sanitary facilities.
2. Assign tasks to each room from the checklists above and cross out what does not apply to you.
3. Determine the frequency according to use. A kitchenette used daily by thirty people needs more care than a meeting room used twice a week.
4. Add the time and the responsible person, so that it is clear who does the cleaning and who checks it.
5. Set the rules for keys, locked rooms, documents and reporting defects.
6. Evaluate the schedule after a month and adjust the frequency where dirt builds up faster, or conversely more slowly.

Quality control

Checks do not have to be complicated. It is enough to walk through the office once a week with the schedule in hand and focus on the places where shortcomings show first: toilets, the kitchenette, the entrance and meeting rooms. Record your findings specifically, with the place and date, ideally with a photo. Ask employees to report defects and shortcomings to one place, not verbally to whoever they happen to meet in the corridor.

Chemicals and safety

Store cleaning products in their original packaging with the label, locked away outside the kitchenette and out of reach of visitors. When working, read the label, ventilate and use gloves. Never mix products containing chlorine with acids or ammonia, for example an acidic toilet cleaner with bleach; an overview of risky combinations is in the article on dangerous combinations of cleaning products. Mark wet floors in corridors, especially when cleaning takes place during operating hours.

If you want to outsource office cleaning, you will find a description of the service under office cleaning. Prepare a schedule based on the checklists above in advance; suppliers' offers can then be compared on the same scope.