The Best Commercial Cleaning Supplies for Your Business
Professional cleaning products are a crucial part of maintaining presentable and sanitary premises, whether you're operating a busy commercial kitchen or a small office building. Keeping public facilities and employee-only areas clean helps operators increase customer satisfaction and satisfy local health code requirements. In this comprehensive guide, you can identify the best commercial cleaning products for your business's janitorial and sanitation tasks.
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment is commonplace in hospitals and healthcare facilities, but can also be important to have on hand in commercial businesses and foodservice operations. In addition to providing a physical barrier between potentially harmful substances and employees' faces, these supplies can help prevent bacteria from spreading between staff and customers as well as protect staff from inhaling airborne illnesses. Here are some of the best commercial cleaning supplies for personal safety:
Face masks protect your employee's mouth and nose as they use harsh cleaning chemicals. They also can be used to protect employees and customers from droplet-based transmissions. There are two types of face masks available: disposable and reusable. Disposable masks are meant to be worn once and then thrown away while reusable masks are designed to be washed and worn again.
Face shields protect the user's entire face from splashing hot water or chemicals, something face masks can't provide. These cannot be substituted for face masks in stopping the transmission of droplets from the wearer, though some users choose to wear them in conjunction with a traditional face mask to prevent direct contact with droplets that may transfer with sneezes and coughs.
Floor Cleaning & Maintenance
Every commercial building and industrial operation requires regular floor cleanings, and different floor surfaces often need to be cleaned with specific equipment. Solutions are available for everything from carpet to concrete. Here are the best commercial cleaning products for floors:
- Carpet vacuum cleaners
- Push brooms, mops, and squeegees
- Floor buffer pads and brushes
- Plastic pails and metal buckets
If your office or dining room is carpeted, a vacuum or carpet cleaner is the most logical solution for removing dust and dirt carried in by foot traffic or created by visitors throughout the day. Vacuum cleaners come with or without bags and quickly collect loose debris. Typically, carpet cleaners use water, carpet cleaning chemicals, and a brush to get rid of dirt and dust. Lighter carpet cleanings can be accomplished with a carpet sweeper or rake rather than using a vacuum cleaner.
Operators can also purchase vacuum and carpet cleaner parts to keep their vacuum or carpet cleaner running smoothly.
Sweeping non-carpeted floors for dust and dirt throughout the day maintains appearances and preps for more thorough cleaning. Large push brooms with stiff bristles enable quick sweeping of large areas that can be followed by touchups with smaller brooms. Another tool that is used for non-carpeted floors is a dust mop, which has a soft head for gathering dirt and dry particles. Dust mops are also available in handheld models for cabinets, fans, and ceilings.
Using a broom or dust mop can create a pile of debris for operators to clean up. Dust pans help collect dirt and dust when sweeping hardwood, laminate, and concrete flooring.
Floor scrubbers and buffers help clean and shine large, non-carpeted floors. These scrubbers and buffers use buffer pads and brushes that can sand floors, strip wax, and remove scratches. Several variations are available to suit the needs of different buildings.
Mopping is a standard practice in foodservice and retail businesses with tile, concrete, laminate, and other non-carpeted floors. Mop heads are the part of the mop that is dipped into a mop bucket that's filled with water and soap and then wrung out to clean floors. Typically, mopping is done along with other end-of-day cleaning duties or when spot-cleaning spills and accidents. Mop sinks give staff a place to dump mop water and place cleaning supplies when not in use.
Operators may also opt to use plastic pails and metal buckets to hold cleaning solutions instead of mop buckets with wringers. They are available in different colors to designate usage and avoid cross-contamination of chemicals. Check out our mop bucket and utility pails buyers' guide for more information.
Sometimes mopping during business hours is inevitable, and wet floor signs can keep staff and customers from slipping and suffering injuries. There are also spill pads and kits that can help prevent accidents while absorbing liquid.
There are several types of caution signs and pads for operators to choose from. Consult our caution signs buyers' guide for guidance on which type is best suited to your operational requirements.
Back-of-house cleaning duties usually include spraying the floors with water and chemicals. Hot water nozzles and retractable hose reels allow staff to spray the whole floor. Squeegees help direct water into floor drains to prevent injuries and accelerate drying.
It is important to note that mops, brooms, squeegees, and dust mops may not include a broom or mop handle and may need to be purchased separately.
For more information on floor cleaning supplies, check out our commercial floor maintenance article.
Bathroom Supplies
Keep your facility clean and stocked with the best commercial cleaning supplies for bathrooms. These necessities ensure customers and employees can use the restroom and wash their hands in a clean, sanitary space.
Urinal screens and deodorizers keep urinals free of clogs and odors. Choose from scented plastic screens that should be replaced regularly, screens that hold a deodorizer block, and automatic cleaner and deodorizer dispensers.
Sanitary napkins and tampon dispensers provide feminine hygiene products in public restrooms. To accommodate customers, operators should provide sanitary napkin disposals to prevent mess.
There are several toilet supplies that promote a clean restroom space for staff and customers:
- Toilet paper and toilet paper dispensers
- Toilet seat covers
- Automatic toilet flushers
- Toilet brushes and plungers
Toilet paper is essential for every public restroom and can be paired with the right toilet paper dispenser to ensure this necessity is easy to retrieve and properly organized. Business owners can also consider adding toilet seat covers to provide an extra sanitary item for staff and customers.
Not sure which toilet paper dispenser is right for your business? Check out KaTom's guide to toilet paper dispensers.
Operators can also eliminate one commonly touched surface in restrooms by installing automatic toilet flushers. Typically, these units use infrared sensors to flush toilets and can help reduce the risk of a clogged toilet and limit janitorial labor. However, public toilets should be cleaned regularly even if they have automatic flushers. Toilet brushes and plungers aid staff in cleaning toilets during their shifts and may come with a caddy to keep them off the ground.
Replenish your bathroom soap dispenser with foam or liquid hand soap refills. Keep your restroom stocked to satisfy customers and meet employee handwashing requirements.
After staff and customers wash their hands, paper towels should be available if a hand dryer is not. For more information on which is right for your business, check out our paper towels vs. hand dryers article.
Air fresheners keep restrooms smelling clean. Choose from dispensers that passively release the scent over time or automatic and fan-assisted air fresheners. Several scents are available to keep your bathrooms fresh, such as mango, linen, cucumber melon, and green apple.
General Cleaning & Sanitizing
Whether you're tackling heavy-duty cleaning projects such as cleaning built-up grease on the side of kitchen equipment or creating a comprehensive plan to sanitize your building and reduce the spread of viruses, these are the best commercial cleaning products for general cleaning and sanitizing:
Hand sanitizer is used to supplement hand washing in killing germs and viruses. By placing stations in heavily trafficked areas, operators encourage employees and customers to uphold hygiene practices while on the go. Our hand sanitizer guide can help you determine which kind is best for your business.
Fill a spray bottle with sanitizing chemicals to disinfect tables, counters, and other frequently touched areas. These bottles can also be used to hold and spray cleaners on some restaurant equipment. Mount a spray bottle holder on the wall in your kitchen or janitorial closet for quick access.
Absorbent synthetic microfiber material can be used for floor mops or as towels for cleaning glass, tables, and countertop surfaces. These mops and cloths don't leave behind lint and won't scratch or smudge glass. For more information, our cleaning with microfiber article.
Scrub brushes have nylon or metal bristles and are used for heavy-duty cleaning. Brushes are available for various scrubbing applications and may be specifically designed to scrub oven decks, grout lines, pipes, or toilets.
Stock up on trash bags to keep your work area or dining room sanitary. Choose from white or black bags in various sizes as large as 60 gallons. Buy specially marked biohazard bags if your business deals with those materials.
Sponges and scrubbers are designed for cleaning grease and stuck-on food from pots, pans, and kitchen utensils. However, they can be used for many other purposes, such as scrubbing kitchen equipment and counters.
Dishwashing gloves and general cleaning gloves protect users' hands from hot water and chemicals while washing dishes and cleaning surfaces. These gloves may also be cut-resistant.
Vinyl, poly-cotton, and nylon dishwasher aprons help keep users' clothes dry and chemical free when they bus and clean dishes, mop floors, and perform general cleaning tasks.
Janitorial staff need trash bags and cleaning carts to help them transport cleaning supplies. Our janitor cart buyers' guide can help operators determine what cart they may need.
Pest Control Supplies
Fly traps and insect zappers prevent bugs from bothering customers and staff. These are especially important in foodservice operations as they help keep bugs out of customers' food. Warehouses, offices, and other commercial establishments also benefit from adding pest control equipment. For more information on pest control supplies, check out our restaurant pest control devices article.
Fly traps and insect zappers prevent bugs from bothering customers and staff. These are especially important in foodservice operations as they help keep bugs out of customers' food. Warehouses, offices, and other commercial establishments also benefit from adding pest control equipment. For more information on pest control supplies, check out our restaurant pest control devices article.
