Cleaning Day Care Centers: What To Watch For

As a cleaning business owner, some of my toughest experiences have been with Day Care Centers.  I am certain there are many others who have had great experiences and love working for them. But be aware of the problems you might end up facing once you take them on as a client. Some of the common issues that you must keep in mind while putting together your cleaning service proposal are:

• Some day care centers only want certain services to be performed. Be clear about what services they need and what their expectations are. Some of these tasks will require more time than you may think. For example:
     * Will they require you to clean all the tables and wipe sticky gunk from every surface?
     * Will you have to clean and disinfect toys?
     * Will you be expected to clean carpet spots on every visit?
• Length of time to clean the restrooms.  The soil can be heavy in the boys' restroom because the toddlers are just getting initiated into toilet training, so the toilet seats and floor are bound to be extremely soiled. These will require extra time spent cleaning and disinfecting.
• Do you have to clean the kitchen? If yes, which parts? Also make sure they specify who cleans the kitchen floor. That might have its own gooey mess to deal with like dried, sticky Cheerios for starters.
• Sometimes, they clearly state that teachers or staff will clean certain areas. But when the teachers are busy, which is most of the time; they often don't fulfill their end of the bargain.  You must lay the ground rules if you find the staff not doing their part. Any additional services you provide outside the scope of specifications must be billed back to the day care center and you must make it clear to them on the proposal.

Day Care Centers tend to struggle with lower revenues in a sluggish economy. Unemployed parents prefer to keep the kids home. Thus, many centers are facing declining enrollments. And this is causing a decrease in payouts to their workforce and contractors. They have State inspection standards to adhere to, which leads to high cleaning expectations; yet the budget within which they work is very low. For these reasons, Day Care Centers are usually strapped for funds and hence are looking at the lowest quotes for cleaning with the highest and most intensive cleaning demands.

If you've been thinking about adding Day Care Centers as a niche for your cleaning business, go in with your eyes open as to the issues you'll most likely face. Also be aware that your employees will need specialized training in order to satisfy the cleaning requirements of this challenging niche.

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Steve Hanson helps owners of commercial cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through his online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. For more tips on owning a profitable cleaning business, watch the popular Web TV show CleaningBiz.tv and sign up for the newsletter, Trash Talk.