Maintaining a high level of cleanliness isn’t just about hygiene. In a strata building, professional cleaning throughout common areas helps support the property’s value, identifies repairs early, and ensures residents can feel a sense of pride in the property.
Professional cleaning sits alongside facilities management and is also one area of strata management that helps the committee meet compliance and safety regulations, and demonstrates that they take their role seriously.
Core Components of Strata Cleaning
Professional strata cleaning isn’t just a quick sweep of floorings every now and then. It refers to consistent, well-managed cleaning of all shared areas. This might include:
- Hallways, stairwells and entryways.
- Elevators, lights and handrails.
- Any shared communal kitchen, bathroom or BBQ areas.
- Bin rooms and waste disposal areas.
For some properties, professional cleaning may also extend to parking areas and garages, windows cleaning, children’s play areas and shared spaces such as communal activity rooms.
Some professional cleaning will need to be carried out on a more regular schedule, especially in high footfall areas, such as:
- Sweeping, mopping and vacuuming of hallways, stairwells and entries.
- Disinfecting entry door handles and elevator buttons.
- Deep cleaning bin rooms and waste disposal areas.
Some professional cleaning may need to be carried out less regularly, but should still form part of a consistent annual schedule, such as:
- Deep cleaning of doors and windows in communal areas.
- Checking for and removal of any mold in common areas.
- Cleaning of gutters.
- Pressure washing external areas.
- Decluttering and appropriate disposal of any shared equipment that needs to be replaced.
Importance of Regular Strata Cleaning
Regular professional cleaning has many benefits for your strata community. These include:
- Resident pride and satisfaction: When residents see effort being put into cleaning, they are more likely to act in ways that keep them clean. This can help reduce complaints and disputes and support a strong sense of community.
- Maintains health and hygiene: Hygiene is vital in shared areas, and regular professional cleaning is a way to support this. Regular cleaning can also help identify more serious hygiene issues, such as mold or pests, that require further professional attention.
- Maintains compliance and safety: The strata management committee needs to ensure they are complying with any health and safety regulations. Regular cleaning helps them stay on top of any issues that need to be addressed early, and helps residents trust that they are acting within legislation.
- Maintains property value: A lack of regular cleaning can quickly lead to damaged, dirty and unusable common areas, especially in high traffic buildings. This is not only costly to address but can impair the value and selling potential of units within the building. Regular cleaning demonstrates a high-quality living space that others will want to invest in.
Choosing the Right Strata Cleaning Service
Finding the right professional cleaning company for your strata community is important. You’ll want to work with a company you can trust to get the job done to a high standard. Here are a few things to check when choosing a cleaning company:
- Range of cleaning offered: Start with a list of your strata’s cleaning needs and find professional cleaning companies that offer the right services. It is more cost and administratively effective to find one company that covers all your regular needs than to work with multiple companies.
- Compliance: Ensure the company has all required compliance documentation to deliver high-quality cleaning services. You should also check that they understand the health, safety, and compliance requirements for cleaning in a strata building
- Environmental considerations: If your strata management committee has a commitment to sustainability, it’s important to ensure the cleaning company you choose has a similar commitment. Check for any environmentally friendly practices, such as using eco-friendly products, minimising water waste, and eco-focused recycling.
- Positive reputation: Your AboveOCM strata manager can offer recommendations, but check reviews on consumer sites, Facebook, or Google to see what others have shared about the company before making a final decision. You can also ask to speak with current or former clients to gauge their satisfaction.
Above OCM’s Role in Strata Cleaning
Professional strata cleaning and effective strata management go hand-in-hand for a clean, well-maintained property.
From overseeing common area upkeep and coordinating cleaning schedules to managing budgets, your strata manager ensures that every shared space meets the highest standards.
If you want the peace of mind that comes with professional, proactive strata management, the AboveOCM team is here to help. Contact us today to find out how we can take care of your strata property.
