Now that the spring weather is here to stay, it’s time for a deep clean in your facility. While you likely have a consistent, rigorous cleaning schedule throughout the year, seasonal changes offer the opportunity to audit your practices, make adjustments, and refine your cleaning and maintenance protocols.

Whether winter damage has occurred or you are just looking for a facility refresh, there are several steps you can take to raise the bar on the cleaning and maintenance at your facility this season:

• Assess all areas of your facility. It may help to bring a drawing of the property so you can mark off and re-visit areas that need attention.
• Check for damage that may have occurred over the winter. This could include missing outdoor (or indoor lighting), interior mould, staining from salt, heaving in your parking lot, or any part of your property that needs spring repair.
• Give some attention to any exterior maintenance issues: check for cracks in the walkways, damaged brick, loose roofing flashings, trim overgown foliage, and weatherstripping that needs attention.
• Assess your inventory and re-stock where needed. Look in supply closets, replenish cleaning supplies, discard expired products, and reorganize your supply space where needed.
• Look at your equipment like vacuum cleaners, refresh cleaning carts, lawnmowers, and anything else you will need for the season. Examine equipment storage, too, to make sure for anything you will need to add this season and dispose of any old, broken, unusable equipment.
• Test out sprinklers and irrigation systems to ensure they’re ready for summer and turn on air conditioning to confirm it’s in good working order.
• Create a plan for the year that includes budgeting and scheduling for landscaping, major repairs, and upcoming spring projects.
• Deep clean areas that don’t always get attention like ceiling fans and light fixtures, vending machines, windows (inside and out) and windowsills, blinds, and spray walkways to get rid of any remaining dirt and salt from the winter.
• Clean out or replace garbage receptacles, reorganize recycling storage, and adopt any new organizational systems for waste management.

Spring cleaning doesn’t just mean clearing out the cobwebs, for facility managers, it means assessing your building and property, identifying areas that need attention, and taking a proactive approach to your spring cleaning and maintenance.