“Commercial cleaning” means different things to different contractors. Knowing what's typically standard versus add-on helps you evaluate whether a quote actually covers what your building needs.
Standard in a Nightly or Weekly Program
Vacuuming and mopping of common areas and corridors, restroom sanitation and restocking, trash removal from common areas, surface wiping of shared touchpoints (door handles, elevator buttons, handrails), and lobby glass and entry-door cleaning.
Usually Scoped Separately
Floor care — strip-and-wax, scrub-and-recoat, carpet extraction — runs on its own schedule and requires different equipment than daily maintenance cleaning. Window cleaning (interior and exterior) is typically quoted separately, as is periodic deep cleaning of breakrooms or shared kitchens.
Day Porter vs. Nightly Scope
A day porter's scope focuses on reactive, business-hours tasks — spill response, restroom checks, lobby tidying between scheduled visits — rather than the full nightly cleaning task list. The two are complementary, not redundant.
What to Confirm Before Signing
Ask specifically whether restroom consumables (paper products, soap, liners) are supplied by the contractor or the building. Confirm whether interior glass and elevator cab cleaning are included in the base scope or billed separately. Ask what happens with special requests — is there a mechanism for reporting an issue between scheduled visits?
Getting a Scope Matched to Your Building
The right combination of nightly cleaning, restroom programs, and day-porter coverage depends on your building's tenant mix and traffic pattern. See our full service programs for what we scope separately and why.