Office & Commercial Cleaning Services in Maryland

What is commercial cleaning, and is it the same as janitorial service?

Short answer: Commercial cleaning is cleaning for a business space, planned around business hours. “Janitorial service” is the usual name for the recurring version of the same work.

A workplace has opening hours, staff, visitors and shared areas, so commercial cleaning is organized around the business: who comes in, when the space is empty and how busy it gets. House cleaning, by contrast, is organized around the people who live in the home. Many businesses call the recurring version janitorial service, and TCS offers it as office and commercial cleaning. For your own home, a regular cleaning covers the same rhythm, and a deep cleaning resets a space top to bottom.

Which areas of a workplace need regular cleaning?

Short answer: Public guidance points to four: restrooms, trash and break areas, floors, and high-touch surfaces such as door handles and desks. With TCS, the areas and tasks for your space are set in your quote.

No rule lists the tasks of an office cleaning, but two public sources show where the attention goes:

• Restrooms and washing facilities, which OSHA’s sanitation standard says shall be maintained in a sanitary condition.
• Trash and break areas, where waste and food are handled.
• Floors, kept clean and, as far as practicable, dry.
• High-touch surfaces. CDC’s guidance on cleaning and disinfecting a facility gives pens, counters, shopping carts, door handles, stair rails, elevator buttons, touchpads, restroom fixtures and desks as examples.

CDC adds that surfaces should be cleaned before they are sanitized or disinfected, because impurities like dirt may make it harder for the chemicals to kill germs, and that areas where people have obviously been ill should be disinfected. Which of these areas TCS cleans in your workplace, and how often, is confirmed in your quote before anything is booked. This is general information, not legal or health advice.

How often should a workplace be cleaned?

Short answer: There is no single answer: CDC does not set a timeframe, and OSHA keys it to the nature of the work and how the space is used.

CDC’s facility guidance says to clean high-touch surfaces regularly and other surfaces when visibly soiled, and for high-traffic areas to consider cleaning more frequently or disinfecting in addition to cleaning, without naming a timeframe. OSHA’s housekeeping rule asks for places of employment to be kept clean to the extent the nature of the work allows. In practice, the rhythm depends on how many people use the space, how often customers come in and whether there is a kitchen or restrooms. TCS offers weekly and biweekly visits and can plan a custom schedule, so the rhythm can match the way your space is actually used.

How should you plan cleaning around business hours?

Short answer: Share when your space is open, when it is empty and how busy it gets, so the visits can be planned around your day.

In your quote request, include the type of space, its address and size, the hours you are open and any times when the space is empty. Replies come within a day on business days, along with what fits your space. A specific hour, evening or weekend slot is not promised in advance, because it depends on your space and our calendar.

What should you ask before hiring a commercial cleaning company?

Short answer: Ask about insurance, bonding and background checks, what the quote covers, the schedule, who brings the products and how the cleaners get in.

Cleaners work inside your business, so these questions are reasonable for any company, ours included:

• Are you insured and bonded, and are the cleaners background-checked? TCS is licensed, insured and bonded, and our office cleaners are background-checked.
• What does the quote cover? Ask for the areas, the tasks and the price to be stated in the quote.
• How often will you come, and at what times? The schedule should be as clear as the price.
• Who brings the cleaning products and equipment?
• How will the cleaners get in? Settle who holds keys or alarm codes before the first visit.

Send these questions with your free quote request and we will answer within 24 hours on business days.

Can a cleaning company clean a clinic or a medical office?

Short answer: TCS lists clinics among the spaces it cleans. Tell us your requirements when you request a quote, and we will confirm what we can offer.

Clinics, offices and stores are different spaces with different needs. We do not assume what a clinic requires. When you request your quote, tell us about your space, which areas you need cleaned and any requirements your clinic has, and we will confirm what we can do before anything is booked. If something falls outside what we offer, we will tell you.

What does OSHA say about keeping a workplace clean?

Short answer: OSHA says places of employment must be kept clean to the extent the nature of the work allows, with floors clean and, as far as practicable, dry.

OSHA’s sanitation standard, 29 CFR 1910.141(a)(3), says all places of employment shall be kept clean to the extent that the nature of the work allows, and that floors are maintained, so far as practicable, in a dry condition. The walking-working surfaces rule, 29 CFR 1910.22(a), says workplaces, passageways, storerooms and service rooms are kept in a clean, orderly and sanitary condition, that the floor of each workroom is clean and, to the extent feasible, dry, and that surfaces are free of hazards such as spills. These are obligations of the employer, and a cleaning service supports them but does not replace the employer’s responsibility. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who enforces workplace safety rules in Maryland?

Short answer: Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) has jurisdiction over public and private sector workplaces in the state, with a few exceptions.

The Maryland Division of Labor and Industry runs MOSH, whose mission is to promote and assure workplace safety and health while reducing workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. According to its website, MOSH has jurisdiction over all public and private sector workplaces in Maryland, with specific exceptions such as federal employees. For a Maryland business, that makes MOSH the agency to ask about workplace rules.

What do the rules say about trash, break rooms and pests?

Short answer: OSHA says waste must be removed as often as needed to keep the workplace sanitary, and enclosed workplaces must be maintained to prevent rodents and insects from entering or nesting.

Under OSHA’s sanitation standard, sweepings, wastes, refuse and garbage must be removed in a way that avoids creating a menace to health and as often as necessary or appropriate to keep the place of employment sanitary. The same standard says every enclosed workplace shall be constructed, equipped and maintained, so far as reasonably practicable, to prevent the entrance or harborage of rodents, insects and other vermin, and that washing facilities shall be maintained in a sanitary condition. Where employees may eat or drink on the premises, the standard adds its own food and waste provisions. Trash areas, kitchens and restrooms are the spaces these lines point to. A cleaning service does not provide pest control. If you see signs of pests, contact a licensed professional. This is general information, not legal advice.

Where in Maryland does TCS offer office and commercial cleaning?

Short answer: TCS Cleaning Service brings office and commercial cleaning to 22 communities in Maryland, Frederick among them, and to Washington, DC.

Whether you call it office cleaning, commercial cleaning or a janitorial service, our professional office cleaning services cover Frederick, MD, Urbana, MD, New Market, MD, Clarksburg, MD and Washington, DC. The rest of our Maryland service area lies in Frederick, Washington, Montgomery and Carroll Counties. See the Maryland cities we serve. To check a specific address, use the coverage map or call on a weekday.

Who are the office cleaners, and is TCS licensed and insured?

Short answer: They are background-checked cleaners from TCS Cleaning Service, a licensed, insured and bonded company that Tatiana “Tati” de Souza founded in 2010.

The company began in Frederick, Maryland, in 2010, when Tati founded it, and it has been in business for more than a decade. Cleaners are background-checked before they work in a space like yours, and the 100% satisfaction guarantee is explained in our guarantee. Read more about TCS.