Cleaning Hygiene Today Cleaning Hygiene Magazine
When it comes to professional commercial cleaning, a gym or leisure centre facility can prove somewhat of a challenge. For any business, first impressions are everything – but when you’re talking about the health and fitness industry, customers’ expectations tend to be much higher.
With interest in sport reaching an all-time high following the 2012 London Olympics, more and more people are signing up to leisure and sports centres – particularly those with extensive leisure facilities such as spas, saunas, swimming pools and cafés. Members pay upwards of a thousand pounds annually for premium centres, so they’ll expect the facilities to be expertly maintained and cleaned to the highest possible standards. And they won’t just be concerned about basic surface-level cleaning either. Impeccable health and hygiene will be of the utmost importance.
Leisure centres also pose another problem with regards to cleaning. Most facilities are open long hours, meaning cleaning often takes place out of hours or overnight. Some gyms, including our client Anytime Fitness, are even open 24/7. A flexible approach is therefore required. Cleaners have to be efficient yet thorough – working around members to ensure as little disruption to them as possible, whilst still maintaining the same professional standards at all times.
It’s all in the nitty gritty details
There are a number of different areas to consider when cleaning leisure centres. From the reception, café and refreshment areas to the gym equipment, changing and shower rooms. Floors, windows and air-conditioning units need cleaning, bins need emptying and sanitising, and changing room products such as shampoo and conditioner need restocking.
Changing rooms are a particularly high-traffic area which require special attention. Even otherwise pristine facilities will be let down by clogged drains, dirty showers and mould-covered tiles. Investing in these areas is paramount to guaranteeing customer satisfaction – as is using cleaners who respect members’ privacy and conduct the cleaning seamlessly and undetected.
Equally, swimming pools require strict cleaning regimes due to Health and Safety hygiene criteria. When choosing a cleaning company to take on a leisure centre contract, it is important to select one that has experience of this type of service – and one that removes limescale, calcium and body fats whilst also controlling bacteria and algae growth.
And that’s just the inside. Externally, leisure centres also need a lot of work including exterior jet washing and patio cleaning – as well as cleaning of windows, facades and canopies, exterior signage and pay machines.
It’s a big task. But one that is vital to get right. Which is why it’s best left to the professionals. Setting up a cleaning service contract will ensure the expected facility standards are upheld at all times and result in reduced downtime.
By: Gregg Chandler, Regional Director at CleanKing
