A commercial cleaning checklist lists every room by name, the tasks done in it and how often. This one covers offices and common areas: desks, kitchens, washrooms, lobbies, elevators, stairs, boardrooms and amenity rooms. Copy it into your scope of work and strike what does not apply.
A single line such as “common areas” is where tasks get missed. Naming rooms fixes that. For what sits outside a nightly route, read what commercial cleaning includes, or see our office cleaning services.
Nightly commercial cleaning checklist
Desks and workstations
- Wipe the open surface of each desk
- Wipe keyboards and mice that are clear of notes
- Vacuum the chair well
- Empty the bin
- Skip any bay where someone is still working and come back to it
Screens that are on stay on, drawers stay shut and paper stays in the pile you left it in.
Kitchens and break rooms
- Wipe the coffee machine area and the grounds around it
- Clean the microwave plate
- Wipe the fridge handle and the sink rim
- Wipe counters after the sink
- Empty the compost bin where the crew is allowed to
- Sweep and mop last
Dishwashers run only if the scope says so. Write down the leftover rule for the fridge, such as “Friday pull” or “leave it”.
Washrooms
- Toilets, seats, bowls and the floor around the base
- Counters, taps and the door latch
- Mirrors and floors
- Restock from the marked supply cupboard
- Report an empty cupboard
Sanitary bin pickup is often a separate vendor. Tell us if your building contract already covers it.
Lobby and entrances
- Glass at entry height
- Reception ledge and chair arms
- Entrance mats, shaken or vacuumed
- Directory boards and fire-panel glass within reach
Mats hold grit, and in winter they hold salt. A mat left alone leaves a dirty outline on the mopped floor the next morning.
Elevators and stairs
- Call plates, cab rail and cab floor
- Vacuum a carpeted cab, or mop a hard floor after the lobby
- Vacuum treads and wipe the rail on the stairs people use
Boardrooms and meeting rooms
- Table and chairs pushed in
- Glass and the credenza
- Bin
- Catering leftovers handled by the rule you set for the fridge
Amenity rooms
Name any gym, yoga room, locker hall or parents’ room on the list, with who cleans equipment and who cleans the floor. In a gym, rubber floors hold sweat in the seams, so they need a damp mop and an approved product rather than a dry one.
Weekly and monthly tasks
| How often | Tasks |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Vacuum edges and under reachable furniture; dust low ledges and vents; wipe doors and glass partitions; spot-clean carpet; deeper kitchen wipe-down |
| Monthly | Interior glass at reach; machine scrub of hard floors; detail the stairs and elevator tracks |
| Quarterly or as needed | Carpet extraction; high-level dusting; strip and wax for hard floors |
How do I turn the checklist into a scope of work?
Put five things next to every room on your list:
- The name people use for it
- Its floor type: carpet, VCT, rubber or tile
- Who might still be in it after lockup
- What is included each night
- Who to ask if something is missing
Then add photos of the worst washroom, the kitchen at 6 p.m., the lobby mat and one boardroom after a catering day. We use those to price accurately at the free site assessment.
Related checklists
Clinic suites follow a different list, covered in clinic cleaning vs office cleaning. For sites that just finished construction, use our post-construction cleaning checklist.
We clean offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Kitchener–Guelph–Hamilton. The checklist format is the same in each.
Frequently asked questions
What should an office cleaning checklist include?
Desks, kitchens, washrooms, the lobby, elevators, stairs and boardrooms, plus any amenity room such as a gym. List each room by name, with the tasks and how often they happen.
Does a commercial cleaning checklist cover the gym?
Only if the gym is named. Say who wipes the equipment and who handles the floor and change rooms.
Who handles the boardroom fridge?
Whoever your booking says. “Friday pull” and “leave it” both work, as long as it is written down.
How do I get a cleaning scope written for my building?
Send the room list and a few photos. We book a free site assessment if we need to see the space, and we send a written quote within 1 business day.
Get your rooms written down
Tell us the rooms, the closing time and which desks stay occupied. We will say whether it is one nightly route or a nightly plus a weekly for the amenity floor. Get a free quote.
