How to choose office cleaning products
To choose office cleaning products, match one product to each job: an all-purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, a registered disinfectant for touch points, a restroom cleaner, and the right floor cleaner for each floor. Read every label and safety data sheet, keep the list short, buy fragrance-free where you can, and store everything labeled and out of reach.
Fewer products, used the way the label says, beats a closet full of half-used bottles.
How do you match products to surfaces?
| Job | Product | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Desks, tables, counters | All-purpose cleaner | Safe for the finish; wood and stone need their own |
| Glass and partitions | Glass cleaner | Not for screens |
| Touch points | Registered disinfectant | Contact time on the label |
| Restrooms | Restroom cleaner and disinfectant | Not mixed with anything else |
| Floors | A cleaner for each floor type | Stone needs pH-neutral; wood needs a wood cleaner |
| Carpet spots | Carpet spotter | Tested on a hidden spot |
Our office surfaces guide goes surface by surface.
What should you read on the label?
- What it's for, and what it isn't. Many products list surfaces to avoid.
- How to dilute it. Concentrates mixed too strong leave residue; too weak and they don't work.
- Contact time. For a disinfectant, how long the surface has to stay wet to work.
- Protective gear. Gloves, eye protection, ventilation.
- First aid and storage.
What is a safety data sheet, and why keep one?
Hazardous chemical products sold for workplace use come with a safety data sheet (SDS) from the maker. It lists the hazards, the protective gear, first aid, and how to store and dispose of it. Keep a binder or a shared folder with one for each product that has one, and tell whoever cleans where it is.
What about scents and sensitivities?
In a shared office, some people react to strong scents. Fragrance-free products are a sensible default. Ask your team before switching, and air out restrooms and break rooms rather than covering odors.
How do you cut down the clutter?
- Audit the closet. Pull everything out. Toss expired, unlabeled or duplicate products, following the label for disposal.
- Pick one per job. Three all-purpose sprays is two too many.
- Buy concentrates with a dispensing system, if your volume justifies it, and label every refill bottle.
- Use microfiber. Good cloths cut the amount of product you need.
How should products be stored?
Labeled, in the original container or a properly labeled refill bottle, closed, upright, away from food and the break room, and never mixed. Bleach and ammonia, and bleach and acids, release harmful gases together. A locked supply closet keeps everything where it belongs.
Should you hire it out?
See our office cleaning page, then request a quote for Commercial Cleaning with your square footage, the number of people and the rooms you want covered.
FAQ
What cleaning products does an office need? A short list: an all-purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, a registered disinfectant for touch points, a restroom cleaner, a floor cleaner for each floor type, and microfiber cloths in a few colors.
What is a safety data sheet? A safety data sheet, or SDS, is the document the maker provides for a hazardous chemical product used at work. It lists the hazards, protective gear, first aid and storage. Keep one on file for each product that comes with one.
Should office cleaning products be fragrance-free? In a shared space it's a sensible default, since some people react to scents. Ask your staff, and look for products sold as fragrance-free rather than unscented with a masking scent.
Request a quote
Our service area: every Philadelphia neighborhood, plus the Pennsylvania suburbs within about 30 miles of Center City, in Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks and Chester counties. Request a quote at phillyscleanteam.com/request-a-quote, or call or text (215) 798-7576, 9 AM to 9 PM, every day.
