What janitorial services include
A janitorial contract covers the areas, tasks, and frequencies written into its scope, so the scope is the document that decides how your building looks every morning.
A janitorial program has three layers: the nightly visit, periodic projects, and daytime coverage. This guide walks through each one and shows how to read a scope of work before you sign.
For how we deliver the nightly program, see our janitorial services.
Tasks in the base contract
The base contract is the repeating visit. For an office, it usually covers the tasks below. Clinics, warehouses, schools, and stores add their own.
Trash and recycling. Empty bins in every area in scope, replace liners, and follow the recycling streams the building already runs.
Restrooms. Clean fixtures, mirrors, partitions, dispensers, and floors. Restock paper, soap, and liners. Occupants notice restrooms first, and most buildings clean them every visit.
Kitchenettes and break rooms. Counters, sinks, tables, floors, and appliance exteriors. Microwave interiors are often weekly. Refrigerator clean-outs are periodic and follow a food-discard rule you set.
Floors, nightly. Vacuum carpet, with traffic lanes and conference rooms usually every visit. Damp-mop hard floors and handle any spills. Deeper floor work is periodic, below.
Dusting. Reachable horizontal surfaces such as clear desk areas, file cabinets, and sills. Papers, keyboards, and personal items stay where they are. High dusting of ledges is often weekly.
High-touch points. Door handles, switch plates, railings, elevator buttons, and break-room tables. Name them in the scope so supervisors can inspect them. For touchpoint disinfection, see disinfection services.
Interior glass. Spot-clean suite doors and conference glass each visit. A full interior glass pass is often weekly.
Closing the visit. Lights off, doors locked, and alarms set according to the building's procedure. Any room that could not be entered is noted.
Write frequencies as "every visit," "weekly," or "monthly," and state how many visits per week the base includes. Name the days rather than writing "daily."
A sample office frequency plan
| Area | Typical frequency |
|---|---|
| Restrooms | Every visit |
| Entry and lobby | Every visit |
| Break rooms and kitchenettes | Every visit |
| Conference rooms | Every visit |
| Open offices | Every visit or three times a week |
| Private offices | Two or three times a week |
| High dusting | Weekly or monthly |
Your building may look different. Set each area's frequency by how it is used.
Periodic work
Periodic work runs on its own calendar, separate from the nightly route, which keeps it from getting skipped.
- Strip and refinish, scrub and recoat, and burnishing for vinyl tile and other finished floors, with the rooms, coat count, and closure hours listed. See floor care.
- Concrete scrubbing for warehouses, docks, and back-of-house corridors.
- Carpet extraction, typically quarterly or twice a year depending on traffic.
- Interior glass detailing beyond the nightly spot clean.
- High dusting of vents, fixtures, and ledges that need a ladder.
- Baseboards, appliance interiors, and upholstery on a set rotation.
A one-time deep clean is a single reset for a building that has been empty or under-maintained. The base contract takes over after it.
Day porter coverage
A day porter works during business hours on the lobby, restrooms, spills, and restocking. The night crew resets the whole building, and the porter keeps the busiest areas in shape while people are there.
Porter time is scheduled as hours: a half day, a full day, or a split shift around peak traffic. Add a porter when visitors, patients, students, or customers see the building during the day. Our guide to day porter vs night janitor compares the two roles, and day porter services covers how we staff them.
Other services buyers often add
- Light facility maintenance, such as lamp changes, minor fixture fixes, and routine checks. See facility maintenance.
- Event cleanups before and after meetings or open houses.
- Move-in and move-out cleans for suites changing tenants.
- Exterior windows or pressure washing. Ask during your assessment.
How to read a scope before you sign
You will manage the contract from this document for the next year. Check:
- Areas. Suite numbers, floors, and rooms in and out of scope. Mark vacant suites.
- Tasks and frequencies. Every task you care about, with how often it happens.
- Days and times. When the crew starts, when they finish, and how holidays are handled.
- Periodic work. Floor care and other projects, with dates or a set frequency.
- Supplies. Who buys paper, soap, liners, chemicals, and equipment.
- Access. Keys, badges, alarms, and the procedure for occupied rooms.
- Quality. Your account manager, how inspections work, and how a missed task gets reported.
- Price. A total with each line visible, and what would change it.
If a task you care about is missing, ask for it before you sign. Adding it on day one is easier than arguing about it in month four.
Build your scope with us
We start with a free facility assessment. We walk your building, note traffic patterns, restrooms, floor types, and access rules, and send a written scope with your price. To see how the task list drives cost, read how much commercial cleaning costs.
Call (202) 968-1190 or email info@national-cleaning.com.
Questions facility managers ask
What is in a base janitorial contract?
The repeating visit. For a typical office that means trash and recycling, restroom cleaning and restocking, kitchenettes, vacuuming, damp-mopping hard floors, dusting reachable surfaces, and wiping named high-touch points, on the days and at the frequency your scope sets.
What is usually priced as an add-on?
Periodic floor care such as stripping, refinishing, and carpet extraction, day porter hours, one-time deep cleans, event cleanups, and an expanded disinfection program. Listing each as its own line keeps the base price easy to read and adjust.
How often should each area be cleaned?
Set frequency by use. Restrooms, entries, and break rooms usually need every visit. Conference rooms and open offices often do too. Private offices and low-use floors can often be cleaned two or three times a week.
Is a day porter part of janitorial service?
A porter is a separate line. The night crew resets the building when it is empty. A porter works during business hours on lobbies, restrooms, spills, and restocking. Many buildings use both, and each is priced on its own.
Who supplies paper, soap, and liners?
Either you or the contractor, and the proposal should say which. Settle this before you compare bids, because a price that includes consumables will look higher.