When was the last time your facility’s ceiling was cleaned? If it’s been a while (or never), look up now. Do you see dirt? Stains? Dinginess? Cobwebs? Your Houston building cleaning schedule should include regular ceiling cleaning! Ceilings come in many different forms in commercial facilities, and all need regular cleaning, but one of the most common types are ceiling tiles, so we’ll focus on them for this article.
Why Include Ceilings in Houston Building Cleaning Services?
Ceilings are some of the most overlooked areas when it comes to cleaning commercial buildings. It’s not hard to imagine why. No one walks on them, few people get very close to them, and they’re hard to reach. However, this out-of-sight-out-of-mind situation could be negatively affecting your facility in a few different ways.
Dirty Ceiling Tiles Make a Bad Impression
You probably contract Houston building cleaning services for many reasons, but we’d wager that making a good impression on clients makes it on that list at least somewhere. We all know that image and perception is everything when it comes to business, and you always need to put your best foot forward.
Well, we hate to break it to you, but even if you don’t notice how dirty your ceiling tiles are, your customers just might.
When your ceiling isn’t cleaned regularly, tiles can start to look dirty and dingy. They can even absorb odors that make your office smell bad. However, since you’re in your building so often, it can be hard to notice these issues, especially since they tend to happen gradually.
Newcomers in your building are probably going to look around, including up at your ceiling likely at least once. This probably isn’t conscious, but if the ceiling is gross, it’s going to make a bad impression. This could cost you business!
Ceiling Tiles can Hold Pollutants, Germs, Mold, and More
Another issue with dirty ceiling tiles is that they hold onto some pretty frightening things. Here are some things that could be hiding in your building’s ceiling tiles:
- Dirt
- Dust
- Pollen & other allergens
- Germs
- Mold
- Mildew
Acoustic ceiling tiles generally have a lot of nooks and crannies that are perfect for harboring things that can spread illness and reduce your building’s indoor air quality. Without regular Houston office cleaning for ceiling tiles, you could be subjecting those within your office to things like respiratory infections, asthma symptoms, allergies, and more. This can reduce productivity and increase absenteeism, costing your company hundreds of thousands in the long-run.
In addition, all the pollutants that get stuck to your ceiling tiles can also end up in your building’s HVAC system. This can not only spread the contaminants around more, but also reduce efficiency for your system. Over time, you might have higher energy costs for running your office HVAC equipment, all because of filthy ceiling tiles.
Dirty Ceiling Tiles Can Reduce Fire Safety and Soundproofing
If you need another reason to clean your ceiling, dirt and grime can also affect your ceiling tiles’ soundproofing abilities. Few people like a constantly noisy office, which is why many use acoustic ceiling tiles. These help absorb sound to reduce noise in your facility. Acoustic ceiling tiles use porous materials so the air pockets can trap sound waves. Unfortunately, without regular cleaning, these air pockets can get clogged up by dirt and grime, making them less effective at absorbing sound.
Ceilings covered in layers of dust and cobwebs can also be a fire hazard. In many cases, your ceiling tiles provide a level of protection against the spread of fire, by creating a barrier. They might even have fire retardant coatings. However, without proper cleaning, they might not be as effective at stopping fires as they could be.
Dust of all kinds is flammable, and can lead to easier ignition or even further damage should a fire break out. This could cost you even more in damages should a fire break out in your facility. Keeping your office clean, including the ceiling tiles, can help you keep your building safer in the event of a fire.
Now, to you it might sound like a pretty low risk that dust on your ceiling could cause a fire, but it’s happened before, many times. In fact, in 2011 the Hoeganaes Corporation facility in Gallatin, Tennessee, experienced fatal flash fires because of dust on the ceiling and overhead.
So, ceiling tile cleaning is important for safety in your facility, as well as aesthetics.
Cleaning Ceiling Tiles Saves You Downtime and Money
Also, scheduling regular cleaning for your ceiling as part of your Houston building cleaning strategy can also help save your company time and money.
Think about what you normally do when your tiles are really looking bad. Maybe they’re all stained or discolored or starting to fall apart. Your first reaction is probably to either paint them so they look better or replace them, right?
Well, this means a lot of time and work that you have to pay for! In many cases, replacing or painting all the ceiling tiles in your office is probably going to take more than a night, which means you might need to close down for these replacements. Also, this costs a lot of money. For perspective, replacing ceiling tiles costs anywhere from $2 to $8 per square foot. That’s often unplanned expenses coming out of your budget.
Instead, ceiling cleaning does a few things to help save you from these issues. First, cleaning can help prevent discoloration and increase longevity for your ceiling tiles. That means you’re dealing with extensive discoloration and staining less frequently, so you’re not painting or replacing as often.
In addition, in many cases the right Houston office cleaning solutions can correct mild stains and discoloration. So, if you have discolored ceiling tiles because of general dirt buildup, our team may be able to restore them to help save you money. The same thing with ceiling stains! However, we recommend you take care of the cause of the ceiling tile stain first. This can help save you from spending more money for frequent cleaning when you have a recurrent staining problem.
How Often to Clean Ceiling Tiles in the Office and Other Buildings
So, how often should you schedule ceiling cleaning in your building? It all depends on the specifics of your facility.
Now, many other Houston commercial cleaning companies might try to convince you you need to clean your ceiling tiles twice a year or every quarter. However, that might not be necessary for your facility.
That’s actually the general recommendation for restaurants, industrial facilities, and other buildings that deal with a lot of contaminants. Naturally, dirt and grime tend to build up faster in those types of environments compared to, say, your office building.
If your building is in the Houston metro area, then you should probably opt for ceiling tile cleaning about once every 18 months, as offices in the area are subject to more dust and pollution. If you’re outside of that area, then we generally recommend every two to three years. Our team can help you determine the right schedule for your building based on your needs, industry, and budget.
How Our Houston Building Cleaning Crew Cleans Ceiling Tiles
Ceiling cleaning from our Houston building cleaning crew is fairly straightforward. Depending on the square footage of ceiling you need cleaned in your building, we can complete it in just a night or a weekend.
We start by protecting all your surfaces and floors from the grime that might drop down from the ceiling. It’s no good to clean the ceiling if it all just ends up on your floors! Then, we vacuum the ceiling to remove any loose dirt, dust, allergens, and other particles. Once we’re done, we use specialized janitorial tools and an enzyme cleaning solution to clean, sanitize, and brighten the ceiling tiles. We’ll work with you to determine how often you need ceiling cleaning in your building and make this a part of your regular schedule, so you won’t even need to go out of your way to request these services!
Create a Custom Houston Building Cleaning Contract for Your Facility Today
At Accredited Building Services, we make keeping your facility clean simple, easy, and cost-effective. We believe in providing high quality services that provide a high value and return on investment for your building. Our team keeps everything clean and sanitary to reduce premature repairs for equipment, flooring, furniture, and more. Keeping your office clean also helps cut down on absences and productivity issues. If you’re ready to get started, call us now at (281) 578-2296 to get a quote and start designing your custom cleaning contract.
