On this page
Two kinds of industrial cleaning
| Janitorial for industrial sites | Heavy industrial cleaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Work | Offices, restrooms, break rooms, locker rooms, floors, aisles and docks, trash and debris, high dusting | Process equipment, tanks, pits, ducts, hydro-blasting, chemical and hazardous waste work |
| Who does it | Commercial cleaning and janitorial companies, like those on our city lists | Specialist industrial service contractors with their own permits and training |
| Equipment | Ride-on scrubbers and sweepers, HEPA vacuums, lifts for high work | Vacuum trucks, high-pressure water, confined-space gear |
Most plants use both: a janitorial contractor for the building and a specialist for production equipment. Ask any company exactly which side it covers.
What industrial janitorial service usually covers
- Sweeping and machine scrubbing of production floors, aisles and loading docks.
- Restrooms, locker rooms and break rooms, often on every shift.
- Front offices, training rooms and shipping and receiving areas.
- Trash, cardboard and debris removal from walkways.
- Periodic high dusting of beams, racking, ledges and light fixtures.
The OSHA housekeeping rule
OSHA's walking-working surfaces rule (29 CFR 1910.22) requires workplaces, passageways and storerooms to be kept "in a clean, orderly, and sanitary condition," workroom floors to be kept clean and, where feasible, dry, and walking surfaces to be free of hazards such as spills and protruding objects. It does not set a cleaning frequency; your traffic and processes do.
Combustible dust
OSHA warns that "any combustible material can burn rapidly when in a finely divided form," and that such dust suspended in air in the right concentration can become explosible. Its combustible dust page lists materials including food products such as sugar, flour and starch, grain, plastics, wood, paper, rubber, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal and metals such as aluminum and magnesium. If your site handles any of these, tell bidders, and ask how they remove settled dust without blowing it into the air and whether their vacuums are suited to combustible dust.
Scheduling around production
Industrial cleaning has to fit shifts, forklift traffic and dock schedules. Many sites clean production floors between shifts and offices and restrooms on every shift, with high dusting during planned shutdowns. Agree lockout, PPE and site safety rules in writing before the first visit.
Questions to ask
- Which areas will you clean, and which stay with our maintenance team or a specialist contractor?
- Do you bring ride-on scrubbers and lifts, and who maintains them?
- How will you work around shifts and forklift traffic?
- How do you handle oil, fluid or product spills?
- Will your crew complete our site safety orientation and follow our PPE rules?
Find industrial cleaning services by city
Arizona: Phoenix (11) · Scottsdale (11) · Tucson (15)
California: Bakersfield (10) · Fresno (15) · Irvine (13) · Los Angeles (15) · Riverside (15) · Sacramento (15) · San Diego (14) · San Francisco (12) · San Jose (15)
Colorado: Colorado Springs (14) · Denver (8)
District of Columbia: Washington (9)
Florida: Jacksonville (15) · Miami (11) · Orlando (11) · Tampa (11)
Georgia: Atlanta (12)
Hawaii: Honolulu (11)
Idaho: Boise (15)
Illinois: Chicago (12)
Indiana: Indianapolis (15)
Kansas: Wichita (15)
Kentucky: Lexington (15) · Louisville (15)
Louisiana: New Orleans (13)
Maryland: Baltimore (14)
Massachusetts: Boston (8)
Michigan: Detroit (11)
Minnesota: Minneapolis (15)
Missouri: Kansas City (15) · St. Louis (15)
Nebraska: Omaha (15)
Nevada: Las Vegas (13) · Reno (15)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (15)
New York: Buffalo (15) · New York (9)
North Carolina: Charlotte (14) · Greensboro (15) · Raleigh (15)
Ohio: Cincinnati (15) · Cleveland (15) · Columbus (15) · Toledo (15)
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City (15) · Tulsa (15)
Oregon: Portland (14)
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (10) · Pittsburgh (15)
Tennessee: Memphis (14) · Nashville (15)
Texas: Austin (11) · Dallas (13) · El Paso (13) · Fort Worth (13) · Houston (9) · San Antonio (13)
Virginia: Richmond (15) · Virginia Beach (15)
Washington: Seattle (6)
Guides: cleaning costs · hiring and contracts · scope of work checklist · janitorial vs commercial cleaning
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Frequently asked questions
What is industrial cleaning?
Cleaning of plants, warehouses and other industrial sites. It ranges from janitorial work (floors, restrooms, offices, high dusting) to heavy industrial work on process equipment, tanks and pits, which specialist contractors handle.
Does OSHA require industrial cleaning?
OSHA's walking-working surfaces rule, 29 CFR 1910.22, requires workplaces to be kept clean, orderly and sanitary and floors free of hazards such as spills. It does not set a frequency.
Why is dust cleanup a safety issue in plants?
OSHA warns that many materials, including flour, sugar, wood, plastics, paper and some metals, can become explosible when finely divided dust is suspended in air. Dust should be removed without blowing it into the air.
How do I find industrial cleaning services near me?
Pick your city on this page to see the most-reviewed local commercial cleaning companies, ask which handle industrial sites, or send one free quote request below.