Offices and commercial facilities deal with dirt, dust, spills, and germs every day. With constant foot traffic, even a well-maintained workplace can quickly develop buildup in carpets, restrooms, breakrooms, and high-touch areas.
For some businesses, relying on in-house cleaners may seem like the easiest option. But certain facilities must follow specific cleaning procedures, safety requirements, infection-control practices, and industry standards.
Missing these requirements can affect workplace hygiene and create compliance concerns or financial penalties.
That is why many businesses look at a cleaning company's training and credentials before bringing its team on-site. Commercial Cleaning Certifications can provide useful insight into the knowledge, processes, and standards a provider follows.
But not every certification means the same thing. ISSA and ASHE, for example, offer credentials with different purposes and areas of focus.
If you are wondering which credentials actually matter, then you have come to the right place.
In this blog, we will explore the major certifications, what they cover, and what businesses should consider when choosing a commercial cleaning provider.
Commercial cleaning certifications provide businesses with a way to verify the training, skills, or processes of a cleaning service.
When you hire a cleaning company, you want them to offer optimal cleanliness. The cleaners must understand proper procedures, use equipment safely, and handle the requirements of your facility.
That's why commercial cleaning certifications exist. Such credentials may indicate that a cleaning expert or cleaning company has undergone particular training, proven knowledge, or met the necessary criteria.
However, the exact meaning depends on who issued the credential and what it was designed to assess. A certification can focus on an individual cleaner's skills. An organization-level credential can help evaluate a company's management system and cleaning processes.
Some credentials are also designed for specialized environments, such as healthcare facilities.
Depending on the certification, it may show:
Now that you know the importance of commercial cleaning certification, you may be wondering about its importance. A cleaning team can indeed keep a workplace looking neat, but it's not sufficient for a business.
When cleaners work around employees, customers, equipment, chemicals, or sensitive environments, the way cleaning is planned and carried out matters. Relevant commercial cleaning business certifications can be quite useful.
Checking the cleaning business's compliance also helps you identify providers that follow established safety procedures and commercial cleaning industry standards.
Here's why cleaning industry certifications are so important:
A certification or recognized training program can show that cleaners have learned specific methods, equipment, products, or safety procedures.
It can be especially useful when a facility needs more specialized work than routine dusting, mopping, and waste removal.
Cleaning quality can vary when every employee follows a different approach. Structured Cleaning industry training and documented procedures can help teams maintain consistent methods. It is applicable for different areas and shifts.
For instance, a large office may need the same process followed for restroom cleaning, high-touch surfaces, and floor care. This is even when different cleaners handle each area.
Some cleaning tasks require knowledge that general janitorial work does not cover. Specialized professional cleaning certification or training can help workers develop the skills needed for specific environments and equipment.
Commercial kitchens, for instance, may require training that covers grease buildup, exhaust systems, and hood cleaning. The cleaning is quite detailed compared to general janitorial procedures alone.
Some Cleaning industry certifications assess more than an individual cleaner's knowledge. They may examine how a cleaning organization manages its operations, quality systems, staff, and service delivery.
ISSA's CIMS certification evaluates cleaning organizations against defined management and operational requirements.
A certificate should not be the only reason you choose a cleaning company. Still, knowing which commercial janitorial certifications or other relevant credentials a provider holds can give you another useful point of comparison.
You should also consider the experience, insurance, staffing, procedures, and references. Such information can help you choose a cleaning service provider who ensures optimal safety and hygiene.
Now that certifications are clear, it helps to look at one of the better-known names in the cleaning industry. ISSA, or the International Sanitary Supply Association, provides official professional credentials like the Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS).
For businesses, knowing the distinction between certifications is essential, as it can tell you more than whether a cleaner has completed a training course.
By looking at such details, you will know how a cleaning company manages its people, processes, quality, and day-to-day service delivery.
ISSA CIMS certification stands for the Cleaning Industry Management Standard. It assesses a cleaning organization’s management and operational practices.
The certificate gives businesses insight into how the provider structures and manages its cleaning services.
Here’s what CIMS covers:
For a business, it is important to know what commercial cleaning services offer in NYC and the ISSA credential on their website. You should also have a clear idea about the credential and the way the provider manages its cleaning operations.
A CIMS-certified organization has been assessed against defined requirements. It can give facility managers another useful point of reference when comparing providers.
The certificate can help businesses look for:
While going through the different certifications, you might have come across ASHE. Ideally, ISSA gives us a broader view of cleaning management and operational standards.
ASHE takes us into a more specialized area, like healthcare facilities. In such facilities, cleaning work is closely connected to infection prevention, safety, and the physical environment.
ASHE, the American Society for Health Care Engineering, develops education, certifications, and qualifications for professionals working in healthcare environments.
Its credentials are not all cleaning-specific, so businesses should look at the exact qualification rather than treating every ASHE credential as a general commercial cleaning certification.
ASHE is a professional association within the American Hospital Association that focuses on the physical healthcare environment. Its education and credentials address areas such as facility operations, safety, infection prevention, and healthcare construction and maintenance.
For cleaning teams working in healthcare settings, this specialized knowledge can be particularly important because:
The Health Care Physical Environment Worker Qualification is designed for workers who operate in healthcare physical environments.
It covers knowledge related to areas such as infection prevention, ICRA, life safety, and environmental risks.
ASHE ICRA 2.0 focuses on infection control risk assessment in healthcare construction, renovation, and maintenance environments.
It is particularly relevant when work could affect the surrounding healthcare environment.
For a commercial cleaning provider serving healthcare facilities, understanding these requirements can help teams work more carefully. They have a clear idea about infection control and ways to handle it.
ISSA and ASHE are useful credentials to know, but they are not the only ones worth checking. The right training depends on the type of facility and the cleaning work you have.
Businesses should focus on the certificates and credentials that relate directly to the work being performed.
A Janitorial certification can show that cleaning staff have training in core cleaning methods, equipment, products, and safety procedures.
You should check for relevant training in commercial cleaning methods, floor and carpet care, restroom cleaning, and safe chemical handling
If your facility includes a commercial kitchen, specialized hood-cleaning training is worth checking. This work involves grease removal, exhaust systems, equipment, and fire-safety considerations that general janitorial training may not cover.
A Professional cleaning certification can indicate additional training in specialized cleaning methods, equipment, chemicals, or safety procedures. Always check what the credential covers and whether it matches the work your facility requires.
Businesses should know that a cleaning plan that works well for a small office may not be enough for a large facility. The cleaning risks, surfaces, equipment, and level of sanitation can change significantly by facility type.
That is why businesses should look at facility-specific training and cleaning industry standards when evaluating a provider. The goal is not to collect certifications but to ensure the team has the right knowledge for the work they will actually perform.
The following table highlights the essential cleaning areas commonly handled across different commercial spaces:
A certification can look impressive on a company website. However, the name alone does not tell you what it covers.
Before relying on any Cleaning company certification, you should take a few minutes to check who holds it. Always ensure what was assessed and whether it actually applies to the work your facility needs.
The following things need to be checked:
Find out whether the certification belongs to the cleaning company, a manager, or an individual cleaner.
The word "certified" can refer to very different types of training. Look for the specific program and its scope.
Look for the organization that issued or assessed the credential. For instance, businesses checking an ISSA cleaning certification should verify the specific credential. You should not simply rely on a company's claim.
The most useful credential is one that relates to the cleaning work your facility actually requires. Look for training relevant to your specific environment, such as healthcare, commercial kitchens, offices, or industrial spaces.
A professional provider should be able to explain how its team approaches the work rather than giving you a generic list of services.
Checking the commercial Cleaning Certifications can help businesses assess a cleaning provider's training, expertise, and commitment to industry standards.
However, certifications are only one part of choosing the right company. Experience, cleaning procedures, staff training, and safety practices need to be thoroughly assessed.
At Sterling Cleaning Services, we provide professional commercial cleaning solutions designed around the needs of businesses across NYC. Our trained team handles the day-to-day cleaning demands of commercial facilities while following structured procedures.
We follow a step-by-step facility cleaning checklist for maintaining hygiene standards in essential spaces. Our methods help keep commercial spaces clean, organized, and consistently maintained, while our trained professionals follow the appropriate procedures for the facility and scope of work.
Make your commercial space clean while maintaining the required cleaning standards by connecting with Sterling Cleaning Services today!
1. What are commercial cleaning certifications?
Commercial cleaning certifications show that a cleaning professional or company has completed specific training. The credential can relate to general cleaning, management practices, healthcare environments, safety, or specialized cleaning tasks.
2. Is ISSA certification important for a commercial cleaning company?
Yes, ISSA can be quite useful when the credential relates directly to the company's operations. It gives you useful information about a company's training or management practices.
3. What is ASHE certification for cleaning?
ASHE cleaning certification generally refers to healthcare-focused training or qualifications. It can be relevant when a cleaning provider works in hospitals, healthcare facilities, or environments with specialized infection-control requirements.
4. Does a commercial cleaning company need certification?
No, not every commercial cleaning company needs the same certification. The appropriate credential depends on the facility, cleaning scope, and specialized work involved.
5. What certifications should I look for when hiring a commercial cleaning company?
When hiring a commercial cleaning company, you should look for credentials that match your facility and the work being performed. Depending on your needs, it may include janitorial certification, healthcare-focused training, or specialized kitchen hood cleaning training.
6. Can I get a commercial cleaning certificate online?
Yes, some providers offer a commercial cleaning certificate online. However, an online course does not automatically mean the entire cleaning company is certified. You should check who completed the course, what was taught, and whether the training is relevant to the services you need.
In this blog post, we will delve into commercial cleaning costs, exploring the factors influencing pricing rates. By shedding light on this topic, we want to empower you to make informed decisions about cleaning. Hence, if you're curious about the intricacies of business cleaning and its pricing placement, read on.
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Please reach us at any time to set up an appointment to review your commercial cleaning requirements. Sterling will provide an on-site review of your janitorial needs, then create a custom proposal that fits both your specifications and budget
