The commercial deep cleaning checklist

A deep clean is not a bigger version of the nightly clean. It is a different job entirely: slower, more methodical, and aimed squarely at the surfaces that routine cleaning never reaches. Done properly, it resets a building.

What follows is the checklist we work to on commercial premises, organised by area, with the frequencies we would suggest for a typical office. Use it to brief your own team, or to hold your contractor to account. Either way, nothing on it is decorative.

What counts as a deep clean

Routine cleaning maintains a standard; deep cleaning restores one. The distinction matters because the two jobs need different planning. A deep clean happens out of hours, takes longer, uses stronger chemistry and moves furniture rather than cleaning around it.

Before anyone lifts a cloth, four things should be settled. Schedule the work outside business hours and tell staff in advance. Cover or secure sensitive equipment and documents. Confirm the ventilation is adequate for the products being used — and that nobody will be mixing them, for the reasons our chemical safety guide sets out. Finally, walk the building and note the problem areas, so the plan reflects your premises rather than a generic template.

Rule of thumb: if a surface sits above shoulder height or below knee height, routine cleaning is probably missing it. Cabinet tops, skirting boards, vent grilles, chair castors — a deep clean exists for exactly these surfaces.

The deep cleaning checklist, area by area

Work top to bottom, and back to front, in every room. Dust falls, and nobody should walk across a floor that has just been finished.

Reception and entrances

Task	The detail that matters
Entrance mats	Lift and clean both sides; replace once the pile is flat — mats are the building's first filter
Glass doors and partitions	Both faces, including frames and the push plates people actually touch
Reception desk	Clear and disinfect the full surface, including underneath and the cable runs
Light fittings and vents	Dust and wash the covers; replace failed lamps while you are up there
Seating	Vacuum beneath cushions; wipe arms, legs and backs, not just the visible faces
Floors	Machine-clean edge to edge, including corners and behind planters

Workstations and meeting rooms

Task	The detail that matters
High-level dust	Ceiling corners, fixture tops, cabinet tops and vent grilles
Windows, sills and blinds	Wash sills and frames; dust or wash blinds slat by slat
Furniture	Move it and clean behind and beneath — never around
Desks and storage	Full surfaces including edges and legs; drawers and cabinets inside and out
IT equipment	Keyboards, mice, phones and monitors, sanitised with products suited to electronics
Meeting rooms	Tables, chairs, whiteboards, remote controls and conference phones

Kitchens and break areas

Task	The detail that matters
Refrigerator	Empty it, remove the shelves, and clean inside and out including the door seals
Coffee machines and kettles	Descale as well as clean
Microwaves	Degrease inside and out, including the door vents
Dishwasher	Clean the filter, then run a hot maintenance cycle
Sinks and drains	Scrub, descale, and treat the drains
Worktops and cupboards	Degrease the splashbacks; cupboards inside and out
Floors	Mop with degreaser, including behind and beneath the appliances

Washrooms

Task	The detail that matters
Toilets and urinals	Full disinfection including cisterns, hinges and bases
Sinks and taps	Descale and polish
Tiles and grout	Scrub the grout lines; note any that need resealing
Partitions and doors	Both faces, plus tops, locks and hinges
Dispensers	Clean, refill and check they actually work
Floors and drains	Machine-scrub with disinfectant; check and treat the drains
Extraction	Dust the vents and extractor fans so they can do their job

Move the furniture and clean the building — not the other way round.

Floors, high-touch points and the areas everyone forgets

Floor care is the most visible part of the job. Hard floors should be stripped and re-finished where a polish system is in place, tiles machine-scrubbed and grout cleaned, then the lot buffed — with skirting boards wiped as part of the work rather than an afterthought. Carpets want a thorough vacuum to the edges, spot treatment of stains, then hot-water extraction, followed by honest drying time with decent airflow before the space is used again.

High-touch points deserve a dedicated pass: door handles, push plates, light switches, lift buttons, stair handrails and shared equipment. They are quick to do and disproportionately important, because hands carry whatever lives on them around the entire building.

Then the forgotten spaces. Storage rooms and cleaning cupboards gather dust and, occasionally, pests; clear them, clean the shelving and check for evidence of either. Air vents and grilles should be dusted and filters replaced on schedule. A clean office with dirty air handling is only half clean.

How often is often enough

Frequency should follow footfall and use, not the calendar alone. These are working baselines:

Setting	Suggested deep-clean frequency
Low-traffic professional office	Every six months, as a minimum
Typical commercial office	Quarterly
Gyms, food service and clinical settings	Monthly
Any premises	Spring and autumn cleans align well with what the seasons bring in

Where a building sits between categories, err towards the more frequent schedule for kitchens and washrooms and the less frequent one for general office space. Frequencies can differ by area within a single building, and they usually should.

Doing it in-house, or not

This checklist works perfectly well for an internal team, with two honest caveats. The floor work — stripping, refinishing, hot-water extraction — needs commercial equipment that few businesses own, and the whole job takes longer than most people budget for. A contractor brings the machinery, the products and the habit of doing this every week rather than once a year. Our services page sets out how we structure that work.

However you resource it, the checklist itself is the point: written down, worked through, signed off. And if you would rather hand the clipboard to someone who does this for a living, Luxe Loom Cleaning will build a deep-clean plan around your premises — get in touch and we will walk the building with you.