What Are the Six Steps of the Cleaning Process?

Photo blue cleaning supplies, including rubber gloves, spray bottle, sponge, dustpan and brush, scrubbing brush, and cloths. — Image: Wix

You may not have thought about it when cleaning up your kitchen, bathroom, or other areas, but any cleaning process can be broken down into six steps or stages. Each one is necessary for you to create a truly clean and hygienic space. We take a look at what these steps are.

Professional cleaners or not, everyone should be incorporating these stages into their cleaning.

From prepping a surface for the removal of icky liquids, dirt, or food, to soaping and rinsing, by following each step you'll remove bacteria and have a sparkling clean environment at the end.

The Six Steps of Cleaning

1. The Pre-Clean

First, you want to take off any dirt, debris, and matter that isn't stuck or dried to the dirty surface. You can do this by using a broom to sweep, rinsing with water, or using a disposable towel such as a paper kitchen towel to wipe the debris away.

What this is doing is prepping the surface for further, deeper cleaning, so get rid of as much debris as you can here.

2. The Main Clean

Next up is loosening any grease, detritus, or dirt that is still stuck to the surface with the help of hot water, a cleaning agent like liquid dish soap or all-purpose cleaner, and a bit of scrubbing or wiping.

If the cleaning agent requires you to leave it on the surface for a few minutes for it to take effect and loosen up the debris, wait a while and then wipe it off with a mop or cloth. Otherwise, wipe the dirt and disinfectant off immediately.

3. Rinsing

After the main clean, it's time to remove all soap suds, detergent residue, and loosened detritus and grime by rinsing with clean, hot water, then wiping or mopping the surface with a mop, squeegee, or cloth.

4. Disinfecting

Disinfecting a surface is essential to kill any bacteria and viruses that may be present. You can apply heat or a chemical disinfectant to do this, being sure to refer to the products' instructions to use them correctly.

5. The Last Rinse

Following this, rinse away harmful chemicals lying on the surface that you used to destroy the bacteria. However, not all bacteria-killing disinfectants require you to rinse them off, and you can simply leave them on.

Once again, clean, hot water is your friend, as well as cloths, mops, and other wipes.

6. The Drying Part

Lastly, we come to the sixth step of the cleaning process: drying your freshly-cleaned surface. Ideally, you should leave it to air-dry, but if this is not possible, grab some single-use drying cloths (single-use drying cloths are especially necessary for commercial spaces and workplaces.)

Using drying cloths just once is far more hygienic for drying surfaces than cloths you use again, especially if you just airdry these cloths. Damp cloths allow germs to linger and can become a breeding ground for bacteria, presenting a health risk.

---

What about you? Does your cleaning process involve all six of these stages?

It can be overwhelming to maintain a clean, sanitary space, be it your home, commercial space, office, or factory without proper know-how or equipment.

Getting the help of pro cleaning teams is a great solution for keeping spaces hygienic and shiny-clean. Call in the professionals at Vogue Hygiene Services for an expert clean using professional equipment and eco-friendly products.

We offer a wide range of services, from deep cleaning and upholstery cleaning to residential, office, and post-fire cleaning, as well as many more.