"Commercial cleaning" and "industrial cleaning" are terms that people often use synonymously. While both refer to cleaning services carried out in non-residential properties, these processes are distinctly unique in their settings, equipment, cleaning agents, and frequencies. In this blog, we'll define commercial cleaning and industrial cleaning, explore the differences between them, and discuss the applicable supplies for each process.
What Is Commercial Cleaning?
Commercial cleaning encompasses the cleaning of retail establishments, hotels, office buildings, and other commercial public spaces. This category involves the more routine tasks that typically come to mind when you think of cleaning: dusting, sanitizing surfaces, vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping.
Common cleaning supplies for the commercial sector include the following:
- Vacuum cleaners
- Brooms and dustpans
- Mops and buckets
- Floor buffers and polishers
- Microfiber cloths
- Mild disinfectants and detergents
To accommodate these supplies and maintenance cleaning equipment, commercial buildings simply require a storage space of some kind, such as a janitorial closet.
What Is Industrial Cleaning?
Manufacturing and power plants, research and development facilities, industrial parks, and warehouses are common examples of spaces that require industrial cleaning. Tasks for these cleaning procedures tend to be more specialized as industrial equipment and the buildings that house it often necessitate a deep clean. Examples of industrial cleaning include rust removal, pressure washing, degreasing, and foam cleaning.
To handle an industrial cleaning job, you might use such specialized cleaning equipment as:
- Industrial-grade vacuums
- Carpet-care tools
- Sweepers
- Floor brushes and scrubbers
- Squeegees
- Pressure washers
- Pipe-cleaning tools
- Heavy-duty, potentially harmful solvents and detergents
Industrial operations require dedicated, secure areas within their facilities to store specialized cleaning equipment and supplies, as they often involve hazardous or toxic materials.
Commercial vs. Industrial Cleaning
While the two share similarities under the overarching category of "cleaning," commercial and industrial cleaning processes do have some fundamental differences:
- Cleaning agents. Many of the cleaning agents for commercial cleaning are soap-based substances. Cleaners will utilize non-toxic options like disinfectants, detergents, polishes, and degreasers. Industrial cleaning, however, relies on stronger, potentially hazardous chemicals to remove caked-on grime or stubborn stains. Examples include such heavy-duty cleaning agents as sulfuric or hydrochloric acid, alcohol, ester, and acetone.
- Equipment. The equipment involved in most commercial cleaning jobs is quite standard, whereas industrial cleaning processes often utilize specialized or industrial-grade equipment to get the job done. This might include vacuum hoses, carpet- and pipe-cleaning tools, and more. Also, given the toxic chemicals involved, cleaners on industrial jobs may be required to wear biohazard suits or other personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Safety standards. Few safety concerns are involved in routine commercial cleaning tasks like sweeping and dusting. Industrial operations, on the other hand, may necessitate using hazardous cleaners and so must comply with industry safety standards in their cleaning processes.
- Cleaning frequency. As commercial spaces tend to involve lighter cleaning routines, some facilities may go as long as a few months in between cleanings. However, given the dirt, grease, fats, chemicals, and more that build up in industrial spaces, industrial cleaning is usually carried out more frequently.
Ultimately, industrial cleaning processes require more robust equipment and cleaning agents to achieve a sufficient clean.
Learn More About Commercial & Industrial Vacuum Hose and Attachments From Flexaust
At Flexaust, we specialize in high-performance cleaning products for commercial and industrial applications. In addition to our quality vacuum hoses and accessories, we offer a range of carpet- and pipe-cleaning tools, floor and wall brushes, extension wands, squeegees, replacement parts, and more to suit light- or heavy-duty cleaning jobs.
We manufacture our products utilizing high-quality materials like aluminum, brass, PVC, ABS, PP, nylon, neoprene, and natural and thermoplastic rubber to ensure users can find an option well suited to their application. Our products are compatible with applications ranging from general sanitation and janitorial tasks to wet or dry pick-up applications like industrial carpet cleaning and scrubbers.
Whatever the cleaning needs are, the Flexaust team is here to help. Contact us today for additional details on our commercial and industrial cleaning solutions, or explore our floor care page for information on Flexaust and our offerings.
