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All the talk in the cleaning press at the moment and over the past few months has been about the move to cleaning offices during normal working hours. Machine manufacturers are coming up with quiet vacuum cleaners, scrubber driers and buffing machines all of which supposedly allow you to carry out the cleaning without disturbing the occupants of the premises.

For cleaning companies this would make life a lot more pleasant and cleans easier and cheaper to manage and the cleaners would be able to work more sociable hours. According to some reports in the cleaning press companies are falling over themselves to switch their cleaning to office hours as opposed to after they have closed down for the day. My own experience would not indicate that this is so. None of our clients have asked to move their cleaning times or even considered it as a feasible option when they have been approached about the possibilities of changing the cleaning times.

Vacuuming with *silent* vacuums is not a problem. Cleaning toilet areas is not a problem. Cleaning kitchen areas is a problem as they tend to be in constant use during the day. Doing anything to hard floors is also a problem. If there are people using those hard floors then while they are being cleaned they have to be diverted away from those areas which is obviously an inconvenience to them and something that is not going to be tolerated for long.. Any food deposited in waste disposal units, bins etc will be left overnight with the potential to smell come the following day. Also there can be no attempt at cleaning work stations whilst someone is at work.

All in all the problems of cleaners trying to do their work whilst the occupants of a building are trying to carry on with their work far outweigh the advantages. Cleaning times will be extended and prices will rise. The theory is good and I would love to be able to get all the cleaning out of the way come five in the evening but the practicalities will not allow it to happen in many work environments.