Commercial Cleaning Inspection Checklist for Facility Managers

This is the inspection we run on our own accounts, adapted for a facility manager who has twenty minutes and no cleaning background. It is organized by area, because that is how complaints arrive, and it scores results so you can see trends instead of arguing about a single night.

Two ground rules. First, inspect at the same time each week — ideally first thing in the morning, before the building fills up. Second, write down what you see, even when it is fine. A record of "acceptable" is what lets you prove decline later.

How to score

Give each area a 1–4: 4 meets the scope, 3 minor miss you would not call about, 2 a miss you would call about, 1 not serviced. Average the building. Anything under 3.0 twice in a row is a conversation; a slow slide from 3.8 to 3.2 over a quarter is the more common pattern and the easier one to miss without numbers.

Restrooms (highest priority)

• Fixtures, mirrors, and partitions clean with no streaks or residue
• Floors dry and clean, including corners and behind fixtures
• Dispensers stocked: paper, soap, seat covers, sanitizer
• Trash emptied, liners replaced, no odor
• Touchpoints wiped: door handles, flush levers, faucets, stall latches

Restrooms drive the majority of tenant complaints. If you only have five minutes, spend them here — and score each restroom separately, not "restrooms" as a group.

Entrance and lobby

• Glass doors and sidelights free of fingerprints at eye and hand height
• Walk-off mats vacuumed and lying flat; no salt or grit trails in winter
• Reception surfaces and seating dusted and spot-cleaned
• Elevator cabs: floors, walls, and button panels; tracks clear

Offices and workstations

• Trash and recycling emptied at every station
• Desk surfaces dusted where clear (check a few unoccupied desks — hybrid schedules leave dust)
• Carpet vacuumed edge to edge, not just the traffic lane
• Conference tables and chairs wiped; whiteboard trays clean
• High-touch points: light switches, door hardware, shared printers

Breakrooms and kitchens

• Counters, sinks, and faucet handles clean with no residue
• Appliance exteriors and handles wiped; microwave interior clean
• Floors mopped, including under the edge of the counter
• Trash emptied and liners replaced; recycling separated per your program

Floors, building-wide

• Hard floors free of scuffs and buildup along edges and under furniture
• Carpet spots addressed; no standing stains from prior weeks
• Periodic work (buffing, carpet extraction) happening on the scheduled interval

Things to look up and down for

Most inspections happen at eye level. Cleaning crews know this. Check the top of partition walls, the tops of door frames, air-return vents, and baseboards. Dust on these is the most reliable indicator of a crew that is rushing.

What to do with the results

• Share the score with the vendor monthly, with the specific misses. Vendors who take this seriously will start sending their own inspection results in return.
• Compare against their documentation. If your vendor issues service reports with area-level photos, put your Monday score next to their Friday-night photos. Disagreements become specific and short.
• Escalate on trend, not on one night. A single 2 is a conversation with the account manager. Three consecutive weeks under 3.0 is a formal corrective-action request with a date.

Why we publish our own inspection

A supervisor runs a version of this on every one of our recurring visits before the report is issued — that is the "reviewed before you see it" step on our Proof of Service page. Publishing it costs us nothing and gives you a standard to hold any vendor to, including us.