Is Your Condo Property as Clean As It Could Be?

Imagine your friend invites you to visit her new condo property.

You step through the door to the spacious main lobby, and something catches you—its like the air seems lighter, fresher. The faint smell of something clean, maybe lemon or eucalyptus, drifts by, and the soft sheen of polished floors makes you pause. You can’t put your finger on it, but it’s there—a feeling of ease; of order It’s like the space itself is inviting you to let your guard down and stay a while.

The feeling sticks with you as you move through the lobby: clean, uncluttered, almost effortless. It makes you wonder what makes this place feel so put-together, so easy to be in? The answer isn’t complicated—it comes down to a handful of simple, but crucial ingredients that will transform how you feel about your condo property and its shared spaces.

Key 1: Develop a Strategic Cleaning Schedule 

Spaces like lobbies, gyms, elevators, and mailrooms see constant activity, making them highly prone to dirt and wear. Taking some time to plan out a cleaning schedule focuses your cleaning staffs energy, reduces the overall dirt, leading to effective and efficient cleaning of spaces.

Up here in Edmonton, seasonality further amplifies the need for strategic cleaning. Harsh winters bring salt, grit, and grime, while spring and summer introduce dust and allergens. This variability requires flexible cleaning routines tailored to each season, ensuring year-round upkeep. 

Recommended Cleaning Frequencies:  

• Daily: High-traffic spaces such as lobbies and fitness rooms need daily attention to tackle dirt buildup and maintain hygiene.  

• Weekly: Hallways, stairwells, and other moderately trafficked areas can be cleaned weekly to ensure they remain presentable without overextending resources.  

• Monthly: Deep-clean tasks like overhead dusting, or wall scuff removal can be scheduled monthly to preserve aesthetics and prevent wear and tear. 

By following a strategic cleaning schedule, condo managers and cleaning services can strike the perfect balance between cleanliness and efficiency.

Key 2: Target High-Traffic and High-Touch Surfaces 

High-traffic and high-touch surfaces are hotspots for dirt, odor-causing germs, and wear. Areas like door handles, elevator buttons, stair railings, and washroom fixtures require frequent attention to ensure health and safety for residents and visitors. 

Why Frequent Cleaning Matters: 

High-touch surfaces are prime locations for the spread of germs, especially during flu or allergy seasons, and mats, runners, and flooring fade and deteriorate quickly in high traffic areas. Additionally, your condo property is a living, breathing community that can be active at any time, and can be subject to all manner of activity from visitors to movers to the folks replacing their carpet and underlay on the third floor. This means your common areas can get dirty quickly and easily, and more frequent cleaning visits may be the best way to stay on top of things.

Seasonal Considerations for Mats and Runners: 

Entry mats and runners are essential for protecting common areas from dirt and moisture, particularly during Edmonton’s variable seasons. Winter brings traction sand and salt-covered boots, while spring and summer introduce dust and allergens. Heavy foot traffic during these periods significantly increases wear and tear on mats and, worse, the flooring underneath. 

A smart strategy includes regularly cleaning the floors under mats—ideally, at least once a monthly in winter—and consider incorporating a rental and cleaning service to replace and properly clean mats and runners to ensure entryways and high-traffic areas remain clean, fresh, and well-maintained. While daily vacuuming and frequent shampooing helps, wear and tear will still show over time. Services like Canadian Linen, combined with a comprehensive cleaning plan from PPS, are your best tools to maintain the look and feel common areas while extending the life of your flooring. 

Key 3: Promote Strong Communication With (and Among) Service Providers 

There are often multiple stakeholders in a condo property. From the developer, to the owner, board, and property management company to the eventual service provider, it can be easy for maintenance routines and initiatives to get lost in translation. Does anyone remember the game "Telephone" from their childhood? What it means it that effective communication is essential for maintaining condo properties efficiently. By partnering with professional services like PPS, who focus on clear, consistent, timely communication habits, condo boards can streamline cleaning and maintenance processes eliminating mistakes, and improving outcomes.

Tips for Optimized Vendor Communication:  

1. Set Clear Expectations: Be specific, explicit, and consistent in communicating with your vendors.

2. Leverage Proactive Reporting: Partner with services that document and report as a mater of policy in their service.

3. Coordinate Scheduling: Align related activities like cleaning and maintenance routines to optimize efficiency and minimize disturbance for residents.  

4. Encourage Input: Empower residents and service providers to report wear and tear in shared spaces. Quick action prevents small issues from escalating. 

The Value of Reporting Abnormalities: 

Partnering with professional services, like PPS, who consistently record and report maintenance concerns, gives you the inside track for staying on top of potential issues. Strong vendor relationships and proactive communication are key to effective property maintenance and better overall outcomes for your property. 

Key 4: Address Wear-and-Tear Through Preventative Care 

Preventative care is a huge part of maintaining visually appealing and functional common areas. Routine cleaning and maintenance for things like carpets, walls, and lighting fixtures not only preserves their appearance but also prevents minor issues from escalating into costly repairs. 

The Importance of Routine Maintenance:  

• Carpets: Regular vacuuming and periodic deep cleaning prevent dirt buildup and removes odors and allergens. Addressing stains and removing the fine grit that discolor and disintegrates carpet fibers reduces the need for premature replacement.  

• Flooring: Frequent maintenance cleaning, and routine deep cleaning combined with specialized flooring care services for vinyl, wood, stone and other flooring surfaces is fundamental to protecting the look, feel, and longevity of a space.

• Walls: Removing smudges and swipes around doors and buttons, and touching up scuffs and chips in paint keeps spaces looking fresh and inviting, and extends the life of your paint.  

• Lighting Fixtures: Ensuring bulbs are replaced promptly and fixtures are cleaned regularly maintains a safe, welcoming atmosphere. 

Advocating for Regular Inspections: 

Scheduling routine inspections helps in identifying and mitigating property damage early. A monthly walkthrough can reveal signs of wear, -allowing for timely intervention. Proactive care not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of shared spaces but also improves safety and can reduce long-term maintenance costs. 

Key 5: Partner with a Specialized Service Providers 

Maintaining condo common areas goes beyond routine cleaning—it requires a team of reliable specialized services to address various maintenance needs. Partnering with professionals like Paige Property Services (PPS) for cleaning, alongside other experts such as flooring specialists, and trades professionals, ensures every aspect of property care is expertly managed.

Why Build a Network of specialists? Specialized providers bring targeted expertise to enhance and maintain condo spaces. For example:  

Carpet Cleaning Experts: The key here is superior water extraction. Professionals us vacuum trucks and professional grade portable equipment. Plus, they know which techniques and cleaning products work best on a wider variety of carpeting, resulting in better outcomes and a longer life for your carpets. 

Mat and Runner Service: Mats and runners are made to absorb the grime of heavy foot traffic. Mat and runner services use industrial equipment to keep them in pristine condition, protecting your floors and eliminating a major source of pollutants in common areas.

Trades Professionals: Skilled in areas such as plumbing or electrical work, they can address problems with minimal disruption, ensuring timely and effective repairs.  

Working with specialized providers streamlines maintenance, reduces the risk of costly mistakes, and delivers superior results for your property.

Conclusion 

Maintaining pristine condo common areas requires a thoughtful and proactive approach, and we’ve outlined the key strategies to achieve this. From creating strategic cleaning schedules and targeting high-traffic surfaces to fostering strong communication with service providers and prioritizing preventative care, these practices ensure that shared spaces remain clean, welcoming, and well-maintained.  

Partnering with a professional cleaning service like PPS takes these efforts to the next level. With expertise, professional tools, and tailored solutions, PPS helps property owners and managers reduce stress, save time, and keep condo properties looking their best.  

Enhance your condo's common areas with PPS, the specialists in commercial-residential condo cleaning services. Schedule a consultation today and see how our expertise can elevate the value and appeal of your property.