If you manage a condo association or an apartment building, the common areas are the part of the property every resident and every prospective tenant walks through. They are also the part nobody owns, which is why they get neglected. Here is what common area cleaning for condo and apartment buildings covers, how often it should happen, how it is priced, and what to ask a cleaning company before you hire one.
What Counts as a Common Area
Everything inside the building that is shared: the lobby and entry vestibule, hallways on every floor, stairwells, elevators, laundry rooms, mail areas, trash rooms, shared restrooms, community or fitness rooms, and the entryways and walkways outside the doors. In a smaller building that might be one entry and two staircases. In a larger one it is thousands of square feet of hallway carpet and a lot of glass.
What a Common Area Cleaning Visit Includes
Our standard building visit covers:
- Lobby and entry glass, doors and door frames cleaned inside and out
- Hallway and stairwell floors vacuumed or mopped, edges and corners included
- Handrails, door handles, elevator buttons, switches and mailboxes wiped and disinfected
- Trash and recycling areas emptied and wiped down
- Laundry room surfaces, machine tops and floors cleaned
- Shared restrooms cleaned and sanitized, with supplies you provide restocked
- Cobwebs, light fixtures and vents dusted
- Entryways swept and salt or sand tracked in cleared
We bring our own supplies and equipment, so the building does not need a closet of products.
How Often Should Common Areas Be Cleaned?
- Weekly: buildings with 12 or more units, elevators, or a lot of foot traffic. Entry glass and high touch surfaces get dirty in days.
- Biweekly: most mid size condo buildings with carpeted hallways and a single entry.
- Monthly: small buildings of three to six units where residents handle day to day tidying.
Winter is the exception. Sand and salt from November to March wear carpet and scratch floors, so it is worth going up one frequency for those months.
The Specialty Jobs Most Cleaners Skip
Routine cleaning keeps a building presentable. Two things make it look new again:
- Hallway carpet extraction. Commercial carpet and carpet tile hold years of tracked in dirt. Hot water extraction once or twice a year pulls it out and brings the color back. We do this in house, so it goes on the same plan as the weekly visits.
- Power washing. Entrances, walkways, patios, dumpster pads and the first few feet of siding. Usually spring and fall.
How Common Area Cleaning Is Priced
We quote by the building: the square footage of the common areas, the type of flooring, how many floors and entries, and how often you want us. Send the square footage and a few photos and we send a quote. There is no cookie cutter rate because a three story walk up with tile stairs and a six story building with carpeted halls and an elevator are different jobs. Unit turnovers between tenants and the carpet and power washing jobs above can be added to the same plan.
What to Ask Before You Hire
- Are you insured? Associations and property managers should see liability and workers comp. We carry both.
- Who shows up? With us it is our own team, and you have one local contact in Beverly.
- Can you do the carpets and the power washing too, or do we need three vendors?
- Can you work around residents, deliveries and quiet hours?
Get a Common Area Cleaning Quote
Send the square footage and a few photos of your lobby, hallways and stairwells and we send a quote with a weekly, biweekly or monthly plan. Carpet extraction and power washing can go on the same plan.
Common Area Cleaning FAQs
What does common area cleaning include?
Lobby and entry glass, hallway and stairwell floors, handrails and high touch surfaces disinfected, trash areas, laundry rooms, shared restrooms, light fixtures and vents, and entryways. We bring our own supplies and equipment.
How often should an apartment building be cleaned?
Weekly for larger or busier buildings, biweekly for most mid size condo buildings, and monthly for small buildings. Adding a visit during the winter sand and salt months is worth it.
How much does common area cleaning cost?
It is quoted by the building: common area square footage, flooring type, number of floors and entries, and frequency. Send the square footage and a few photos to 978-473-2772 for a quote.
Do you clean hallway carpets?
Yes. Commercial carpet and carpet tile extraction is one of our in house services, and it can be scheduled once or twice a year alongside the regular visits.
Are you insured for condo associations?
Yes. Every Kind Cleaning carries general liability and workers comp insurance.
Where we work: Every Kind Cleaning is based in Beverly and cleans homes and businesses in Salem, Danvers, Peabody, Marblehead, Swampscott, Hamilton, Wenham, Ipswich, Wakefield, Newburyport and across the North Shore. Read our customer reviews or book online.