There has been much ado about sick building syndrome, indoor air quality, and air pollution in the media in recent years, and can’t say that we blame them. We spend more of our time working indoors in modern times than we ever have, and the quality of the air we breathe at the office plays a big part in our health. Employee sick time costs businesses a lot in lost productivity and medical costs, so knowing how to prevent workplace illness is essential to running a successful operation. You might not realize it, but getting the right cleaning company could be your ticket to a healthy office.
Cleaning stops cross contamination
Most people who get sick in the office do so because of cross contamination. This means that people with germs touch a surface and then someone else touches it, contracting whatever ailment that they have. A professional cleaning company will thoroughly wipe down and eliminate nearly all harmful germs so that your employees don’t get each other sick. You might want to tell them not to come to work when they aren’t feeling well, too!
Using the right chemicals
A great cleaning company will use chemicals that are not harmful to people’s bodies. You can’t just buy any old cleaner, toss it in a bucket, and slabber it all over the place. Indoor chemicals have been shown to be harmful when breathed in. Consider that we spend nearly 90% of our time indoors these days, and this leads to a lot of respiratory issues for employees. We use only natural, green, and non-harmful chemicals at our company. We take your health seriously.
Cleaning carpets eliminates dust
Having carpet in your business might be necessary for maintaining temperature or appearance, but no doubt that it traps dust and other harmful particles. This clogs people’s airways and lungs, and leads to headaches, lethargy, general sickness or even infections. More and more employees are calling in sick because they have respiratory issues, and even when they do come in, having headaches or lack of energy leads to lost production. A company that performs proper carpet cleaning to clear of all harmful dust will go a long way in improving the performance of your office.
Lowered productivity and sickness contributes to an estimated $60 billion in lost production each business year. That is a staggering figure. The key to preventing workplace illness is getting the right cleaning company to ensure that germs and harmful particles like dust are thoroughly eliminated. Picture Perfect Cleaning is the Calgary area’s most experienced and thorough cleaning service, and we know what it takes to keep your office healthy and productive.
What Is In-House Cleaning Really Costing You?
Adjust the four numbers below to see your true annual in-house cleaning cost, an estimated cost range with Picture Perfect Cleaning, and what you'd save by making the switch.
Your Cost Comparison
Estimates are based on average commercial cleaning rates across Alberta and typical management and coverage costs. Your actual quote depends on square footage, service frequency, facility type, and scope of work. Request a custom quote above for an exact number.
The Hidden Cost of In-House Cleaning
A wage comparison only tells part of the story. Here’s what usually gets left out:
Wages and Benefits
Payroll is usually the first number people look at when they think about cleaning costs, but it rarely tells the whole story. Supplies, equipment, manager oversight, scheduling headaches, and the inevitable sick days all add up over time. By the time you account for everything, the true cost of keeping cleaning in-house can look very different from what’s on the payroll report. That’s exactly what our cost comparison tool is designed to help you see, along with what outsourcing might save.
Supplies and Equipment
Cleaning products, paper goods, vacuums, floor machines, and the replacement parts that keep them running all add up over the course of a year. Businesses that clean in-house often buy retail-grade supplies at retail prices because they don’t have access to the commercial pricing that a cleaning company gets from its suppliers. Equipment also breaks down, and replacing a vacuum or floor buffer every few years is a cost that rarely gets planned for in advance.
Management Time
Somebody has to schedule shifts, check the quality of the work, order more supplies when they run low, and step in when something gets missed. That’s real time pulled from a manager’s actual job, and it rarely gets assigned a dollar value, even though it should. If a facilities manager or office lead spends even a few hours a week on cleaning oversight, that’s time not spent on the parts of their role that actually move the business forward.
Absenteeism and Coverage Gaps
Sick days and missed shifts are part of running any team. When they happen, the work still has to get done, which usually means paying someone else to cover the shift or accepting that some tasks will have to wait. Over the course of a year, those extra costs can become surprisingly significant. There’s another effect that’s harder to measure, too. When cleaning is inconsistent, people notice. Employees notice it, clients notice it, and visitors notice it, even if they couldn’t tell you exactly why the space feels different.
| Cost Category | What It Covers |
| Wages & Benefits | Annual pay for in-house cleaning staff |
| Supplies & Equipment | Products, tools, and machine upkeep |
| Management Time | Hours spent scheduling and supervising |
| Absenteeism | Missed shifts and last-minute coverage |
Why Outsourcing Often Comes Out Ahead
Once you’ve seen your own numbers, the reasons behind the gap start to make sense.
Predictable Pricing
A cleaning company quote covers labor, supplies, and equipment on a single line. You know what you’re paying before the work starts, and that number doesn’t shift because someone called in sick or a vacuum broke down. Budgeting gets easier when the cost of cleaning is a single line item rather than four separate ones scattered across payroll, supplies, and management time.
No Coverage Gaps
When a member of an in-house cleaning team calls in sick, someone on your staff has to figure out what happens next. With a professional cleaning service, that responsibility shifts to the provider. If a cleaner is unavailable, arranging a replacement is part of the service, so your team isn’t left scrambling to fill the gap.
Accountability Built In
Picture Perfect Cleaning holds COR certification and provides regular service reporting, so you can see what’s being done and when, without spending your own hours checking on it. That’s the management time most in-house teams never get back. Our team also uses EcoLogo- and Green Seal-certified products, so you’re not trading cost savings for a lower cleaning standard.
Get Your Custom Quote
Wages are only one line in what in-house cleaning actually costs. Once you add in supplies, the hours a manager spends overseeing the crew, and the gaps left by sick days, the real number is usually higher than what shows up on a payroll report and often higher than what a professional service would charge for the same work. That’s the gap the tool above is built to show you, along with what outsourcing could put back in your budget.
Our cost comparison tool gives you a reasonable estimate of what you could save by switching to a professional cleaning service, not a final number. Every building is different, and factors like your cleaning schedule, the size of your facility, and the services you need will affect the actual cost. If you’d like a more accurate quote based on your space, contact Picture Perfect Cleaning, and we’ll walk you through the options.
