Natural disaster cleanup: your step by step guide

One of the most important steps is to have a plan in place for how you will deal with natural disaster cleanup. If you own a commercial building, you will want to get back to working order as quickly as possible. In order for that to happen, you need to know who you will call to deal with structural or cosmetic damage, and you need to be sure you have a cleaning company who can work in tandem with construction crews.

Working with construction crews

Not all cleaning companies are well versed in natural disaster cleanup. One of the biggest hurdles is being able to work with construction crews. There are a lot of safety concerns when working in an area under construction, and the commercial cleaners have to be trained to navigate and work in them safely. Just in general, a commercial cleaning crew must be able to adhere to the following safety precautions when cleaning after a natural disaster:

• Wearing hard hats, goggles, N95 masks, heavy work gloves, waterproof boots with a steel toe and insert, and rubber gloves (if applicable)
• The ability to move heavy and bulky objects
• Working with and around construction equipment, such as ladders and heavy machinery.
  • Knowing how these machines work, and where it is safe to move around them is key in any natural disaster commercial cleanup team
• The ability to administer first aid in case of any injury

Your construction team will want to know that your natural disaster cleaning team has the ability to work under their safety requirements. Experience in construction cleanup will also help to ensure that your construction crew and your commercial cleaning crew can work, not only well together, but safely together too.

what a commercial cleaner should do in natural disaster cleanup

You might wonder why you need a commercial cleaner after a natural disaster. You might think a contractor is what is really needed to fix damages, and then your building will look just fine. Typically, that is not always the case.

A commercial cleaning company will come in and clean things that were damaged, but not to the point of needing repair or replacement. Carpet may have gotten wet but can be dried out and cleaned instead of replaced. This will save you costs, but also may be mandated by an insurance adjuster.

There may be dirt on the walls from debris that has blown in from the outside, other kinds of flooring may need to be deep cleaned to restore to its previous condition, and the construction crew that fixed what was broken probably left a mess that will need to be cleaned up.

why you should have a plan

When a natural disaster strikes, you likely are dealing with the issue both for your business and for yourself if you work close to your office. Therefore, making these decisions in real time is extremely stressful, and can be really confusing. Not only will you have to call a contractor to figure out damages and deal with the insurance company, but you will also have to decide between many different cleaning companies as to which will be the best and has the most experience.

Having a plan before disaster strikes allows you to take your time to decide which company and contractors will do the best job for your commercial building. Wouldn’t it be nice if one of the companies in your disaster plan is a company you know well because you work with them on a daily basis?

hiring a cleaning company who can do it all

CSG has 40 branches across the United States, so no matter where you are, we have cleaning crews who are trained to take care of natural disaster cleanup situations. When you hire us to be your commercial cleaning company, you not only get our janitorial services, but you’ll be hiring the last cleaning company you ever need.

Our cleaning teams can take care of practically any cleaning need you could ever need. We have commercial carpet and floor cleaning services, window cleaning services, outside services, construction cleanup, and of course our teams who specialize in natural disaster cleanup.

Your commercial building and your bottom line will have the benefit of always working with the same commercial cleaning professionals who know your building and your budget inside and out. Contact our customer service team today to schedule your walkthrough and cleaning, and never be caught unprepared in the event of a natural disaster.