Basic Principles of cleaning in Hotel

Housekeeping Department
Regardless of the type of hotel or size of the hotel, the housekeeping
department should follow certain basic principles in cleaning or basic
cleaning rules to follow in any kind of cleaning activity, whatever the
nature of the surface, material, or the soil.
The room attendants or room maids must follow these cleaning
principles or cleaning rules in order to consistently produce spotless
cleaning of the guest rooms and public area without damaging the
surface or the area in which they are cleaning.
Below is the list of Housekeeping Basic Principles of
Cleaning:
1. All soils should be removed without harming the surface being cleaned
or the surrounding surfaces.
2. The surface should be restored to its original state after the cleaning
processes.
3. The cleaning process should be efficient, using a minimum of
equipment, cleaning agents, labor & time.
4. The simplest cleaning method should be tried first, along with using the
mildest cleaning agent.
5. Always use the cleaning methods least harmful to the surface should be
used.
6. The cleaning should proceed from high area to low wherever possible.
7. Always start with the cleaner surfaces & then go on to clean the more
heavily soiled ones, so as to prevent the spread of soil from dirty to
cleaner surfaces.
8. While wet cleaning an area or polishing the floor, the cleaner should
walk backward while cleaning in front of him.
9. Use of the suction/vacuum cleaning should be preferred over sweeping
wherever possible.
10. Sweeping should be done before dusting, and dusting before
suction cleaning.
11. The noise levels while cleaning should be kept as low as possible.
12. Try to remove stains as soon as they occur using the correct
methods.
13. The cleaner should take all safety precautions while cleaning.
14. The cleaning agents & equipment should be stacked neatly to one
side after each use.
15. The cleaner should start cleaning from the farthest end of an area,
working towards the exit.
16. After the cleaning process is over, all equipment should be washed
or wiped as applicable, dried, & stored properly.
17. Cleaning agents should be replenished & stored properly.
18. All waste needs to be discarded & the working area should be
always left neat & tidy.

Hygiene and Safety Factors in cleaning

Hygiene Factors
 Grooming & Personal Hygiene to be maintained
 Equipment hygiene to be maintained – all types of equipment to be
washed, rinsed & dried after use
 Workplace hygiene – pantry to be kept clean at all times
 Colour coded dusters to be used
 WC duster to be kept separately in the chamber maid’s trolley
 Cleaning solution to be changed frequently while cleaning
 Use of wringer
 Brooms should not be used especially in hospitals
 Cleaning agents to be prepared freshly. Never top up a disinfectant
solution. Bacteria will survive a disinfectant, may multiply in solution
which has deteriorated. If a solution is stored and used later, it may
spread germs rather than kill them
 Use of sanibins in public area toilets
 Garbage not be touched a bare hand
 Telephones need to disinfected
Safety Factors
 Use of protective gears
 Ladder to be checked off its stability & durability before using
 Caution board to be used in public areas
 Appropriate types of equipment to be used while cleaning
 While lifting heavy items, weight should not fall on the backbone ( bend
from the knees and not back )
 Avoid lifting the heavyweight; help should be taken wherever possible
 Cleaning agents to be stored in the labeled bottles; instructions should
be written on the bottles
 Proper training to given to cleaners in terms of use of equipment &
cleaning agents
 First aid kit to be maintained and kept available
 Fire exit should never be blocked by keeping equipment/ furniture in
front of it
 At the time of the fire, elevators should not be used
 Ensure that the cigarette butts are fully extinguished before they are
trashed
 Dispose off rags after using any solvent as they can increase the risk of
fire

TYPES OF CLEANING METHODS IN

HOUSEKEEPING
The Executive Housekeeper or Director of Housekeeping is accountable for managing and
ensuring that all the housekeeping staff follows the standard operating procedures of
cleaning and to properly use the methods of cleaning procedure. All the housekeeping staff
must use the proper tools (mechanized or non-mechanized) that are been utilized to carry
out the tasks assigned.
The hotel has to do regular cleaning and finishing of the marble floors and carpets to keep
their appearance, permanence, and durability. Executive housekeepers have to determine
how and when carpets and floors need to be clean, it is an essential task and this task is
further involved by the availability of different cleaning procedures, equipment, and
chemicals.

The housekeeping cleaning procedure can be done manually or mechanically. They may
include distinct methods like washing i.e. make use of water as a cleaning and rinsing
agent, abrasion, applying stable or static electricity i.e. using of the static mop, suction i.e.
use of vacuum cleaner, or by force by using pressurized water. The numerous types of
cleaning procedures are summarized in this segment.

MANUAL CLEANING METHODS

1. Sweeping

Sweeping is performed to collect the dust from the floor when the surface is too uneven for
a dust mop.

 Push brooms are those which are utilized for big areas and corn brooms are those
which are best for corners & tight spaces.
 A broom that has long handle is most suitable ergonomically.
 The sweeping process starts from the back corner of the room or area and ends at
the door or exit.
 Sweeping is considered to be inefficient, not so much advanced or hygienic as so
much of it becomes airborne.
 Use small, smooth strokes and sweep right into a long-handled dustpan without
squandering the dust.
 Always keep the head of the broom flat on the floor.
 While using a long-handled broom, always use smooth strokes to sweep away from
yourself.
 Nowadays sweeping has been replaced by the use of the suction machines.
 It is very essential in sweeping to develop a proper rhythm and ‘bounce’ which push
broom to keep away from rolling the bristles under.
 Have to use the broom to sweep dirt into a small stack.
 Use a dustpan to pick up the dirt before sweeping further.
 Then clear the dirt from the dustpan into the trash bag on your cart.

What is the equipment required for sweeping?

Broom, a dustpan, a trash bag, and a public area cart.

2. Dusting

.This task needs a well-organized, methodical, and well-ordered approach for efficiency &
ease.
  Room attendants have to begin dusting from the entrance door of the room (top to
bottom) and then need to go ahead clockwise or anticlockwise around the room.
 This will minimize the possibility of missing a spot.
 Always have to fold the duster three times and then thrice again, with this technique
you can easily get 18 clean folds and consequently making the duster more
effective.
 You should make sure that not a single corner of the duster should be left hanging.
 Always use microfiber duster with color-coded.
 Do not use old rags, it leaves beyond their dust and lint.
 Generally, dusting starts from the highest surfaces so that dust does not fall on the
object which is already cleaned.
 If you are applying a dusting solution or chemical, spray a small amount of solution
onto the duster.
 Keep in mind never spray dusting solution directly onto the surface being cleaned as
it can stain or cause stickiness.
 Ensure that the duster not be unfolded in the room after finishing dusting, neither
outside the window.
 Have to carry the duster carefully aside to such a place where it can be washed &
dried.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for dusting?

Feather duster, Microfiber cloths, Cloth duster, and Dusting solution or chemical if required.

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3. Damp Dusting

 This is the most preferred process for cleaning in hotels where all the areas and
surfaces can be wiped as well as dusting, it removes dirty marks as well as
stickiness at the same time.
 Always use microfiber cloth at the accurate level of dampness that should be used to
avoid leaving any stain.
 A chemical can be applied by spraying a small quantity into the dust cloth.
 Nee to avoid damp dusting on all the electrical and electronic equipment.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for damp dusting?

Cloth duster, microfiber cloth, water, plastic bowl, and chemical/solution if required.

4. Dust Mopping/ Dry Mopping/ Mop Sweeping

 This is the preferred process of removing and eliminating dust, sand, or grit from the
floor.
 If the dust and other substances are not removed from the floor daily, they will
continually scratch the surface finish, deprecate its gloss, and in the end it will
penetrate down to the floor itself.
  Dust- mopping is performed with a dust control-mop that may or may not be infused
with a cleaning solution.
 When we use such a solution it will stop the dust from rising.
 During dust- mopping have to apply a figure of eight strokes and need to place the
mop head on the floor every time.
 Do not pull the mop straight backward.
 On completing each figure of eight, swivel the mop around and on the return,
proceed & extend over to cover partly the areas that have been wiped by about 8
inches.
 During sweeping in open places, need to clean in long straight lanes and have to
cover all area by moving up & down.
 Always use a dustpan to sweep up gathered thrash.
 Need to carry the head of the mop upwards extremely carefully after you are finished
and then quiver into a bag to clean.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for dry mopping the floor?

Dustpan, Dust control mop, Dustbin, and Dust- collecting bag.

5. Spot Mopping

 Spot mopping is vital to the conservation of the floor surfaces.

 Fluids & solids that are spilled on the floor, if left for a long period, may penetrate the
finish & stain the floor.
 Even acids from fruit juices may inflict destruction on a floor if it is not instantly
cleaned up.
 Always use cold and clean water so that the finish on a floor is not softened.
 Need to place caution signs before beginning the mopping.
 Try to avoid the use of detergents unless necessary i.e. if the substance on the floor
has been dry.
 Use a damp cloth to mop the floor.
 Let the floor air dry.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for spot mopping the floor?

Mop- wringer trolley or Mop & Bucket, Cold water and Dilute solution of neutral detergent if
required.

6. Wet Mopping/ Damp Mopping

 Need to do damp mopping to remove spills and cling soil that was not able to
remove during the dry removal process.
 Wet-mopping removes light to heavy soil within the floor surface, which could or else
will become embedded in the surface or sum up in the seal or finish.
 Before wet mopping on the floor first needs to do dust mopping.
 Apply neutral or mild alkaline chemicals in water for wet-mopping.
 The chemical which applied must be of the variety that doesn’t require rinsing or else
need to spray diluted one from the spray bottle and have to do damp mop.
  Have to mix the proper cleaner with water in the mop bucket and use it on the floor.
 While using mop water, submerge the mop in the bucket and squeeze it out until it
gets damp.
 Start mopping near baseboards in smooth strokes.
 Then continue mopping the entire area with the figure eight strokes.
 Always change the water from the bucket when it becomes dirty.
 A hard brush is used for stubborn & obstinate spots and uses the squeegee to
increase the pace in drying the floor.
 Then need to clear the water from the mop bucket, rinse it with clean water and keep
it to dry.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for damp mopping?

Floor cleaner, Squeegee, Wet mop & Bucket or Mop- Wringer trolley and
Chemical/Solution.

7. Manual Scrubbing

 We require little hand scrubbing for modern surfaces.

 Need to scrub gently in uniformly away from yourself, always working backward.
 Rinse nicely in sequence to detach any chemical from the surface.
 Have to use a squeegee to clear away surplus rinse water.
 Then need to mop the floor.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for manual scrubbing?

Bucket, Water, Mop, Long-handled scrubbing brush, Mild chemical/Solution, and Squeegee.

8. Manual Polishing

 Sparingly have to apply the polish.

 Need to make use of cotton rags to apply polish and a cloth for buffing.
 Need to use a soft brush for carved objects to get the polish into the fissure.
 Always use the proper polish for a specific surface i.e. for gold metals items need to
use Brasso,

What are the equipment & chemicals required for manual polishing?

Clean cloth, rags, Brasso, and proprietary polish for each type of floor or surface.

9. Spot Cleaning

 This is done for removing the stains from different kinds of hard & soft surfaces.
 For removing a restricted stain, the whole area does not require to be treated with
stain-removal reagents.
 Need to be treated only in those areas where the stain discolors the surface and is
performed in the process of spot cleaning.
 We mostly do spot cleaning on walls, fabric, carpets, or flooring.
What are the equipment & chemicals required for spot cleaning?

Solvents, Cleaning agents, Cleaning Cloths and brushes

MECHANIZED CLEANING METHODS

1. Suction Cleaning

 This is the primary & preparatory step of all mechanized methods and has to perform
on daily a basis.
 At the end of these processes very frequently it is repeated.
 The aim is to remove as much dry soil as achievable so that it won’t spread out,
damage the surfaces or scratch the finish.
 It helps to remove dirt from the corners of the room and also the carpet edges.
 Need to plug in the vacuum cleaner to an appropriate power socket.
 Always begin vacuum from one position of the room to the other.
 Always use a vacuum cleaner with high filtration machines, which is the most
complete method of removing dry soil as it picks up, packages, and removes the soil
without spreading it around.
 Nowadays a wet vacuum cleaner is available, which sucks the water from floors as
well.
 Normally we used wet and dry vacuum cleaner for this process which can be used
for both wet & dry work.
 Need to use extraction machines for carpet cleaning that works on the principle of
suction.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for suction cleaning?

A stick broom, Caution signs, Wet/dry vacuum cleaner with attachments, and a mild
detergent for wet cleaning if required.

2. Spray Buffing

 This method uses a 175- or 300-rpm (revolutions per minute) floor machine and with
a soft pad or brush.
 The mechanist sprays a light mist of a commercialized cleaning preparation or
chemical and a finishing solution in front of the machine.
 As when we take the machine above the area, soil, scrape, light scratches, marks
are detached and the shine is restored to the original surface.
 The next step is to do the vacuuming or dust mopping to remove loosened dirt.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for spray buffing?

Spray bottle, 175 –or 300-rpm buffing machine with beige pad, Chemical, and Finishing
solution.

3. Polishing
  This method uses a 175- 1500-rpm floor machine and requires a soft pad or brush to
remove some soil and need to brush to remove some soil and lay the shine back in
the finish.
 The next step is to do the vacuuming or dust mopping to remove loosened dirt.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for spot cleaning?

Soft pad or Brush and 175-1500-rpm floor machine

4. Burnishing

 This method uses an ultra-high-speed floor machine (1500-2500 rpm) to reinstate a

deep shine to the floor finish.
 Since the finish is ’tempered’ by the friction and heat is been produced by the
burnishing machine, therefore the floor looks finer for a lengthy period.
 Followed by vacuuming or dust-mopping and damp-mopping which are preparatory
steps, and it is also used as follow-up procedures to detach the loosened dirt.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for burnishing?

1500-2500 rpm floor machine.

5. Scrubbing

 This method removes the embedded dirt, marks, deeper scrape, and also scratches
from the floor along with some of the finish.
 Have to use the pad or brush, the chemical/solution, always use proper water
temperature, the weight and the speed of the machine all decide whether the
procedure is consists of light or heavy scrubbing.
 For occurrence, aggressive pads, higher acid chemical/ solutions, and have to use
fast, heavy machines that perform the deepest scrubbing.
 Heavy scrubbing removes completely or most of the finish, down to the protective
sealing coat.
 Light scrubbing removes only one or two coats of finish.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for scrubbing?

Floor- maintenance machines along with a green pad.

6. Stripping

 This is a very vigorous method that needs to removes all the floor finish and sealer,
leaving an uncovered floor prepared for refinishing.
 Need to use a powerful stripping agent, a bristly pad or brush, require hot water and
concentrated work make stripping an expensive as well a time consuming and
occasionally an even hazardous process, that must be used only when no other
procedure will attain the desired outcome.
  Industrious use of additional maintenance process detains the requirement for
stripping.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for stripping?

A floor-maintenance machine along with a black pad.

7. Laundering

 This is the cleaning procedure used for washing fabrics.

 It is a method where soil and stains are removed from textiles in a containing water
medium.
 It includes the set of instructions for washing, bleaching, drying as well as pressing, it
carries out utilizing specialized laundry equipment and cleaning agents.
 There are also other sub-processes i.e. starching, spot cleaning, and softening which
also be included.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for laundering?

Drying Machines, Drying Machines, Flatwork Irons, Steam Cabinets and

Tunnels, Folding Machine, Washing Chemicals, and Detergents.

8. Dry Cleaning

 This is the process where soil & stains are removed from textiles in a without
containing water medium.
 Dry cleaning is a process of cleaning cloths and textiles where we use a chemical
solvent other than water.
 It is used to clean fabrics that demean in water, and fine fabrics that cannot resist the
rough, uneven, and clumsily of a washing machine and clothes dryer.

What are the equipment & chemicals required for dry cleaning?

Dry Cleaning Machine and Chemical Solvents

Hotel Public area cleaning

Public areas are the common places and facilitates accessible to in house guest and non-
resident guest. Guest requires common areas to meet, sit and carry other activities. The
place comes under the are lobby, restaurants, bars, banquets, and other Food and
Beverage Outlets. Public area cleaning is the most important and challenging task for hotel /
hospitality housekeeping. Since most of the public areas are highly traffic area,
housekeeping maintains a deep cleaning schedule for those areas at night and regular
cleaning and maintenance during the day time.
Public area cleaning
a) Entrance– Guest get their 1st impression of hotel from the entrance lobby. Entrances
which arecnot cleaned and maintained daily, it will become unpleasant for the guest due to
heavy traffic and exposure. The maintenance and cleaning of the entrance and the door is
important . So proper and daily cleaning is required in this areas. Normally cleaning is done
at night.
b) Lobbies- These are the common meeting points of the guest near the reception. Many
lobbies are carpeted while others are hard flooring. Floors in the lobbies are need to be
cleaned frequently., since these are spaces where guest interact., relax etc. Lobbies may
have high ceilings elaborate chandelier which are difficult to clean so it is cleaned at night.
The daily cleaning tasks involves
 Public area cleaning of waste paper bins and ashtrays at
 Flower arrangement should be done daily as a part of Public area cleaning.
 Glass surface and windows to be cleaned daily.
 Doors and door knobs to be dusters and cleaned daily.
 Any stain on the carpets and upholstery should be cleaned immediately.
 Hard floor should be mopped regularly.
3. Front office- Housekeeping department is responsible for this Public area cleaning and
maintaining of front office because front office is the face of the hotel. So daily cleaning of
the department is required. Mopping of the floor, dusting of the furniture and fixture and
vacuuming of carpets are essentials.
4. Elevators- Elevators must be cleaned at the time of day when it is least used. The
necessary boards indicating the cleaning is carried out must be displayed promptly.
Elevators doors are made of steel. In steel door shows lots of grease marks from finger
easily. Elevators should be cleaned daily and more through cleaning may be done on
periodic basic.
5. Stair case- Stair case should be cleaned when there is less traffic. While cleaning of
staircase care should be taken that dart and dust do not fall down words.
6. Guest corridors- While cleaning of the corridors necessary boards indicating the public
area cleaning is carried on must be displayed prominently. Carpets in the corridors should
be vacuumed daily. The cleaning tasks of the guest corridors are as follows
 Carpets should be vacuumed regularly.
 The wall skirting should be cleaned regularly.
 Any finger marks on the walls should be cleaned immediately.
 All the wall painting should be dusted every day.

7. Banquet hall- Banquet hall mainly used for conferences, weddings exhibition etc. So
proper public area cleaning is required for this department. The cleaning includes mopping
of floor, vacuuming of the floor carpets regular dusting of fixture and furniture are required.
8. Health club – Health club is another hotel facility provided to the guest to exercise and
work out. So proper cleaning of machine is required daily because it is the busiest ares. The
cleaning tasks of the health club are as follows
 Proper dusting of equipments.
 Damp dusting of furniture
 Cleaning of glass and window panel.
  Cleaning of carpet floor
 Removing of soil linens and replacing with the fresh linen for future use.
9. Swimming Pool- Regular Public area cleaning and disinfecting of swimming pool is
important for the point of hygiene. If is not regularly cleaned swimming pool may becomes
carries of water borne disease.