Industrial & Specialty Cleaning near you

Each kind of specialty cleaning needs different equipment and a differently trained crew, so ask companies which of these they actually do in-house and which they subcontract.

Dust from wood, flour, sugar, plastics, metals and many other materials can burn, and on overhead surfaces it builds up out of sight. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) notes that dust can collect on rafters, roofs, suspended ceilings, ducts, crevices, dust collectors and other equipment. It explains that a first explosion can shake that settled dust into the air, where it ignites in a secondary explosion that is often more destructive than the first. That's why high-dusting is a safety task, not just a cosmetic one.

The method matters as much as the schedule. CCOHS advises against creating dust while cleaning, for example with brooms or compressed air hoses, and says to use only wet methods or vacuums approved for dust collection. Ask a specialty cleaner which vacuums they use for combustible dust, how they keep ignition sources away, and who operates the lifts and fall protection needed to reach high surfaces.

Industrial cleaning relies on stronger products than household cleaning: heavy degreasers, caustic exhaust cleaners, floor strippers, descalers and disinfectants. In Canadian workplaces these fall under WHMIS, which CCOHS describes as a comprehensive system for providing health and safety information on hazardous products used, handled or stored at work. Hazardous products must carry a supplier label and come with a safety data sheet provided to the purchaser at the time of sale.

CCOHS also sets out the employer's side: workers must be educated about the hazards of the products they use and how to protect themselves, current safety data sheets must be accessible, and the WHMIS education and training program needs to be reviewed annually. For the client, that translates into a few checks before work starts:

On commercial projects, cutting, grinding and polishing concrete, masonry, stone and tile throws off dust that can contain crystalline silica. CCOHS warns that inhaling it can harm the lungs and identifies it as a known cause of lung cancer. A specialty crew captures that dust instead of moving it around, with HEPA vacuums and wet methods rather than dry sweeping or leaf blowers, respiratory protection suited to the task, and cleaning scheduled so no one is wiping down one area while cutting continues in the next. Extra controls are warranted when the site has:

In a working building, the cleaning plan follows the business. Kitchen exhausts are cleaned when the kitchen is closed, warehouse floors during slow shifts or shutdowns, and high-dusting when stock can be covered and people kept out from under the lift. Good results start with a walkthrough with the facility manager before quoting and a written scope listing the areas, methods, access hours and responsibilities.

Specialty cleaning happens at height, around chemicals and inside other people's workplaces, so the paperwork matters. Ask for a certificate of commercial general liability insurance, with your business or landlord named as an additional insured if your lease or building rules require it.

In Ontario, the WSIB issues a clearance, a unique number showing that a business, contractor or subcontractor is registered and up to date with it, and only registered businesses in good standing can obtain one. For construction work, the WSIB requires the business hiring a contractor to get a clearance before the work begins and keep it in effect for the length of the job, so confirm with the WSIB whether cleaning on an active construction site falls under that rule. In other provinces, ask the workers' compensation board how to confirm a company's coverage.