While cleaning may seem like a relatively safe profession with fewer risks than other trades like construction, you might be surprised by how many hazards pass you by every day. It’s important to know what these hazards are, how to prevent them, and what you’re obligated to do in order to manage health and safety risks.
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- 1. Cleaning health & safety - hazards and solutions
- 2. Health & safety policies & regulations by region
- 3. Clean up your admin with Tradify
1. Cleaning health and safety - hazards and solutions
Cleaners face a unique set of industry-specific health and safety risks that are often overlooked, and understandably so — the most common hazards are not often visible. Be especially wary of the following:
Stress
Running a cleaning business can be incredibly stressful. Between meeting customers’ standards, managing staff, and all the office work that comes with the job, stress can add up, causing burnout and mental health strains. Here’s how you can avoid stress and burnout:
- Take breaks or holidays when you feel the stress building up. It might seem like you don’t have the time, but coming back to work refreshed will mean greater productivity and better work.
- Get decent job management software to reduce the admin burden. Tradify is a great option that can do wonders for your business management.
Chemicals and harmful substances
As a cleaner, it’s likely that you’ll come in contact with dangerous cleaning chemicals almost every day. Add to this, the risk of encountering mould or asbestos, and you have a recipe for potentially life-threatening health problems if you’re not careful. Try these tips to stay safe:
- Use personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, masks, or even coveralls when using chemicals or if you’re in an environment where mould or asbestos may be present.
- Keep a first aid kit, including eye rinses, creams, balms, and bandages close by in case you come in contact with chemicals that can have burning effects.
- Evacuate the area immediately if you notice asbestos or excessive mould.
Compounding injuries
Contorting into all sorts of awkward positions is part of the job when you’re a cleaner. Hunching over when mopping or vacuuming and trying to reach into nooks and crannies may seem like a temporary discomfort, but can actually have severe consequences on your physical health in the long run. Try the following to keep yourself safe from injury:
- Ask for help when moving heavy objects.
- Find tools that will reduce the need for you to hunch over or put yourself in unnatural positions.
- Take breaks between physically demanding tasks.
- Stretch, strengthen, and recover as much as possible to keep your body conditioned for physical labour.
Slips, trips, and falls
We don’t have to tell you what harm can arise from slipping over on a hard surface, so it’s important to mitigate the risk as best you can by following these steps:
- Wear footwear with plenty of grip.
- Use warning signs or barriers when floors are wet.
- Be mindful that the soles of your shoes may be wet, even when you’re on a dry surface. Take caution on staircases, stepladders, and polished floors.
2. Health and safety policies and regulations by region
If you own a cleaning business, it’s important to know what’s legally required of you when it comes to keeping your staff and customers safe. Here’s a brief rundown of what you need to know, by region.
🇺🇸 United States
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees workplace health and safety in the US. They offer a full list of requirements for businesses operating in the cleaning industry, such as the need for PPE and the correct labelling of chemicals and other high-risk cleaning products.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for regulating workplace health and safety. The HSE provides guidelines and regulations related to cleaning industry health and safety, including Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations.
The COSHH regulations require cleaning businesses to fulfil a range of requirements, including providing staff with appropriate PPE and assessing potential risks from job to job.
🇦🇺 Australia
The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act provides health and safety requirements for cleaning businesses. Among these requirements are hazard identification, risk assessment, and the provision of PPE.
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Cleaning business owners in New Zealand must comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, and the Asbestos Regulations 2016.
WorkSafe New Zealand is a great place to view guidelines for managing health and safety risks in the cleaning industry.
3. Clean up your admin with Tradify job management software
As your business grows, so does the amount of admin that needs to happen behind the scenes. Keeping track of cleaning supplies, scheduling, client information and invoicing are time-consuming and can quickly take you away from the task at hand.
Specialised cleaning job management software like Tradify provides an all-in-one solution for your day-to-day processes in one streamlined hub. You’ll have everything from quoting to scheduling, job management to invoicing — all at your fingertips.
For an all-in-one fix that’ll put your day-to-day quoting, scheduling, job management and invoicing processes into one, streamlined system, Tradify is a must-have tool. Try it free for 14 days.
