Janitorial is the same recurring clean read from the supply side. A janitorial contract normally bundles the labour with the consumables and equipment that go with it: washroom paper and soap, bin liners, hand towels, machines and their servicing. Bought well it removes a purchasing job you did not want. Bought carelessly it is where a competitive hourly rate quietly reappears as a consumables invoice.
What is inside a janitorial contract
The daily and periodic cleaning, plus the supply and replenishment of washroom consumables, kitchen consumables, waste sacks and cleaning chemicals, plus the equipment and its maintenance. Some contracts add washroom services such as sanitary waste, air care and hygiene units. The useful test is whether anybody in your organisation still has to order anything, because that is the job you are trying to delete.
How to price the consumables half
Ask for the consumables to be listed with unit prices and an estimated annual quantity, not folded into a single monthly figure. Then you can see whether the rate is competitive and whether the estimate is realistic for your headcount. A bundled price with no quantities is the one arrangement in which nobody, including the contractor, knows whether you are getting value.
What the law requires you to provide
Regulation 20 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences at readily accessible places, kept clean and properly maintained, and regulation 21 requires washing facilities with soap and a means of drying. Running out of soap or hand towels is not a service failure in the abstract, it is a gap in a duty that sits with you rather than with your contractor.
When to keep the two apart
Keep consumables separate when you already buy them well, when you have several sites on one purchasing account, or when your usage is unpredictable. Bundle them when the site is small, when nobody has time to order, or when the storage space is the contractor's problem rather than yours. Either answer is defensible. Not knowing which one you have chosen is not.
Questions people ask about janitorial services
What is the difference between janitorial and commercial cleaning?
In practice, consumables and equipment. Commercial cleaning is the labour and the specification; janitorial usually bundles the supplies and machines with it.
Does a janitorial contract include washroom sanitary waste?
Often, but not always. Sanitary and clinical waste is a separate regulated disposal service, so check whether it is inside the price or subcontracted and billed on.
Who is responsible if the washrooms run out of soap?
The duty to provide washing facilities with soap sits with the employer under regulation 21. Your contract can put the task on the contractor, but the legal duty stays with you.
Is a janitor the same as a cleaner?
In UK usage a janitor or caretaker often covers minor maintenance, opening and securing the building and porterage as well as cleaning. Say which of those you want in the specification.