From mom-and-pop shops to national convenience store chains with tighter square footage, businesses with smaller spaces and budgets face unique challenges related to cleaning. Today, the owners and managers of these sites are turning to smarter solutions that keep their budgets and size in mind.
Potential obstacles
Due to less square footage and potentially less incoming revenue, most small sites do not employ as many workers as larger businesses. Instead of hiring a professional cleaning company, tasks such as mopping floors, wiping down countertops and tidying restrooms are often divided up among staff and carried out on an as-needed basis.
There are a few hurdles related to cleaning that businesses may encounter, including:
- Priorities above cleaning. During the workday, employees are most concerned with the responsibilities such as operating the cash register and restocking key items. When they find time to clean, they will want easy-to-use products that speed up the cleaning process. However, managers need to ensure that the selected solutions and cleaning processes do not compromise results.
- Recordable injuries and time away from work. Reducing injuries and absences is crucial for keeping any business running smoothly. Skin exposure to chemicals is a serious issue in workplaces across the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it's estimated that more than 13 million U.S. workers are potentially exposed to chemicals, including those found in some cleaning products, that can be absorbed through the skin.
- Improper mixing and dilution. It's unlikely that employees will be experts in professional cleaning, so whether they are cleaning with ready-to-use (RTU) chemicals or diluting chemicals on their own, there's a risk of product underuse and overuse. Underuse means that a surface won't be adequately cleaned. Overuse results in waste, which has an impact on the environment and the bottom line.
- Hefty storage requirements. Many small businesses don't have the storage space for large and potentially heavy containers of cleaning chemicals. Bulky cleaning products occupy space that could otherwise be used to store revenue-generating products. On the other hand, smaller, store-bought chemicals may be less effective at cleaning and create large amounts of waste with empty bottles winding up in landfills.
Sizing up a solution
To overcome their biggest cleaning challenges, small site businesses should select cleaning products that maintain worker safety, take the guesswork out of dilution and save space. The latest innovation in packaging is to deliver super-concentrated chemicals in a pouch. There are many advantages to this approach, including:
- Improved safety: When cleaning concentrates are packaged in carefully sealed pouches, this eliminates the risk of contact with chemicals that may cause skin irritation and potential skin disease.
- Reduced waste: Smaller-sized packaging means less plastic waste. Compact design and lighter weight also reduce energy consumption and costs during the transportation process.
- Storage savings: Chemical concentrates in pouches save much more space than traditional RTU bottles.
- Cost savings: Businesses save money when they purchase concentrates that are more appropriately sized for their needs.
Small site, big success
Small sites, such as convenience stores, have different cleaning needs compared to larger retailers. Today, new advances in packaging are eliminating these challenges and providing improved dosing and dispensing to simplify and expedite consistent cleaning.
