Night club cleaning – 10 night-time venue cleaning essentials

Night club cleaning is no party – especially as the nights draw in…

As the seasons change, and footfall and occupancy start to rise, making sure your club, the dancefloor and all the essential facilities are squeaky clean is vital.  Grunge may be trendy – but dirt is not.

With higher footfall at this time of year – and for some venues, an increase in catering along with that – nightlife hot spots must keep on top of cleaning and maintenance. They need to provide a slick, high quality customer experience, maintain precious food hygiene ratings, and sustain their local reputation as a great place to party to hold onto their clientele.

This week, we look at the key areas where clubs, bars and other party venues can give their cleaning routines and choices a polish, ready to capitalise on the run-up to Christmas and New Year.

1. Party décor residue

As Halloween parties kick off the busy times that club owners have been waiting for after a difficult year, they can present a peak cleaning challenge straight away. Residue from sticky fixings for banners, fake cobwebs, and other horrors need to be thoroughly cleaned off each time with the right cleaners – and it can be tempting to dig up any old solvent for the purpose. Don’t do it.  (Then don’t do it again when similar things happen at Christmas). Get the right gum removers and surface cleaners for the job.

2. Spillages and slippery hazards

When a glass of Merlot or a Jäger Bomb gets sloshed on the dance floor during open hours (or anywhere else in the club), it’s not a professional cleaning team that jumps in to make partygoers safe from slip hazards – it’s the regular bar staff. Good training is essential, and keeping appropriate cleaning products and signage handy to enable fast cleanups is equally important to prevent slips, trips, falls and potential claims.

3. Sticky table syndrome

Sticky tables need more than elbow grease – like any hard surface, they need the right surface cleaning products, used properly. Usually, it only takes a mild product to cut through the grime and remove stickiness, but staff need to know how to use such cleansers, observe the contact time (how long to leave them) and know whether they need rinsing off.  Check the state of your surfaces too, before things get busy – old, damaged, and scratched surfaces can be a haven for germs that can’t be tackled by a quick swipe.

4. Touchy feely places

Doorplates and handles are touched continuously by staff and customers alike. As well as party season, Autumn and Winter also bring the cold and flu season (not to mention a predicted rise in seasonal COVID). Protect everyone from illness by cleaning all high-touch areas like door furniture, bars and bar rails, and other hotspots thoroughly and very frequently.  And, while hand sanitiser is not quite as ubiquitous as it was, consider providing it via fixed dispensers in key areas of the venue.

5. Don’t lose sight of the loos

Don’t get caught short when it comes to your loos.  High occupancy evening venues without the appropriate volume dispensers often fall short on toilet paper, soap and more.  To ensure users always find what they need, look for a system suitable for washrooms with high traffic like Tork Twin Mid Size or Tork SmartOne so supplies last longer, ensure that regular staff routines include responsibility for spot checks on the facilities AND know what to do in case an emergency cleanup is required – see the next point.

6. Beware biohazards

No one wants to think about blood, vomit, or other bodily fluids while they’re partying, but they certainly don’t if they are at work and know cleanup may fall to them.  However, evening venues know they go with the territory and that overconsumption of alcohol is common. Cleaning up bio-materials in a night club can never be done with a spit and polish, or a quick wet mop.  It requires the right disinfectant and sanitation products and paying close attention to all the nooks and crannies, such as tile grout in the washrooms.  That way you keep the venue smelling sweet, as well as prevent any risks to staff and clientele.

7. Substance residue

With nightlife culture, there’s a risk that there are not just lines for the loos, but lines in the loos too. Residue from drug use is hazardous, so your staff need to be protected. They themselves should be vigilant for suspicious behaviour and provided with PPE such as gloves for any nasty cleaning jobs such as this, or the biohazard issues already mentioned. If in doubt, consult a cleaning specialist for the right solution to use.

8. Paper waste

Overflowing bins are rubbish – they don’t just look bad, but smell bad and can create unsanitary conditions, especially in the toilets.   Overflows need to be prevented. Set a regular rota for emptying paper waste – whether that’s in the toilets or behind the bar, ensure you keep your stocks of good quality waste bags topped up, and train staff to tie these up properly and leave them in a safe waste location.

9. Switch up your sustainability

Keep an eye on your environmental impact – customers increasingly care about single-use materials, and they can play a role in hygiene too.  Consider switching up any food disposal to fully-compostable Vegware to show your clients you care for the planet, and explore lower environmental impact cleaning products or concentrates that avoid the carbon impact of water transport.

10. Stock up on essentials

When a manager is in the middle of a busy shift with a mess to deal with, the last thing they need is to find the night club cleaning cupboard is bare. Discovering that the disinfectant has disappeared can quickly compromise a venue’s hygiene.  Keep a considered cleaning cupboard stock list and take inventory on a regular basis if your supplier doesn’t proactively support regular restocks.

 

Avanti knows the particular needs of the night-time economy and night club cleaning requirements – let us help you plan, prioritise and make informed decisions when it comes to your cleaning and hygiene supplies and routines. Contact Avanti today to help clean up your club’s preparation for party season.