A small office rarely needs every room cleaned at the same pace. The washroom and the staff kitchen decide how many visits a week you need, and desks, floors and glass can run on a slower rhythm. In Ontario there is a legal side as well: the Occupational Health and Safety Act has a section on workplace washrooms, and since January 1, 2026 a regulation says what the cleaning record has to show.
Ontario law asks for a clean washroom and a record, and names no number of visits
Section 25.3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act came into force on July 1, 2025. Its first subsection reads:
An employer shall ensure that the washroom facilities, if any, that are provided by the employer for the use of workers are maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.
The same section adds that the employer "shall keep, maintain and make available records of the cleaning of washroom facilities as prescribed". The Act's definition of a washroom facility includes a washroom, toilet facility, clean-up facility, urinal, shower or other similar facility. Eye wash stations and emergency showers are left out of it.
Neither the section nor its regulation gives a frequency. No line says once a day or twice a week. The wording describes the condition of the room, so the schedule is yours to choose. The full text is in the Occupational Health and Safety Act on the province's e-Laws site.
The record has to show the date and time of the two most recent cleanings
Ontario Regulation 480/24, in force since January 1, 2026, is two sections long. It describes two ways to make the record available and one thing the record has to contain.
- Posted at the washroom
- The record is posted "in a conspicuous place in or near the washroom facility to which the record pertains where it is likely to come to the attention of workers". In a small office that is usually a sheet on the wall beside the door.
- Posted electronically
- The record is posted where workers can access it, and they are given direction on where and how to find it. A shared file that everyone on staff can open is one way to do that.
- What goes on it
- The date and time of the two most recent cleanings of that washroom facility. That is the only content the regulation lists.
The Act puts the duty on the employer, whoever holds the mop. When a cleaning company looks after the washroom, somebody still has to write the time down, so settle who does it before the first visit. If you want the cleaner to note the date and time at the end of each visit, say so in the quote request and it becomes a line on the checklist.
Many small offices share a washroom that belongs to the building. The section speaks of facilities "provided by the employer" and does not spell out the shared case. Ask the landlord who cleans that washroom and where its record is kept, and take any doubt about your own duty to the ministry that enforces the Act or to a lawyer.
Each area of an office gets dirty at its own speed
Square footage is a poor guide. Two offices of the same size need different schedules when one has four people and the other has fourteen sharing a single washroom. Going area by area gives a better answer.
| Area | What sets its pace | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Washroom | How many people share it, and whether clients use it too | Cleaned on every visit, with soap, paper and towels checked each time |
| Staff kitchen or kitchenette | Food, dishes, coffee and the garbage that goes with them | Sink, counters and table on every visit. The inside of the fridge and microwave on one fixed day, with staff told in advance |
| Garbage and recycling | Food waste, which smells within a couple of days | Emptied on every visit. Food waste should not sit through a weekend |
| Reception and client seating | It is what a visitor sees first, and the entry mat collects grit and road salt | Every visit: floor at the door, glass door, counter, chairs |
| Touchpoints | Hands: door handles, light switches, the shared printer, the fridge handle | Wiped on every visit |
| Desks and work areas | Dust, and how much paper and equipment sits on each desk | Weekly, on the surfaces that are clear |
| Floors | Carpet hides dirt longer than tile or vinyl; winter brings slush and salt | Walkways vacuumed every visit, the full floor vacuumed and hard floors washed weekly |
| Interior glass, baseboards, vents | Slow build-up that nobody notices week to week | Monthly, or on a separate periodic visit |
Five of the eight rows say "every visit". Those five decide how many visits you book. The last three can be spread across the visits you already have.
Three small offices and the schedule each one points to
These are starting points to test, and your own office may sit between two of them.
Five people, in the office three days a week, no clients on site
One visit a week is usually enough. Place it after the last office day, so the washroom and kitchen sit clean through the days nobody is in. Between visits, someone on staff takes out the kitchen garbage if there is food in it.
A dozen people every weekday and one shared washroom
The washroom is the limit here. Twelve people use it for five days, and a single weekly clean leaves it in poor shape by Wednesday. Two or three visits a week, spaced evenly, keep it and the kitchen in hand. Desks and the full floor wash can stay on one of those visits.
A front desk with walk-in clients all day
A reception area with steady foot traffic gets dirty faster than a larger office where the same people sit at their desks. Plan a visit for each day you are open, or close to it, and keep the entry floor and the client washroom at the top of the list.
One limit applies to clinics and similar spaces. PavMa's commercial cleaning covers offices, retail spaces and professional properties. Its page states that specialized medical, industrial, hazardous-material or regulated sanitation is not included unless expressly assessed and agreed.
Run the schedule for a month, then change one thing
- Choose the visit days around your hours. Ask when cleaning can take place without interrupting clients or calls.
- On the morning before each visit, look at the washroom and the kitchen sink. That is the dirtiest the office gets on this schedule.
- Ask yourself whether you would send a client into that washroom. If the answer is no twice in a month, add a visit.
- Read the posted record. It should show two cleanings, each with a date and a time.
- Ask the staff what they noticed. They see the kitchen at noon, and you may not.
- Change one thing at a time: a day, an extra visit, or a task moved from monthly to weekly. Then watch for another two weeks.
What to send for an office cleaning quote
PavMa builds the checklist around foot traffic, washrooms, customer-facing areas, staff spaces, flooring and the hours when cleaning can take place. The quote is free, and these details make it accurate:
- the approximate square footage and the type of business;
- how many washrooms there are and how many people share them;
- the frequency you have in mind, and your operating hours;
- parking, keys or fobs, alarm and any other security requirement;
- rooms that are restricted or need special handling;
- whether washroom restocking is part of the job, and who supplies the paper and soap;
- whether the date and time of each washroom cleaning should be noted on your record.
For a larger or more complex space, a walkthrough or photos may be requested before the final quote. Photos can go by WhatsApp. Both one-time and recurring arrangements are available, Monday to Saturday between 8 AM and 7 PM. Use the commercial quote form, or call 437-889-1213. The office is at Yonge and Finch in North York, and the towns and districts covered are listed under service areas.
Office cleaning schedules and Ontario's washroom cleaning record
Does Ontario law say how often an office washroom has to be cleaned?
No number appears in the text. Section 25.3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act says washroom facilities an employer provides for workers are to be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, and Ontario Regulation 480/24 deals only with the record of cleaning.
What does the washroom cleaning record have to include?
Ontario Regulation 480/24 says the record must include the date and time of the two most recent cleanings of that washroom facility. It can be posted in or near the washroom, or electronically where workers can access it and have been told how.
Is once a week enough for a small office?
It often is for a handful of people who are in the office part of the week and see no clients there. When a dozen people share one washroom every weekday, two or three visits a week is a more realistic place to start.
Can PavMa clean a medical or dental office?
PavMa's commercial cleaning covers offices, retail spaces and professional properties. Its service page says specialized medical, industrial, hazardous-material or regulated sanitation is not included unless expressly assessed and agreed, so describe the space fully when you ask for the quote.
