Hidden Costs of DIY vs Professional Commercial Cleaning

The Hidden Costs of DIY vs Professional Commercial Cleaning in Australia

Monday, June 30th, 2025

For many businesses, it’s certainly tempting to DIY your regular cleaning services and save a few dollars. But there may be costs to your business or organisation that aren’t immediately obvious on the surface.

Here are the potential costs to consider if you’re planning to implement your own business or commercial office cleaning in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast or beyond.

Staff time and opportunity cost

Depending on the business size, you might plan to have internal cleaning staff or you might even ask regular staff to complete daily cleaning for your organisation in addition to their usual role. But as well as actual cleaning time, in-house cleaning also requires you to schedule, coordinate, train for and supervise those cleaning activities. This all involves time and cost that can take away from core business activities and effective management. You might need to pay staff overtime if cleaning extends outside typical hours. In addition, cleaning teams will also require WHS training, documentation and policies, which can demand further time and energy outside the organisation’s usual WHS scope.

As such it’s important to add up the actual costs, including those of after-hours cleaning plus quality and safety management, when finding the best option for your needs.

Good to know: In some sectors, such as childcare, it might be standard for staff to clean and disinfect spaces as part of their job description. Just bear in mind that it can often be more effective and efficient to complement it with professional childcare cleaning services.

Equipment and supplies

Effective cleaning requires quality equipment and supplies. The proper supplies for a commercial clean can add up, and buying these may not be feasible for every organisation. The initial purchase costs for, say, a commercial-grade floor polishing machine or steam cleaner can be prohibitively high. While a basic kit for cleaning an office might be straightforward, the equipment and supplies needed for long-term cleanliness and hygiene are complex to price and may also be more expensive to buy in small quantities. You’ll also need to factor in costs such as PPE, consumables like liquid soap and cleaning solutions, and ongoing maintenance for equipment. Commercial cleaning providers like AMC can often make the most of bulk industry purchasing of quality supplies and equipment, which can flow on to benefit businesses. This can make it far more viable to engage professionals for many sectors, including for primary school cleaning, private school cleaning and secondary school cleaning services.

 

cleaner and equipment, Cleaning machine to clean the industrial commercial floor

Potential risks to people and property

In many commercial premises, the cost of inadequate cleaning or improper use of cleaning supplies could be incredibly high:

  • Sector-specific cleaning such as medical cleaning must meet strict cleaning compliance needs, and the cost of breaching these could be significant – potentially even life-threatening.
  • The same goes for aged care cleaning services and retirement village cleaning services, where infection control is also imperative.
  • And when it comes to industrial cleaning, the cost of incorrect cleaning around expensive machinery could far exceed the costs of working with an experienced industrial or warehouse cleaning company.

For this reason, it’s important to consider the potential risks when planning ahead for your commercial cleaning services.

 

To sum up: consider the true costs of DIY cleaning

Whether you DIY or engage a professional cleaning company will depend on your business size and needs. The right solution for you might be one option, the other, or a combination of both. No matter what, just be sure to consider all costs, whether you’re planning for medical office cleaning services, day hospital cleaning or weighing up whether to hire a school cleaning company.

AMC Commercial Cleaning provides comprehensive Australia-wide cleaning, including in VIC, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and WA. For a free quote and trusted outsourcing for your cleaning, contact our friendly team today.

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