A clean and sanitary environment is paramount to preventing illness and disease at home and in the workplace. Some companies outsource hygiene services, while others hire employees to perform these duties on a part-time or full-time basis. Larger organizations and facilities that require extensive daily cleaning, such as hospitals and hotels, hire multiple workers who take on many different types of housekeeping responsibilities. Trash collection, washroom scrubbing, laundry, scouring and buffing floors and sterilization of equipment are all important hygiene services that any given organization may need to delegate.
Large companies and service providers often employ individuals to supply hygiene services full-time. Medical facilities and hotels, for example, have a large volume of laundry and housekeeping chores that need to be done regularly. The cost of outsourcing is not usually an economical option since the need for sanitation is fairly constant. In fact, many facilities even have industrial-sized washing and drying units on site to meet the demands of enormous amounts of soiled laundry.
In a hospital, for example, patient bed sheets, towels and gowns are constantly being laundered. Hundreds of restrooms throughout a medical facility may require daily scouring, patient room floors are routinely swept and mopped, and trash bins need to be emptied regularly. Hotels are very similar because of the multiple guest rooms they rent on a daily basis. Each of these rooms may require hygiene services once or twice a day.
Some companies do not have the luxury of in-house hygiene services. While employees can sometimes assume basic cleaning responsibilities, such as mopping the floor or cleaning counter tops, there is often a need to subcontract various services. Restaurants, for example, frequently send out table linen and fabric napkins to be laundered or dry-cleaned.
Smaller businesses may also outsource hygiene services for basic housekeeping tasks. Depending on the number of employees and visitors that occupy an office building, the frequency of service may vary. Some companies require daily, extensive cleaning, while others may only need services once or twice a week to vacuum office floors, sanitize the restroom facilities and remove trash from receptacles.
Individuals, especially busy professionals, often contract hygiene services to perform light housekeeping duties for their homes. A housekeeper, for example, may wash laundry, scour the kitchen and bathrooms, clean floors and wash windows. When the client returns home, all of the household chores are taken care of so he or she can relax after a hard day's work.
Sanitation workers also provide important hygiene services for companies and individuals alike. Usually employed by the government of any given jurisdiction, they may collect bulk trash or common refuse from dumpsters or curbside on specific days of the week. Trash collectors then typically deposit garbage in landfills.