A Guide to Pre and Post-Event Cleaning (Your Free Checklist)

Have you ever considered the pre and post-event cleaning that goes into hosting an event? Thorough cleaning and sanitisation of event spaces are crucial when hosting a safe, hygienic, enjoyable event for attendees.

Whether your upcoming event is a large-scale expo, a small community gathering, a corporate event or the office’s highly anticipated Christmas party, events often come with mess, mess and, well, mess.

Without adequate cleaning and maintenance, events and venues could become a breeding ground for bacteria and pose a risk to attendees and event teams.

In today’s piece, BIC plc will explore pre and post-event cleaning and its importance and provide you with a free post-event cleaning checklist.

Contents

• What is Pre and Post-Event Cleaning?

• Why is Pre and Post-Event Cleaning Important

• Your Post-Event Clean-Up Checklist

What is Pre and Post-Event Cleaning?

Event clean-up may sound simple, but it encompasses various cleaning tasks requiring regular touch-ups to ensure a smooth event.

Pre-event

Before your event date, consider bringing in a professional cleaning company to complete a pre-event cleaning.

Doing so has many benefits, including;

• The location of waste disposal, recycling bins and skips or supplies where necessary.
• The removal of any hazards.
• Sanitisation of full event space.
• Eradication of germs and bacteria.
• Confidence that your event is clean, sanitary and hygienic to host guests safely. 

Mid-event

Event cleaning services cover more than just the before and after. Many companies offering pre and post-event cleaning services will also commit to maintaining the space during the event.

Let’s face it: hosting an event requires a lot of time, planning and effort, and the last thing you want as a host is to worry about the ongoing cleanliness throughout.

Bringing in a professional team to complete mid-event cleaning tasks has many benefits.

These include: 

• The upkeep of washroom facilities.
• Maintaining cleanliness and hygiene of the main event area.
• Ensuring that your event remains free of hazards.
• The replenishment of washroom and main space facilities like soap, towels and sanitiser. 

Mid-event cleaning services are not limited to your typical daytime event. Many professional cleaners offer packages that can spread across multiple days and weeks. For example, expos and festivals. These types of services will ensure that your event space remains clean, safe, and sanitary throughout the entire duration of your event.

Post-event

A pre and post-event cleaning team is committed to returning your event space to its original state. 

A post-event clean consists of tasks such as:

• General cleaning tasks such as hoovering and polishing.
• Appropriate waste management. 
• The sanitisation of surfaces, handles and full event space.
• The cleaning and sanitisation of washrooms.
• The supply of specialist cleaning equipment, including floor scrubbers and cleaning products, which trained operators will handle. 

In short, pre-, mid and post-event cleaning means ensuring an event space is clean, safe and sanitary from start to finish.

For more about our previous work in event cleaning, see our blog detailing how BIC plc supported the Great North Run in 2021.

Why is Pre and Post-Event Cleaning Important

When you think of event cleaning, it’s easy to imagine committed teams circling an event floor and picking up rubbish or wiping down door handles. But it is so much more than that.

Events can only flourish in a tidy, clean, hygienic environment. The space should be well maintained throughout the event as closely to the same standard it began.

Bringing in a pre and post-event specialist team has many benefits designed to improve your event’s cleanliness and overall atmosphere.

• Satisfy visitors.

A clean and well-maintained event space has a positive impact on visitors. It can also significantly contribute to the overall environment atmosphere.

A study showed that by simply being within a clean space, 80% of people are more relaxed, with 60% admitting to feeling less stressed. Eventgoers have likely taken time out of their personal lives or often paid a price to attend an event. Therefore, a particular level of cleanliness should be met to create a relaxed atmosphere for your attendees.

• Ensure event safety.

Cleanliness and maintaining cleanliness play a vital role in ensuring that an event is safe for both your team and the attendees.

Maintaining a clean environment includes eliminating bacteria, reducing hazards, including wet floor trip hazards, and minimising the risk of injury overall. This will give you peace of mind but can also eliminate the risk of compensation costs for injuries and, as a result, protect your reputation.

• Save your team time and effort.

One of the most crucial benefits of bringing in an external team is the time it will save your staff.

You may be confident in your team’s ability to strip back an environment completely, covering the sanitisation of surfaces and clearing any trash after your event.

However, when it comes to heavy-duty, deep cleaning or using industrial cleaning supplies, it’s better suited to the time and effort of trained professional cleaners.

• Satisfy landlords.

If you’re renting an event space, a landlord is responsible for ensuring their venue is clean to a high standard.

Although a landlord should ensure that their space is presented to you in a clean, well-maintained, and safe condition, you may bring in a pre-event cleaning team of specialists for peace of mind.

Just as important is returning the space to the same condition. Generally, a deposit will be required to secure a rented space to cover any damages or cleaning if required. Therefore, ensuring you take care of your rented event space is crucial.

• Enjoy your special event.

An experienced team of pre-and post-event cleaning staff takes the pressure off of you and your team.

This will allow you to shut off and enjoy your event without worrying about spillages, dirt and any untidy areas that could cause harm to your guests.

Your Post-Event Clean-Up Checklist

Here at BIC plc, we have compiled a handy post-event checklist to ensure your next event is a complete and utter success. 

Your post-event cleaning plan:

1. Sweep, mop and vacuum floors.
2. Furniture returned to its original state.
3. Wipe and disinfect all surfaces.
4. Dispose of trash.
5. Clean environment of food, including fridges and freezers.
6. Lock doors and windows.
7. Wash any used dishes or turn on the dishwasher cycle.
8. Adjust the thermostat to the original settings.
9. Turn off the lights.
10. Safely remove any decorations.
11. Sanitise restrooms.
12. Replace bin bags in bins.
13. Remove any personal belongings from the space.
14. Check that appliances are turned off.
15. Put away clean kitchen wear if applicable.
16. Clean and disinfect window ledges and light switches.
17. Wash any washcloths or used linen that was provided.
18. Clean sink areas and dry appropriately.
19. Walkthrough the space and inspect the condition.
20. Return keys to the space owner.

Conclusion

To conclude, pre and post-event cleaning is critical to the success of any event. It ensures the safety of your external visitors and team and promotes cleanliness, hygiene and professionalism within your organisation.

By investing in a professional pre and post-event cleaning company, event organisers can ensure their event is a positive experience for visitors, leaving a long-lasting impression on them and ultimately enhancing their reputation and event success.

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Visit our pre and post-event cleaning services page for more information on our professional cleaning services.