How long should it take to clean this building? Calculate using ISSA-standard production rates by area type.
A standard 10,000 sq ft office (general office areas + restrooms + lobby) takes approximately 3–3.5 hours per visit for a single cleaner, based on ISSA 612 production rate standards. General office areas clean at roughly 4,200 sq ft/hour, while restrooms clean at only 1,000 sq ft/hour due to fixture-by-fixture disinfection requirements.
ISSA production rates are industry-standard benchmarks published in the ISSA 612 Cleaning Times guide. They measure how many cleanable square feet one worker can service per hour, by area type. For example: General Office = 4,200 sqft/hr, Restrooms = 1,000 sqft/hr, Medical = 2,200 sqft/hr, Warehouse = 6,000 sqft/hr. These rates are used globally by cleaning companies and facility managers for bidding and staffing.
Restrooms clean at approximately 1,000 sqft/hour — roughly 4× slower than general office space (4,200 sqft/hr). This is because restrooms require fixture-by-fixture cleaning and disinfection of toilets, sinks, mirrors, dispensers, and partitions. Buildings with a high restroom-to-office ratio are the most commonly underbid contracts in the janitorial industry.
Not exactly. Due to coordination overhead, two cleaners typically complete the work of about 1.8 single cleaners, not 2.0. This means a 3-hour job for one person takes about 1.67 hours for two people, not 1.5 hours. Factor this efficiency loss into your staffing and bidding calculations.
Our full calculator lets you break buildings into individual rooms, each with custom tasks and frequencies.