Tuesday playgroup. Thursday seniors' exercise class. Bingo night. A wedding reception on Saturday, Sunday service, and a working bee somewhere in between.
Church and community halls work harder than most other buildings, and they're usually cleaned by volunteers. Kind, generous people who give their time freely – but who haven't been trained as cleaners. They rotate every week, and are often working with a cupboard full of half-used bottles nobody can identify.
The answer isn't more products or a longer procedure. It's the opposite. One product, one method, one checklist.
Why simple wins
When five different volunteers use five different products at five different strengths, you get inconsistent results, wasted money and a real risk of someone mixing chemicals they shouldn't. A simple system is easier to teach, easier to follow and cheaper to run.
Step 1: Choose one product for floors and surfaces
Bobby Dazzler is a streak-free, quick-dry cleaner for mopping floors and wiping surfaces, and it handles most of what a hall needs. It's suitable on timber, vinyl, laminate, marble and natural stone, glass, chrome, stainless steel, painted surfaces, porcelain, plastic, carpet and other washable surfaces – handy in older buildings with a mix of stone, timber and tiles.
A few reasons it suits volunteer-run buildings:
- pH neutral, so it's safe on sensitive surfaces including stone and metals.
- Non-flammable and not Dangerous Goods, with no phenolics or chlorine.
- Septic safe – useful for rural and older halls on septic systems.
- Eco-friendly and 100% biodegradable.
- A long-lasting citrus fragrance that leaves the hall smelling fresh.
- Kills 99.99% of bacteria and germs, and has been tested and passed as a TGA Commercial Grade Disinfectant (Option C). The TGA is the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia's regulator for disinfectant claims.
- Australian made and owned.
Step 2: Keep the dilutions to two
Bobby Dazzler is a super concentrate, so a little goes a long way. Volunteers only need to remember two mixes:
- Spray bottle (benches, tables, chairs, door handles): 9:1 – nine parts water to one part Bobby Dazzler. That's 75ml in a 750ml bottle.
- Mop bucket (floors): 80:1 – 80 parts water to one part Bobby Dazzler. That's 50ml in half a bucket (4 litres) of water, or 13ml per litre.
Always add the water first and the Bobby Dazzler last. It stops foaming and splashes. Use a properly labelled bottle so the next volunteer knows exactly what's in it.
If you need to disinfect – during a winter bug going around the congregation, for example – note that Bobby Dazzler's disinfectant claims are based on independent testing at a 17:1 dilution (17 parts water to one part Bobby Dazzler, roughly 42ml in a 750ml bottle). Keep that in a separate, clearly labelled bottle.
Don't worry about dilution rate maths. Just direct your volunteers to the quick and easy XO2 Chemical Dilution Calculator.
Don't worry about dilution rate maths. Just direct your volunteers to the quick and easy XO2 Chemical Dilution Calculator.
Step 3: Use colour-coded cloths
This is the single easiest hygiene win in any shared building. Use one colour of cloth for toilets and washrooms (usually red), and a different colour for the kitchen and everything else (usually blue) – and never swap them. Some buildings also have a colour just for kitchens (which is usually green). Stick a simple chart on the cupboard door so new volunteers get it right first time. Stock up from our range of All Purpose Cleaning Cloths.
Step 4: The after-every-event checklist
Print this, laminate it and hang it in the cleaning cupboard:
- Clear and wipe all tables and chairs (spray bottle, 9:1).
- Wipe door handles, light switches and handrails.
- Clean the kitchen benches and sink, and empty the kitchen bin.
- Clean the toilets, urinals and basins.
- Check soap, toilet paper and paper towel, and refill if low.
- Sweep, then mop hard floors (bucket, 80:1).
- Empty all bins and put in fresh liners.
- Rinse the mop and hang it to dry. Put cloths in the wash.
Weekly and monthly jobs
Weekly: vacuum carpets, clean windows and glass doors, wipe skirting boards in high-traffic areas, and check the cleaning cupboard is stocked.
Monthly or before big events: deep clean washroom grout and floors, wipe high surfaces and fans, and clean behind the fridge and stove.
Keeping costs down
Concentrates are where halls save the most. At the 80:1 mopping dilution, one litre of Bobby Dazzler makes around 80 litres of floor-cleaning solution. At 9:1, it fills about 13 spray bottles. Fewer products also means less waste and less money tied up in bottles nobody uses. Check out the XO2 Chemical Cost Calculator to work out exactly how much you will save.
A note on safety
Keep chemicals in their labelled containers, out of reach of children, and keep the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for every product on site – they're all available on our website. And never mix different cleaning chemicals together.
Running a hall on a tight budget and want help setting up a simple system? Give us a call on 1300 123 499. We're always happy to help.
David Blamire, CEO at XO2
David is one of Australia's leading cleaning industry innovators. He's spent his entire working life solving cleaning challenges others thought were impossible. He's best known for his product creation and development skills along with a deep knowledge of business operations and all things ERP. In his spare time, David's a keen fisherman and adventurer. And he doesn't mind if you call him Davo.
Get in touch with David at xo2.com.au. He works from XO2's national headquarters and manufacturing centre in Queensland, Australia.
Related Resources
- How To Get Floors Clean And Streak Free Every Time... Guaranteed!
- Bobby Dazzler product page
- XO2 Chemical Dilution Calculator
- XO2 Chemical Cost Calculator