Office cleaning
How to request fragrance-conscious office cleaning
A fragrance-conscious cleaning request should name the products and processes you want reviewed. “Make the office smell clean” and “use nothing with chemicals” cannot define a workable cleaning scope. A better request identifies the areas, the current products, the preferred fragrance criteria and the person who approves changes.
Start with the task, not the scent
List the work being done: routine desk wiping, floor maintenance, restroom cleaning or another agreed task. Identify the surface materials where possible. A product suited to one surface may not be suitable for another, so fragrance preference cannot be the only selection criterion.
Ask the provider for the exact product name, manufacturer, intended use, current label and available safety data sheet. Include products applied by other building users, such as air fresheners, rather than assuming every odor comes from the cleaning visit. Do not remove another tenant's products without authorization.
Define what fragrance-free means for this request
EPA offers a Safer Choice fragrance-free designation for qualifying products after reviewing whether they contain fragrance materials. That can be one useful purchasing criterion; it is not a promise that a product will suit every person or every surface. EPA fragrance-free criteria
Avoid replacing a clear preference with unsupported claims such as allergy-safe, toxin-free or chemical-free. Specify that the proposed product must meet the relevant material-care instructions and the actual cleaning task, as well as the agreed fragrance criterion. If a label is unclear, ask its manufacturer rather than interpreting a marketing phrase as technical proof.
Send a practical review request
An office manager could write:
“Please review the products proposed for the reception area, shared desks and restrooms. We prefer fragrance-free options where suitable for the task and installed materials. Please send the exact product names and labels, identify any task for which an alternative is not currently available, and obtain our designated contact's approval before substitutions. Please omit optional air fresheners from our scope.”
This is a product and service request, not a medical disclosure. Employees should not have to place diagnoses, medications or detailed symptoms in a shared contractor ticket. The employer can handle any accommodation discussion through its appropriate confidential process.
Agree on a limited implementation plan
Record the selected products by task and room. Ask who supplies them, who maintains the list, and what happens if an approved product is unavailable. Keep the manufacturer's instructions available to the people doing the work; changing the bottle does not automatically change the written procedure.
For a hypothetical office, the team might review an unscented floor-care candidate for sealed tile while retaining a separately selected restroom product pending further information. That is a documented partial change, not permission to apply the floor product everywhere. Test material compatibility only as directed by the surface and product manufacturers, in an authorized inconspicuous location where appropriate.
Coordinate timing and building operation
Ask building management about the normal ventilation schedule and permissible work hours. Cleaning staff should not change HVAC controls or prop open secured doors without authorization. EPA's office guidance treats indoor-air management as a shared building responsibility, rather than something a single product substitution resolves. EPA office occupant guide
Set a review date after the agreed change. Ask whether the specified products were used, whether the surfaces performed as expected and whether another review is needed. Avoid making colleagues deliberately expose themselves to a product as a test.
Know when to stop
Pause the affected task if the product identity is uncertain, the material instructions conflict, an unapproved substitution arrives or anyone reports an immediate safety concern. Follow the site's incident procedure rather than improvising a replacement or mixing products.
For a JLV quote, send the areas needing business cleaning and the product-review requirement with your ordinary scope. The commercial cleaning quote checklist helps keep fragrance preferences, access and surface requirements together without promising that any particular product is available.