In a shop the treatment has to fit between closing and opening — and the stock usually stays on the floor.
In retail premises the main constraint is time: the treatment, together with contact time and airing, has to fit into the period between closing and the next opening.
The second constraint is the stock. Most of it cannot be moved out, so we build the treatment plan around it — open food is covered or removed, packaged goods can usually stay.
The third thing, often overlooked, is that work in a shop does not stop at closing. Restocking, stocktaking and cleaning happen at night. If we work at the same time, the treatment is fragmented and some surfaces are touched immediately after being treated. So before the visit we establish what else goes on in the shop at night and agree the order of work.
In a shop transfer happens mainly through what customers touch — not through the air and not through the floor.
| Surface | Note |
|---|---|
| Trolleys and baskets | The most frequently touched surface in a shop |
| Till area and card terminals | Heavy customer footfall |
| Door handles and handrails | Standard contact surfaces |
| Self-checkouts | Screens and scanners |
| Fridge and cabinet handles | Often left out |
| Staff rooms and stockroom | Often left out |
In a shop surface treatment is often more important than room treatment, because transfer happens mainly through what customers touch.
Trolleys and baskets are the classic example. A handle is touched hundreds of times a day, and it is usually not treated at all, because the trolleys stand outside the shop or under a canopy. The same systematic omissions apply to fridge and freezer cabinet handles, self-checkout screens and scanners, and the scale buttons in the fruit and veg section.
The type of shop also changes the priorities.
So at the inspection we first establish what the site actually sells.
In practice the window runs from closing until staff arrive in the morning, and it has to contain four things: preparation, treatment, contact time and airing. Fitting a small shop's contact surface treatment into that is easy; fogging a large shop floor with airing is not always.
We calculate the exact time at the inspection. For a large shop floor a figure quoted over the phone would be a guess, and that is precisely why work sometimes fails to finish overnight — the window was planned on an assumption rather than a calculation.
If a shop has a persistent smell, the source is almost never on the shop floor. It is usually at the back: the waste room, the empties area, a stockroom corner where damaged goods stand, or a drain gully that is rarely flushed. From there the smell reaches the floor through the ventilation, or simply through the door.
So when ordering treatment, we recommend including the back of house. It is usually a small area compared with the shop floor, so a small share of the price, but it is often where the cause sits.
We assess the area, the zones and the available time window.
We settle what has to be removed and what covered.
We settle the alarm and access with security or the centre's management.
We treat contact surfaces and, if needed, the space itself.
Surfaces that come into contact with food are rinsed.
We make sure the space is ready to open in the morning.
We prepare a document covering the work carried out.
Shop treatment is usually ordered by the store manager or by whoever runs facilities for the chain. If the shop is part of a chain, the work is often planned for several sites at once — better value both on price and on scheduling. If the shop is in a shopping centre, access and the alarm also have to be agreed with the centre's management, and that is best sorted a week ahead.
In food shops the treatment is a documentation question as well. For every job we prepare a record with the date, the scope and the zones treated, which can be filed with the site's hygiene documentation. More on this: food business disinfection.
What most often goes wrong in shops: a one-off is ordered for the shop floor and the matter treated as closed, though the source was at the back; the fire alarm is not agreed before fogging; or open product is left on the counters because none of the staff had been told about the work. All three are avoidable in one conversation before the visit.
We do not do daily cleaning or restocking. We do not deep-clean the ventilation system throughout the building. We do not write hygiene plans and we do not issue compliance opinions. And we do not claim surfaces stay clean after treatment — a contact surface stays a contact surface, and the next day it carries whatever customers bring in. That is exactly why in shops a regular schedule gives an incomparably better result than occasional one-offs.
Up to 100 m² — €1.20/m², 100–300 m² — €0.90/m², 300–1000 m² — €0.70/m². For regular treatment we prepare a schedule and a quote.
Usually not. We plan the work so that it fits into the period between closing and opening.
Packaged goods can usually stay. Open food is removed or covered — we agree that before the work.
Yes, and we recommend it — the stockroom and the waste area are often the source of a problem that shows up on the shop floor.
Describe the situation — we will tell you whether treatment is needed at all, and which one.
Fill in the form — we will call you on the number you provide, ask a few clarifying questions and propose a solution.
Thank you! We will contact you on the phone number you provided shortly.
