Environmental services
Customers who pay a service charge will receive some or all of the environmental services Midland Heart offers. These include:
- Cleaning of communal areas
- Window cleaning
- Grounds maintenance
We've worked with our customers to develop the specification and service standards whilst recruiting a core team of contractors to deliver Environmental Services, including Grounds Maintenance, Communal Cleaning and Window Cleaning services. You can read more about what each of these areas involves and meet the contractors in our Information Leaflet.
If you're in a retirement living or supported living home please speak to your local site manager for contract specifications.
The aim of this specification is for communal areas to be clean, tidy and well maintained throughout the year. We will achieve this by:
- Having even and well-cut grassed areas (cut and drop)
- Clean and usable hard surfaces for public access
- Maintain minimal maintenance areas as and when required, to ensure no vegetation is encroaching on non-minimal maintenance areas or public access routes.
- All hard surfaces (including external bin stores and drying areas), flower and shrub beds areas are weed, litter, leaf and moss free
- Well maintained hedgerows and shrub beds that retain its shape and vigour throughout the year
Ensuring hedgerows, shrubs and trees do not restrict access, block light to windows or encroach onto footpaths and highways throughout the year
What is not included?
Tree works, control of invasive weeds (e.g. Japanese Knotweed), removal of bulk waste, animal or human waste is not included in the Grounds Maintenance service.
You can find out more about Grounds Maintenance in our brochure and Japanese Knotweed on our information page
Please note during the winter months (November – February) you will receive a monthly visit rather than the fortnightly visit you received during March to October. See attached guidance on what work will be completed on these visits.
What level of service can you expect?
Communal Cleaning takes place in two-week cycles (unless otherwise agreed), the main tasks completed during each visit includes:
- Shared internal areas shall be kept clean tidy and dust-free
- Depending on the type, floors will be swept, vacuumed, scrubbed and/or mopped clean
- Bannisters, handrails, handles and knobs, hand and kick plates, light switches, sills, ledges, skirting boards and light fittings will be cleaned and polished
- Interior and exterior communal lights will be checked and bulbs changed as required (non-emergency lighting only)
- Lift walls, camera lenses, doors, door frames, door tracks and lights will be cleaned and polished.
- Shared refuse room floors, interior walls and doors will be washed
You can find out more about Communal Cleaning in our brochure
What level of service can you expect?
The Window Cleaning framework requires all windows, frames, sills and doors will be cleaned on a regular basis. The Contractors will begin cleaning at the highest level windows to avoid any unwanted drips.
Ground level windows and doors will be cleaned using a cloth and blade and for Health and Safety reasons, no ladders will be used as standard practice. The Contractor will aim to remove all obvious drips and streaks on windows.
Windows above ground level will be cleaned using an environmentally friendly Pure Water Fed Pole System. This type of system allows windows, sills and frames to be cleaned without the operative leaving the ground, which is much safer for both the operative and our customers.
The pure water cleans the windows without the use of detergents, using the water flow and a flexible brush to loosen dirt and leave the window even cleaner than using traditional detergents.
Water will be left on the windows but this will dry naturally without leaving any smears.
Window Cleaning Pole System
Pure Water
No Tap Water
Long pole System
No Harmful Chemicals
You can find out more about Window Cleaning in our brochure
More Information
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Meet your contractors
Cleaning
Grounds Maintenance
Window Cleaning
