Chemicals and methods a cleaner should decline at a Silverwater site

An unlabelled container is the clearest case. Without a label there is no safety data sheet, no dilution guidance and no way to know what the product is compatible with. Decanted product in an unmarked bottle is the same problem wearing a different shape. Mixing two products is another absolute: several common combinations produce chlorine gas or an exothermic reaction, and neither is survivable as a learning experience.

Using a product on a surface it is not rated for is the third. Acid on polished concrete, chlorine on stainless steel, solvent on a coated panel and strong alkali on aluminium all cause damage that is permanent and often not immediately visible. A client asking for it usually does not know, which is why the answer should include an explanation rather than a flat no.

Some techniques are wrong regardless of the product. Dry sweeping a fine combustible or respirable dust puts it into the air, which is worse than leaving it, and the correct approach is a suitable vacuum or a wet method depending on the material. Pressure washing a surface that drains to stormwater moves a problem rather than solving it. Using water near live electrical equipment is obvious and still happens.

Working at height without proper access belongs in the same category. A cleaner asked to reach something from a chair, a pallet or a stack of stock should decline every time, and the request should never be made. Where a site's own staff routinely improvise access, a contractor holding a firm line is doing the site a favour rather than being difficult. Where a site's own culture has drifted toward improvisation, a contractor holding the line consistently often prompts a wider review of how access is managed.

A refusal on its own leaves the client with the original problem. The useful response identifies the objective: a stain that will not shift, an odour, a surface that looks wrong, a residue that keeps returning. Once the objective is clear, there is usually a compatible product or a different approach, and occasionally the honest answer is that the surface needs a specialist or a repair rather than a cleaning solution.

Recording the outcome matters because these requests recur. A note in the scope saying which product is used on a particular surface, and which are excluded, means a relief cleaner or a new site contact does not restart the conversation from the beginning. It also protects the site from a well-meant substitution that damages an expensive finish. It is one of the cheapest protections available in a written scope.