Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 17th September 2026 Issue no. 1226
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Manufacturing leaders reveal biggest cleaning & hygiene challenges facing UK facilities
Maintaining regulatory compliance and preventing contamination or cross contamination have emerged as the joint biggest cleaning & hygiene challenges facing UK manufacturing facilities, new research by commercial cleaning company Mrs Buckét has revealed.
The research asked 250 senior decision-makers in manufacturing responsible for cleaning & hygiene across the UK about the growing pressure on manufacturing businesses to ensure their facilities are clean and compliant.
Both maintaining regulatory compliance and preventing contamination or cross contamination were identified by 16% of manufacturing leaders as their biggest cleaning & hygiene challenge.
Close behind, 15% said minimising disruption to production was their biggest challenge, while the same proportion cited meeting sustainability requirements.
Recruiting and retaining cleaning staff was identified by 14% as a key challenge, alongside managing cleaning costs, also at 14%.
However, just 8% of respondents said they face no cleaning & hygiene challenges at their facility.
The findings also underline the importance manufacturers place on standards when outsourcing their cleaning. More than half (52%) of manufacturing leaders said health & safety standards were the most important factor for their organisation when selecting a contract cleaning provider.
“Manufacturing is an environment where cleaning simply cannot be treated as an afterthought,” warns Rachael Flanagan, founder and CEO of Mrs Buckét. “When you’re dealing with strict regulations, contamination risks and production schedules that cannot afford unnecessary disruption, the cleaning partner you choose has a crucial role to play.
“What really stands out from this research is the breadth of challenges manufacturing leaders are managing. From compliance and contamination through to sustainability, staffing and cost pressures, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to maintaining a manufacturing facility.
“It also reinforces why specialist knowledge matters. Manufacturers need a cleaning partner that understands their environment, its risks and its operational demands, rather than simply providing a team with a list of cleaning tasks.
“At Mrs Buckét, we work closely with our clients to understand what matters most to their operation and build cleaning programmes around those requirements. Ultimately, our job is to give manufacturing leaders confidence that their facilities are clean, safe and compliant, while allowing their teams to focus on keeping production moving.”
Image: Mrs Buckét’s divisional managers Emma Smith, Len Williams and Debra James-Bailey
17th September 2026