Unilever Professional

A guide for Australian procurement managers, facility managers, and cleaning providers

If your team is cleaning for hours and surfaces still look dull, smell off, or fail an audit, the problem usually isn't effort. It's the product. In commercial kitchens, hospital wards, hotel laundry rooms and aged care facilities across Australia, one of the most common (and expensive) mistakes is assuming that "clean" and "effective" are the same thing.

They're not. And in a country where hygiene compliance, workplace safety standards, and client expectations keep rising, that gap can contribute to complaints, failed audits and potentially lost contracts.

How do I know if my cleaning products are actually working?

It's a fair question, and one that more Australian facility managers are asking. Here are the tell-tale signs your current cleaning products may be underperforming:

• Streaking or residue build-up on hard surfaces, even after correct dilution
• Persistent odours that return within hours of cleaning
• Increased complaints from staff, guests, residents or clients about hygiene standards
• Inconsistent results across different cleaning teams or shifts
• Products that "smell strong" but don't disinfect, since fragrance is not efficacy

Signs your commercial cleaning products are ineffective

Most underperformance comes down to one (or more) of these root causes:

1. Wrong product for the surface or soil type. A general-purpose cleaner won't cut grease in a commercial kitchen or lift limescale in high-traffic bathrooms.
2. Incorrect dilution ratios. Diluting too much saves cost short-term but reduces effectiveness. Diluting too little wastes product and budget.
3. Contact time ignored. Disinfectants need dwell time to actually kill pathogens; wiping and moving on doesn't count.
4. One product being used for too many jobs. Trying to simplify the cleaning inventory can sometimes go too far. Different soils, surfaces and hygiene requirements often need different formulations.
5. Inconsistent supply. Swapping between cheaper alternatives to manage cost creates unpredictable results across sites.

The Real Cost of an Underperforming Product

In healthcare and aged care, an underperforming disinfectant is a compliance and infection control risk. In hospitality, it shows up in guest complaints and review scores. In commercial kitchens, it is a food safety audit risk. In high-volume laundry operations at gyms, sports clubs and commercial laundries, it is a cost-per-wash blowout and fabric degradation problem. In each case, the root cause is often the same: the wrong product, used incorrectly, for the wrong task.

What cleaning products do professional facilities use in Australia?

Each of these risks points to a different formulation need, which is why the right range matters as much as having "a" cleaning product on hand.

Unilever Professional helps simplify commercial cleaning with a range of trusted, purpose-built products, each formulated for different surfaces, soils and cleaning requirements. In the Australian market, that includes:

• Domestos Professional for disinfection in high-risk zones such as bathrooms, healthcare settings, and food prep areas
• Jif Professional for surface care in commercial kitchens, healthcare facilities and salon environments, lifting grime without damaging stainless steel, ceramic or treated surfaces
• OMO Professional for commercial laundry at scale across gyms, hotels, sports clubs and laundromats, where cost-per-wash consistency matters as much as clean results
• Surf Professional for high-volume laundry needs across hospitality, healthcare, and aged care
• Comfort Professional for hospitality linen, healthcare textiles and staff uniforms that need to feel and smell genuinely clean after repeated high-volume washing cycles
• Drive Professional for heavy-soil laundry in healthcare, aged care and hospitality, where staff uniforms and linen face repeated, high-load washing cycles

The full Unilever Professional range is available through Bunnings, helping Australian facilities teams keep essential cleaning and laundry products readily stocked. The common thread across the range is that these products are formulated for commercial-grade soil loads and supported by clear, correct-use guidance, helping teams achieve more consistent results across shifts.

Ready to improve cleaning performance?

If your current range isn't delivering, you don't need to overhaul your entire cleaning program. Start with three steps:

1. Audit your highest-risk areas — whichever spaces carry the greatest compliance, guest-facing or hygiene risk in your environment — and identify where current products are falling short.
2. Check your dilution and contact time practices against manufacturer guidance. This alone resolves a surprising number of "ineffective product" complaints.
3. Compare your current range against a professional-grade alternative on the specific soils and surfaces you deal with daily.

Ineffective cleaning products aren't just a performance issue. They're a compliance risk, a client-retention risk, and a hidden cost sitting inside your cleaning budget.

Find the right professional cleaning products for your facility in the Unilever Professional range.