The measurement system
Every cleaning company says "clean." We hand you a number.
Measured clean means surface cleanliness verified by instrument, not by eye. Here's exactly what the number means, what it doesn't mean, and what you get delivered after every visit.
30 MINUTES · YOUR FACILITY · YOU KEEP THE READINGS
SURFACE 03, OPERATORY LIGHT HANDLE
–––RLU
Our target is 25 RLU, four times stricter than the 100 RLU pass limit.
Typical untested office surfaces exceed 300 RLU.
327 and 18 are real readings from a client site. The client is not named.
What the number means
Lower is cleaner. Scored in RLU, relative light units.0 to 100 passes. 101 to 299 is caution: we re-clean and retest. 300 and above fails. Our own target on every high-touch surface we test is 25. The two pins are the real client-site readings replayed on the meter above.
The measurement
What the swab reads, what the number means, and where the lines fall.
What does ATP testing measure?
ATP testing measures organic residue on a surface. We swab it, read the swab in a luminometer, and score the result in RLU, relative light units. Lower is cleaner, and our target on every high-touch surface we test is 25.
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the energy molecule present in all organic material, skin cells, saliva residue, food film, biofilm. An ATP bioluminescence test works in three steps: swab a surface, read the swab in a luminometer that measures the light produced by any organic residue, and score the result in RLU (Relative Light Units). Lower is cleaner.
It's the same measurement method used in professional cleaning audits in hospitals and food processing, brought to your dental operatory, exam room, med spa, or rental property.
What the numbers mean
Below 25 RLU is the pass threshold used in hospital cleaning audits, and it's our standard for every high-touch surface we test. Typical untested office surfaces routinely exceed 300 RLU. Most facilities have never had a number at all, let alone one that low. If a surface reads high, we re-clean it and re-test it on the spot. That's the whole system: the number isn't decoration, it's the standard we hold ourselves to.
New to the numbers? Read the full explainer on ATP testing and RLU scores. What each reading means, where the lines fall, and what a swab can and can't prove.
What ATP testing is not
It measures organic residue, surface cleanliness, not disinfection, pathogen kill, or regulatory compliance. Disinfection is a separate activity we perform using EPA-registered products at full label dwell time; the ATP reading doesn't verify that step happened, and we'd never claim it does.
The cleaning that produces a low reading is a method, not an accident, color-coded microfiber and the two-bucket system are how we keep a restroom cloth from ever reaching a desk.
What it answers is one specific question with a number: did the cleaning actually happen, to a measurable standard? That's the question most cleaning companies in Columbus can't answer on paper at all.
The scope of what gets tested, and how often, changes by facility type. Start with the commercial cleaning service frequency calculator, see how the method is applied in dental operatories and medical exam rooms, or browse the full list of service lines.
The loop
What happens between a high reading and a finished room.
What happens when a surface reads high?
We re-clean it and re-test it on the spot. No waiting for the next scheduled visit, and the room is not done until the surface passes.
Before you hire
Five questions that separate a documented standard from a promise.
What should you ask a cleaning company before hiring?
Ask five things: how often they ATP-test, whether you get the same team every visit, whether documentation arrives after every clean, who actually cleans, and whether you can meet the owner.
Pricing, scheduling, and switching questions are answered in the FAQ. Or ask them in person during your complimentary ATP walkthrough.
Delivered after every visit
What do you get after every visit?
Photos and logs prove someone showed up. An ATP reading proves the surface is actually clean. You get all three, in your inbox, before our van leaves the lot.
Room-by-Room Checklist
What was cleaned, when, and by whom, your facility's own SOP, checked off line by line.
Photo-Timestamped Documentation
You see the work, not just a signature. Inspection-supportive records for every visit.
ATP Readings
RLU scores on your high-touch surfaces, on the verification cadence you scope. Below 25 is the pass threshold used in hospital cleaning audits.
30 minutes · your facility · you keep the readings
See what your surfaces actually read.
The complimentary ATP walkthrough is part facility cleaning risk review, part live demonstration. We walk your facility together, swab your highest-touch surfaces, and the numbers are yours, whether you hire us or not.
Book Your Complimentary ATP Walkthrough