What Does “CIMS Certified” Mean, and Why Should You Care?

If you’ve spent any time on our website, you may have noticed a badge or two mentioning “CIMS” or “CIMS-GB with Honors.” It’s easy to scroll past — but this certification says more about the quality of your cleaning service than almost anything else we could tell you about ourselves.

Here’s what it actually means, and why it should matter to you as a homeowner or facility manager.

What Is CIMS, Exactly?

CIMS stands for Cleaning Industry Management Standard. It’s a certification created by ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, to give businesses and consumers a reliable way to tell the difference between a cleaning company that just says it’s professional and one that can actually prove it.

Rather than grading a single cleaning job, CIMS evaluates the entire company — how it’s managed, how it trains and equips its staff, how it communicates with clients, and how consistently it delivers results across every job, every time.

To become certified, a cleaning company has to pass an independent, third-party audit covering five core areas:

• Quality Systems – documented processes that ensure consistent, repeatable results
• Service Delivery – how the work actually gets done on-site
• Human Resources – hiring, training, and supporting the people doing the cleaning
• Health, Safety & Environmental Stewardship – protecting both the cleaning crew and the people who use the space
• Management Commitment – leadership’s investment in maintaining these standards long-term

Some companies go a step further and earn the CIMS Green Building (CIMS-GB) certification, which adds a layer focused specifically on environmentally responsible cleaning — things like reducing chemical exposure, improving indoor air quality, and using sustainable practices. The highest tier of that certification is awarded “with Honors,” reserved for companies that exceed the baseline requirements across the board.

Why It’s Not Just a Marketing Badge

Cleaning is one of those industries where it’s genuinely hard to evaluate a company from the outside. Almost anyone can put “professional cleaning” on a website. Reviews help, but they only tell you about one person’s experience on one particular day.

CIMS certification exists to solve that problem. Because it requires an outside auditor to verify everything — not the company grading its own homework — it gives you an extra level of assurance.

It proves real systems exist, not just good intentions. A CIMS-certified company has documented, repeatable processes for training staff, handling client feedback, and maintaining quality — so the work isn’t dependent on which crew happens to show up.

It signals accountability. Certification isn’t a one-time achievement. Companies are re-evaluated periodically, which means they have to keep meeting the standard, not just hit it once and move on.

It protects the people in the space. The health, safety, and environmental components of the standard mean certified companies are held to real practices around chemical use, safety protocols, and (for CIMS-GB) indoor air quality — not just what looks good on a label.

It gives you a benchmark for comparison. When you’re vetting cleaning companies for your office, facility, or home, CIMS certification is one of the few objective, third-party-verified data points you can actually check.

What This Means for You

Whether you’re a facility manager responsible for a building full of employees, a school administrator thinking about student health, or a homeowner who just wants your cleaning service to show up and do what they say — CIMS certification is a shortcut to answering the question, “Can I trust this company?”

It won’t tell you everything (you’ll still want to check reviews, ask about their process, and get a feel for how they communicate). But it does tell you that an outside party has already verified the fundamentals: real training, real systems, real accountability.

Daigle Cleaning Systems Is CIMS-GB Certified With Honors

We didn’t just chase a certification for the sake of a badge. We hold the CIMS Green Building certification with Honors from ISSA because it reflects how we already believe cleaning services should operate: with proven systems, trained technicians, and accountability you can actually verify — across every home and facility we serve.

If you’d like to see it for yourself, you can view our certification here, or learn more about our process and standards.

Have questions about what our certification means for your space? Contact us or request a free estimate — we’re happy to walk you through it.