INSTA 800 quality levels 1–5: what does level 3 mean in practice?
"We require quality level 3 according to NS-INSTA 800." That sentence appears in many tenders. But what does it actually mean for the cleaner standing in the room, and for the inspector who comes afterwards?
This article explains the five levels, and uses level 3 as the example throughout, because it is the most common requirement in office and education buildings.
What a level is, briefly
INSTA 800 measures visible cleanliness by counting accumulations of dirt in a room, divided into four object groups: furniture, walls, floors and ceilings. The quality level decides how many accumulations are allowed before the room fails.
- Level 1 allows the most accumulations. Lowest requirement.
- Level 5 allows the fewest. Highest requirement.
The level applies to the result after cleaning, not to how often the room is cleaned. If you are new to the standard, start with What is INSTA 800?.
The limit depends on the size of the room
This is where many people go wrong. The limit for a level is not one number. It depends on three things:
- The quality level (1–5)
- Whether the surface is easily accessible or hard to reach
- The size of the room
The standard divides rooms into area classes. CleanFlow uses the same classes:
Area class | Room size |
|---|---|
Small rooms | up to 15 m² |
Medium rooms | 15–35 m² |
Large rooms | 35–60 m² |
Very large rooms | 60–100 m² |
Rooms over 100 m² must be split into several inspection units. A large open-plan office is therefore inspected as several "rooms".
A large room at level 3 allows more accumulations than a small room at level 3. That is logical: more surface gives more space for dirt. But it also means you cannot learn one number and use it everywhere.
The five levels, one by one
Level 1 Very low requirements. Used for areas where appearance matters little, such as some storage and technical rooms. Many contracts do not use it at all.
Level 2 Low requirements. Suitable for basement corridors, garages, workshops and rooms that are rarely visited.
Level 3 Medium requirements and the most common level. Used for offices, meeting rooms, corridors, classrooms, canteens and most common areas. The room should feel clean in normal use, but a few accumulations of dirt are allowed.
Level 4 High requirements. Used for representative areas such as receptions, boardrooms and entrances, as well as toilets and changing rooms where users are extra sensitive to visible dirt.
Level 5 Very high requirements. Used where cleanliness is critical: clean rooms, laboratories, some treatment rooms. Almost no accumulations of dirt are allowed on easily accessible surfaces.
What level 3 means in practice
Imagine a 20 m² office with level 3 on all four object groups. After cleaning, the inspector walks in and counts.
- On furniture she counts waste, dust and stains on desktops, chair backs, window sills and door handles. A few accumulations are allowed on easily accessible surfaces, more on the hard-to-reach ones.
- On floors she counts loose dirt and stains. A couple of accumulations is fine. A line of dust along the skirting boards is not.
- On walls and ceilings the requirements are easy to meet in practice, because these surfaces rarely get dirty between cleanings.
The room passes if no object group exceeds its limit. One object group over the limit is enough for the whole room to fail.
So: level 3 does not mean "perfect". It means "clean enough that nobody notices dirt in normal use".
Different levels in the same room
A room does not need the same level on all object groups. It is common to set:
- Level 4 on furniture and floors, because that is where people look
- Level 3 on walls
- Level 2 on ceilings
This is called a quality profile. In CleanFlow you set the profile per room type, and all rooms of that type inherit it. Change the profile for "office" and the requirement changes in every office in the building.
Which level should you choose?
Three questions help:
- Who uses the room? Customers and visitors mean a higher level than your own staff.
- What does it cost? Each level up costs more, because it requires more frequent or more thorough cleaning. Level 4 everywhere is rarely worth the money.
- Can it be inspected? A level you never inspect is just a number in the contract. Choose levels you actually intend to follow up.
A typical office contract ends up with level 3 as the base level, level 4 in the entrance, reception and toilets, and level 2 in storage and technical rooms.
Frequently asked questions
Is level 5 always best? No. Level 5 is expensive to deliver and unnecessary in most rooms. Choose the level the room needs.
Can the level be changed during the contract? Yes, if both parties agree. The level affects the price, so a change is normally a contract amendment.
What if the room is larger than 100 m²? Then it is split into inspection units of up to 100 m² that are inspected separately. CleanFlow flags such rooms automatically.
Want to set quality profiles directly on the floor plan? See how CleanFlow supports INSTA 800, or try it free for 14 days.