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Child Care

Environmental Cleaning & Disinfection

Infections can spread when a person touches a contaminated surface or object and then touches their mouth, nose or eyes. Some germs can survive for long periods of time on surfaces including doorknobs, faucet handles, toys and diapering tables. Frequent cleaning then disinfection is an important measure to prevent the spread of infections in child care centres.

Child care centres must provide staff with health and safety training that includes the safe and proper use of cleaning and disinfections agents.

It is important to remember that cleaning and disinfection are two separate processes. Cleaning must be completed first to allow the disinfectant to kill any pathogens. 

It is important for centres to have a cleaning and disinfecting schedule in place to ensure that all areas are cleaned and disinfected as needed. Refer to the SMDHU cleaning schedule with expected minimum cleaning frequencies.

Carpets and floor mats can be more heavily contaminated for prolonged periods than non-carpeted floors and can be a potential source of microorganisms during outbreaks. Child care centres that use carpets and floor mats must ensure that:

  • Floors should be vacuumed or wet-mopped daily.
  • Carpets/floor mats must be cleaned as often as necessary and promptly if a spill occurs.
  • If carpets do not appear to be adequately cleaned, re-cleaning is necessary, or replacement must be considered.
  • Floor mats that cannot be adequately cleaned and disinfected should be promptly removed and replaced. 
  • Carpets in the infant rooms are to be steam-cleaned at least monthly (or more as required, particularly during an outbreak).
  • Carpets in all other classrooms are to be steam-cleaned at least quarterly (or more as required, particularly during an outbreak).

Floors, walls and ceilings should be kept clean and in good repair. Floors and walls should be made of a material that is smooth, non-porous and easily cleanable. Surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected more frequently during outbreaks to decrease the spread of infections. 

Items requiring laundering include bedding, towels/cloths, dress-up clothing, furniture coverings and plush toys. These items cannot be disinfected the same as hard surfaces or hard toys, therefore they are required to be laundered to remove germs/contaminants. For personal items such as blankets/plushies from home, these items can be stored at the centre for the week and sent home to be laundered over the weekend.  Due to the risk of allergens at different homes, when these items return on Monday, they need to be stored separately while on-site through the entire week. Clothing that becomes soiled or cloth diapers are to be contained in a sealable, leak-proof bag and sent home without washing or rinsing.

When doing laundry on-site, the following should be considered:

  • Laundry should be done in a designated area that is separate from any food preparation areas.
  • The laundry area is inaccessible to children.
  • Keep dirty laundry separate from clean laundry. Baskets/containers should be designated for clean or dirty laundry. Note: following a blood or body fluid spill, soiled items should be laundered immediately.
  • Launder items such as bedding and dress-up clothing separate from items used for environmental cleaning (e.g., cloths, mop heads).
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