Aside from soothing nap-related tantrums, coaxing wads of gum out of long hair, and ensuring all children in your daycare are happy and healthy all day long, you are left cleaning up a mess at the end of each and every day. Maintaining a clean day care can feel like a full time job, but it doesn’t have to be when you hire a professional cleaning service to keep your day care clean all summer long.
The Risk
Children, more than adults, are at risk of developing viruses, catching colds, and experiencing negative side effects from exposure to toxic chemicals. The young kids you look after eat, drink, and breathe more than you do in proportion to their size. As you know, children also love to crawl around on the floor, dig around in piles of dirt outdoors, and put things in their mouths. The average two year old will put something in their mouth a whopping eighty-one times per hour. All of these behaviors expose them to more organisms and chemicals than adults, so it is incredibly important to use a professional cleaning service that avoids using unneeded or harsh chemicals during the cleaning process.
Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting—Aren’t they all the same?
Most people assume that cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting all mean the same thing. However, all three words in the context of professionally cleaning your daycare have very distinct meanings.
Cleaners like soap, detergent, water, and eco-friendly solutions remove dirt and organisms living on the surface. Sanitizers are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and work to reduce bacteria levels on inanimate surfaces. Disinfectants are considered pesticides and also regulated by the EPA. Disinfectants destroy many organisms including viruses and bacteria on non-porous surfaces.
Clean Correctly
Cleaning is the most gentle and green way to protect children from both unnecessary viruses and unnecessary chemical exposure. Your professional cleaning service will use a green and safe cleaner on shelves, windows, carpets, and glass for general cleaning. Green cleaners can also be used as the first step in the cleaning process before sanitizing or disinfecting.
Be Smart When You Sanitize
Sanitizing is a step above cleaning when it comes to protecting children from viruses and bacteria. However, before you reach for the spray bottle, remember that you only need to sanitize areas that are in high-traffic areas and areas that are used for food preparation or handling. Surfaces that should be sanitized include doorknobs or push bars, stair railings, eating utensils and dishes, bottles, and food preparation surfaces.
Don’t Automatically Disinfect
When choosing to disinfect a surface in your daycare, your professional cleaner knows which organisms the disinfectant protects against, how to properly use it, and which target areas are appropriate for use. As a rule of thumb, consider disinfecting only in areas and on objects that come into contact with bodily fluids. Hot spots that require disinfecting include diaper changing areas and bathrooms, water fountains, toys that have been in a child’s mouth, and any surfaces that have been exposed to blood or other bodily fluids.
Do Your Homework
When choosing the right cleaner, sanitizer, or disinfectant for the job, be sure to thoroughly examine the product before using. Check for signal words like poison, danger, or toxic. Read the ingredient list to see if the product uses ammonia, bleach, or added fragrance. The safest cleaners will have a pH close to neutral (7). See if the sanitizer or disinfectant is registered with the EPA by looking for the registration number printed on the packaging. Finally, look for products that are certified by an independent third party eco-conscious company like Green Seal, Eco-Logo, or Design for the Environment.
Remove the Guessing and Stressing
A 360 Cleaning has provided Maryland with top-notch professional cleaning and janitorial services for over 12 years. We don’t cut corners and ensure that every customer is satisfied with their cleaning. To explore how we can help keep your daycare clean and green this summer, give us a call at 410-852-5800 or visit us online. For more cleaning tips, follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
Tags: Baltimore, cleaning for health, commercial cleaning, commercial cleaning benefits, daycare