Daycare cleaning checklist

December 8, 2023

The Ultimate Daycare Cleaning Checklist

Table of content

As the need to be financially independent has increased, parents prefer to keep their children safe at a daycare center. It gives them the freedom to work, run errands, or advance their career. The child care centers have thus developed to emerge as a valuable service in any community. 

It also often becomes the hub for families to network and develop strong relationships. The daycare centers are also the perfect place for the children to spend time together and develop their cognitive skills.

When young children are together, they often share toys, snacks, and other materials. Kids are inquisitive, and they love to explore. Putting things in their mouth, dropping food on the floor, coughing, and sneezing openly are a few things that they indulge in. Their idea of sanitation and hygiene is low. 

It is taught to them by the elders at home or the daycare centers. Parents trust the daycare center to ensure the safety and security of their kids in a properly cleaned and sanitized environment. 

The responsibilities of these centers are plenty. They ought to keep the children safe, educate them, make them learn different things, and maintain a clean environment. Just a quick wipe-down of the table or taking out the trash does not ensure cleanliness. Daycare cleaning routine covers wide aspects of cleaning. 

It can often be daunting for the daycare staff. Hence, a professional cleaning company ensures perfect cleaning. 

Let us give you a detailed Daycare Cleaning Checklist and help you keep your business premises clean and the children safe. 

Get started.

Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting in Daycare Centers

When maintaining a good and well-maintained environment within a daycare facility, you ought to know about cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. Let us give you a good idea about all three of them. 

Before the cleaning checklist for daycare, knowing the details about cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting is vital. 

Cleaning is a process that involves removing visible dirt and debris from the premises. Soap, water, mop, duster, and vacuum cleaners are used in this procedure. 

Sanitizing removes germs, including viruses and bacteria, from the service. It reduces the germ population and makes the place a haven. 

Disinfecting is the process of killing and removing the germs more than cleaning but less than the sanitization process. It usually involves using a chemical to kill viruses. 

In a childcare facility, all three steps are used often. It ensures the proper maintenance of a healthy environment that keeps the children safe and assures the parents of their good health.

Related: Explore a detailed comparison between disinfection and sanitization.

The Importance of Daycare Center Cleaning

We’ve given a few reasons above regarding the importance of daycare cleaning. However, let us give you a detailed idea about the importance of daycare center cleaning. With the onset of COVID-19, cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting have become a regular part of the Daycare cleaning routine. 

The importance of maintaining the cleanliness of your daycare facility is mentioned below:

1. Kids are vulnerable to germs

Daycare centers deal with kids. Kids are vulnerable to germs and bacteria. With their minimal sense of hygiene and still developing immune systems, they are prone to getting affected by germs. 

Keeping the cleanliness and hygiene checked within your premises ensures keeping them safe.

2. Avoiding Tripping and Falling

Dirty floors, water spillage, and other reasons may cause the children to trip and fall. It might hurt them, causing a poor reputation for your business in the community. 

Vacuuming the floor, cleaning the water spills, and keeping the areas safe are all part of the daycare cleaning services. It keeps you free from any such stress.

3. Restrict the spread of germs

With proper cleaning, the daycare centers can restrict the spread of germs, majorly caused by shared toys and resources. Maintaining a high level of cleanliness ensure controlling the spread of germs across the premise.

4. Upholds Good Impression

One cannot ignore this advantage of a clean environment. Your daycare’s reputation and image will be as pristine as your center. It will bring you good business, and attract more parents to bring their kids to you.

A Healthy Environment Is A Necessary For Parents

Parents strive for a daycare center with a healthy environment. Many licensing laws focus on the health practices at a child care center. These laws address various health and cleanliness issues, ensuring only the best facilities are operating. 

The parents do have the following queries for the daycare provider:

As cleaning has become the major focus after COVID-19, compromising with it is unacceptable to the authorities and the communities. Hire professional commercial cleaning services to manage and follow the daycare cleaning checklists diligently.

Daycare Cleaning Supplies Checklist

  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Wet Wipes
  • Disinfectant Spray
  • Bleach
  • Paper Towels
  • Vacuum Cleaners
  • Dishwasher 

Cleaning The Daycare Facility by Area

The best way to maintain and follow a daycare cleaning checklist is by regulating it one room at a time. The daycare centers have different sections and areas. Each of them requires full attention for cleanliness. 

Let us check the cleaning of the various areas of the daycare facility and stay informed.

1. Play Area

Play areas are the messiest places in the daycare facility. It is also the place, where the children spend most of their time, and hence the cleanliness of this area is extremely crucial. 

When cleaning the area, the professional uses skin-friendly solutions, protecting the children from skin issues.

2. Kitchen and Eating Zones

Food handling and children do not go well together. Children do not follow the proper ways of eating, and hence, spilling becomes a part of their routine. 

Since all the food handling and preparation happens in the kitchen area, it ought to be cleaned. 

Disinfecting the countertops, cleaning and sanitizing the eating surfaces, and clearing the floor after eating are must activities. The daycare kitchen cleaning checklist should cover all these and other points, as well.

3. Bathrooms

The daily cleaning checklist for daycare must always include cleaning the bathroom. Children are still learning the use of toilets, and hence, they tend to make the bathroom messy. 

It is important for professional cleaners to deep clean and disinfect the sink and toilet bowls often. 

4. Classroom

The daycare classroom cleaning checklist is a must-have for every such facility. There are many facets to the process of classroom cleaning. 

Disinfecting the tables and chairs, sweeping the room, and cleaning the high-touch surfaces are some of the major functions to be fulfilled. 

The areas of a daycare facility vary in size, and hence, many other sections might require cleaning. These areas, however, are often generally included in the cleaning a daycare checklist of almost all facilities. 

The Complete Daycare Cleaning Checklist

With the help of professional daycare cleaners, you can embark on the journey of a clean and healthy premise. The complete daycare cleaning checklist includes cleaning daily, weekly, monthly, and according to seasons. 

To get a clear idea about what should be included in these lists, read the points we’ve compiled for you.

Daily cleaning checklist for daycare

The daily activities involved in the childcare cleaning checklist include the following:

  • Clean up and sanitize the toys, arts, and supplies. 
  • Spray and wipe the toys carefully.
  • Clean or wash the mats/linens.
  • Clean and sanitize the kitchen appliances and sinks. 
  • Vacuum the carpets and rugs and clean the floor. 
  • Sanitize the high-touch areas/surfaces like door knobs, light switches, etc.
  • Clean the restrooms and sanitize the area. 
  • Change the linens of the beds/changing tables. 
  • Emptying the garbage cans and scrubbing the floor. 
  • Wiping liquid spills and splashes off the floor. 

Daycare weekly cleaning checklist

For a daycare, the weekly cleaning schedule includes the following:

  • Wipe down cribs and change tables to ensure deep cleaning.
  • The daycare cleaning schedule also includes sanitizing and washing dress-up clothes. 
  • Sanitize books and bookshelves. 
  • Deep clean the arts and crafts supplies and the entire craft areas. 
  • Fix the under pads and mats for the furniture. 
  • Perform a deep cleaning of the center and every area. 
  • Clean the hard-to-reach places and wipe down the walls. 
  • Clean the washroom; ensure the sink and toilet fixtures are sanitized properly. 
  • Sanitize the cribs and bedding. 

Monthly cleaning checklist for daycare

The daycare cleaning checklist for your monthly cleaning requirement of the daycare includes the following:

  • Look for leaks in the plumbing and drains, and address the potential clogs. 
  • Disinfecting the windows, blinds, and curtains. 
  • Sanitize the furniture, vacuum the area, and dust windowsills.
  • Clean, sanitize, and disinfect the closets, shelves, and storage containers. 
  • Clean the carpet and rugs. 

Seasonal cleaning checklist for daycare

The seasonal cleaning checklist for the daycare includes the following:

  • Scrub the grouts
  • Clean your duvet 
  • Wipe down the shoe racks
  • Swap air filters
  • Turn your mattress
  • Clean inside the appliances
  • Clean all shelves

Professional Cleaning

Hiring professional cleaners ensures the premise is well-maintained and leaves a wonderful impression. It helps your premise to establish a good reputation and impression in the community.

Let us give you the idea about the professional cleaning services:

  • Disinfect the polished hardwood floors. 
  • Clean the restrooms and kitchens and minimize the buildup of germs, mold, and bacteria. 
  • Clean air ducts to make sure the air is free from dust buildup. 
  • Disinfect the carpet and guarantee the prevention of bacteria buildup. 

Expert Tips for Cleaning Your Daycare

To ensure proper and effective daycare cleaning measures are maintained in your facility, we have compiled tips from our expert cleaners. It identifies the major challenging areas and provides clever hacks to clean easily, and effectively.

1. Use Color- Coding Methods

When kids are involved, you need to be specific with many things. Maintaining a color-coded way for each section helps them identify the area. You can also add this color-scheme theory to organize the items.

2. Labeling Cleaning Products

Ensure to put a label on every cleaning item and tool. Detergents, soaps, or mops, labeling every item in the daycare, ensure the children learn about it and keep them away from it. This method is great for the cleaning team as it also saves their time from looking for any item.

3. Set Up Your Budget for Cleaning Supplies

Budgeting, planning, and ordering cleaning supplies need specific attention. Ensure to plan in a certain way to avoid unnecessary delays in the cleaning operations. It also requires you to keep a tab on the stock items and supplies.

4. Several Hand Washing Stations

To avoid severe mess in one area, spread out the hand washing stations. It also helps in reducing the spread of germs. Children can wash their hands at different stations, which reduce the queue in one area and create a less messy area.

Daycare Cleaning Schedule Templates – A Great Help!

Start your cleaning process with the regular daycare cleaning checklist templates offered by the experts. Ask them for help, and they are ready to share their expertise in the form of a template. It helps you to maintain a cleaning schedule format. 

The orderly and visually appealing templates enable you to keep track of the cleaning schedule and boost the hygiene of your premises.

Expert Assistance for Pristine Environment

To take care of your daycare cleaning requirements, hire professional cleaning services. Take the help of a bunch of experts who know the knicks and knacks of the industry. With their understanding of the cleanliness requirement in the daycare, these experts ensure maintaining a healthy and safe place. 

With a professional team by your side, you can keep track of all the cleanliness and avoid negligence. At Sterling Cleaning Services, we aim to provide the best daycare cleaning services and uphold a regular cleaning routine in place to ensure a safe and germ-free environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What cleaning responsibilities are involved in childcare?

In a childcare facility, the cleaning responsibilities are extreme. You need to maintain proper hygiene for the children and are responsible for their health and safety. Precautionary measures are to be taken to prevent the spread of germs and develop an excellent environment for the little ones. From desk cleaning to bathroom cleaning and sanitization, the responsibilities of a daycare facility are tremendous.

2. How should one go about cleaning a daycare classroom?

For cleaning a daycare classroom, the professional starts by organizing and cleaning the desks and chairs. Following this, proper measures are taken to clean the floor and manage the sanitization of the entire area. When in the hands of a professional, your cleaning requirements are fulfilled with excellence and expertise.

3. Which disinfectants are commonly utilized in daycares?

For sanitizing and disinfecting childcare facilities generally use products called antimicrobials. It kills bacteria, viruses, fungi, and mold on all hard surfaces. Bleach is also the most commonly used product in childcare settings. 

4. What is the recommended frequency for cleaning a daycare facility?

In general, daily daycare cleaning measures should be followed within the facility to get rid of regular germs and infections. Mats and carpets must be steam cleaned every 6 months and vacuumed regularly. The sinks and kitchen area need to be managed well regularly and once in a while it requires deep cleaning.

5. How regularly should toys be sanitized in childcare settings?

The toys should be sanitized during the naptime or at the end of each day. At some daycare facilities, the toys are sanitized after each child’s use. 

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