Medical Facility Cleaning Guide by Clean Group

Medical facility cleaning is a high-traffic zone. We cannot eliminate the fact that germs and viruses are lurking around. A medical facility must hire a medical cleaning company that will commit to the health and safety of every person that comes and goes.

In this article, we will talk to you about methods and tips on how the leading commercial cleaning company in Australia manages to adhere to the strict requirements of hospital cleaning.

How To Clean an Occupied Patient’s Room

Putting on PPE

Putting your personal protective equipment is the first step in every medical facility cleaning procedure. The goal of the personal protective equipment is to protect you and the patient from infection. Put on your PPE in the correct manner. You need to do the following:

• Before putting on the PPE, you should practice proper hand hygiene.
• Put on the gown and tie it in place.
• Put on your facemask. This is a piece of equipment you will need to remain safe in the care environment.
• Put on eye goggles.
• Finally, put on gloves. You always have to have gloves, especially when you are using chemicals.
• Sometimes, you are required to wear additional PPE based on what is happening to the patient or resident. Most healthcare settings use signs that are seen outside the patient’s room to tell you about the PPE you will need.

If you have any questions about PPE like what to use and when feel free to ask your supervisor or the infection preventionist where you work.

Collecting the Trash

Knock on the door before going inside the room. Please introduce yourself to the patient or resident and tell them why you are there. This is a way of showing respect because you are coming into their space. In some healthcare settings, the room is your patient’s home.

In long-term care settings, rooms are suggested to be cleaned while patients are not there.

Medical commercial cleaners start the cleaning process by picking up trash items and debris throughout the room and placing it in the bin. Remove the trash liner and place it in the doorway.

Gather the Linen

Collect loose linen throughout the room and check the restroom if there are linens there too. Do not pull the linen on the floor as you collect them. Place the collected linen in a hamper or in a bag right away.

Take the linen off of the bed if the patient is not there. Some medical facility cleaning settings only allow the nursing staff to change the linens. In line with this, you need to make sure that changing the linens is part of your work scope.

Remove pillowcases slowly while taking the linen from the bed. Pull the linen upon itself, forming a self-contained package. Be careful not to shake or agitate the linen as you pick it up from the floor. Stirring the linens will make germs become airborne and pose an infection control risk.

Immediately put all the gathered linens in the hamper or bag. Remove the linen liner and place it in the doorway next to the trash.

Damp Wipe all Surfaces

Surfaces that are needed to be damp wiped include the bed. Be sure to clean the rails on both sides, the positioning buttons, call light, and other furniture in the room such as chairs, recliners, tables, and countertops.

Placed your used cleaning cloth in the container or bag after you had wiped all the surfaces and high-touch points.

Clean the Restroom

Get a new cloth before cleaning the restroom. Once you have cleaned the toilet, put your used cleaning cloth in the container.

Removing and Putting on Gloves – Hand Hygiene

You need to remove your gloves and wash your hands properly after facility cleaning the restroom. You need to do this before putting on new, clean gloves.

A rule is that when your hands are not visibly dirty, an alcohol-based hand rub is the best way for doing hand hygiene in the healthcare setting. You must use soap and warm water to clean them if your hands are visibly dirty.

Restock Paper Products

Now that the restroom is clean, it is time to restock the paper products and put on a new trash liner and linen liner in the room.

Dust Mop the Floor

The next step is to dust and mop the room. Start at the doorway and work your way along the edges of the room. Move the mop in a figure-eight motion, making sure that the swipes of the mop overlap.

This will make sure that you will not miss any area of the floor. Pay close attention to corners and edges for dust and debris that may build up there.

Damp Mop the Floor

The last step in medical cleaning is essential for medical centres that are damp mopping. Damp-mop the whole floor area, including the toilet’s floor. Use proper medical facility cleaning signages to keep the site safe.

Always start with placing the wet floor sign at the doorway of the room. Be sure to wring the mop to remove as much solution as you can to lessen drips after you wring it out.

After you wring out the mop or after you have put a cleaning solution on a pre-dampened floor cleaner, start to mop the floor from the edge of the room and work towards the furthest corner of the room away from the door. Use the figure-eight motion just like you did with dry mopping.

Make sure to walk your way out of the room by damp mopping as you go. This will make sure that you are not tracking dirt with your shoes onto the newly cleaned floor. Keep the wet floor sign in the doorway of the room until the floor is dry and safe to walk on.

Closing a contract for healthcare facility cleaning is rewarding. Commercial cleaning is now highly regarded because of the importance it brings. Not only because of the Pandemic but also because of the unique needs of medical facilities.

Please let us know what you want to know about medical facility cleaning by dropping a comment below. We are more than willing to share our insights and tips on how we are able to close and manage medical contracts successfully. We want to impart our knowledge to you.

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