7 Waiting Room Cleaning Tips for Healthcare Facilities
Healthcare facility waiting rooms are a breeding ground for germs. People come and go, healthy and sick all day long.
If you’re finding yourself struggling with cleaning a medical office waiting room while keeping up with patient care, you’re not alone!
So to help you out, we’ve put together seven tips to help speed up and simplify the process.
7 Waiting Room Cleaning Tips for Healthcare Facilities
1: Use the Right Cleaning Products
To help keep your patients and staff healthy, you have to ensure that your medical office — including the waiting room — is being cleaned with EPA-registered disinfectants several times a day, especially on high-touch surfaces and high-traffic areas.
These cleaning products are usually labelled as “hospital-grade” agents, and often include bleach, accelerated hydrogen peroxide, phenolics, quats, and peracetic acid.
Common disinfectants include Lysol I.C., Sani-Cloth wipes, and CaviCide, for example.
Learn more about EPA-registered disinfectants, their uses, and what’s appropriate for use in a healthcare facility on the EPA’s website.
2: Use the Right Cleaning Tools
Just as the right cleaning products are important, so are the tools you use to clean with.
Did you know that microfiber cloths and mop heads are the chosen tools for most hospitals when it comes to cleaning? That’s right! They are highly effective at trapping dust, dirt, grime, and even germs, helping to prevent cross-contamination, especially in healthcare offices and facilities.
So after you spray a table with a disinfectant, let it dwell, then wipe it clean with a dry or slightly damp microfiber cloth.
And the best part about microfiber cloths and mop heads? They’re washable and reusable!
3: Focus on High-Touch Surfaces
Germs are easily transferred by touching objects around the waiting room. So, when you clean, be sure to focus on wiping down high-touch surfaces such as:
Armrests
Chairs
Doorknobs and handles
Light switches
Check-in counters
Side tables
Pens
Stair handrails
Hand sanitizer stations
Public telephones
Automatic door openers
Water fountains
4: Allow Proper Dwell Time
In order for disinfectants to work (meaning, they actually kill the germs they are meant to kill), you have to allow the product to dwell. This means, if you spray a disinfectant cleaner on a surface, it must sit for the time specified on the product label to ensure its effectiveness, then you wipe.
Always read the cleaning product label before cleaning to ensure you’re following proper healthcare facility cleaning procedures. This helps keep you, your staff, and your patients healthy and prevents the spread of germs.
5: Clean and Sanitize Children’s Play Areas Daily
If left untouched, children play areas can get dirty and germy quickly. Each day, plan to sanitize all toys and books. If you have rocking chairs or breastfeeding loungers, vacuum them well, and sanitize each day.
6: Pay Attention to Floors
People come and go in a medical office which can cause mud, dirt, dust, and other debris to accumulate quickly throughout the day. Regularly sweep or vacuum, dust mop, and damp mop with a disinfectant solution (at a minimum). Make sure to get in corners, and check baseboards for dust buildup.
7: Create a Cleaning Schedule
With a clear schedule, with assigned tasks, cleaning a healthcare facility should be a breeze. Create a simple daily checklist that follows certain tasks that should be accomplished every day. These tasks may include:
Sweeping the waiting room floors
Wiping down all high-touch surfaces
Sanitizing children’s toys and books
Clean and restock bathrooms (if applicable)
Empty trash
Tidying up
We recommend daily checklists for before the office opens, before or immediately after lunch break, and end-of-day.
Ready to pass off your waiting room cleaning to a professional janitorial service in Asheville, NC? The Go-To Janitor has you covered!
That’s right! We do all of the above and more. If you own and operate a healthcare facility in the greater Asheville NC are or surrounding cities, we’d love to help you with all your janitorial needs. Just give us a call at 828-536-0555 or submit our Free Estimate form and someone will give you a ring soon.
We look forward to helping keep you, your staff, and your patients healthy with a clean, sanitized, and well-maintained waiting room.
