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The Best Ways to Clean Outdoor Playsets For Kids

If you are a parent, then you may have considered the cleanliness of public playgrounds or even the playground set sitting in your backyard. Public playgrounds can easily become breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria that are spread through bodily fluids such as mucous, feces, spittle or blood. According to SafeandPlay, a study of 800 playground surfaces showed that approximately 20 percent of them were contaminated with bodily fluids.

  1. Pressure Washing

    • Outdoor structures should be pressure-washed at least twice a year in order to help prevent the growth of mold and mildew. Be careful during the pressure-washing process that wood and plastic components are not damaged, which can result in repair costs for equipment or safety hazards such as splinters on wooden playsets.

    Attention to Detail

    • All surfaces for playground equipment should be cleaned and inspected. If the playground is outdoors, mold and mildew treatments can also be part of the cleaning process, depending on your location. All cargo netting, shoe racks, seats, plastic balls, rails, steps, tubes, windowsills, baseboards and crevices between playground components should be cleaned. Flooring areas should be vacuumed and steam cleaned. It is best to perform a deep clean once a month with maintenance cleaning on a weekly basis.

    Types of Cleaning Solutions

    • Cleaning solutions should be nonallergenic, noncorrosive and for use as both cleaners and disinfectants. Use chemicals that are approved for use by the EPA as clean and safe for use, both in terms of chemical contact with people as well as the environment. Homemade cleaning solutions can be made by mixing ammonia, dish detergent, rubbing alcohol and water.

    Don't Use Bleach

    • Bleach and other chlorine-based products are caustic enough to cause degradation in the materials used for most playground equipment sets, especially for plastic components. Although bleach kills most, if not all, germs found on a playground, it can also leave a strong odor and any residue can damage articles of clothing. If you are using high concentrations of bleach during the cleaning process, it can lead to respiratory distress for the person doing the cleaning.

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