How to Clean Hospital Floors

There are higher standards for keeping hospital floors clean than for your kitchen floors at home. Besides being able to kill bacteria, chosen floor cleaners need to be able to destroy bacterial spores, viruses and fungi. According to Sanitary Maintenance, cleanliness needs to be obvious to make hospital patrons feel more comfortable. Patients and their visitors want to see sqeaky-clean, gleaming white floors in their health care facilities. Follow these steps to make sure your floor-cleaning procedures are up to snuff and meeting expectations.

Things You'll Need

• Scraper
• Dust mop
• Wet mop
• Bucket
• Water
• Cleaning solution
• Automatic scrubber
• 'Wet Floor' sign

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Instructions

• 1

  Check the floor for obstructions or large particles that could get stuck inside your wet and dry mops. Remove them before continuing with the cleaning process. For example, if you find a piece of gum stuck to the floor, use a scraper to remove it.

• 2

  Run a dust mop over the floor, trying not to lift it from the floor's surface as you work. Remember to mop all the way to the floor's edge, and don't forget the corners.

• 3

  Prepare a bucket full of water and cleaning solution, making sure that you read mixing the directions on the label. In The Sustainable Hospitals Project case study, cleaning staff used GD-80, a disinfectant that effectively kills Hepatitis A and B, HIV, other viruses, bacteria and fungi. Your hospital should choose a disinfectant with similar properties.

• 4

  Thoroughly mop each room's floor surface twice. If you're using a conventional loop mop, change the solution in your bucket every two to three rooms. If there's considerable staining or soiling in a room, you may need to change your solution more often. The Sustainable Hospitals Project recommends using a microfiber mop. These mops use a new cloth for each room, eliminating the need to replace the cleaning solution.

• 5

  Use an automatic scrubber to clean open areas, such as hallways and corridors. Infection Control Today recommends scrubbing the floor twice before using the machine's vacuum function to dry the area.

• 6

  Place "Wet Floor" signs wherever you need to leave the floor wet, especially in areas of high traffic.