Cleaning With Colours to prevent infection and Cross Contamination

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Just as Chefs and kitchen staff use different coloured chopping boards for different foods to avoid cross contamination  - it can also be applied other areas of your operation- 

Any areas which involve cleaning and sanitizing will all benefit from this colour coding method from kitchens to guest rooms to public areas. 

Have you ever done spot checks on your cleaning staff ? 
You may notice that they are cleaning several rooms, possible every room with the same cloth/s.
You may also notice how dirty these cloths are – Seriously I have personally seen a whole room cleaned with one cloth before they proceeded to dry the wet floor with the same cloth….then moved on to the next room. 

There are many advantages to developing and integrating colour coding into your existing program, including to:

• Control infection
• Prevent cross-contamination
• Differentiate for specific tasks or jobs
• Identify between departments
• Help bridge any language barrier 
• Simplify employee training.

Differentiate For Specific Tasks And Departments
Typically, a small handful of colours are used to clean different departments in a facility or for specific tasks or jobs.
Although there technically is not a “colour standard” this is a example of a guideline you might wish to base yours on.
 
Red: Used in areas with a higher risk of cross-contamination and spread of infection — most commonly for cleaning restroom/ Bathroom areas including toilets and urinals.

Yellow: Used for cleaning objects and surfaces in rooms and lower risk areas of restrooms including sinks, vanity units etc.

Green: Used in areas where food is handled and prepared

Blue: Used in lower risk areas such as common areas and for general purpose cleaning of surfaces such as glass and mirrors.  
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When implementing your colour-coded program, you may want to consider matching the colour of your towels and cloths, rags and mops with the colour of the chemicals spray bottle or buckets you are using to clean. 

In the kitchen the Chefs use matching coloured knifes and chopping boards – so they know they have to use a red knife to cut meat products on on the red chopping board and not on the  yellow chopping board - so as to avoid contamination. 
 
Using the right kind of cloths and Mops for the job.
Microfiber is a lint-free synthetic material that has been around for nearly a decade and has become one of the most preferred cleaning materials used in the professional cleaning industry. Microfiber is constructed with millions of microscopic hooks that attract, absorb and remove all kinds of dirt, dust and bacteria from surfaces. Microfiber traps the dirt, dust and bacteria until it is washed, so the same cloth or mop head can be used for a longer period of time — in the area of hundreds of washes — when compared to traditional cleaning cloths and mops. 
Microfiber is also popular because of its versatility and ability to clean with or without the use of chemicals. Cloths and mops are safe on most surfaces from counters, floors, walls and windows to electronics, wood, stainless steel and stone. Microfiber cloths and mop pads are available in many colours, sizes and styles. Or if you are on a low budget purchase one colour then add coloured tags - 

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