3.2 Hotel Clean Versus Healthcare Clean
Healthcare facilities may require two different levels of clean depending on what is happening in the area: hotel clean and hospital clean. Hospital clean (disinfected) is not achievable unless there has already been a hotel clean (tidy) established.
Hotel Clean
- Floors and baseboards are free of stains, visible dust, spills, and streaks.
- Walls, ceilings, and doors are free of visible dust, gross soil, streaks, and handprints.
- All horizontal surfaces are free of visible dust or streaks (including furniture, window ledges, overhead lights, phones, picture frames, and carpets).
- Bathroom fixtures, including toilets, sinks, tubs, and showers, are free of streaks, soil, stains, and soap scum.
- Mirrors and windows are free of dust and streaks.
- Dispensers are free of dust, soiling, and residue and are replaced/restocked when empty.
- Appliances are free of dust, soiling, and stains.
- Waste is disposed of appropriately.
- Items that are broken, torn, cracked, or malfunctioning are replaced.
Hospital Clean is Hotel Clean Plus…
- High-touch surfaces in patient care areas are cleaned and disinfected with a hospital-grade disinfectant (the product has a DIN number).
- Medical equipment is cleaned and disinfected between patients.
- Clean first and then disinfect: organic material deactivates disinfectant solutions.
- Proper contact time: different products require varying ‘wet’ times to kill microorganisms.
- Proper mixture: the concentration is strong enough to clean but not so strong to be harmful to staff and patients.
- Frequent changes in cleaning equipment and solutions.
- Use of the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect health care workers.
Hospital clean standards are important for both patient and staff safety.
Exercise: High Touch Areas
The following example depicts high-touch areas that might be found in a typical bathroom.
Activity Description
An image of a bathroom with many handrails. Think about any areas that would be high touch (hint: think about areas the body touches).
The high-touch areas would include the handrails, the toilet seat, the back of the toilet, the flush, the sink, the faucet(s), and the light switch.
In the image below, identify the high-touch areas. Hint: Think about the areas a body touches.
Answer:
“11 Housekeeping and Laundry” from Infection Prevention and Control by the Government of Nunavut is Copyright © Government of Nunavut. Used under the terms of Non-commercial Reproduction. Used: paragraphs 1, 4, & 5 of section “Hospital versus Hotel Cleaning Standards”.
