Restroom Cleaning Flow Chart

Flow Chart For Your Restroomsby Dean Goforth            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Management should standardize the cleaning process, and then teach workers well-defined steps.

Create a flow chart detailing steps and sequenced tasks.

Post the chart in the janitorial closet or even behind the restroom door.

Accompany it with hands-on-training.

A cleaning cart that is organized, with a specific place designated for each supply item, and tool, will save time and make replenishing supplies easier.

Steps to clean, fresh-smelling restrooms:

• Spot-clean restrooms frequently during the day. Also known as portering, this includes the following steps:
• Collect trash/litter from the floor and other surfaces and place in a waste bag.
• Empty waste receptacles when over half full; pack contents with tool, not hand; place feminine waste into hazardous waste “red” bag.
• Inspect and fill toilet paper, paper towel, seat cover, and soap dispensers when less than half full (as applicable); test for proper operation.
• Spot clean mirrors.
• Inspect all basins and counters and spot clean with a disinfectant solution.
• Inspect all urinals/toilets, flush as needed, and spot clean with disinfectant solution.
• Spot clean dispenser cabinets, partitions, stalls, walls and doors; check for graffiti and remove.
• Using a disinfectant cleaner, wipe wet or soiled areas around sinks or on floor.
• Check and report malfunctioning toilets, urinals and sinks.
• Once a day, remove all trash, refill all dispensers, detail mirrors and other surfaces, scrub/disinfect the insides and outsides of sinks, urinals, and toilets, and wet mop/disinfect floors.

Perhaps the greatest procedural fault in daily restroom cleaning is damp mopping, instead of wet mopping.

Disinfectants need ten minutes dwell time to kill bacteria, and to thoroughly dissolve soil.  Damp mopping doesn’t allow enough contact time for proper disinfecting or cleaning, resulting in bacterial buildup, soiling and odors.

Proper mopping involves two steps:

1. Applying cleaning/disinfecting solution liberally to the floor to enable 10 minutes of wet contact.

2. Removing the soiled solution, be sure to put up wet floor warning signs and barricades.

Since dwell time is important for the disinfecting/cleaning process, consider using adhering foam cleaners for vertical surfaces.

Deep clean restrooms periodically (weekly or monthly):
High dusting
Lights, vents and ceiling washing
Partition washing
Wall and door washing
Mineral buildup removal from fixtures
Cleaning undersides of fixtures and dispensers
Scrubbing floors, including edges
Servicing traps should also be part of a restroom maintenance program.

Fill floor drain traps with water periodically to prevent sewer gas backup.

Malfunctioning fixtures should be reported for repair, including inoperable exhaust fans.

Dean Goforth is CEO of SCSI, a building service contractor in Birmingham, AL