Childcare Center Cleaning: Toys and Surfaces

Gloved hand wiping a countertop with disinfectant and a cloth

Childcare center cleaning comes with one question from every director: how often should toys and surfaces be sanitized? The short answer is every day for the things children touch, and after each use for the diaper changing surface.

BizProClean offers school cleaning services for childcare centers in Northern Virginia and Maryland. Our crews come after closing, when the rooms are empty.

Childcare Center Cleaning: What to Sanitize and What to Disinfect

Clean with soap and water first. It removes dirt and most germs.
Sanitize the things children use: toys, tables, play surfaces and feeding items.
Disinfect restrooms and diaper changing tables.

Toys

Put a toy aside as soon as a child has had it in the mouth
Wash, rinse and sanitize hard toys
Machine-wash soft toys and dress-up clothes
Let toys air-dry before they go back on the shelf

Tables, chairs and play surfaces

Wipe tables before and after meals
Clean high chairs and trays after each meal
Wipe play tables and mats after each activity

Diaper area and restrooms

Clean and sanitize the changing surface after each child
Disinfect toilets, sinks and faucet handles
Empty diaper bins and trash every day

How Often Should Toys and Surfaces Be Sanitized?

After each use: the diaper changing surface.
After each meal or activity: tables, high chairs and play surfaces.
Every day: toys children have used, restrooms, door handles and trash.
Every week: shelves, cubbies, soft toys and the corners behind furniture.

What the Rules Say

The CDC advises cleaning surfaces daily and after a meal or activity, sanitizing the toys and play surfaces children use, and disinfecting restrooms and diaper changing tables regularly. Always clean before you sanitize. Virginia's child day center standards require the changing surface to be cleaned and sanitized after each use. Maryland's child care rules ask for trash to be emptied at least daily and for cleaning to wait until the children are gone.

After-Closing Cleaning in Northern Virginia and Maryland

BizProClean is a locally owned and operated company with its office in Tysons, Virginia. Teachers handle toys and tables during the day. We do the full clean of every classroom, restroom and entry after closing, from a written checklist that shows which tasks are ours.

We clean childcare centers through our commercial cleaning services in Herndon, VA, our janitorial services in Gaithersburg, MD and our commercial cleaning services in Chantilly, VA.

Why Childcare Centers Choose BizProClean

No cleaning around children. We work when the rooms are empty.
The right product for each surface. Sanitizer where children eat and play, disinfectant in restrooms and the diaper area.
Offices and hallways included. Our janitorial services cover the rest of the building.
A list your teachers can follow. Use our daycare cleaning checklist for the daily, weekly and monthly tasks.

Get a Free Visit and Written Quote

We visit your center for free and look at each classroom, the diaper area and the restrooms. Our written quote then names every task and how often we do it. Request a free quote today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should toys be sanitized in a childcare center?

Every day for toys children have used. A toy a child has had in the mouth is set aside and sanitized before another child gets it.

What is the difference between sanitizing and disinfecting?

Sanitizing kills bacteria on a surface and suits toys and tables. Disinfecting also kills viruses and belongs in restrooms and at the diaper changing table.

Who sanitizes the toys, the teachers or the cleaning crew?

Teachers handle toys and tables during the day. The cleaning crew does the full clean of the rooms after closing.

Can a childcare center be cleaned while children are there?

It is better to wait. Maryland's rules keep cleaning for the hours when children are gone, apart from emergencies and normal clean-up.

Childcare Center Cleaning: How Often Should Toys and Surfaces Be Sanitized?