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Originally published & reprinted with permission in Housekeeping Solutions on Clean Link Online
By J. Darrel Hicks, BA, REH, CHESP

According to best practices, you should strive to minimize contamination of cleaning solutions and cleaning tools. Bucket solutions become contaminated almost immediately during cleaning, and continued use of the solution transfers increasing numbers of microorganisms to each subsequent surface to be cleaned. Cleaning solutions should be replaced frequently.

A variety of “bucket” methods have been devised to address the frequency with which cleaning solutions are replaced. This best practice will reduce water consumption, save trips to the closet to exchange dirty water for clean, and eliminate spreading germs. Simply set up a bucket with clean solution at the beginning of the shift and then put 15 to 20 clean cloths in the solution.

You must always start with a clean cloth when you wipe or disinfect a surface. Fold the cloth in half and half again. As you wipe each new area, unfold the cloth to an unused portion. This method provides you with eight clean surfaces with each cloth. Add more clean cloths as necessary to complete your day.