Essential Care Home Cleaning Mistakes to Avoid
Care home cleaning plays a central role in protecting residents, supporting infection control, and maintaining a safe and welcoming environment. However, many care homes still struggle with common cleaning mistakes that increase risks and reduce efficiency.
This guide highlights the most frequent errors and provides simple strategies to fix them. It supports any care setting that wants to strengthen hygiene standards and improve day-today cleaning routines.
1. Missing High-Touch Areas
High-touch points such as door handles, chair arms, lift buttons, remote controls, and bathroom rails collect germs quickly. Care teams often clean visible surfaces while overlooking these small but critical contact areas.
How to fix it:
Introduce a high-touch checklist that cleaners can follow room by room. Include items such as handrails, light switches, and over-bed tables
2. Using One Product for Every Task
Multi-purpose cleaners do not always remove bodily fluids, break down grease, or kill specific pathogens. When staff rely on one product for everything, cleaning loses effectiveness.
How to fix it:
Match products to tasks — neutral detergents for floors, chlorine products for spills, sanitisers for touchpoints.
3. Not Following a Structured Cleaning Schedule
Cleaning often becomes reactive instead of planned. Rooms get cleaned when they “look dirty,” which leads to inconsistency and missed tasks
How to fix it:
Introduce a consistent schedule and assign frequencies based on risk. A structured plan ensures essential tasks happen daily, weekly, and monthly.
4. Poor Storage of Cleaning Supplies
Shared cupboards quickly become cluttered. Dirty tools can sit next to clean ones, and unlabelled bottles create safety risks.
How to fix it:
Organise storage areas, separate clean and used equipment, and label all chemicals clearly to support compliance and safety
5. Not Allowing Enough Time for Proper Cleaning
Unrealistic expectations force staff to rush. When cleaners feel pressured, they naturally cut corners.
How to fix it:
Base cleaning times on task complexity, not room type. The 20-minute rule helps create even workloads and consistent results.
6. Skipping Deep-Clean Cycles
Surface-level cleaning cannot replace periodic deep cleaning. Dirt builds up in corners, on skirting boards, and around fixtures when deep-clean cycles fall behind.
How to fix it:
Schedule deep-clean rotas monthly and track completion with a log sheet.
7. Communication Gaps Between Care and Cleaning Teams
Cleaners often enter rooms without being told about spills, risks, or special requirements.
How to fix it:
Use brief handovers, notes at the door, or digital task systems to ensure cleaning decisions align with care needs.
Read the Full Care Home Cleaning Guide
For a deeper look at common mistakes, practical solutions, and ways to improve infection control, read the full article here:
�� Essential Care Home Cleaning Mistakes
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