Keep Floors Clean and Dry
- Encourage workers to cover, clean, or report spills promptly.
- Hang or place spill pads, paper towel holders, pop-up-tent wet floor signs in convenient locations throughout the healthcare facility so employees have easy access to products to clean, cover, and highlight a spill.
Dripless and brush-free cleaning solution should be provided at sinks to minimize drips and water splashes.
- Advertise phone/pager numbers for housekeeping through emails, posters, and general awareness campaigns.
- Place water-absorbent walk-off mats where water, ice, or soap may drip onto the floor.
- Use beveled-edge, flat, and continuous mats.
- Provide walk-off mats, paper towel holders, trash cans, and umbrella bags near entrances and water fountains to minimize wet floors.
- Mats should be large enough so that several footsteps will take place on the mat; if there is water around or beyond the mat, it means that the mat is not large enough and/or is saturated and needs to be replaced.
Wall-mounted spill pads for employees and visitors to use.
- Secure mats from moving and make sure they have slip-resistant backing. Remind staff to lay mats in the correct position daily, and use visual cues such as tape on the floor if necessary.
- Make sure that drip pans of ice machines and food carts are properly maintained so that water does not spill onto the floor.
Use Proper Cleaning Procedures for Floors
Optimal floor cleaning procedures may prevent slips and falls. Research has shown a two-step mopping process is better than damp-mopping. In the two-step process,
- cleaning solution is applied on a section of the floor with a dripping mop, and
- after a few minutes, the cleaning solution is removed with a wrung mop, before the solution dries.
You will also need to make sure the cleaning product can be used on common floor contaminants and the cleaning products are mixed according to manufacturer's directions.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-3. What is the first step to properly clean hospital floors?
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