Environmental cleaning is part of Universal Precautions, which should be applied to all healthcare facilities. It is important that environmental cleaning programs be implemented within the framework of facility-level programs. Where possible during staff training and education, for example, consider generating synergies and highlighting the relationship between environmental cleaning and hand hygiene activities in preventing environmental transmission of HAIs.

Healthcare facilities must have adequate water and sanitation infrastructure (e.g., safe wastewater disposal) to perform environmental cleaning according to best practices. The critical lack of access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services in healthcare facilities in resource limited settings, which hinders the ability of facilities to implement effective environmental cleaning programs. 

The cleaning of hard surfaces in hospital rooms is critical for reducing health care–associated infections. This review describes the evidence examining current methods of cleaning, disinfecting, and monitoring cleanliness of patient rooms, as well as contextual factors that may affect implementation and effectiveness. 

There are a wide variety of chemical disinfectants approved for use in the hospital setting. The most commonly used surface disinfectants are quaternary ammonium compounds and sodium hypochlorite. The effectiveness of chemical disinfectants can depend both upon the antimicrobial activity of the disinfectant and appropriate application, including adequacy of cleaning, appropriate contact time, and concentration of the disinfectant. The IJCSA train all its members on the right approach take when maintaining a facility, visit the IJCSA Janitorial Services Directory for quality certified cleaning companies.