Childcare Cleaning Checklist: What to Clean, When and How

A childcare cleaning checklist should have surfaces, floors, bathrooms and nappy change areas cleaned every day with detergent and water, and the change table cleaned after every nappy change. Disinfectant goes on only after cleaning, mainly for body fluid spills and outbreaks. That follows NHMRC’s Staying healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services (6th edition, launched August 2024), which says routine environmental cleaning should be done daily and whenever surfaces are visibly dirty.

The tables below turn that guidance into daily, weekly and periodic tasks. You can copy them into your service’s cleaning schedule as a template. The guide also covers what ACECQA assessors may ask to see, and how to split the work between educators and a contract cleaner.

Cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting in childcare: what the guidance says

The core principle is simple. Detergent and water do most of the work. Cleaning physically removes dirt, body fluids and most germs. Disinfectant works only on a surface that has already been cleaned.

• Staying Healthy (via ACECQA’s summary): routine environmental cleaning should be done daily and when surfaces are visibly dirty. Cleaning with specific products should be done after any spills of body fluids (urine, faeces, vomit, blood, breastmilk). Infection control practices should be used during nappy changes.
• Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care: use disinfectant only after dirt, dust, blood and body fluids have been removed with a neutral detergent, unless you are using a combined detergent–disinfectant product. This advice is written for health settings, but the principle is the same in childcare.
• Early Learning Victoria’s hygiene and cleaning policy (a government-run service policy based on Staying Healthy) prefers neutral detergents and discourages using disinfectant when it isn’t needed.

If you’d like a fuller explanation of these terms, see our guide to the difference between cleaning and sanitising.

What this means for your checklist: most daily lines say “clean (detergent and water)”. The word “disinfect” appears only where the guidance calls for it.

Daily childcare cleaning checklist

These tasks are a starting template. Adjust them to your room layout, ages and enrolments, and to any advice from your local public health unit.

Nappy change areas: the NHMRC steps

NHMRC’s “Changing a nappy without spreading germs” poster sets out what to do after every nappy change:

1. Put on utility gloves for cleaning.
2. Clean the change table with detergent and water, then rinse and dry.
3. If body fluids have touched the change table, wipe with disinfectant and dry.
4. Do hand hygiene.

Put a copy of the poster up at each change station. Assessors and parents both notice whether the steps are followed.

Weekly childcare cleaning checklist

Periodic (monthly, term and annual) cleaning checklist

Early Learning Victoria’s policy is a useful model here. It sets daily, weekly, quarterly and annual cleaning requirements, and the nominated supervisor reviews the cleaning contract every year.

During a gastro outbreak: step up the routine

NSW Health’s Gastroenteritis Information Pack for Childcare Centres (November 2018) asks services to step up cleaning during an outbreak. The key changes are:

• Clean and disinfect common areas and frequently touched items at least twice daily. Clean with a neutral detergent first, then disinfect with a freshly made bleach (sodium hypochlorite 0.1%) solution following the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Leave the bleach on the surface for at least 10 minutes, then rinse. Use bleach only on hard, non-porous surfaces.
• Clean shared bathrooms at least twice daily, or more often if heavily used.
• Wash all toys daily. Wash mouthed toys between each use. Stop communal use of items that can’t be cleaned between uses, such as soft toys, wooden toys and play dough.
• Wash linen on a hot cycle and sun-dry it if possible. Wash down cots between children.
• For vomit or faeces, move people away, wear disposable gloves and remove as much as possible with paper towel. Seal it in a leak-proof bag, clean with detergent and hot water, then disinfect.

Contact your local public health unit if you suspect an outbreak. Follow its advice if it differs from the general steps above.

Products, equipment and storage

• Neutral detergent for routine cleaning. Keep disinfectant (often bleach) for body fluids and outbreaks, and use it only on surfaces that have already been cleaned.
• Colour-coded cloths and mops (for example, one colour for bathrooms and another for kitchens and eating areas) stop germs moving between areas.
• Safety Data Sheets: Safe Work Australia says that if you use or store hazardous chemicals, you must keep copies of the SDS in your workplace. Keep them with the chemical store and make sure staff know where they are.
• Storage: keep all cleaning agents locked away and out of children’s reach, in their original labelled containers wherever possible.
• Gloves: use disposable gloves for nappy changes and body fluids. Use separate utility gloves for cleaning.

What ACECQA assessors may look for

Under National Quality Standard Element 3.1.2 (Upkeep), premises, furniture and equipment must be safe, clean and well maintained. This links to Regulation 103 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations. ACECQA’s guidance says assessors may:

• observe that areas used by children are regularly cleaned
• discuss schedules for cleaning all toys and equipment, and how soiled items are laundered
• sight documented cleaning procedures and schedules, including cleaning of buildings, premises, furniture and equipment, and records showing that manufacturers’ cleaning advice is followed

So the checklist is only half the job. You also need to keep the records. Signed daily sheets, a toy-cleaning roster and your contract cleaner’s scope of works all count as evidence.

Splitting the work: educators vs a contract cleaner

Most centres share cleaning between educators and a cleaning contractor:

• Educators: anything that happens during the day and can’t wait. That includes nappy change tables, meal surfaces, mouthed toys, spills and body fluids.
• Contract cleaner: after-hours cleaning of floors, bathrooms, kitchens, high-touch points, bins and periodic deep cleans, plus restocking.

Write the split into your cleaning schedule so nothing falls between the two. When you compare childcare cleaning companies, ask each one to price against your schedule rather than a generic scope. Ask how it trains staff on detergent-first cleaning and body fluid spills, and how it reports completed work.

If your service shares a campus with a school or runs outside school hours care, our guide to choosing a school cleaning contractor covers screening and contract terms for those sites.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a childcare centre be cleaned?

Staying Healthy says routine environmental cleaning should be done daily and whenever surfaces are visibly dirty. Some items need more: change tables after every nappy change, and eating surfaces before and after meals. During a gastro outbreak, NSW Health advises cleaning high-touch points and bathrooms at least twice daily.

Do childcare centres need to disinfect every day?

Not for routine cleaning, which uses detergent and water. Disinfectant is for body fluid spills, change tables touched by body fluids, and outbreak cleaning. It should always go on a surface that has already been cleaned.

What cleaning products do childcare centres use?

Mostly a neutral detergent, plus a disinfectant (often a bleach solution) for body fluids and outbreaks. Follow the label and Safety Data Sheet for each product, and keep everything locked away out of children’s reach. Many centres also choose eco-friendly cleaning solutions that carry an ecolabel they can check,  to keep chemical use around children as low as is practical.

How should toys be cleaned in childcare?

Wash hard toys in detergent and water, then rinse and dry them. Remove mouthed toys after use and clean them before another child uses them, and launder soft toys. During a gastro outbreak, NSW Health advises washing all toys daily and taking soft toys, wooden toys and play dough out of communal use.

How much does childcare centre cleaning cost?

It depends on the scope rather than a set rate. The main factors are floor area, the number of rooms, bathrooms and nappy change areas, how many nights a week cleaners attend, and which periodic tasks (carpets, windows, floor sealing) are included. Ask contractors to quote against your written schedule so the prices can be compared.

Hand the after-hours list to a contractor

If you want a contractor to take on the after-hours side of this checklist, B&K Services cleans childcare centres in Sydney, Wollongong and the Illawarra and Nowra and the Shoalhaven. Bring your cleaning schedule to a free site walk-through. We agree in writing which tasks are ours, how often and when, before service begins, so the split between educators and cleaners is clear from the first night. See how we work, request a free quote or call 1300 136 954.