Color-Coded Microfiber is Essential For Safe, Efficient Facility Maintenance

The New England Medical Journal reports that in healthcare facilities alone 721,000 HAIs are reported annually contributing to 75,000 mortalities. Hospitals schools, daycares, nursing homes, and even the hospitality industry are implementing microfiber cloths in a color-coded system to combat this.

What colors are used for each cleaning task?

There is no defined answer other than you designate a specific color for a particular job. When we train a group, we use four colors in the microfiber rags wiping system and two in the mopping system. We try to make it as easy as possible to remember so that it becomes natural a few days after implementing the program. We recommend designating the following colors for specific tasks, but you can always change them to fit your plan.

Microfiber Cloths

• Yellow – Dry Dusting and polishing.

• Red – Restrooms such as toilets, urinals, and hazard areas.

• Blue – Glass and mirrors.

• Green – General areas such as desks, tables, kitchens, sinks, and water fountains.

Microfiber Mops

• Red – Restrooms & hazard areas.

• Green – Foodservice restaurants & kitchens

• Blue – General areas such as classrooms & hallways.

Why not just use a clean cloth or mop of the same color?

While that is an excellent question for anyone unfamiliar with color-coded systems, the answer becomes apparent once they are educated. Observers won't know that the new, clean red cloth differs from the one they saw you using to clean a toilet. A color-coded cleaning protocol ensures our customers that we are cleaning correctly and will avoid a situation where an observer complains to a supervisor.

How does the system prevent cross-contamination?

Users choose a specific color microfiber mops and matching microfiber cloths for each room. Never take the mop used in the restroom and bring those germs into the general areas and hallways. Clean the bathroom, remove the mop and cloths, put them in your laundry bag, and start in a new location with different color, clean microfiber mops and cloths, to guarantee that germs are not transferred to other areas and that the optics are clear to anyone watching.

What if the team is resistant to change?

"It's not always easy breaking the employees' cleaning routine."

"When we are cleaning 25,000 square feet a night, we don't have time to worry about the color towels we are using."

The best approach to changing a company's cleaning culture is to empathize with the workers. It is hard to change a set routine. Explaining the potential of spreading harmful germs from one area to another is enlightening. As staff members get used to the system, they will feel more comfortable with it. Eventually, the team will appreciate and embrace using new microfiber cloths for each room. Emphasize the benefits the system will have on their safety and the facility overall.

Clean smarter. Save lives.

That should be the rallying cry of every aspect of your facilities maintenance team. Our microfiber cloths and towels are designed to make cleaning easier and safer for everyone.