How to Damp Mop Patient Rooms and the Janitorial Equipment Needed

This method is recommended for use in health care facilities.  In other facilities, refer to the single-bucket method.

Recommended Supplies and Janitorial Equipment:

 EPA Registered Cleaner/Disinfectant
 All-Purpose Detergent Cleaner
 Dust Mop Frame and Handle
 Treated Dust Mop Head
 Dust Pan and Counter Brush
 Scraper/Putty Knife
 Wet Floor Sign(s)
 (2) Mop Buckets/Wringers
 Mop Head(s)
 Mat(s)

Recommended Method:

As in all cleaning procedures, the first step is to gather the recommended janitorial equipment together and bring to the area to be cleaned.

Remove all debris from the floor and place in trash container, then dust mop floor area with a treated dust mop.

Next, place a wet floor sign in the doorway.

It is best to place the mopping buckets in the hallway just outside of the room you are mopping.  When you wring your mop in either bucket, wring it enough so it is not dripping.  It needs to be wet enough for the cleaner-disinfectant to be effective, but dry enough so that it doesn’t take a long time to dry.

Fill one bucket (solution bucket) with EPA Registered Cleaner-Disinfectant.  Fill the other bucket (rinse bucket) with clear water.

Wring the mop out until it is damp, not heavy, in the solution bucket.  Then mop the room using an S-Stroke pattern. When the mop dries out, return to the rinse bucket and then to the solution bucket.  Start at the far corner of the room using a pattern that covers the entire room and ends at the doorway.

How often should you change the mopping solution?  Common sense will tell you to change it when the solution bucket is dirty, or the rinse bucket is dirty.  The best advice is change the solution when it is dirty.  But, in any case, the solutions should be changed after every 3 rooms.

Allow the floor to dry y before removing the wet floor sign.  Take a moment to admire your work, then clean the janitorial equipment thoroughly and return to storage area.