Every parent wants their child to spend the day in a clean, safe place. But with classrooms full of active kids, it doesn’t take long for messes and germs to build up. Calgary schools and daycares rely on professional cleaning to stay on top of it. In this post, we’ll explain how often these facilities should be professionally cleaned—and why it matters for your child’s health.
Daily Custodial Vs Professional Deep Cleaning
It is essential to distinguish between the daily cleaning tasks performed by custodial staff and the deep, restorative cleaning provided by professional services. Custodial teams are responsible for surface-level maintenance: emptying trash, wiping down desks, cleaning restrooms, and mopping high-traffic floors. Professional deep cleaning, which we provide at LJDM, involves a more thorough approach. This includes sanitizing high-touch points, deep cleaning carpets and upholstery, stripping and refinishing hard floors, disinfecting learning materials, and tackling areas often missed in daily routines. This layered approach ensures a comprehensively hygienic environment.
Recommended Cleaning Frequency for Daycares and Preschools
Young children in daycare and preschool settings have developing immune systems and exhibit behaviors—such as mouthing toys and close physical contact—that necessitate a more rigorous cleaning protocol.
- Daily Professional-Grade Attention: While full deep cleaning isn’t daily, a professional cleaning standard should guide daily disinfection. High-touch surfaces like light switches, door handles, faucets, and cabinet pulls must be disinfected multiple times per day. Toys, especially those mouthed, should be sanitized after each use. High chairs, changing tables, and cribs require disinfection after every use to prevent cross-contamination.
- Weekly Professional Services: We recommend a weekly professional touchpoint service for daycare facilities. This service focuses on tasks that are difficult for staff to manage during operating hours. This includes detailed sanitization of all play areas, thorough cleaning and disinfection of kitchenettes and food preparation surfaces, and mopping all floors with a hospital-grade disinfectant.
- Bi-Monthly or Monthly Deep Cleaning: A comprehensive deep cleaning should be scheduled at least once a month. This service includes:
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- Steam cleaning or detailed sanitization of carpets and play mats.
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- Wiping down walls and baseboards to remove germs and grime.
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- Deep cleaning and sanitizing all restrooms, including fixtures and partitions.
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- Cleaning and disinfecting all shelves, cubbies, and storage bins.
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- Detailed cleaning of windows and window sills.
Recommended Cleaning Frequency for K-12 Schools
As children grow older, the cleaning challenges shift from mouthing objects to high-touch surfaces and high-traffic areas. The sheer volume of students moving through a school building daily requires a robust and strategic cleaning plan.
- High-Frequency Touchpoint Disinfection (Daily/Weekly): Professional cleaning protocols should ensure that high-touch points are disinfected daily. This includes desks, cafeteria tables, computer keyboards, lab equipment, stair railings, and sports equipment. Water fountains and locker rooms require daily, detailed attention.
- Weekly Professional Maintenance: A key weekly service should include detailed floor care. This involves auto-scrubbing hard surface floors and vacuuming carpets with HEPA-filtered equipment to remove allergens and dust. All common areas, such as libraries, cafeterias, and gymnasiums, should receive a thorough cleaning and disinfection at the end of each week.
- Monthly Deep Cleaning Tasks: On a monthly basis, schools benefit from a more intensive cleaning focus. This includes:
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- Deep cleaning and disinfecting all student and staff restrooms.
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- Detailed dusting of high and low areas, including ceiling vents and light fixtures.
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- Cleaning and sanitizing all classroom furniture.
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- Wiping down locker interiors and common area touchpoints.
- Seasonal and Break Period Intensive Cleaning: The most critical deep cleaning sessions should be scheduled during seasonal breaks—Fall Break, Winter Break, and especially Spring Break and Summer Break. These extended periods allow our LJDM team to perform intensive tasks without disrupting the school day. This includes:
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- Stripping, sealing, and waxing all vinyl composite tile (VCT) floors.
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- Extracting and shampooing all carpets and upholstered furniture.
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- Cleaning all interior windows, blinds, and window tracks.
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- Pressure washing entryways and disinfecting dumpster areas.
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- Performing a top-to-bottom cleaning of science labs, home economics rooms, and art rooms.
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- Conducting a facility-wide disinfection fogging or electrostatic spray, if deemed necessary.
Key Factors Influencing Your Facility’s Cleaning Schedule
The frequencies outlined are a strong baseline, but several local factors may require adjustments to your specific schedule.
- Seasonal Illness Outbreaks: During cold and flu season in Calgary, or in response to specific health alerts, increasing the frequency of disinfection services, particularly for high-touch surfaces and common areas, is a proactive measure to reduce absenteeism.
- Student Population and Age Group: A high school with a rotating schedule of 1500 students will require a different approach than a small elementary school. Similarly, a daycare for infants will need a more frequent and rigorous protocol than a before-and-after-school program for older children.
- Allergy and Asthma Considerations: For facilities with a high number of students suffering from allergies or asthma, we recommend more frequent dusting and HEPA-filter vacuuming to improve indoor air quality.
- Facility Usage After Hours: Schools that host evening events, weekend sports, or community programs experience significantly more wear and tear. A post-event cleaning service is often necessary to reset the facility for the next school day.
Partner with LJDM for a Healthier Learning Environment in Calgary
A clean educational facility is a direct investment in student success, staff morale, and community reputation. A haphazard or reactive cleaning approach is insufficient for the demands of a modern school or daycare. By implementing a structured, professional cleaning schedule tailored to your Calgary facility’s unique needs, you create a foundation for health, safety, and productivity.
At LJDM, we specialize in creating customized cleaning plans for educational institutions throughout Calgary. Our trained staff, advanced cleaning technologies, and strict adherence to health and safety protocols ensure your facility not only meets but exceeds cleanliness standards. We go beyond surface cleaning to provide a truly sanitized environment where children can learn, play, and grow with confidence.
For personalized assistance with cleaning services, feel free to contact us at office@ljdm.ca or 780-782-0502.