Daycare cleaning is the routine of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting the surfaces, objects, and spaces that children and staff use throughout the day in a licensed childcare facility.
High-touch areas are the surfaces handled by many people or exposed to saliva, food, or bodily fluids, and they are where that routine matters most. Young children share toys, put objects in their mouths, and are still building hygiene habits, so germs move between children faster than in most commercial settings. In Delaware, licensed early care and education centers also operate under state sanitation rules. That makes high-touch surface care both a health priority and a licensing requirement for childcare centers across New Castle County.
What Counts as a High-Touch Area in a Childcare Facility
In childcare settings, a high-touch area includes toys, eating tables, diaper-changing stations, restroom fixtures, door handles, and shared classroom equipment.
Effective childcare cleaning depends on three distinct steps:
- Cleaning: Removes visible dirt, food residue, and many germs using soap or detergent and water. Cleaning always comes first, because soil on a surface reduces how well sanitizers and disinfectants work.
- Sanitizing: Reduces germs on a surface to levels considered safe by public health standards. Sanitizing is typically used on food-contact surfaces and items that go in children’s mouths.
- Disinfecting: Uses an EPA-registered product, applied for its labeled contact time, to kill the specific germs listed on the product label. Disinfecting is used on diaper-changing areas, restrooms, and surfaces exposed to bodily fluids.
The difference between these terms affects which product is used, where it is used, and how long it stays wet on a surface. A detailed breakdown of disinfecting vs. sanitizing explains when each method applies and why the two are not interchangeable.
Delaware Daycare Sanitation Requirements Under DELACARE
Licensed centers in Delaware follow the DELACARE: Regulations for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers (14 DE Admin. Code 933), administered by the Delaware Department of Education’s Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL). The sanitation provisions establish several baseline requirements:
- Required surfaces and equipment are washed with soap and water first, then disinfected.
- Sanitizing and disinfecting products must be an EPA-registered product, a commercially prepared product, or a bleach and water solution. Products are used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, labeled with their contents, and their instructions for use must be available at all times.
- Non-porous toys and play equipment are washed with soap and water and disinfected at least weekly. Stuffed animals are laundered at least weekly.
- Items used by a child who becomes ill, including rest equipment, bedding, utensils, and toys, are cleaned and disinfected before another child uses them.
- Vomit, urine, and feces on surfaces such as floors, tabletops, toys, toilet training chairs, and diaper-changing tables are cleaned immediately with soap and water, then disinfected. Mops are cleaned, rinsed, disinfected, wrung, and hung to dry.
These are minimum standards. The regulations note that licensed centers may exceed them, including through Delaware Stars for Early Success. In practice, most well-run programs clean high-touch surfaces far more often than the weekly baseline.
The High-Touch Areas That Need Extra Attention
Toys and Mouthed Objects
Toys are the most common route of germ transfer in daycare facilities because infants and toddlers put them in their mouths. Many programs keep a separate bin for mouthed toys, removing each item after use and cleaning and sanitizing it before another child handles it. Hard plastic toys tolerate frequent cleaning well. Toys with crevices, battery compartments, or fabric parts need closer inspection and, in some cases, replacement.
Eating Tables, High Chairs, and Food Prep Surfaces
Tables used for snacks, meals, and art projects carry food residue, saliva, and paint or glue. These surfaces are typically cleaned and sanitized before and after every meal. High chair trays, straps, and seat crevices collect food debris that is easy to miss during a quick wipe-down.
Diaper-Changing Stations and Restrooms
Diaper-changing tables, toilets, toilet training chairs, sinks, and faucet handles have the highest exposure to bodily fluids in any childcare facility. Changing surfaces are cleaned and disinfected after each use. Restroom fixtures are disinfected at least daily and again whenever visibly soiled. The disinfectant’s label contact time matters here: a surface wiped dry before that time has elapsed has not been disinfected.
Door Handles, Light Switches, Cubbies, and Gate Latches
Classroom doors, restroom doors, safety gate latches, cubby edges, and light switches are touched by staff, children, and parents during drop-off and pick-up. These points connect every room in the building, so a missed handle can carry germs between classrooms. Daily disinfection is common practice, with additional rounds during cold and flu season.
Nap Mats, Cots, and Soft Surfaces
Nap mats and cots collect saliva, skin oils, and dust. Shared nap equipment is cleaned and sanitized before use by another child, and individually assigned mats are cleaned on a regular schedule. Carpets, rugs, and upholstered reading corners trap dirt and allergens, which makes routine vacuuming and periodic deep extraction part of a complete daycare facility cleaning plan.
Shared Electronics and Learning Tools
Tablets, keyboards, headphones, and interactive whiteboards are now common in preschool classrooms. Electronics require disinfectants compatible with screens and housings, applied to a cloth rather than sprayed directly on the device.
Daycare Cleaning Frequency by Area
The table below reflects common practice in well-managed childcare facilities. Delaware’s DELACARE regulations set the legal minimums, and individual programs often exceed them.
| Area | Why It Is High-Risk | Typical Frequency |
| Diaper-changing tables | Direct contact with bodily fluids | After each use |
| Mouthed toys | Saliva transfer between children | After each child’s use |
| Other non-porous toys | Shared handling | Daily to weekly (weekly minimum in Delaware) |
| Eating tables and high chairs | Food residue and saliva | Before and after each meal |
| Restrooms, sinks, faucet handles | Bodily fluids and hand contact | Daily, plus as needed |
| Door handles, switches, gate latches | Contact by staff, children, and parents | Daily, more often during illness season |
| Shared nap mats and cots | Saliva and skin contact | Before use by another child |
| Floors and carpets | Children play and sit on floors | Daily vacuuming or mopping; periodic deep cleaning |
| Shared electronics | Frequent hand contact | Daily |
Daycare Cleaning Guidelines That Hold Up During Licensing Visits
A consistent methodology separates routine childcare cleaning from cleaning that holds up under inspection. Established commercial cleaning providers typically apply the following practices:
- Clean before disinfecting. Soap-and-water cleaning removes soil first, matching Delaware’s two-step requirement.
- Follow label contact times. Each EPA-registered disinfectant lists how long a surface must stay wet to work. Contact times vary by product and by the germ listed on the label.
- Match the product to the surface. Food-contact surfaces, electronics, and soft surfaces each require products labeled for that use.
- Use color-coded microfiber. Separate colors for restrooms, classrooms, and food areas reduce cross-contamination between zones.
- Work top to bottom and clean to dirty. Cleaning higher surfaces first and restrooms last keeps soil from moving onto already-cleaned areas.
- Keep written checklists by room. Infant rooms, toddler rooms, restrooms, and kitchens each have different task lists and frequencies.
- Store chemicals out of children’s reach. Labeled, sealed containers and posted instructions support both safety and licensing compliance.
How Commercial Cleaning Providers Approach Daycare Facility Cleaning
Daycare cleaning is usually divided between two groups. Childcare staff handle the tasks that must happen during the day, such as immediate spill cleanup, diaper-area disinfection, and mealtime sanitizing, as required under DELACARE. A commercial cleaning provider handles after-hours work: restroom disinfection, floor care, high-touch point disinfection across every room, and periodic deep cleaning that staff cannot complete while children are present.
JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in New Castle approaches childcare facilities through a structured process. A site walkthrough maps each room type and its high-touch points. A written scope then defines which tasks fall to daytime staff and which are completed after hours, with frequencies tied to the facility’s size, age groups served, and licensing obligations. Certified franchise owners follow room-by-room checklists and use products selected by label claims and approved use sites. Assigning the same certified franchise owner to a facility over time builds familiarity with its layout and problem areas, which supports consistent results from one visit to the next.
This approach mirrors how JAN-PRO delivers commercial cleaning services across other regulated environments in northern Delaware, including medical offices and schools, where documented procedures and repeatable checklists matter as much as the cleaning itself.
Demand for this work rises each fall. Childcare centers serving families in New Castle, Wilmington Manor, Collins Park, Jefferson Farms, and neighborhoods near Battery Park face the same seasonal pattern: respiratory illness spreads quickly between October and March, and high-touch surfaces are where transmission starts.
Key Takeaways
- High-touch areas in daycares include toys, eating surfaces, diaper-changing stations, restrooms, door handles, nap mats, and shared electronics.
- Cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting are separate steps with different purposes, and cleaning always comes first.
- Delaware’s DELACARE regulations require a soap-and-water wash followed by disinfection, approved product types, weekly minimums for toys, and immediate cleanup of bodily fluids.
- Label contact times determine whether a surface has actually been disinfected.
- Effective daycare facility cleaning splits responsibilities between daytime staff and an after-hours provider, supported by written, room-specific checklists.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often do daycare toys need to be disinfected in Delaware?
DELACARE regulations require non-porous toys and play equipment to be washed with soap and water and then disinfected at least weekly, and stuffed animals to be laundered at least weekly. Many childcare centers clean mouthed toys more often, setting them aside after use and cleaning them before another child handles them.
What products can Delaware daycares use to sanitize and disinfect?
Delaware’s licensing rules permit an EPA-registered product, a commercially prepared product, or a bleach and water solution. Products must be used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, be labeled with their contents, and have instructions for use available at all times.
What is the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting in childcare settings?
Cleaning removes visible soil and many germs with soap or detergent and water. Sanitizing reduces germs on a surface to levels considered safe by public health standards. Disinfecting uses an EPA-registered product, applied for its labeled contact time, to kill the specific germs listed on its label.
Which daycare surfaces carry the highest risk of germ transfer?
Toys that go in children’s mouths, diaper-changing tables, restroom fixtures, sink and faucet handles, eating surfaces, and door handles carry the highest risk because they are touched by many hands throughout the day or come into contact with saliva or bodily fluids.
What should a daycare cleaning checklist include?
A daycare cleaning checklist typically separates tasks by frequency: after-each-use items such as changing tables and eating surfaces, daily items such as restrooms, door handles, and floors, and weekly items such as toy disinfection and nap-mat cleaning. Each task lists the product, the required contact time, and who is responsible.
JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in New Castle: Daycare Cleaning Support for Delaware Childcare Centers
Childcare facilities need cleaning programs built around high-touch surfaces, documented procedures, and Delaware’s licensing requirements. JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting has served commercial facilities for more than 30 years. In New Castle County, certified franchise owners support daycares and preschools with after-hours cleaning and disinfection, room-by-room checklists, and consistent service from the same franchise owner. Childcare directors evaluating daycare facility cleaning options can reach JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in New Castle at 302-324-5240 or visit the office at 2417 Lancaster Ave Ste. 101 in Wilmington.
About the Author
Jon Brodack
Jon BrodackJonathan Brodack is Director of Sales & Marketing at JAN-PRO Franchise Development of the Delaware Valley. Holding an MBA from Rutgers University–Camden, he combines a data-informed approach with a focus on building enduring professional partnerships. He is dedicated to driving franchise growth and market expansion through a strategy centered on long-term relationship development.