Colour-Coded Cleaning Equipment

Cross-contamination is one of the highest risks in the spread of infection. To mitigate the risk of cross-contamination and standardise cleaning, the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) developed guidelines to raise standards and reduce minimise the risk of cross-infection between cleaning areas.

What is Colour Coded Cleaning?

Colour coding cleaning is a system of identifying and separating cleaning tools, equipment, and supplies according to their use. This helps reduce the risk of cross-contamination and prevent bacteria from spreading by ensuring that each cleaning product or tool is used exclusively in its designated area. BICSc colour coding system aims to prevent cross-contamination from one cleaning area or surface to another.

Who Should Use Colour-Coded Cleaning?

Colour coding effectively reduces cross-contamination and is implemented in environments where health and safety are paramount, in particular, healthcare, catering and manufacturing. Colour coding in these industries is essential to improve workplace efficiency and safety standards.

The Four Colours

There are four colours in the BICSc colour scheme: red, blue, yellow and green.

Red is a colour that is universally associated with hazards. The red colour code is associated with bathrooms, washroom floors, and urinals.
Yellow is associated with clinical and healthcare use.
Green has been assigned to general food and bar use.
Blue is for general lower-risk areas such as classroom desktops, office areas, window ledges, hallways and general dusting and polishing.

What cleaning equipment should be colour coded?

All cleaning equipment used in healthcare and catering should be colour coded to minimise the risk of cross-contamination. At IPA Supplies, we stock a range of affordable colour-coded janitorial equipment. Here are our top four that we think every business should have:

Need advice on implementing colour coding cleaning in your business? Contact our friendly and knowledgeable team today.

26th Jan 2023