Fundamentals

• Hospital Housekeeping


  The provision of the patient with a safe, pleasant, and suitable environment
• Important Factors to Consider in Hospital Housekeeping


  • Immediate disposal of waste and garbage is essential for good sanitary practice
  • Care of floor is necessary to promote cleanliness and provide attractive surroundings
  • Furniture should always be kept clean and in good condition
  • Tom linen should be sent to the sewing room for mending, keeping in mind that there should be enough linen to meet the needs of the patient
  • All equipment used in the personal care of the patient should always be cleaned and ready for use
  • Greasy liquids should not be poured into the sink. Solid wastes, such as broken blades, cotton balls, O.S. applicators, sanitary napkins, and others of the same kind should not be thrown into the toilet bowls, to prevent clogging of pipes
  • Bits of food dropped on the floor or on the surfaces and other liquid or waste should be immediately removed or mopped to prevent accidents and to avoid attracting flies and other insects
• Basic Cleansing Operations


  Sweeping: a cleaning operation to remove dirt from the floor area. It precedes all other daily cleaning operations
• Cleaning Operations


  • Sweeping
  • Mopping
  • Scrubbing
  • Waxing
  • Washing
  • Dusting
• Sweeping


  Bring equipment to the area, sweep towards the center of the room, deposit dirt into garbage can, tap brush to free dirt, examine floor, straighten furniture, clean equipment
• Mopping


  Bring equipment to the area, dip mop in soap solution, wring mop, mop floor using firm strokes, rinse and dry, inspect work, clean equipment
• Scrubbing


  Bring equipment to the bedside, dip brush in soap solution, rub surfaces, rinse and dry, inspect work, return equipment to proper places
• Waxing


  Application of protective coating, rub wax on area, follow instructions for waxing, return equipment to proper places
• Washing


  Removal of dirt by using soap and water
• Dusting


  Dry dusting and damp dusting, low dusting and high dusting
• Damp dusting


  Use of damp cloth to remove dust on furniture not destroyed by moisture
• Classification of Dusting


  • Low dusting-includes dusting of all places easily reached by standing on the floor and is done daily
  • High dusting-includes dusting of all places easily reached by standing on a chair, and is done periodically
• Low Dusting


  For daily dusting
• Equipment for Low Dusting

  • A tray containing: A basin or pail half full of water, Laundry soap or any detergent, Whisk broom or chicken feathers, or a stick with cloth wrapped at one end, Metal polish if necessary, Pieces of dusting cloth, Newspaper for lining
• Procedure for Low Dusting


  Bring all equipment to the place of work, 2. Line the chair or stool with the newspaper and place the tray on it (never on the floor), 3. Start dusting from the highest point to be cleansed towards the floor, 4. Dust in between bars and crevices with the use of a small brush, chicken feather or a stick with cloth wrapped at one end, 5. In dusting bars, palm the cloth and grasp the bar as you wipe along the surface, 6. If soap and water is to be used, rub the cloth moistened with soap to the area, rubbing it with friction until dirt has been loosened. Rinse and dry, 7. If necessary, clean and oil wheels of furniture and polish doorknobs with metal polish, 8. Inspect work if everything has been properly dusted. If properly cleaned, it will appear bright and free of dust streaks, 9. Return all equipment to proper places, clean and dry
• High Dusting


  Precedes general cleaning operations
• Equipment for High Dusting

  • Similar in preparation for daily dusting with the addition of broom or brush with long handle and pieces of newspaper to cover the tops of the cabinets that could not be moved
• Procedure for High Dusting


  Bring the equipment to the room and place the tray on a chair or stool lined with paper, 2. Move all furniture that could be moved to one side of the room, otherwise cover their top with newspaper to protect them from catching all dirt from the ceiling, 3. Using the broom or brush with a long handle, start cleaning from the ceiling to the wall removing cobwebs and other dirt, paying attention to cracks and crevices, 4. Brush window screen or dust window bars using a dry dust cloth or one wet with soap and water as needed. Rinse and dry. Sweep the floor and collect all dust and deposit it in a trash can, 5. Dust all furniture (procedure depending on the kind of furniture to be cleaned and amount of dirt present), 6. Dust inside of cabinets and drawers beginning from top shelves, removing the articles inside one shelf at a time, changing the lining if necessary and cleaning all articles before returning them to the shelf, 7. Move all furniture that has been cleaned to the clean area, 8. Repeat the same procedure for Nos. 3 to 6, 9. When everything has been cleansed including the floor, arrange the furniture back to the place where they belong, 10. Inspect the room and see that everything has been cleaned, 11. Return all equipment used to proper places clean and dry