Cleaning the Outdoor Play Area: Sandpits, Soft-Fall and Verandahs in Melbourne Centres

Read most childcare cleaning scopes and you would think the centre ends at the back door. Every room is listed in detail, and then the outdoor area, where children may spend a third of their day, gets one line or nothing.

That gap matters. The outdoor area is part of the physical environment under Quality Area 3 of the National Quality Standard. The national regulations expect premises, furniture and equipment to be safe, clean and in good repair, inside and out. It also gets dirty in ways the rooms don't: animals visit at night, leaves and mud come in on shoes, and spring in Melbourne brings pollen, rain and a fresh layer of grime on every surface.

The daily check is the educators' job

Before children go outside each morning, educators do a safety check of the outdoor area. They look for animal droppings, sharps, broken glass, damaged equipment, standing water and anything that has blown or been thrown over the fence. This can't be handed to a night cleaner, because whatever arrives overnight arrives after they leave.

What a contractor can do is make that check quicker by leaving the area in a known state the night before.

What a cleaner can usefully do outside

Verandahs and covered areas. These are used like rooms: children eat, paint and play there. Sweep and mop the hard floors, wipe tables and benches with detergent and water, and clean the low glass and doors to the rooms.

Outdoor toilets and hand basins. Treat them exactly like the indoor ones, with the same toilet-only equipment and disinfection. They are often missed because they're out of sight from the office.

Bins. Empty the outdoor bins, wash them on a rotation and keep the area around them clear. Bins with food in them are what bring animals in at night.

Paths and entries. Sweep the paths and the main entries so less mud and grit is walked into the rooms. A centre whose entry mats and paths are kept clean has noticeably cleaner floors inside.

Outdoor furniture and fixed equipment. Wipe down tables, benches, mud-kitchen benches and the handles and rails of fixed play equipment on a weekly rotation, or more often in an outbreak.

The sandpit

The sandpit needs its own routine because it is the one place children dig with their hands and sometimes put sand in their mouths:

• Covered every night. A properly fitted cover is the best protection against cats and other animals. A cover that is left half on does very little.
• Raked and checked before use for droppings, sharp objects and rubbish. Remove any contaminated sand with a margin around it and bag it.
• Wet down and turned in hot weather, which also helps keep it clean.
• Topped up or replaced on a schedule, and replaced sooner if it has been contaminated or smells.

The daily rake and check belongs to the educators. Topping up and replacing sand is usually a job for a grounds contractor or a maintenance person. Write down who does what.

Soft-fall, synthetic grass and rubber surfaces

Wet-pour rubber and rubber tiles collect grime and organic matter in the surface. A periodic scrub or low-pressure wash keeps them from going slippery, especially under trees. High pressure close to the surface can damage it, so check what the manufacturer recommends.

Synthetic grass needs debris blown or swept off, and a periodic wash and brush to keep the pile upright. Animal urine and spilled food make it smell in warm weather if it isn't washed.

Bark and mulch soft-fall needs topping up to its stated depth and checking for sharp objects, which is more grounds maintenance than cleaning.

Periodic work worth booking each spring

Spring is the natural time to reset the outdoor area before the busy warmer months:

• Pressure clean paths, verandah slabs and outdoor walls
• Wash shade sails and wipe the frames where you can reach them safely
• Clean external windows and the outside of glass doors at child height
• Wash bins and the bin enclosure
• Clear gutters and drains near play areas so standing water doesn't form after rain

We offer pressure cleaning and gardening and grounds alongside the routine clean, so a centre can book these as separate lines rather than finding another contractor.

In the scope

Two lines cover it:

1. Covered outdoor areas, outdoor toilets, bins and paths are cleaned on the listed schedule with the same zone equipment as indoors.
2. Periodic outdoor work (pressure cleaning, soft-fall washing, sand replacement) is listed with a frequency and an owner.

The daily safety check stays with the educators and should be stated in the centre's own procedures.

For the rooms, see our childcare cleaning checklist and getting ready for assessment and rating. We already clean a childcare centre in Airport West. If your centre is anywhere in Melbourne, our medical and childcare cleaning page explains how we work, or book a walkthrough and walk the outdoor area with us.