Cleaning, Disinfection, and Hand Hygiene in Schools – a Toolkit for School Administrators

About this toolkit

Reducing the risk of exposure to coronavirus (or SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) by cleaning and disinfection is an integral part of reopening schools that will require careful planning.

This guidance is intended to aid school administrators as they consider how to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of students, teachers, other school staff, families, and communities and prepare for educating students this fall.

School administrators are individuals who oversee the daily operations of K-12 schools, and may include school district superintendents, school principals, and assistant principals.

Cleaning and disinfecting your school will require you to:

• Develop your plan
• Implement your plan
• Maintain and revise your plan

Recommendations are based on CDC’s current knowledge of COVID-19 in the United States. CDC will continue to monitor COVID-19 activity and update guidance as needed. This guidance is meant to supplement—not replace—any state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which schools must comply.

Integrating cleaning and disinfection into the daily plan

Who will clean, how often, and where?

Cleaning and disinfecting reduce the risk of spreading infection by removing and killing germs on surfaces people frequently touch. Consider cleaning and disinfecting more frequently at your school to reduce the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Staff and scheduling

• Make a plan with staff and teachers. Discuss obstacles to more frequent cleaning and disinfecting and ways to overcome those obstacles.
• Train staff. Ensure that cleaning staff, teachers, and others who use cleaners and disinfectants read and understand all instruction labels, understand safe and appropriate use, and have and are using the PPE appropriate to the product. Consider providing instructional materials and training in other languages.
• Develop a schedule for increased, routine cleaning and disinfection. Modify your standard procedures to accommodate more frequent cleaning and disinfection. Focus cleaning and disinfection on frequently touched objects (e.g., doorknobs, light switches, classroom sink handles, countertops) and shared items between uses.

Soiled surfaces and objects

• Immediately clean surfaces and objects that are visibly soiled. Use soap (or detergent) and water to clean surfaces or objects that look dirty. Visibly dirty surfaces should be cleaned prior to disinfection.
• If surfaces or objects are soiled with body fluids or blood, use gloves and other standard precautions to avoid coming into contact with the fluid. Contain and remove the spill, and then clean and disinfect the surface.

Frequently touched surfaces

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces (e.g., playground equipment, door handles, sink handles, drinking fountains) within the school and on school buses at least daily or between use as much as possible. This may include adding additional areas or surfaces to standard procedures for disinfection.
  • If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.

Shared objects

• Limit the use of shared objects (e.g., gym or physical education equipment, art supplies, toys, games, computers) when possible, or clean and disinfect between use.
• Discourage sharing of items that are difficult to clean or disinfect such as electronic devices, pens and pencils, classroom stapler, whiteboard markers and erasers, books, games, art supplies (e.g., markers, crayons, scissors), and other learning aids. Soft and porous materials, such as area rugs and seating, may be removed to reduce the challenges with cleaning and disinfecting them.
• Keep each student’s belongings separated from others’ and in individually labeled containers, cubbies, lockers or areas.
• Ensure adequate supplies to minimize sharing of high touch materials to the extent possible (e.g., assigning each student their own art supplies, equipment) or limit use of supplies and equipment to one group of students at a time and clean and disinfect between use.

Safe and effective cleaning and disinfection

Choosing the right products

• Use products on List N: Disinfectants for use against SARs-CoV-2external icon. These products can kill the virus that causes COVID-19 and include ready-to-use sprays, concentrates, and wipes.
• Ensure adequate supplies are available to support more frequent cleaning and disinfection.
  • Consider whether teachers and staff will need additional cleaning and disinfection supplies (e.g., cleaning and disinfection products, paper towels, gloves) beyond those normally stocked in classrooms and on school grounds and property.
  • Consider providing EPA-approvedexternal icon disposable wipes to teachers and staff so that commonly used surfaces (e.g., desks/tables and chairs, keyboards, doorknobs, classroom sink handles, countertops) can be wiped down before use.
• If EPA-approvedexternal icon disinfectants are not available, diluted household bleach solutions can be used if appropriate for the surface. Unexpired household bleach will be effective against coronaviruses when properly diluted.
  • Use bleach containing 5.25%–8.25% sodium hypochlorite. Do not use a bleach product if the percentage is not in this range or is not specified.
  • Follow the manufacturer’s application instructions for the surface, ensuring a contact time of at least 1 minute.
  • Ensure proper ventilation during and after application.
  • Check to ensure the product is not past its expiration date.
• Prepare a bleach solution by mixing:
  • 5 tablespoons (1/3^rd cup) of 5.25%–8.25% bleach per gallon of room temperature water or
  • 4 teaspoons of 5.25%–8.25% bleach per quart of room temperature water
• Bleach solutions will be effective for disinfection up to 24 hours.

• Do not stockpile disinfectants or other supplies. This can result in shortages of appropriate products for others to use in critical situations and supplies can degrade and become less effective if stored for long periods of time.

COVID-19 cases in the school

A school might need to implement short-term closure procedures regardless of community spread if an infected person has been in a school building. In addition, CDC recommends cleaning and disinfecting the school building thoroughly by:

1. Closing off areas used by the persons with COVID-19 for a significant amount of time. School administrators and staff may define this length of time (usually 15 minutes or longer) based on their specific needs and policies.
2. Waiting as long as practical before beginning cleaning and disinfection to minimize potential for exposure to respiratory droplets.
   • Open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the area.
   • If possible, wait up to 24 hours before beginning cleaning and disinfection.
3. Cleaning and disinfecting all areas (e.g., offices, bathrooms, and common areas) used by the person(s) with COVID-19, focusing especially on frequently touched surfaces.
   • Surfaces should be cleaned using soap (or a detergent) and water prior to disinfection.
   • Disinfect with a disinfectant on List N: Disinfectants for use against SARs-CoV-2,external icon the virus that causes COVID-19.

In most instances, a single case of COVID-19 in a school would not warrant closing the entire school. Community spread and how much contact the person with COVID-19 had with others, as well as when such contact took place, need to be considered. These variables should also be considered when determining how long a school, or part of the school, stays closed. Administrators should work with local health officials to determine if temporarily closing the school building is necessary.

Additional key resources:

• CDC’s Cleaning and Disinfection for Community Facilities Recommendations
• For more information about cleaning and disinfecting school buses or other transport vehicles, read CDC’s guidance for bus transit operators
• Glossary of Key Terms: Close Contact
• How to clean and disinfect if someone is sick
• Reopening Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools, and Homes
• EPA List of disinfectants for use against the virus that causes COVID-19external icon

Hand hygiene: promoting it in your school

The best way to prevent COVID-19 is to avoid being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, which is thought to spread mainly from person to person. Another key preventive action you can take is to regularly clean hands. Cleaning hands at key times with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water is not readily available is one of the most important steps a person can take to avoid getting sick. This helps prevent a variety of infections because:

• People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the mouth, nose, and eyes and make us sick.
• Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, tabletops, or keyboards, and then be transferred to another person’s hands.
• Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections.

Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy. Handwashing can reduce respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by up to 21%. Additionally, school-based programs promoting handwashing and hand hygiene can result in less gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses and fewer missed school days.

For more information, see CDC’s Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives website.

Establishing a culture of hand hygiene

• Teach and reinforce handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and increase monitoring to ensure adherence among teachers, students, and staff.
• Build time into daily routines for students and staff to wash hands, especially at key times like after bathroom breaks, before lunch, or after playing outside. Take into consideration any additional time students or staff may need to wash their hands while social distancing.
• Consider making hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol available for teachers, staff, and students. Hand sanitizers can be placed near frequently touched surfaces (e.g., water fountains, doors, shared equipment) and areas where soap and water are not readily available (e.g., cafeterias, classrooms, gyms). Supervise young children under the age of 6 when they use hand sanitizer to prevent swallowing alcohol or contact with eyes.
• Promote hand hygiene throughout the school by placing visual cues such as handwashing posters, stickers, and other materials in highly visible areas.
  • Download and print materials
  • Order handwashing materials from CDC for free using CDC-INFO on Demand

Using hand sanitizers to reduce germs on hands

Use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available

CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water because handwashing reduces the amounts of all types of germs and chemicals on hands. But if soap and water are not available, using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.

Soap and water remove all types of germs from hands, while sanitizer acts by killing certain germs on the skin. Although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs in many situations, they should be used in the right situations.

When using hand sanitizer, apply the product to the palm of one hand (read the label to learn the correct amount) and rub the product all over the surfaces of your hands until your hands are dry.

Hand sanitizers are less effective than handwashing in some situations

• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers kill the virus that causes COVID-19 when used correctly. However, hand sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs, including some germs that cause diarrhea. Always wash hands with soap and water after using the toilet.
• Hand sanitizers may not be as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy. Hands are often dirty or greasy after activities like eating or playing outside.
• Hand sanitizers might not remove harmful chemicals, like pesticides and heavy metals, from hands.

Handwashing Resources

Find a variety of resources to help you promote handwashing in schools and at home.

Posters

Suggested uses

• Post in staff bathrooms, cafeteria kitchens, and communal areas such as teachers’ lounges, if open.
• Post in student bathrooms and locker rooms.
• Post near classroom sinks.
• Distribute to parents, guardians, and caregivers in electronic or print form and encourage them to post near their sinks at home.

Available in

English | Spanish | French | Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Portuguese | Urdu | Haitian Creole

Posters for Children and Teens

Posters for the General Public

Additional Resources