Play Area Maintenance
Cleaning and Disinfecting Play Areas
Keeping kids active is crucial to their physical and mental health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies playing at parks and other public recreation areas as an effective way for kids to get the physical activity they need. How can you ensure public playgrounds are safe for the kids who play there?
At Soft Play®, we understand the importance of cleaning public playgrounds. Here is our guide to disinfecting playgrounds as well as information about antimicrobial coatings for custom playground equipment.
How to Clean Play Equipment
Follow these four steps to clean and disinfect your playground equipment.
1. Check the Instructions
Your equipment should have an owner’s manual or other instructions. Check the manual for any warnings or special cleaning instructions. Your manual should let you know if the equipment has fragile components or if you can use abrasives on certain surfaces.
2. Wash Surfaces With Soap and Water
You can clean most playground equipment with water and a mild detergent. You can also use brushes and other scrubbing tools on durable surfaces. Note that abrasives and paper towels can scratch domes and windows, and those surfaces usually require an ammonia-free cleaner. Washing surfaces frequently helps remove dirt and any sticky spills.
3. Sanitize or Disinfect the Equipment
Make sure to use non-toxic cleaning products safe for playground equipment. The product should be able to remove any germs that transmit bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Next, choose whether you need to sanitize or disinfect your public playground equipment. The CDC explains the difference between the two terms:
- Sanitizing: Reducing the number of germs on a surface to a safe amount.
- Disinfecting: Completely eliminating germs on a surface.
Follow applicable sanitizing and disinfecting guidelines to comply with any Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety standards and keep your playground safe.
4. Spot Clean
If you notice certain areas of the playground that need cleaning throughout the day, you can spot clean to keep your play equipment in excellent condition. Spot cleaning helps keep up with streaky windows, muddy stairs, and other signs of heavy use.
Soft Play Antimicrobial Play Equipment
At Soft Play, we use a proprietary process called PlaySoft™. After we produce foam-sculpted playground equipment, we coat it with a rubber-like substance. That coating is durable and naturally antimicrobial. Our smooth-finish PlaySoft™ coating has ASTM certification. Indoor play areas with these coated elements ensure a healthier play experience for kids.
PlaySoft™ equipment is the perfect solution for business owners who want kids to have fun playing in a healthy environment. You can even add signage to explain the advantages of your antimicrobial play elements, which families will appreciate. Every customer wants to know the businesses they support care about them. Installing antimicrobial equipment and cleaning it regularly shows you are dedicated to the health and safety of your patrons.
Learn More Today
If you want to add an indoor play area to your business, consider the benefits of PlaySoft™ equipment. Contact Soft Play for more information about our easy-to-clean equipment.