What is terminal cleaning? A guide for cleaners

What it means

Terminal cleaning is the thorough clean of a room or bed space after a patient or resident leaves it — discharged, transferred or moved off isolation. It is most important after someone who had a known or suspected infection, so the next person isn't exposed to what was left behind.

How it differs from a daily clean

• Every surface is cleaned, not just the high-touch ones — including the bed frame, mattress cover, furniture, walls where they are soiled and fixtures.
• Disposable items are thrown away and privacy curtains are usually changed.
• Reusable patient equipment is cleaned before it is used for anyone else.
• Where the procedure requires it, a disinfectant step follows the clean, with the full contact time.

The usual order of work

1. Check the room signage and put on the PPE it requires.
2. Remove waste, sharps containers that are full, and used linen, bagged in the room.
3. Work from clean to dirty and from high to low, ending with the bathroom and then the floor.
4. Check the mattress cover for damage — a torn cover can't be cleaned properly and should be reported.
5. Remove PPE at the doorway and clean your hands.

Follow your site's procedure

Hospitals and aged care services set their own terminal cleaning procedures, products and checklists, and some infections need specific products. Always use your site's version — this guide explains the principles behind it.