Daycare floors not being cleaned properly

[AndiE]

Mods - not sure if this is the right spot to post ...

I'll state up front, I really like where my son goes to daycare. It's a small but good centre, the staff are great and DS1 is happy there. I've rarely had cause for complaint.

Anyhoo, I was at daycare last night picking up DS1. While there, he says "look mummy" and shows me his incredibly dirty black feet. Several of his mates then stuck their feet up in the air for me to look at. They wanted me to be suitably impressed with their dirty feet too .

I turned to their carer and asked what they'd been doing to get such dirty feet. I just assumed they'd played in the "big kids" playground at the centre.

I was floored (no pun intended) when their carer said the cleaners hadn't been washing the floor and "last night they didn't vacuum". What the hell I asked if the manager was looking in to the situation, and was told yes, she was and that the owners (not the manager) had signed a contract with a new cleaning service.

Obviously there's teething problems with the new cleaners and the daycare manager (who I've always found to be on top of everything) is sorting it out. So I'm prepared to wait till next Tuesday to see what the floors are like.

In all honesty, there's a small part of me that thinks maybe the daycare staff could get the vacuum cleaner out and give their own rooms a quick buzz over when they know it hasn't been done. Even a quick mop? Probably harsh that this is how I feel, and it's not a fair request of the daycare staff. I just hate grotty floors, and seeing how black the childrens' feet were almost makes my skin crawl. What about those tots not walking yet?

It's not too much to expect that at the end of each day the centre's floors are vac'd and washed, is it? Anyway, this is probably a small overreaction on my part - dirty floors have never been an issue till now, so hopefully it's resolved asap. If not, I'll be talking to the manager.

[Snowy Love]

I don't think our daycare employ cleaners - I know I see the staff vacuuming often. I agree, I would expect that if they knew the floors hadn't been cleaned someone should have at least vacuumed - if the staff didn't have time, I'd expect managment to do it.

[Beach Mama]

A bit different because I am a teacher and if our cleaners weren't doing it, I wouldn't either. I know it's a bit "not my job description" but that is the way it is. Having said that though, if it was happening at my kids creche then I would be expecting the owners or management to do it. Little babies and kids on dirty floors are a bit different to a school too.

[Babyluv]

I work with kiddies and I almost feel as if they are my own. If our cleaner wasn't cleaning the floor I would do it myself. When I am responsible for them I feel like I need to take care of all their needs, making sure that I give them the best care I can. I'm sure they will sort it out, but I don't think you are overreacting at all. What about the kiddies that pick things up and put them in their mouths or who crawl around and then put their hands in their mouths. It's not difficult to give the floor a quick 5 min mop at the end of the day. mHope it gets sorted soon.

[Aligater]

where I send DD1 the carers get the vacum out and do the floors regularly I dont know that they mop but the keep everything clean. Usually when the children are outside one is inside doing the cleaning.

[meow]

If the staff are being stretched for time already then I can understand them not doing it. Child care is already so underpaid and overworked that I'd onlybe cleaning the floors if I had the time allocated. That said, there is usually some time for someone to clean the floors after lunch and most children are resting. I agree that management could come in and help out to get the floors done. I hope they get the cleaners sorted out soon!

Usually when the children are outside one is inside doing the cleaning.

They must have staff rostered to do this though. For a centre that usually has a cleaner they probably have minimal staff working who have to all go outside to maintain supervision ratios of the children.

[AndiE]

I have faith in the centre manager that she will sort this as quickly as possible.
And I agree that centre staff shouldn't have to vac or mop the floors if it's not in their agreement ... but, in extraordinary circumstances where the floors don't get washed or vac'd to the point that kids feet are black then surely commonsense takes over and someone could have a go? Maybe it depends on their insurance/liability etc?

I just think that an "ordinary" dirty floor at the end of the daycare day is one thing, but for it to be THAT grotty that it turns soles black, then it needs dealing with pronto.

[luna moth]

It's gross.... but you have no idea how often this happens with childcare centre cleaners! It is so hard to find them up here in Brissie; I don't know why, but lots of cleaners just don't want to do it. Last place I worked in Melbourne, we had cleaners who did a great job of actual cleaning, but all sorts of other dodgy stuff on the side, like having 10+ people with access keys, and I had a strong suspicion that some of them were staying there overnight. Sorting it out isn't something easy or quick to do.

I've never worked anywhere up here where we'd be able to legally spare the staff to clean the floors. Qld rgs are really tight like that. They may not even have the required equipment - my work doesn't have a vac because our cleaners do it. I'm sure that if you volunteered, they wouldn't knock you back.

And I am *very* impressed that your DS was observant enough to notice his feet being black! Must be pretty switched on!

[AndiE]

And I am *very* impressed that your DS was observant enough to notice his feet being black! Must be pretty switched on!

Ha ha, I think he just likes being dirty!

And yes, it's already crossed my mind that I should just volunteer to do it, but I'm a little reluctant. Long story short, I tend to put pressure on myself to achieve quite a bit during the day/week and sometimes stretch myself too thin and um, have a short fuse. Cue the violins DH occasionally wants to strangle me because of my "self-imposed pressure". So while I want daycare to have a clean floor, I don't want my sanity (or my family's) to suffer to get it that way

Sounds like the cleaning may not be as straight forward as I'd thought. And yeah, the staff have enough to do without cleaning on top of it. Would rather my son take priority during their day than the floors.

Will see what next week brings. Maybe I could volunteer DH

[Floweryfields]

How lucky are they to have a cleaner! We do all our own cleaning - which means once the children are down for rest time, floors are swept and mopped every day. Mats are vaccuumed several times a week early in the mornings before it gets busy!

[AndiE]

Ausgirl, I guess each centre operates differently, but I would also guess we pay for the cleaning service via our fees???

[Indadhanu]

We employ cleaners, and sometimes they take shortcuts. Unfortunately, we can vacuum but not mop (except spot-mopping in certain circumstances) while children are in the centre because of legal reasons. So we either have to go in before sunrise, before any children are there (and before our paid shift starts) and do the cleaners job after they have already been and been paid... or we have to do our best during out shift to make it as clean as possible without mopping. We sweep multiple times a daym, and spot mop where we need to, and if it was filthy I would try my best to get the worst of it off.

It's hard to get the cleaners to do a wonderful fantastic job every single time they come in. Even though they should. They don't. The director can only do what she can do, but I am SURE that they are working on it, because it's gross for everyone! Definitely not nice to be sitting or crawling around with the kids on a floor that is filthy!