ToyGuard is committed to providing a complete hygiene. This Hygiene Know-How section has a wealth of tips and advice from our team of experience professionals. ToyGuard is continually updating its range of resources – fact sheets, procedural guides, and posters –
to support good hygiene practice. Additional fun learning resources for children to download and play on-line can be found in our Good, Clean Fun section.

Feel free to contact us if you require specific support or cannot find the information you need. We hope you find these pages useful.

Good Hygiene Practice | Education | Handwashing | Outdoor Hygiene Tips | Animals | Handling Chemicals

Good Hygiene Practice

Before using any of downloadable procedureal guides please first read our good hygiene practice guide. Always use appropriate protective equipment (e.g. rubber gloves) as per the equipment’s manufacturer’s instructions.

The biggest risk to health is infection through contact, and the best way to minimise the risk is simply, through proper handwashing! ToyGuard offers free staff handwashing training to all nurseries we work with, and have also produced a checklist for kids and poster that you can download for free.

Good Hygiene Practice: education

Educate children. Regularly build in hygiene awareness, by discussing germs and how they spread. This can be done through activities such as growing a colony in a petri dish from a swab from a child’s hand, or asking children to draw what they think germs look like – have a look at examples from very young artists who entered the ToyGuard ‘Design a Germ’ competition last year.

Ensure children understand too that they should cover their mouths with a tissue when they cough or sneeze.

Make hygiene is fun and educational! Cleaning can be built into children tidying up toys after play as an activity – for example water toys can be rinsed and dried or put on racks to dry, outdoor toys can be washed down with watering cans – make sure waterproof protective clothing is worn!! Even car washing, after appropriate risk assessment, can be fun for kids and a ‘life skill’ learned for their futures.

Educate staff. All staff that have completed food safety level one will know something about hand and personal hygiene. Reinforce personal hygiene training with refresher sessions that can be tied in with other training i.e. infection control.

Best Hygiene Practice: handwashing

All you need is soap and warm water – and paper towels to dry hands. The physical action of rubbing hands with paper is a key factor in removing the food source for germs, actually decreasing the number of bacteria by 58% ! In comparison hand dryers can increae bacteria on the hands by 255%!

Forget anti-bacterial products. ‘Normal’ soap is cheaper, and doesn’t help bacteria build up resistance to the very anti-bacterial agents designed to wipe them out (when anti-bacterial soap is not completely rinsed off the hands bacteria co-exist with the traces left behind, developing immunity overtime). Anti-bacterial soap has been highlighted as a major contributor in the increase in antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.

Choose a foam, or spray, soap rather than a liquid and save pounds! kids love foam and it uses 10 to 20 times less soap per dose than liquid soap, it is easier to see and spread over the hands and has a much cheaper in use cost (per dose). The table below shows the savings made by choosing a foaming soap over liquid soap. See our Washrooms Equipment section for information on soap dispensors or buy soap directly from ToyGuard Express (coming soon).

Outdoor Hygiene Tips

With the advent of Spring the main UK attractions open their doors for the season and there is no shortage of activities to be had in the great outdoors. Being outdoors is fun and children love it. We believe going outside to experience and interact with animals, and a range of outside environments, is fundamental for their development. However, it is equally important that they understand the potential risks and learn how to protect themselves.

A few simple steps ensure that you and your little ones minimise the risk of nasty infections:

Always wash your hands after touching or handling animals which may carry infections that can be contracted by humans. Animal farms and petting areas usually have adequate hand washing and sanitation facilities on site. When it comes to toilets and eating the same rules apply as at home – always wash your hands after visiting the toilet and before eating. If you are visiting an attraction with animals, only eat in designated eating areas.

Be sure children understand not to eat or drink ANYTHING while touring the farm, not to put fingers in mouths, eat anything which may have fallen on the ground, or any animal food.

Take a pocket sanitiser with you if you are out in the wilds, miles from the nearest facilities. A non-alcohol sanitiser with some residual efficacy is best. We would recommend, of course, ToyGuard Hand Sanitiser.

Always carry a small first aid kit so any cuts or abrasions they can be covered with a waterproof plaster to prevent infection. Seek medical advice should the skin be broken especially from a bite or a sharps object (syringe, glass, etc).

Check shoes and clothes when you get home and clean off any obvious mud (or other) contaminant – better to be safe than sorry. If you, or your child,  become ill after visiting an attraction then seek medical advice and make the doctor aware of where you have been.

Animals in the nursery (permanently or visiting)

1. Make sure you, and the children, wash hands after touching or handling animals and that children understand hands not to eat or drink anything, nor put fingers in their mouths without wasing their hand first.

2. Ensure animals' living quarters are kept clean and are away from food areas.

3. Dispose of animal waste regularly, and keep litter boxes out of the reach children.

4. Don’t let children play unsupervised with animals.

5. Veterinary advice should be sought on animal welfare and animal health issues and the suitability of the animal as a pet.

6. Reptiles are not suitable as pets in nurseries as all species carry salmonella.

The Ten Golden Rules for handling chemicals

Those dealing with chemicals in a commercial environment should always be COSHH trained. Remember, if in doubt, ask a supervisor or the supplier!

1. Be sure you can read the labels and follow instructions for use.

2. Use protective clothing.

3. Do not mix chemicals, mixing chemicals can kill.

4. Never put chemicals into unmarked containers.

5. Never put chemicals into bottles or containers that have had other uses e.g. eating or drinking

6. Be sure you know what first aid treatment is required if you accidentally spill chemicals on yourself or others.

7. Store all chemicals safely, and out of reach of children.

8. Report any damaged containers, spills or faulty containers to a supervisor.

9. Always follow the safety rules and develop safe working practices in the workplace.

10. Report anything wrong or unusual to your supervisor.