Compliance
School Cleaning Standards: CDC Guidance and What It Means
What the CDC actually recommends for K–12 school cleaning — and what goes beyond it.
CDC school cleaning guidance is public — and it's less aggressive than most people think. The baseline is "clean at least once a day." Disinfection is situational, not constant.
CDC baseline
- Clean surfaces daily (soap and water or detergent — not necessarily disinfectant)
- Disinfect high-touch surfaces (doorknobs, desks, light switches) when there's been a case of a communicable illness
- Restrooms disinfected daily
- Outdoor surfaces generally don't need disinfection
What most districts do
Most schools go beyond CDC — disinfecting daily, deep cleans every break, summer resets. That's reasonable for high-occupancy environments with immune-developing kids.
What we add
- GBAC-trained crews for outbreak response
- Color-coded microfiber (no cross-contamination between classrooms and restrooms)
- Pediatric-safe chemistry (Prop 65 compliant, low VOC)
- Terminal cleans at breaks (winter, spring, summer)