Playgrounds capture the attention and imaginations of our children. Unfortunately they also get a lot of attention from bugs, germs and other nasties! So a common question we get is do I need to sanitize my playground? The answer is it depends on some factors.

Lets talk through the factors.

Seasonal factors

Coming into winter and spring are times when there are more viral illnesses in our communities. These times of the year present significantly more risk than other times and recreational managers should concentrate their efforts towards these times.

High use or low use

Again about risk, the amount of use determines how much cleaning and sanitation a playground requires. A small very low use playspace in a new residential subdivision may not require any sanitation at all where a large communal playground in the CBD will require almost daily attention during peak season.

Inside or outside

Outdoor playgrounds have the advantage of weather and UV to assist with some self -cleaning. This goes some way towards removing the risk however doesn’t do everything and leaves a lot of vulnerable areas such as in tunnels, undersides of handrailing and other nooks and crevice’s.  

Summary

So, in short, if you have a small low use playspace in the outdoors then you may not need to do much in the way of sanitation. However if you have a high use area, a regular maintenance plan is vital to the health of the playspace. Setup a regular schedule to care for this maintenance so you have peace of mind without having to spend all your time managing it.