Maintaining a Healthy Facility- Cleaning Institutional Furniture

Germs and viruses can spread quickly in any area where people are living in close proximity to one another, such as in correctional facilities, detention centers, psychiatric hospitals and other behavioral healthcare settings.

Jail furniture and anti-ligature furniture is built to withstand tough environments, yet remain easy to clean and maintain, which helps to minimize the spread germs within a facility. 

With the recent outbreaks of Covid-19, cleaning and disinfecting have become a much larger part of daily life. These practices are especially important in correctional and healthcare facilities, where viruses have been known to spread quickly and infect residents and staff.

Max-Secure: marinating a healthy facility

When to Clean, Sanitize and Disinfect Anti-Ligature Furniture

Although often used interchangeably, it is important to know the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting in order to keep your facility in tip-top shape, and reduce the spread of germs and bacteria.

By scrubbing, washing or rinsing, cleaning removes dirt and debris from the surface. Sanitizing reduces bacteria on the surface and in laundry while disinfecting is the only way to destroy or deactivate bacteria.

Knowing the difference is important to ensure the anti-ligature furniture in your facility is being properly treated and well maintained. While frequent sanitizing, especially on high-touch surfaces is recommended, only disinfectant can totally remove both bacteria and viruses.   

To prevent the spread of viruses in your facility ensure to regularly disinfect the anti-ligature furniture and clean up any spilled liquids or surfaces messes immediately.

Cleaning and Disinfecting Anti-Ligature Furniture

Jail furniture is typically made from a long-lasting, highly durable plastic. Although an important safety feature, this non-pours surface makes maintaining anti-ligature furniture a breeze.

Removing dirt and debris on the surface of your facility’s furniture should be done right away to prevent any damage it could cause. Soapy water or common all-purpose cleaners can be used to wipe off the surface, cleaning any visible surface messes or stains.

Each piece of furniture should be disinfected between patient uses, to stop the transfer of bacteria and viruses. Typically all pieces of anti-ligature furniture are designed to be disinfected with standard commercial products.

Keeping Anti-Ligature Furniture Safe

To ensure your facility stays safe for everyone, consider increasing the frequency of cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting, especially in high-touch areas. An increase in disinfecting practices, with special attention to high-touch areas, helps to remove bacteria and viruses, and stop the spread of germs between residents and staff members.

When possible, disinfect areas where a person with flu-like symptoms, such as coughing, sneezing etc., was immediately after to kill those germs and stop them from spreading to someone else.

When cleaning and disinfecting the furniture in your facility, consider wearing gloves to prevent the bacteria on the surface from touching your skin. Dispose of the gloves after cleaning and wash your hands promptly, to stop the spread of germs.  

With the rise of the Coronavirus, cleaning and disinfecting have become much more of a daily ritual, facilities should be sure to incorporate regular cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting to their maintenance, reducing the risk of spreading the virus.

Each piece of Max-Secure’s anti-ligature furniture is monolithic, and manufactured using a durable, long-lasting polymer. Both these properties making cleaning and disinfecting a breeze!

Our Dinning and Day Room furniture is perfect for common areas, and can quickly and easily be disinfected between uses. We also offer a full line of Resident Room Furniture, which promotes easy cleaning.