A good quality control plan involves the entire team. Lay out clear expectations for your custodial staff with a restroom cleaning checklist that helps them pass restroom inspections with flying colors.
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If there’s one space you don’t want to fail in quality, it’s the restroom. Nothing will tank a person’s impression of the building’s cleanliness faster than a dirty bathroom. When the floor is messy or the toilet paper is out, it’s a big deal.
But these spaces can also see a lot of traffic, with messes getting made in between regularly scheduled cleanings. Bathroom inspection checklists help your team stay on top of restroom cleanliness and catch problems more quickly.
Customize this sample restroom cleaning inspection form for the fixtures present, as well as your team’s areas of responsibility. This audit is meant to be done after cleaning but before restroom usage resumes, such as the morning after the night shift. Adjust the rating descriptions to account for any usage in between the cleaning and inspection.
| Item | Description | Pass / Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror | Clean and streak-free with no obvious smudges, splatters, or fingerprints | Pass / Fail |
| Sink | Clean faucet, bowl, and drain with no build-up or clogs | Pass / Fail |
| Hand dryer | Clean, without smudges or dust | Pass / Fail |
| Soap dispenser | Clean and refilled | Pass / Fail |
| Trash | Emptied within the day; exterior clean and free of smudges and streaks | Pass / Fail |
| Walls | Cleaned and dusted, including the top of the tile trim | Pass / Fail |
| Floors | Freshly cleaned, without dirt or debris, including baseboards; little to no build-up in corners | Pass / Fail |
| Door | Handle and vertical surface clean | Pass / Fail |
| Urinal | Clean, with no stains or drips | Pass / Fail |
| Toilet | Bowl, seat, handle, and exterior are all clean with no drips | Pass / Fail |
| Sanitary disposal unit or bags | Unit is clean without smudges or streaks, and the bag is replaced | Pass / Fail |
| Stall walls | Clean, with tops dusted | Pass / Fail |
| Toilet paper | Restocked, with clean dispenser | Pass / Fail |
| Lighting | Dust-free, with no burned-out bulbs | Pass / Fail |
| Maintenance notes | Broken latches, plumbing issues, etc. | |
| Overall notes | ||
A good restroom cleaning checklist covers everything you expect your custodial team to handle during routine service. It should reflect the line items they’ll be scored on, setting them up for success. Be sure to provide a way for your cleaning team to report issues they aren’t responsible for, as well, such as maintenance needs.
Looking for other bathroom inspection checklists and standards? Check these out:
No one likes to use a dirty restroom. The “ick” factor is much stronger here than in less intimate spaces. On the flip side, a sparkling clean restroom for freshening up multiplies positive feelings about cleaning quality.
A clean restroom:
We’re all familiar with the sight of a cleaning checklist hanging up in the bathroom, initiated by staff or supervisors. Making the process digital creates a more reliable record that’s easier to access from off-site. Timestamps, GPS, duration, and photos add accountability to inspections. And if there’s an issue that needs fixing, a digital inspection makes it easier to get that information to the right person.
Of course, there’s also the hygiene issue of having a shared clipboard that stays in the restroom and is handled by multiple people—essentially adding another item that needs to be cleaned.
If you’re interested in OrangeQC’s digital inspection and quality control tools, reach out for a one-on-one demo to see the software in action.
Make the most of your restroom inspections by following these best practices for quality control:
In order for bathroom inspection data to be meaningful, all of the inspectors must score by the same standard. If one person grades significantly more harshly, for instance, it can create a false impression that the bathroom cleaning quality is falling. A clear set of standards for inspections helps ratings stay consistent. Be sure to call out the most important elements of each rating.
Take full advantage of inspection data by tracking necessary corrective actions. For example, OrangeQC users can set their mobile forms to automatically create a ticket for failing line items, then track the task to completion.
Regularly review data to see if any particular line items are scoring low. These may indicate a need for different cleaning equipment, more time allotted, or refreshed training. After all, the overall goal is to raise restroom cleaning quality.
Restroom inspections are visual audits of the restroom, including all fixtures and surfaces. They may be performed by a cleaning team tracking its own quality, an organization measuring the effectiveness of a contractor, or a third-party auditor.
Workplaces may be required to perform inspections in order to meet certain regulations for employee health and safety, such as Ontario’s Regulation 480/24.
Private restrooms in an office building might be inspected a few times a week, while public restrooms in high-traffic areas need to be inspected throughout the day. We’ve heard from teams at airports that inspect bathrooms once every hour during peak travel times.
Factors that will impact inspection frequency include:
If a restroom requires frequent checks, you may want to use multiple inspection forms. A more thorough form like this one can be completed when the inspector accesses the restroom, immediately after cleaning. A faster form with only the most important line items works well for restrooms that are inspected more than once a day.
A thorough inspection, like the one we’ve included in our restroom quality control checklist, may take less than five or more than 15 minutes, depending on the size and condition of the restroom. Smaller, cleaner bathrooms are easier to inspect.
Areas to watch out during restroom inspections include checking that sanitary disposal units have been re-bagged appropriately. Also, look up high and down low. It’s easy to miss accumulations of dust on the top of any tile trim or stall walls. Check under urinals and behind toilets for missed spills and spots.
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