Every licensed child care center in North Carolina gets unannounced sanitation inspections, and the score is posted where parents see it as they walk in. Since you never know when the inspector will arrive, prepare with a routine that holds up every day. Here is who inspects, how scoring works, what gets checked, and how to split cleaning between staff and an after-hours crew. This article builds on our guide to daycare cleaning in Charlotte, NC.
What the Sanitation Inspection Is and Who Does It
The sanitation inspection is separate from your star rating. The star rated license comes from the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) and is based on staff education and program standards. The sanitation inspection checks your building and daily practices against the state's Sanitation of Child Care Centers rules, 15A NCAC 18A .2800. The current version took effect July 1, 2023.
Environmental health specialists from your county health department do the inspections. In Charlotte, that is the Environmental Health Division of Mecklenburg County Public Health.
- Inspections are unannounced and happen at least once every six months.
- The health department may return after a complaint or a provisional or disapproved classification.
- The inspector completes the state form, gives you a copy, and sends the original to DCDEE.
How the Score Works
Inspectors assign demerits for each violation observed. The state form's 50 items carry 2 to 6 demerits each, and the 6-demerit items are marked critical. Your total and any critical violations set your classification:
- Superior: 0 to 15 demerits, with no 6-demerit item
- Approved: 16 to 30 demerits, with no 6-demerit item
- Provisional: 31 to 45 demerits, or any 6-demerit item
- Disapproved: 46 or more demerits, or a provisional problem not corrected in time
One critical violation makes a center provisional even when its total is low. Two critical items depend directly on cleaning habits: diapering surfaces not cleaned and disinfected after each use, and hazardous products not properly stored and locked.
What Inspectors Look At That Cleaning Affects
These form items depend most on your cleaning routine.
- Handwashing sinks. Clean and disinfect them at least daily, when visibly soiled, and when a sink changes use, such as a classroom sink used to rinse toothbrushes. Each sink needs liquid soap, paper towels or another hand dryer, and a handwashing sign. Sinks cannot be used for storage.
- Toilets and potty chairs. Toilets are cleaned and disinfected daily and when visibly soiled. Potty chairs are emptied, rinsed, cleaned, and disinfected after each use. Toilet rooms hold only toileting and diapering supplies.
- Diapering areas. Surfaces must be smooth, intact, and nonabsorbent, with nothing on them but what the change requires. Each station needs separate, labeled bottles of detergent solution and disinfectant, and cloths and sponges cannot be used on the diapering surface. Diaper pails are emptied to the outside garbage area daily.
- Kitchen and eating areas. Food-contact surfaces and utensils are washed, rinsed, sanitized, and air dried, with a test kit on hand to check sanitizer strength. Highchair trays are washed, rinsed, and sanitized in the kitchen after each use.
- Toys and furniture. Keep everything clean and in good repair. In rooms for children not yet toilet trained, toys and other items that go in mouths are cleaned and sanitized after each use and when visibly dirty.
- Floors, walls, and ceilings. All must be clean and in good repair, with walls and ceilings free of visible mold. Carpet is vacuumed daily, generally when children are not in the room, and wall-to-wall carpet is extraction cleaned at least every six months.
- Garbage. Food scraps go in lined, covered containers taken to the outside garbage area daily. Trash cans, mops, and dumpsters are kept clean, and dumpsters stay covered.
Your Cleaning Routine: Staff by Day, Crew After Hours
Some tasks must happen at the moment of use and cannot wait for a cleaning crew. The rest is easier and safer once children leave.
Staff, throughout the day
- Clean and disinfect the diapering surface after every change
- Empty, rinse, clean, and disinfect potty chairs after each use
- Collect mouthed toys in a bin, then clean and sanitize them
- Clean and sanitize tables before and after meals, and send highchair trays to the kitchen
- Handle vomit and diarrhea right away, using the written procedure and cleanup kit the rules require
- Mix bleach solutions fresh each day and check them with a test kit
Cleaning crew, in the evening or on weekends
- Clean and disinfect toilets, sinks, and restroom floors
- Vacuum carpets while rooms are empty, and mop hard floors
- Wipe and disinfect door handles, light switches, counters, and cubbies
- Take trash and diaper pails to the outside garbage area and wipe the cans
- Restock soap, paper towels, and toilet paper
- Leave no product out: lock it up or take it with you
Weekly and every few months
Each week, dust vents, return grilles, fans, and light fixtures, spot clean walls and doors, and check ceilings for stains or mold. Schedule carpet cleaning at least every six months, ideally on a Friday evening or a weekend, since carpet must be completely dry within 12 hours of water extraction. Add periodic machine scrubbing of kitchen and restroom floors through a floor care plan. Our commercial restroom sanitation standards list restroom touchpoints.
Choosing and Using Cleaning Products
The rules require both a sanitizer and a disinfectant. A sanitizer reduces bacteria and is used on food-contact surfaces and mouthed toys. A disinfectant destroys bacteria, viruses, and fungi and is used on diapering surfaces, toilets, and sinks. Our article on cleaning vs. sanitizing vs. disinfecting explains the difference.
- Read the label. An EPA-registered disinfectant qualifies only if its label indicates use in schools and child care settings. A food-contact sanitizer must be EPA-registered for that use, need no final rinse, and have a test method staff can use.
- Respect contact time. Leave surfaces wet for the full contact time on the label. State guidance tells inspectors to use the label's general disinfection time, not a shorter time listed for one virus.
- Mix bleach carefully. Solutions mixed on site must be made fresh daily and tested. Check the bleach strength on the jug before mixing, and skip bleach with fragrance or splash-preventing thickeners, which the state does not recommend.
- Safety Data Sheets. Keep one on file at the center for each sanitizer and disinfectant used there, including your cleaning company's products.
- Label and lock. Label each spray bottle as sanitizer, disinfectant, or detergent solution. When not in use, keep those bottles out of children's reach, and keep bleach, detergents, cleansers, polishes, and aerosols locked up in original or labeled containers, below or apart from food and medications.
Keep Simple Cleaning Logs
Demerits are based on what the inspector sees, so a log cannot make up for a dirty room. It does help you catch gaps first:
- A daily checklist in each restroom and diapering area, initialed as tasks are done
- A bleach sheet with the date, who mixed it, and the test result
- Carpet extraction dates, since the inspection form asks for the last one
- A checklist your cleaning crew signs after each visit
- A current binder of Safety Data Sheets
What to Do After a Low Score
Start with the comment addendum. The inspector must write an explanation and a corrective action for each violation, so it doubles as your to-do list.
- Provisional. This classification lasts no more than seven days unless construction or renovation is needed, and then a follow-up inspection sets a new score. Mecklenburg County may grant an extension for repairs such as a new sink or water heater if you ask in writing within the seven days, but not for operational issues. Cleaning problems are operational, so plan to fix them within days.
- Disapproved. The health department notifies DCDEE immediately. In Mecklenburg County, the center must contact environmental health to request a reinspection.
For each cited item, decide whether staff or the cleaning crew owns it, add it to the right checklist, and retrain. Once a month, walk your center with the state inspection form, EHS 1617, and score yourself the way an inspector would.
Request a Free Child Care Cleaning Quote
Blue Oak Solutions is family-owned and locally operated, and has served North Carolina businesses for more than 10 years. We provide cleaning and disinfection services for child care centers in Charlotte and surrounding cities in the evenings and on weekends. Our trained, uniformed, background-checked employees use EPA-registered disinfectants, and we are licensed, insured, and bonded. Request a free quote or call 980-307-4988, and we will walk your center and put a cleaning plan built around your schedule in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often are child care centers inspected for sanitation in North Carolina?
At least once every six months. Inspections are unannounced and done by environmental health specialists from the county health department, which may also return after a complaint or a low classification.
How is a child care sanitation inspection scored?
Inspectors assign demerits for violations. Superior is 0 to 15 demerits and approved is 16 to 30, both with no 6-demerit critical item. Provisional is 31 to 45 demerits or any critical item, and disapproved is 46 or more demerits or an uncorrected provisional problem.
Does an after-hours cleaning crew replace cleaning by staff?
No. Diapering surfaces, potty chairs, and mouthed toys in rooms for children not yet toilet trained must be cleaned after each use, so staff handle them during the day. An after-hours crew covers restrooms, floors, carpets, trash, high-touch surfaces, and restocking in the evenings or on weekends.