Imagine the cloth that just wiped a toilet seat being used on a café counter. Gross, right? Without a system, it happens far more often than you'd think. Colour-coded cleaning is the simple, low-cost fix used by hospitals, food factories and top hotels.
The standard colour code
- 🔴 Red: toilets, urinals and washroom floors (highest risk)
- 🟡 Yellow: basins, taps and other washroom surfaces, plus clinical areas
- 🔵 Blue: general low-risk areas such as offices, desks, reception and corridors
- 🟢 Green: kitchens, food preparation and bar areas
Make it stick
- Colour-code everything, not just cloths. Buckets, mops, brooms and gloves should match too.
- Put up a wall chart in the cleaning storeroom.
- Train new staff on day one and do quick spot checks.
- Wash colours separately or at high temperature so red cloths never mingle with green.
Is it a legal requirement?
For food businesses, preventing cross-contamination is part of basic food-safety practice, and inspectors look for it. Even where it isn't strictly required, a visible colour system tells customers and staff that you take hygiene seriously.
Kit yourself out
Our sister store maxproducts.co.za carries colour-coded spunlace cloths, colour-coded hygiene brooms with aluminium handles, budget colour-coded brooms and mixed-colour microfibre packs, so you can set up the whole system in one order.
Products mentioned in this guide
Available now from our sister company Max Products at maxproducts.co.za, in trade sizes and delivered in Cape Town.
Colour Coded Spunlace ClothsShop now →
Colour Coded Hygiene BroomShop now →
Budget Colour Coded BroomShop now →
Microfibre Cloths 10 PackShop now →
