Communicable disease and equipment cleaning requirements for Ontario child care centres
One child with a runny nose, forty shared toys
A licensed Ontario child care centre carries two obligations at once. One is a licence condition: the premises must meet public health rules. The other is a habit: noticing illness early, separating the child, and cleaning what the group has already touched.
Ontario Regulation 137/15, under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, publishes no toy cleaning schedule. It points the licence holder at the local rules instead, and requires the records that show the work happened.
Where do the cleaning requirements come from?
Section 13 of the regulation requires an applicant for a licence, and then the licence holder, to file evidence that the premises comply with the laws affecting the health of the inhabitants of the municipality, and with any rule, regulation, direction or order of the local board of health or the local medical officer of health.
| What is required | Where it sits | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Premises meet local public health rules | O. Reg. 137/15, s. 13 (1) (a) and (b) | Confirm the current local requirements directly with the board of health |
| Compliance continues after licensing | O. Reg. 137/15, s. 13 (3) | A change of room, group or age band can change the requirement |
| Storage for cleaning materials, inaccessible to children | O. Reg. 137/15, s. 15 (1) and (2) | Locked or out-of-reach storage, separated from play materials |
| Diaper changing surface beside a sink | O. Reg. 137/15, s. 19 (2) | One table or counter space per infant, toddler or family age group |
| Play materials and equipment kept in a safe state of repair | O. Reg. 137/15, s. 19 (3) | Cracked or worn items leave the room rather than the cleaning rotation |
How does a centre handle a suspected communicable disease?
Section 36 (1) requires a daily observation of every child before the child begins to associate with the others, so that possible symptoms of ill health are caught on arrival rather than at nap time. A child who appears ill is separated, and the symptoms are noted in that child's record.
Subsection 36 (3) then sets two exits: a parent takes the child home, or the child is examined by a physician or by a nurse registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario. An injury triggers an accident report and a copy for the parent.
A child's record also carries the previous history of communicable diseases and, where relevant, the immunization status or the form explaining why an immunization is not given, under section 72 (1). That is what a public health investigator asks for during an outbreak review.
Which equipment and supplies carry the cleaning load?
Shared equipment is the transmission route a centre can control. Single-use dry wipes replace a reusable cloth that moves between rooms, gloves keep the cleaner's hands out of the soil load, and a hands-free soap dispenser keeps a handwashing station supplied without a handle to touch.
Ordering for a clinic, lab or care home? Wholesale and multi-site ordering covers case pricing and account setup, and the B2B wholesale collection lists the lines stocked for institutional buyers.
A centre with a documented cleaning routine usually stocks disposable dry washcloths for one-pass surface cleaning, blue nitrile examination gloves for the diaper change station, a 1200 mL touch-free foam soap dispenser beside the sink, and a universal sensor dispenser where sealed pouches are already in use.
References
- O. Reg. 137/15: General, under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, sections 13, 15, 19, 36, 37 and 72 (checked 28 September 2026)
- Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, S.O. 2014, c. 11 (checked 28 September 2026)
- Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7 (checked 28 September 2026)
Related Reading
- Child Care Centre Medical Supplies: Ontario CCEYA Health and Safety
- Hand Hygiene and Glove Use in Clinics: What Compliance Requires
- Surface Disinfection Under Canadian Infection Control Guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions
Which regulation sets cleaning duties in an Ontario child care centre?
Ontario Regulation 137/15, made under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. Most cleaning expectations arrive through section 13, which requires the premises to meet the laws affecting the health of the municipality and any direction or order of the local board of health or the local medical officer of health.
Does a child care centre have to record cleaning?
Section 37 requires a daily written record, and section 36 requires symptoms of illness to be noted in the child's records. Cleaning that is not written down shows no pattern to an inspector.
What happens when a child appears ill?
Section 36 requires a daily observation of each child before the child joins the group. A child who appears ill is separated, the symptoms are noted in that child's record, and a parent takes the child home, or the child is examined by a physician or a registered nurse.
Is a diaper changing surface regulated?
Section 19 (2) requires a table or counter beside a sink, suitable for changing one child at a time, for every licensed infant, toddler or family age group.
Can cleaning materials be stored in the play room?
No. Section 15 lists storage for cleaning materials and equipment among the spaces that must be inaccessible to children.
Last updated: September 2026. CliniEco Medical is a licensed medical device establishment (MDEL #35334).
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