Welcoming kids back to school after an extended break is always a little manic, and everything is more manic at the moment as we need to follow social distancing measures.
Neurodiverse children might find their change of environment stressful, and falling back into a routine that they’ve not been in for a while could prove difficult.
Your Sensory Room might be more important now than it ever has been. So, it is important that you keep it safe and clean for everyone to use, whenever they need it.
We’ve put together a handy guide to help you figure out where to start when it comes to preparing your Sensory Room for sanitary use.
General Room Cleaning:
- Sanitise all touchpoints with disposable disinfectant wipes.
- Vacuum carpeted floors regularly, not forgetting the space underneath Floor Padding.
- Mop hard floors and floor padding with soapy water between play sessions.
- Wash and sanitise any material-based product (e.g. weighted blankets, fidget toys) after each individual play. Find tips on how you can do this here.
How to Clean your Bubble Tube:
Bubble Tubes are typically a shining landmark of a Sensory Room, creating endless hours of bubbly sensory fun. Make sure that they are taken care of properly so that they can carry on being a shining landmark for sensory sessions to come!
What you’ll need:
- Your Bubble Tube
- Distilled Water or Regular Tap Water (approximately 40l for a 1.75m Tube)
- Bubble Column Additive
- Watering Can or Water Jug
- Soft Cloth
- Plastic Brush Handle (or Soft Cleaning Brush)
- Anti-Bacterial Spray
- Anti-Bacterial Washing up Liquid
- An extra pair of hands
Here’s how to do it:
- Disconnect the Bubble Tube from its power, by unplugging all controllers and switches.
- Empty the Bubble Tube. You’ll need two people to do this safely. Firstly, remove the top plug and slide the Bubble Tube forward. Use a sieve to catch the balls or fish that you might have inside, allowing the water to drain away.
Please Note: When tilting the tube be careful. Gravity and weight will force it to move quite suddenly. Helping you stay safe and make minimal mess! - Then clean the interior of the column with warm soapy water. Use a soft cloth or a soft cleaning brush to thoroughly clean the inside of the tube, making sure you get right to the bottom.
*Stick to soft cleaning tools, as hard or metallic objects will scratch the inside of the tube. - Thoroughly rinse out the tube with clean water, making sure you remove all leftover soap residue.
- Now the inside is clean, we can move onto the outside of the tube. Which can be wiped down and cleaned with anti-bacterial spray and a microfibre cloth. Once that has been done, carefully place the tube back into position on its podium.
- Reconnect the tube to your power supply, and switch it on, so that its pump can run.
- Whilst the pump is running, use a watering can or similar device to refill the tube with water. Then add the Bubble Column Additive.
- Place your ball or fish inserts back into the tube. And securely fix the tube’s lid back on top.
- Your Bubble Tube should now be ready to go – sparkling like it’s brand new!
How to Clean your Fibre Optics:
Fibre Optics are a great sensory stimulator, especially for those who react best to hands-on sensory activities. Even though the concept of touch been altered dramatically over the past couple of months, there are a few steps that can be taken to make sure that touch can be done hygienically and safely.
Here’s how you can make your Fibre Optics safe for hands-on tactile play.
What you’ll need:
- Your Fibre Optics
- Warm Soapy Water (made with anti-bacterial washing up liquid)
- A Towel
Here’s how to do it:
- Remove the Fibre Optic Tails from their Lightsource. You can do this by unscrewing the core plug from the light source housing.
- Carefully wash the tails in warm soapy water, making sure that you do not get the core plug wet.
- Thoroughly dry off the tails with a towel, then reattach the plug to the Lightsource, and you will be good to go!
Or for a quick clean after each use, use anti-bacterial wipes to sanitise each Fibre Optic Tail.
Keeping up a regular sensory room cleaning schedule is a great way to ensure that your room will always be safe and sanitary to play in. Click here to download our Cleaning Schedule Template, which also includes some handy cleaning tips!
And if you are in need of any more sensory cleaning advice, then please get in touch!
