Flanels??

[lor]

Can anyone help , am due visit from Ofsted and am questioning everything I do

I have lots (I mean lots) of flannels I do not give individual flannels as I found in the past it as created problems -favourite colours etc
so at lunch, dinner,snack time I give older children flannel (usually to match plate colour ) I wet the flannel, they clean their own hands and face
then put them in dirty linen or washing machine then give them one towel to share to dry hands and face,
is this ok or should they have their own with names on??
May be putting lots of strange questions on in near future, as I said I'm questioning everything I do:panic:

Thanks in advance xx

[Carolc]

Environmental health would say to use wipes and kitchen roll as flannels dish cloths etc hold germs on them and that's how bugs get spread. I wouldn't use them just to be on the safe side. As part of your infection control use disposable paper towels or kitchen roll Xx

[lor]

Thanks for replying, would I just use normal baby wipes?
xx

[Carolc]

You can do, or some people use a basin of soapy water, just change water for every child. Or give them the flannel to wash face and hand but not give them the towel to share and just use kitchen roll, cutting down on passing on infections Xx

[freckleonear]

I use a different coloured flannel and hand towel for each child to avoid cross contamination. They get assigned a colour when they start, so no arguing about who gets which colour.

[The Juggler]

i have a stash of flannels. they get wetted with warm water, used once and chucked in the washer. they don't have individual flannels I just pull clean ones out each mealtime. :thumbsup:

[sarah707]

I have been thinking about how we can be more ecologically friendly recently. I use a lot of baby wipes - I should have shares in the companies :rolleyes: but I know they are not great for the environment.

For drying hands after washing we use single use small flannels - they are hot washed with non bio (in case of allergies) after every use to prevent cross contamination.

I intend to buy more so I can also use them for times like hand and face wiping after meals. I think this will help me be eco friendly and having read up on it the chances of cross contamination are virtually non existent if we use them once and wash. It's re-use and swapping that causes problems.

Hth :D

[Gemma Smithson]

Mine have two flannels each one wet one dry they have them for the day then I put them in the wash, flannel is big enough for them to dry hands and face with and takes up less room in washer!!

[The Juggler]

Mine have two flannels each one wet one dry they have them for the day then I put them in the wash, flannel is big enough for them to dry hands and face with and takes up less room in washer!!

the only thing I'd say with that Gemma is that if they use the wet one to wipe faces after meals and these get reused, bacteria from food could have grown during the day. Single use is better just to avoid this possibility. :thumbsup:

[hectors house]

I use wet wipes to wash hands and faces after meals but for proper handwashing after using toilet, before meals, after playing in garden / painting etc each child has a different coloured towel with a picture on it - like someone else they get allocated one when they start, it usually belonged to person just moving onto school (had 2 school age children here yesterday and they both said "that's my towel" when the two toddlers picked them up). I don't wash them every day - most children only come 1,2 or 3 days a week - I put them in wash at weekends - maybe i'm a sloppy homemaker as I certainly don't change my families bathroom towels each day, we all share and we don't have any cross contamination! And I know the children's parents do the same at their homes.

[The Juggler]

I use wet wipes to wash hands and faces after meals but for proper handwashing after using toilet, before meals, after playing in garden / painting etc each child has a different coloured towel with a picture on it - like someone else they get allocated one when they start, it usually belonged to person just moving onto school (had 2 school age children here yesterday and they both said "that's my towel" when the two toddlers picked them up). I don't wash them every day - most children only come 1,2 or 3 days a week - I put them in wash at weekends - maybe i'm a sloppy homemaker as I certainly don't change my families bathroom towels each day, we all share and we don't have any cross contamination! And I know the children's parents do the same at their homes.

hon, I don't change my bath/handtowels for family everyday, but the ones in the minding areas I do. The one in my loo is usually soaking at the end of the day so I just chuck it in. I have a huge stash from Asda and I usually have a clothes wash every day anyhow so it all goes in, flannels and towels and dried and all clean next day.

The family are nowhere near as clean :laughing::laughing:

[Tinkerbell1979]

For hand/face wiping after meals I use Asda Little Angels Hand and Face wipes,for proper hand washing I bought a paper towel dispenser off eBay for £5 so they use that.

[caz3007]

A nursery I used to go to had a grubby looking pile of j cloth/multi purpose type cloths in a box and the children used to pick one up and use it to dry their hands.....bet they were nice and clean and new when Ofsted were due

[Nicola Carlyle]

All my day children their own towels and after schoolers share a towel to dry their hands. We either use wet wipes or wash our hands to clean them.

[Gemma Smithson]

Offsets raised this with me and I just said we supposed to home from home settings do you put flannel in wash everytime you use it? There answer was no and they said no more about it x but I do see the point and I wash them out in hot clean water after each use

[Dragonfly]

I don't have separate towels for every child.The hand towel is changed every day or some times up to three times a day. a childminder in the village has a towel for every child , i have watched the children and they use the nearest towel whether it's theirs or not, it's natural for children to do this.I wash my towels at 6o degree's so are clean, i would not have a row of towels hanging in my Loo it's a home not a nursery plus i haven't got room.Bad childminder!

[Dragonfly]

Sarah there are Eco wipes you can buy and nappy bags ( good for use with the dog too). how do you dry your flannels? if with a tumble dryer not very eco I'm afraid.

[karen m]

I agree with Dragonfly,i am a home from home setting not a nursery my own family don't have individual towels so i will not provide seperate towels or flannels for faces i use wipes but hands soap water,i was pulled up by enviromental health over the all using same towel

[Houlgated]

I use a separate flannel for each mindee - they each have a different colour and get one per day to wash their hands/face before/after meals. i just have the one towel in the toilet which they share for drying hands after washing their hands at any other time. If they wash their hands properly with the antibacterial soap i supply then there shouldn't really be much germs being spread as long as the towel is replaced regularly. We're looking after small children, if one has germs they are going to spread them by touching their faces, touching the toys, coughing without covering their mouth or even if they do cover their mouth then touch something with their hand the germs are going to be spread. Personally i think a few germs are good, and compared to most children i know, my own children are almost never ill. However, when i know to expect ofsted i might just put a kitchen roll in the loo for the kids to dry their hands on and remove the towel ;)

[Dragonfly]

I have never been told to use separate towels for the children by environmental or Ofsted, but I would like to say i do use wipes or kitchen towel for faces but have never been asked or told to do so.

[jelly jiggles]

Have to say when I started minding in 2007 it was made clear that we had to give individual hand towels or paper towels. Each child has there own flannel. A coat hook on the back of the toilet door. Name tags above. It can also help name recognition and a sense of belonging within your setting. X

[margaret]

Ofsted would not tell you ,you should be using separate towels ,it is up to individual to read up about cross infection themselves. I wouldnt dream of using my families towels or mindees ,we all have our own. Ofsted do not like to see towels slung over bannisters/radiators/beds they should be hung up on towel rails or radiator drying racks not radiator itself (unless you antibac it every day after drying washing on it ) .I have loads of face flannels in cloakroom for individual use and a bin.Children will use what is nearest at hand but it is up to childminder to educate child and usually parent.

I watched a childminder the other day take her dishcloth that she had wiped table with and wash childs mouth i was disgusted ,she was very embarassed when i mentioned it.

Germs are going to be passed on whatever we do but being more hygienic helps reduce the spread of infection.I watched a childminder wipe a babies nose with muslin then proceeded to wipe her face and mouth and another said just wipe your hands on your trousers.

I could go on about hygiene all day , its a bit like using your body flannel on your face . Have you tried washing youre own face with wet wipe it feesl awful ,and some of them burn, and a lot of kids have sore mouths as allergic to them.I personaly buy water based wipes for when we are out.

[carol cameron]

I use wipes and/or soap and water depending on how dirty hands are. I always use kitchen roll for drying hands and Ofsted have always been fine with this arrangement.

[PixiePetal]

I have a basket of flannels for hand drying in my downstairs cloakroom, I also use these per child for washing after meals etc The children are quick to learn the system and put them into the mini flip top bin by the basin, which I empty through the day into my washing machine in the next room. Works for me.

I also sometimes use wipes and kitchen roll but hate the amount of these I get through.

[MiniKins]

Have you tried boot fairs?

For drying we picked up a paper towel dispenser (the type you screw to the wall) for £2.00 together with several boxes of paper towels that work out at about 20p for 100. We find they're much better (only need to use one or two each time) and easier than kitchen roll or towel for drying hands after toilet.

Just make sure everything is new, boxed and the seller looks hygienic!

[SammySplodger]

Oooo I love threads like this!

My last Mrs O advised paper towels - which I think are yuk and scratchy on babies faces.

I don't tend to use wipes on faces as cheaper ones can be bad on sensitive skin and gentler ones work out expensive. I use wipes just for bums and out and about.

I used to have a complicated system of colour coded IKEA flannels, but it's easy to get in a pickle over cross-contamination and issues over favourite colours.

So now I have a huge stack of IKEA flannels, which get used wet or dry once and chucked in the wash on a daily basis. We do a wash at least once a day as a family, so they just get chucked in with that with non-bio.

[loocyloo]

each child has an IKEA flannel hung up with their name attached using a shower curtain ring thing onto the towel rail in my downstairs toilet. this is for drying their hands. it gets replaced/washed each week ( or sooner if i notice it is looking grubby before the week is up! )

i have a drawer full of old flannels and after meals i give each child that needs one a flannel to go and wash their face with! these tend to be left in a pile on the sink and i scoop them up and put them in a bowl in utility room that has a soaking solution in. usually they get washed each day.

i used paper towels for several years, but it was getting expensive, and i never seemed to have room to store huge boxes of paper towels!

i do use wipes if out and about.

[CLL]

I have recently done my food safety course and the instructor told us it was better to share a hand towel and replace it more frequently than to each have a towel for a longer period. I also use a new flannel each time and wash at the end of the day. Wouldn't like to use the same wet flannel all day on little faces.

[RuthJ]

I watched a childminder the other day take her dishcloth that she had wiped table with and wash childs mouth i was disgusted ,she was very embarassed when i mentioned it.


I watched my father in law do this to my own children one mealtime and was horrified! :panic: He got a lecture from me!

I have individual flannels for drying hands and use wipes/ kitchen roll for cleaning after meals.

[Dragonfly]

OOOH can you remember your mum (well if your my age :blush:) using her spit on a hankie to wipe around your'e mouth/face? this is what this subject reminds me off-Yuck!

[Dragonfly]

p.s. don't forget flannels and towels should be washed eat 60 degrees to kill those germs.