Housekeeping Operations
Housekeeping protects cleanliness, comfort, hygiene and asset life. The exam tests room status, cleaning sequence, linen control, safety and the paperwork that proves the work was done.
Procedures and controls
- Room status: check status before entering; follow the door-knock and announcement procedure; never enter an occupied room without consent.
- Cleaning sequence: top to bottom, dry to wet, clean to dirty, and away from the door. In a bathroom, clean the least soiled area first and use colour-coded cloths to prevent cross-contamination.
- Chemicals: never mix products; dilute as labelled; use PPE; store away from food.
- Linen par: stock needed to cover rooms, changes, laundry turnaround and reserve. Par = rooms × sets per room × changes per day × laundry cycle days, plus reserve.
- Lost and found: log, tag, store securely and return against identification.
- Key control: sign in and out; never leave master keys unattended.
Worked example
A 50-room property uses three linen sets per room, changes linen daily and has a two-day laundry cycle. Base stock = 50 × 3 × 1 × 2 = 300 sets. Add a 20% reserve = 60, so the par is 360 sets. Reasoning: the formula covers linen on beds, in transit and in the laundry; the reserve covers delays and damage. If occupancy falls to 60%, daily change may be reduced, but the available-room par still needs a safety margin.
Traps
Cleaning from dirty to clean; mixing bathroom and bedroom cloths; ignoring room status; understocking linen; leaving chemical containers unlabelled; failing to record lost property.