SECTION 747.3203. What steps must I take to ensure a healthy environment for children at my child-care home?

You must clean, repair, and maintain your child-care home, grounds, and equipment to protect the health of the children, including:

(1) Setting aside toys and equipment that are placed in children's mouths or are otherwise contaminated by body secretion or excrement, to be sanitized daily or before handling by another child;

(2) Machine washing used cloth toys at least weekly and when contaminated;

(3) Machine washing used linens at least weekly, and when soiled and before another child uses them;

(4) Sanitizing sleeping equipment before a different child uses it and when soiled;

(5) Sanitizing potty chairs after each child's use;

(6) Emptying water play tables and toys used in water play tables daily, sanitizing, and ensuring children and caregivers wash their hands before using the water table;

(7) Maintaining sand boxes and sand tables in a sanitary manner;

(8) Making all garbage inaccessible to children, and managing it to keep the child-care home, inside and outside, free of insects, rodents, and offensive odors;

(9) Keeping all floors, ceilings, and walls in good repair and clean;

(10) Ensuring paints used at the child-care home are lead-free;

(11) Keeping all parts of the child-care home used by children well heated, lighted, and ventilated;

(12) Sanitizing table tops, furniture, and other similar equipment used by children when soiled or contaminated with matter such as food, body secretions, or excrement;

(13) Clearly marking cleaning supplies and other toxic materials and keeping them separate from food and inaccessible to children; and

(14) Using, storing, and disposing of hazardous materials as recommended by the manufacturer.

Source Note: The provisions of this §747.3203 adopted to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 1462; amended to be effective September 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 6250; amended to be effective April 15, 2017, 42 TexReg 1906; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909