COSHH policy for cleaning, clearance and site work

COSHH is not a certificate you buy — it is a duty to assess and control. These are the instruments our assessments are built on:

• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended)Requires assessment before use, prevention or adequate control of exposure, maintenance of controls, information and training.
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974The general duty of care to employees and to anyone else affected by our work, including your household.
• EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure LimitsThe published limits we check any respirable dust or vapour exposure against.
• GB CLP RegulationClassification, labelling and packaging — why products stay in their original labelled containers.
• Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (amended 2022)PPE supplied free of charge, correctly fitted and maintained, extended to limb (b) workers.
• Environmental Protection Act 1990, duty of careHow chemical residues and part-used containers leave a site through licensed routes.

Where this policy and current HSE guidance differ, HSE guidance wins and this document is corrected at the next review.

Everything we use falls into one of seven groups. Each group has an assessment, a task card and a defined control set. Products outside the register cannot be taken to a job, and customers' own products are only used at their written request and at their risk.

• Neutral and general-purpose cleaners

  Typical products

  pH-neutral floor and surface detergents, glass cleaner

  Main hazard

  Low. Mild eye and skin irritation from concentrate

  Controls

  Dilute to supplier rate, nitrile gloves, no mixing with other products

• Acidic descalers and washroom cleaners

  Typical products

  Limescale removers, toilet and shower descalers

  Main hazard

  Skin and eye corrosion or irritation; fumes if mixed with bleach

  Controls

  Gloves and eye protection, ventilate, never combine with chlorine products, rinse fully

• Alkaline degreasers and oven cleaners

  Typical products

  Caustic oven and range cleaners, kitchen degreasers

  Main hazard

  Severe skin and eye burns; harmful vapour in enclosed spaces

  Controls

  Long-cuff chemical gloves, goggles, open windows, dip-tank work off-site where possible

• Chlorine and oxidising disinfectants

  Typical products

  Sodium hypochlorite sanitisers, mould treatments

  Main hazard

  Releases toxic gas if mixed with acids; bleaches fabric and irritates airways

  Controls

  Single-product rule, dwell time observed, ventilation, no spraying near occupants

• Solvent-based spot treatments

  Typical products

  Carpet spotters, adhesive and tar removers

  Main hazard

  Flammable, harmful if inhaled in volume, defats skin

  Controls

  Small quantities only, ventilate, no ignition source, resealed immediately after use

• Biological and enzyme treatments

  Typical products

  Odour digesters, drain and washroom enzymes

  Main hazard

  Low chemical hazard; possible sensitisation to enzyme dust or aerosol

  Controls

  Ready-to-use dilutions, avoid aerosolising, gloves and hand hygiene

• Dusts generated by the work

  Typical products

  After-builders dust, plaster dust, cement residues, hoarder clean-ups

  Main hazard

  Respirable dust; potential silica or mould spore exposure

  Controls

  HEPA (M-class) vacuuming, damp wiping, FFP3 mask where a risk assessment requires it

The same eight steps run for every new product and every new job type, before anything is loaded into a van.

1. 01

   Identify the substance

   We list the product, its supplier, its hazard pictograms and the exact task it is bought for. Anything not on the register cannot be taken to a job.

2. 02

   Read the safety data sheet

   Sections 2, 4, 7, 8 and 13 of the SDS — hazards, first aid, handling, exposure controls and disposal — are transferred to a one-page task card.

3. 03

   Judge the real exposure

   We consider how much is used, how it is applied, how long the operative is near it, the ventilation available and who else is in the building.

4. 04

   Eliminate or substitute

   If a lower-hazard product, a dilution change or a mechanical method (steam, microfibre, HEPA extraction) achieves the same finish, it replaces the chemical.

5. 05

   Apply control measures

   Ventilation, correct dilution, dwell times, trigger sprays instead of aerosols, and separation of occupants from the work area.

6. 06

   Issue PPE and instruction

   Correct PPE is provided and the operative is briefed on the task card before the first use, not after.

7. 07

   Record and communicate

   The assessment is filed against the product and against the job type, and the site copy travels with the team in the vehicle folder.

8. 08

   Review

   Assessments are reviewed annually, and immediately when a product changes, a supplier reformulates, an incident occurs or a customer flags a sensitivity.

PPE is issued free, replaced on request and checked before work starts. If the right protection is not on site, the task does not start — that is a stop-work right every operative has and is expected to use.

• Routine domestic and office cleaning

  Minimum PPE

  Nitrile gloves, closed footwear

  Also required

  Diluted, ready-to-use products only

• Washroom, descaling and sanitising

  Minimum PPE

  Nitrile gloves, safety glasses, apron

  Also required

  Colour-coded cloths to prevent cross-contamination

• Oven and heavy degreasing

  Minimum PPE

  Long-cuff chemical gloves, goggles, apron

  Also required

  Ventilate the room and keep occupants out until rinsed

• After-builders and dust-heavy work

  Minimum PPE

  FFP3 disposable respirator, goggles, gloves, coveralls

  Also required

  M-class HEPA vacuum, damp methods, no dry sweeping

• Hoarder clean-ups and biohazard risk

  Minimum PPE

  FFP3 respirator, coveralls, double gloves, eye protection

  Also required

  Sharps handled with a grab tool and rigid container only

• Jet washing and external chemical use

  Minimum PPE

  Goggles or visor, gloves, waterproof footwear

  Also required

  Drain protection and run-off control agreed before starting

• Original containers only

  Products stay in supplier packaging with the CLP label intact. Unlabelled bottles are withdrawn and disposed of, not guessed at.

• Controlled decanting

  Where a trigger bottle is needed, it is a supplier-matched, permanently labelled bottle filled at the depot with the dilution written on it — never a drinks bottle.

• Separated by hazard

  Acids and chlorine products are carried in separate caddies so a leak in transit cannot create a reaction.

• Secured in the vehicle

  Upright, strapped or crated, out of direct sun, and never left in an unattended vehicle overnight in hot weather.

• Never unattended on site

  Caddies stay with the operative. In homes with children or vulnerable adults they are closed and moved room to room, not left on a landing.

• Stock rotation

  Depot stock is rotated by date, checked for damage, and expired or degraded product is removed from service.

Control at source always beats protection at the person. In practice, on a normal job, that looks like this:

• Windows and internal doors opened before a strong product is applied, and the room left to clear afterwards.
• Trigger sprays and low-mist application instead of aerosols, applied to the cloth rather than into the air wherever possible.
• Correct dilution measured, not eyeballed — stronger is not faster, and it raises exposure for everyone in the room.
• Dwell times observed so the chemistry does the work instead of extra product and extra scrubbing.
• M-class HEPA vacuums and damp methods for dust; dry sweeping of construction dust is not permitted.
• Steam, microfibre and mechanical agitation substituted for chemistry whenever the finish allows.
• Work sequenced so occupants, children and pets are never in the room while a strong product is dwelling.

First aid at a glance

• Skin contact

  Remove contaminated clothing, rinse with cool running water for at least 15 minutes, seek medical advice if redness or pain continues.

• Eye contact

  Irrigate with clean water for 15 minutes holding the eyelid open, remove contact lenses if easy, then attend A&E with the SDS.

• Inhalation

  Move into fresh air, keep the person still and warm, call 999 if breathing is difficult.

• Ingestion

  Do not induce vomiting, rinse the mouth, call 999 or NHS 111 immediately and take the product label or SDS with you.

In an emergency call 999. For advice on a non-urgent exposure call NHS 111, and always take the product label or safety data sheet with you.

• Before the first customer job

  COSHH induction: hazard pictograms, dilution, the no-mixing rule, PPE, spill kit and reporting.

• Product-specific briefing

  A task card walkthrough for each product the operative will carry, signed off by the team leader.

• On-site coaching

  New crew members shadow an experienced cleaner on their first deep clean or after-builders job.

• Annual refresher

  Re-run every 12 months, plus an immediate re-brief when a product or supplier changes.

• Spot checks

  Unannounced checks on labels, dilution, PPE and caddy security during supervisor visits.

• Incident learning

  Every incident is written up and, where relevant, added to the next induction so the whole team learns from it.

Most COSHH guidance is written for factories. Cleaning happens in living rooms, nurseries and kitchens, so we plan around the people in them. Tell us at booking about asthma or COPD, pregnancy, chemical sensitivity or allergies, babies and toddlers, elderly or immunocompromised residents, cats, dogs, birds or fish tanks.

• Birds and fish are the most sensitive occupants in any home — aerosols and chlorine products are avoided entirely in those rooms.
• Fragrance-free and low-odour product sets are available on request across our cleaning services.
• Nurseries and children's rooms are cleaned with neutral products, then rinsed and ventilated before the room is handed back.
• Food-contact surfaces are always rinsed after sanitising, never left with residue.
• We will tell you honestly when a low-hazard product will not achieve the result — for example heavy oven carbon — and give you the choice.

Rinse water from routine cleaning goes to foul drainage. Concentrates, contaminated absorbents and part-used containers do not. On clearance jobs we regularly find garage and under-sink chemicals — paint, thinners, weedkiller, pool chemicals, old solvents. Those are kept upright and separated, never mixed or tipped, and routed to a licensed hazardous waste facility with a waste transfer note issued on completion. Aerosols and batteries are segregated for the same reason.

• Directors

  Fund compliant products, PPE and training; sign off this policy and review it annually.

• Operations manager

  Maintains the substance register and assessments, approves new products, investigates incidents.

• Team leader on site

  Briefs the crew, checks PPE and labels before work starts, halts work if a control is missing.

• Cleaner or operative

  Uses only approved products at the stated dilution, wears the PPE issued, reports damage, spills and symptoms.

• Subcontractors

  Provide their own COSHH assessments and evidence of training before they are accepted onto a Hello Services job.

Near misses matter as much as injuries. Anything that could have gone wrong — a mislabelled bottle, a missing glove, a customer reaction, a surface damaged by a product — is reported to the office the same day and logged. RIDDOR-reportable events are notified to the HSE within the statutory timescales.

• Assessments reviewed annually, and immediately on any product, supplier or method change.
• Substance register reconciled against depot stock each quarter.
• Incident and near-miss log reviewed by the operations manager monthly.
• This policy last reviewed August 2026; next scheduled review August 2027.