Our commitment
Bubble Fresh (Bubblefresh Limited, company number 12691029) is committed to preventing the spread of infection during our cleaning and clearance operations. Our work frequently involves environments with biological hazards, including properties affected by self-neglect, heavy accumulation of items, or requiring biohazard cleaning. Robust infection control procedures are essential to protect our employees, clients, and the wider community. Our procedures comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. They align with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) national infection prevention and control guidance.
Scope
This policy applies to all Bubble Fresh employees, and to any person working on our behalf, on every job we carry out. It covers all stages of our work, from preparation and travel through to on-site cleaning, waste removal, equipment decontamination, and vehicle cleaning. It applies across all our service areas, including Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes, Bedford, and Norfolk. This policy should be read alongside our Health & Safety Policy, COSHH Policy, Risk Assessment Policy, and Waste Management Policy.
Standard precautions
All employees follow standard infection control precautions on every job. This includes treating all bodily fluids as potentially infectious, using appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at all times, following correct hand hygiene procedures, and using colour-coded cleaning equipment to prevent cross-contamination. Our colour-coded system follows the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) standard: red for sanitary areas, blue for general low-risk areas, green for kitchens and food preparation, and yellow for clinical and isolation areas.
Personal protective equipment
We select PPE based on the risk assessment for each job, in line with our Health & Safety Policy. PPE for infection control includes disposable gloves (changed frequently and between tasks), face masks or respirators as appropriate to the risk level, disposable overalls or aprons, eye protection where there is a risk of splash or aerosol (airborne droplets), and safety footwear. All disposable PPE is single-use. Used PPE is treated as contaminated waste and disposed of through the correct waste stream. Reusable PPE such as safety footwear and respirator housings is cleaned and disinfected after every job.
Hand hygiene
Thorough hand washing or sanitising is required before putting on PPE and after removing it, between tasks and between different areas of a property, after handling waste or contaminated items, before eating, drinking, or smoking, and at regular intervals throughout the working day. All team members carry alcohol-based hand sanitiser (minimum 60% alcohol content). We confirm access to hand washing facilities as part of the pre-job assessment. Where running water is not available on site, we carry portable hand washing supplies.
Biohazard cleaning
For jobs involving significant biological hazards, including blood, bodily fluids, animal waste, or decomposition, we follow enhanced infection control procedures. These include use of higher-grade PPE (such as full-face respirators, chemical-resistant suits, and double gloving), specialist disinfectants effective against blood-borne viruses and bacteria, controlled waste disposal through licensed routes, and thorough decontamination of all reusable equipment after the job. We carry out biohazard cleaning in line with our COSHH Policy and the relevant COSHH assessment for each product used. All biohazard waste is disposed of in accordance with our Waste Management Policy.
Decontamination of reusable equipment
All reusable equipment, including mop handles, buckets, vacuum cleaners, scrapers, and powered cleaning machines, is cleaned and disinfected after every job before being used again. We use disinfectants that meet the requirements of BS EN 14476 (for viruses) and BS EN 1276 (for bacteria) at the correct dilution and contact time. Equipment that cannot be properly decontaminated is disposed of. We keep a log of equipment cleaning for each job. Heavily contaminated equipment from biohazard jobs undergoes a two-stage clean: an initial gross clean to remove visible contamination followed by a full disinfection.
Vehicle decontamination
Our vehicles are cleaned and disinfected between jobs to prevent cross-contamination. At a minimum, this includes wiping down all interior surfaces that may have been touched with a suitable disinfectant, cleaning and disinfecting the load area after transporting waste or contaminated materials, and removing and disposing of any protective sheeting used during transport. After biohazard jobs, vehicles undergo a full interior decontamination before the next job. We keep a vehicle cleaning log recording the date, time, and type of clean for each vehicle. Vehicle decontamination forms part of our daily vehicle checks.
Workwear and laundry
Employees must not wear work clothing at home or outside of work. Reusable workwear is changed daily at minimum, or more frequently if it becomes contaminated during a job. Contaminated workwear is bagged separately on site and transported in sealed bags. We launder workwear at a minimum of 60 degrees Celsius to ensure effective decontamination, in line with NHS England laundry guidance. Workwear from biohazard jobs is either disposed of as contaminated waste or laundered through a commercial laundry service with an appropriate thermal disinfection cycle. Employees must not launder contaminated workwear at home.
Needlestick and blood-borne virus exposure
If an employee sustains a needlestick injury or is exposed to blood or bodily fluids through a splash or sharps injury, they must follow this procedure immediately: encourage the wound to bleed (do not suck it), wash the area thoroughly with soap and running water, cover the wound with a waterproof dressing, and attend Accident and Emergency within 1 hour for a post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) assessment. For splashes to the eyes, irrigate with clean water for at least 10 minutes. For splashes to the mouth, do not swallow, rinse thoroughly with water, and seek medical advice. Report the incident to a manager immediately and complete an incident report form. The manager records the incident under our Incident Reporting Policy, including Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) notification where applicable. Follow-up blood tests are arranged through occupational health at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-exposure, or as advised by occupational health. This procedure aligns with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) guidance on managing blood-borne virus exposure in the workplace.
Staff illness and fitness for work
Employees must not attend work if they have symptoms of an infectious illness, including vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, persistent cough, or a rash that may be infectious. Staff must inform their manager before their shift if they are unwell. Employees who develop symptoms during a shift must stop work, inform their manager, and leave site as soon as it is safe to do so. Employees may not return to work until they have been free of vomiting and diarrhoea symptoms for at least 48 hours. Where the illness is notifiable, or the employee works with vulnerable adults, they must be cleared to return by their GP or occupational health. We do not penalise employees for reporting illness honestly. Managers monitor patterns of sickness absence to identify any possible workplace-acquired infections and report these under our Incident Reporting Policy.
Pest exposure
Properties we work in may have pest infestations, including rodents, insects, fleas, or birds. Pest exposure creates infection risks from droppings, urine, bites, and airborne particles. Where a pest infestation is identified during a risk assessment or on arrival at a property, we take the following steps: assess whether it is safe to begin or continue work, use appropriate PPE including respiratory protection where there is a risk of airborne contamination from droppings or nesting materials, avoid disturbing large accumulations of droppings where possible until the area has been dampened to reduce airborne dust, bag and remove pest-contaminated waste through the correct waste stream, and decontaminate all equipment and vehicles after the job. Where the infestation is severe, we may recommend that the referring council or client arranges professional pest control before or alongside our work. We do not carry out pest control ourselves. Any employee who sustains a bite or scratch from an animal or pest on site must clean the wound, seek medical advice, and report the incident under our Incident Reporting Policy.
Vaccination
We strongly encourage all employees to stay up to date with vaccinations relevant to our work, including tetanus, hepatitis B, and seasonal flu. We offer hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all employees who carry out biohazard cleaning or work involving exposure to blood or bodily fluids. Vaccination is not compulsory, but we discuss the risks of declining relevant vaccinations with employees during occupational health reviews. We record vaccination status confidentially and process this information as special category health data under Article 9(2)(b) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) (obligations under employment and health and safety law). See our Privacy Policy for details on how we handle health data.
Pandemic and outbreak preparedness
We maintain a preparedness plan for infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics. This plan covers how we continue to deliver services safely during periods of heightened infection risk. Key measures include following all guidance issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Department of Health and Social Care, increasing the level of PPE where guidance requires it, carrying out enhanced risk assessments for every job during an outbreak, screening staff for symptoms before shifts where appropriate, adjusting working practices to reduce the risk of transmission (such as reducing team sizes, increasing ventilation, or postponing non-urgent work), maintaining stocks of PPE and cleaning products to cover supply disruptions, and communicating clearly with council partners about any changes to service delivery. Our Business Continuity Policy sets out how we maintain operations during wider disruptions, including pandemics.
Waste management
We segregate waste generated during cleaning operations according to type. We bag, label, and dispose of clinical and biohazard waste through licensed waste carriers. We dispose of general waste in accordance with our Waste Management Policy. We handle sharps using approved sharps containers and never by hand. Sharps containers are sealed and replaced when three-quarters full, in line with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance. We never compress waste bags containing potentially contaminated material.
Reporting and record keeping
All infection control incidents, including needlestick injuries, exposure to infectious material, and suspected workplace-acquired infections, must be reported immediately through our Incident Reporting Policy. Managers record incidents and, where applicable, make notifications under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013. We keep records of equipment decontamination, vehicle cleaning, PPE usage, and staff illness for each job. These records support investigations, audits, and continuous improvement.
Training
All employees receive infection control training during induction, with annual refresher training, as part of their minimum 20 hours of annual training (see our Training & Development Policy). Those carrying out biohazard cleaning receive additional specialist training. Training covers standard precautions and hand hygiene, correct use and disposal of PPE, colour-coded cleaning systems, decontamination of equipment and vehicles, safe handling of sharps, waste segregation, recognising and responding to pest infestations, fitness-for-work responsibilities, and the specific infection risks associated with our work in vulnerable adults' homes.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, guidance, or our working practices. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Where we make material changes that affect how we manage infection risks, we will notify employees directly and brief all teams before the changes take effect. We will also inform council partners where changes affect service delivery.
Review
The Director, Lance James, reviews this policy annually, when we identify new risks, when relevant legislation or UKHSA guidance changes, or following any infection control incident. Last reviewed: February 2026. Next review due: February 2027.
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