WHO Guidance on Hygiene & Cleaning

Good hygiene is about more than keeping a space looking clean. From gyms and workplaces to schools, healthcare facilities and public spaces, effective hygiene practices can play an important role in reducing the spread of harmful microorganisms.

The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes extensive guidance covering hand hygiene, surface cleaning, disinfection and infection prevention and control.

At The Hygiene Company, many of these principles closely align with what we aim to make easier: providing businesses with convenient access to effective wet wipes, antibacterial surface wipes and wipe dispensing systems.

Here are some of the key WHO recommendations and how they relate to everyday hygiene.

Hand Hygiene Remains a Global Priority

In 2025, WHO and UNICEF published their first Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Community Settings.

The guidance focuses on improving hand hygiene beyond healthcare environments, including households, public spaces and institutional settings, with the aim of helping reduce diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections.

WHO also highlights the importance of making appropriate hand hygiene facilities readily accessible.

For businesses, the underlying message is simple: good hygiene needs to be convenient if we want people to practise it consistently.

Whether you're managing a gym, school, office, leisure facility, workplace or public building, providing easily accessible hygiene stations can help encourage better everyday hygiene habits.

It is important to note that WHO's recommended methods for hand hygiene are principally handwashing with soap and water or using an appropriate alcohol-based hand rub. Surface disinfectant wipes should not be treated as a substitute unless a product is specifically designed and approved for that purpose.

Read WHO's Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Community Settings →

Why Surface Cleaning Matters

Hands aren't the only consideration. The surfaces and equipment we interact with throughout the day also form an important part of maintaining hygienic environments.

WHO's Environmental Cleaning and Infection Prevention and Control training package explains the importance of both surface and hand hygiene within healthcare infection prevention.

Although this particular guidance is aimed at healthcare facilities, the principle of creating effective and repeatable cleaning processes is relevant to many commercial environments.

Think about the number of regularly touched surfaces found in a typical facility:

• Gym and fitness equipment

• Desks and workstations

• Door handles

• Reception counters

• Tables

• Touchscreens

• Shared equipment

• Changing areas

• Communal facilities

Making the right cleaning products readily available can make it considerably easier for staff and users to incorporate regular surface cleaning into their routine.

Explore WHO's Environmental Cleaning and Infection Prevention guidance →

Cleaning and Disinfecting High-Touch Surfaces

WHO has also published specific guidance on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in non-healthcare settings.

This guidance discusses cleaning and disinfection procedures, including the safe use of disinfectants.

Importantly for wet wipe users, WHO specifically addresses disinfectant surface wipes and advises users to wash their hands after using disinfectants, including surface wipes.

This reinforces another important point: choosing an effective cleaning product is only part of the equation. Correct use, safe storage and following the manufacturer's instructions are equally important.

Read WHO's advice on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces →

Wipes Can Play a Practical Role in Surface Disinfection

In its interim guidance on Cleaning and Disinfection of Environmental Surfaces, WHO discusses applying disinfectant using a cloth or wipe soaked in disinfectant.

This is particularly relevant to environments where cleaning needs to be quick, convenient and easy to repeat.

Pre-saturated antibacterial and disinfectant wipes remove the need for users to separately prepare a cleaning solution and cloth, while dedicated dispensers can position wipes close to where they are needed.

For a gym, for example, this might mean positioning wipe dispensers throughout the facility so members can wipe appropriate equipment before or after use in line with the facility's cleaning policy and product instructions.

Read the WHO environmental surface cleaning guidance →

Making Hygiene More Accessible

One theme running through WHO's hygiene guidance is the importance of having the appropriate facilities and supplies available where hygiene needs to take place.

WHO's dedicated Hand Hygiene resources discuss creating the right environment to support good hygiene practices, alongside training, reminders, monitoring and a strong hygiene culture.

This principle is particularly relevant to how a business designs its hygiene system.

A cleaning product stored away in a cupboard is less convenient than one positioned where people actually need it.

That's why The Hygiene Company's range includes different wet wipe dispenser solutions, from wall-mounted and desktop dispensers to high-capacity freestanding stations. They allow organisations to create accessible wipe points throughout their premises.

Hygiene in Gyms and Fitness Facilities

Gyms are a particularly good example of an environment where convenient surface cleaning makes sense.

Throughout the day, multiple people may share:

• Dumbbells and weights

• Cardio equipment

• Weight machines

• Exercise mats

• Benches

• Handles and touchpoints

Providing gym wipes and wet wipe dispensers at convenient locations gives members and staff straightforward access to cleaning products for compatible surfaces.

Our GymWipes®, Koala Wipes® and commercial wet wipe dispensing systems have been developed to make this kind of routine easier to implement across busy facilities.

Infection Prevention Is an Ongoing Process

WHO describes Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) as a practical, evidence-based approach to preventing avoidable infections in healthcare.

While WHO's formal IPC programmes are primarily healthcare-focused, there is a broader lesson for any organisation: effective hygiene isn't a one-off task.

It requires the right products, procedures and facilities to make good cleaning practices simple enough to become part of the everyday routine.

Building a Better Hygiene System for Your Facility

From antibacterial wipes and biodegradable wet wipes to wall-mounted, desktop and freestanding wipe dispensers, The Hygiene Company provides commercial hygiene solutions for organisations across the UK.

Our solutions are suitable for a wide range of environments, including gyms, leisure centres, offices, schools, universities, healthcare environments and commercial premises.

With high-capacity wipe solutions, custom-branded dispensers and a wide choice of dispensing options, we can help you build a hygiene system around the requirements of your facility.

Looking to improve hygiene provision in your workplace or facility?

Explore our range of commercial wet wipes, antibacterial surface wipes, GymWipes® and wet wipe dispensers, or contact The Hygiene Company to discuss the right solution for your organisation.