Curtains and privacy screens are one of the highest-touch, most-overlooked surfaces in a care setting — and one HIQA inspectors increasingly ask about. Curtain Care Ireland cleans nursing home and care-facility curtains in situ, with documented infection-control standards and a compliance certificate after every visit that goes straight into your inspection evidence.
Our mobile teams bring hospital-grade equipment to your facility. Curtains are cleaned on the rail and dry within 20 minutes, so bedrooms, isolation rooms and communal areas are back in use the same day — no curtains off to a laundry for a week, no gaps in privacy or dignity.
HIQA inspection upcoming? We typically schedule within 5 working days.
Built around infection prevention & control
- HSE & HPSC aligned. Our cleaning methods and frequencies follow HPSC national guidance for curtains and soft furnishings in healthcare settings.
- Antimicrobial & allergen-reduction treatments available for high-risk and post-outbreak areas.
- In-situ = lower cross-infection risk. No bagging and transporting soiled curtains through the building to a van; contaminants are treated where they hang.
- Compliance certificate every visit. Date, areas covered, method and technician — the documented schedule HIQA expects to see under Regulation 27 (Infection Control).
Recommended cleaning frequency for care settings
| Area | Suggested frequency |
|---|---|
| Resident bedrooms | Every 3–4 months |
| Communal / day spaces | Every 4–6 months |
| Clinical & treatment rooms | Every 3 months |
| Isolation rooms / post-outbreak | Monthly or as advised by your IPC lead |
We’ll set up a rolling programme across zones so every area is on a documented cycle and nothing is left to chance at inspection time.
Why in-situ matters in a care home
Taking curtains down means privacy screens missing from bays, manual-handling risk for staff, and a week-long gap in your cleaning record. Cleaning in situ keeps dignity intact, removes the manual-handling burden from your team, and means there is never a moment where a resident’s curtain is simply absent. Curtains dry in 20 minutes and the room is immediately back to normal.
How it works
- Free consultation & assessment. We review your areas, fabrics and IPC requirements and provide a fixed quote.
- Scheduled rolling programme. Zones cleaned on a documented cycle that matches HPSC frequencies.
- Clean in situ. On the rail, dry within 20 minutes, minimal disruption to residents and staff.
- Compliance certificate issued. Filed for your HIQA evidence the same day.
Trusted by care providers nationwide
- HSE compliant · HPSC infection-control aligned · HIQA inspection-ready
- Garda-vetted, manual-handling and infection-control trained technicians
- Fully insured
- Nationwide mobile teams
- Over 50 years of combined expertise
Nursing Home Curtain Cleaning FAQs
What is in-situ curtain cleaning?
In-situ curtain cleaning means your curtains are cleaned where they hang — on the rail, in the room — without taking them down. Our mobile teams bring specialist equipment to your facility, clean the curtains in place using a low-moisture, controlled-heat method, and they are dry within about 20 minutes. There is no taking curtains down, bagging them, sending them to an off-site laundry and rehanging them days later.
How long do the curtains take to dry?
About 20 minutes. The method is deliberately low-moisture, so the bedroom, isolation room or communal area is back in normal use almost immediately and never has to be taken out of service to dry.
Do you disinfect the curtains, or just clean them?
Both. Our cleaning approach contains a virucide and bactericide, so it does not just lift dirt, dust and body oils — it sanitises the fabric in place, on the rail. The curtains are disinfected where they hang, which is why in-situ cleaning supports your infection-control regime.
How often should nursing home curtains be cleaned?
As a best-practice guide aligned with HPSC infection-control guidance: resident bedrooms every 3 to 4 months, communal and day spaces every 4 to 6 months, clinical and treatment rooms every 3 months, and isolation or post-outbreak areas monthly or as directed by your infection prevention and control (IPC) lead. There is no single legally-fixed interval — HIQA expects a documented, risk-based schedule that is actually followed, and we set that up as a rolling programme.
Why do privacy and bedroom curtains matter for infection control?
Curtains and privacy screens are high-touch fabric surfaces that are handled constantly and rarely cleaned, so they can act as a reservoir for micro-organisms and become contaminated again within days of being handled. Infection-prevention guidance therefore treats them as part of the environment that needs a documented cleaning regime — and inspectors increasingly ask about them.
Which HIQA regulation covers curtains and soft furnishings?
The relevant requirement is Regulation 27, Protection against Infection, of the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013, under which a provider must implement infection-prevention procedures consistent with the National Standards for infection prevention and control in community services published by HIQA. Keeping curtains on a documented cleaning schedule supports meeting that standard, and our per-visit compliance certificate slots straight into that evidence.
What documentation do you provide for inspections?
A compliance certificate after every visit, recording the date, the areas or zones cleaned, the method used and the technician. It is written to drop straight into your infection-control evidence file, so at inspection your curtain cleaning is already documented.
Can you clean curtains in occupied resident rooms?
Yes. Cleaning is done in situ around your care routine, the curtains dry in about 20 minutes, and there is never a point where a resident’s privacy curtain is missing — which protects dignity and avoids the gap you get when curtains are taken away to a laundry.
Can you clean isolation-room and post-outbreak curtains?
Yes. Isolation and post-outbreak areas are cleaned on a more frequent cycle — monthly or as your IPC lead directs — and we can apply antimicrobial and allergen-reduction treatments for high-risk areas. The in-situ method also avoids carrying contaminated fabric through the building, which is the cross-infection risk that off-site collection creates.
Does in-situ cleaning reduce cross-infection risk compared to off-site laundering?
Yes. Off-site cleaning means soiled curtains are taken down and carried through corridors and communal areas to a van, moving contaminants around the building. In-situ cleaning treats the fabric where it hangs and removes that transport step entirely, which is a meaningful infection-control advantage in a care setting.
Can you clean fire-retardant and blackout curtains?
Yes. We handle blackout, thermal, sheer and fire-retardant fabrics, using a low-moisture, controlled-heat method chosen to preserve a fabric’s fire-retardant treatment, and we can confirm the method used in writing for your fire-safety records.
We have a HIQA inspection coming up — how fast can you get here?
We typically schedule within five working days and prioritise facilities with an upcoming HIQA inspection. Call 01 254 8000 and tell us the inspection is pending.
How long does it take to clean a whole facility?
Allow roughly 40 minutes per room, so an entire facility is not cleaned in a single day. As a guide, a 60-room facility takes about three working days for a two-person team. We phase the work by floor or wing across consecutive visits — and because each curtain dries within about 20 minutes, every room is back in normal use the same day it is done.
Is there a minimum order?
Yes — our minimum booking is a full day’s curtain cleaning for a two-person team (roughly a 20-room equivalent as a guide; we confirm the exact figure at the assessment). For smaller sites we will usually combine the visit with nearby work or fold it into a rolling programme so it still makes sense.
What if we are not happy with the result — do you guarantee the clean?
Yes. If a customer is not happy with any curtains we have cleaned, we will re-clean them. The one honest caveat is stains: not every stain can be removed, because it depends on the type of stain and how long it has been in the fabric. We always tell you at the assessment what we expect to clean up and what is likely permanent.
Are your staff insured and vetted?
Yes. We are fully insured, and every technician is Garda vetted and trained in infection control and manual handling.