To help prevent cross-contamination, end users can color-code brooms, brushes, mops, cloths and other hand tools to ensure products used to clean high-risk areas such as restrooms are not brought into other areas of the building.

The industry standard color-coding system includes red for high-risk areas such as toilets and urinals. Yellow is for low-risk restroom areas including sinks and mirrors. Blue is used for all-purpose cleaning such as dusting, window cleaning and wiping desk tops. Finally, green is traditionally for food-service areas. Many end users devise their own color combinations to meet their specific needs and some manufacturers offer additional colors, including orange, white and black.