HOUSTON – Just about every place that caters to kids is inspected, regulated and monitored by law, but Local 2 Investigates discovered one place you may visit frequently that no one is watching -- restaurant play areas.
Mom and college professor Dr. Erin Carr-Jordan was so disgusted and concerned about the conditions she noticed in play areas where her four kids used to play that instead of just pulling them out, she wanted to do more.
"There were hundreds of children going in there in just one day, and their parents had no idea," said Carr-Jordan. "Because unless you go up inside the structure, it doesn't look so bad and you have no idea."
Carr-Jordan started a project called "Kids Play Safe." She's visiting cities all across the United States and Canada, randomly testing restaurant play areas.
Local 2 followed her to three restaurants in Houston where she documented the conditions on camera and swabbed the play areas to test for those germs that can make kids sick. An independent lab performs the tests on the swabs, and Local 2 reviewed the reports from the swabs taken at the McDonald's on Fulton, the McDonald's on the Gulf Freeway near South Wayside and the Chuck E. Cheese's in the Northline Commons Shopping Center.
"It's not just dirt and germs we're talking about," said Carr-Jordan. "We're talking about opportunistic pathogens."
At the McDonald's in the 2500 block of Fulton, Carr-Jordan's swabs tested positive for coliform, corynebacterium species, micrococcus luterus and staphylococcus aureus. The McDonald's on the Gulf Freeway near South Wayside tested positive for the same, but also actinomycetes and other germs.
Basically, these are the kind of bacteria that can cause MRSA, a type of staph resistant to most antibiotics. Other bacteria found is the leading cause of hospital infection and germs that cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
"These are thumb-suckers and eye-rubbers and little ones who are constantly itching their faces," Carr-Jordan said about the kids playing around all of the bacteria she found.
Surprisingly, there are no standards for the play areas. Carr-Jordan reported what she found to the city of Houston Health Department. It did send out an inspector who wrote in his report, "an employee stated that the sky tube is cleaned every other night." Another manager told the inspector "that the sky tube gets a detailed cleaning (scrubbed down and cleaned with sanitizer, pieces taken apart and air blown through to get rid of dust and other build-up) at least once a week."
Since play areas are not routinely inspected by any agency or health official, parents have to take the restaurant's word for it. It's why Carr-Jordan wants to get the attention of lawmakers who can change the law and require government oversight and regulation for restaurant play areas. You can follow her progress at her website or on her Facebook page.
When we contacted Chuck E. Cheese about the conditions Carr-Jordan found there, a representative sent us this statement:
"Our goal at Chuck E. Cheese's is to provide families with a wholesome, safe, entertaining experience. Cleanliness is a critical element toward meeting this goal. We have detailed step by step cleaning instruction manuals with video training in each of our entertainment centers. All existing play equipment is cleaned at least daily with Oasis 146 Multi-Quat sanitizer. Touch ups are completed throughout the day as needed. Additionally, we have Purell stations installed for our guests and employees to use."
The McDonald's on Fulton and the Gulf Freeway are both owned by the same operator. She emailed this statement:
"As the owner of these restaurants, and as a parent and grandparent, I understand the importance of having a clean and safe place for children to play. My organization values feedback on ways to make our customers' experience better. Families place a high-level of trust in our restaurants and that's a responsibility I take extremely seriously.
"Once we were notified about the issues of these PlayPlaces, we took immediate action to address any concerns. We have strict requirements for weekly, daily and even spot cleaning of PlayPlaces that our management staff are required to follow. I will be personally monitoring the cleaning procedures to ensure they are done properly.
"We strive to meet the expectations of our customers, every day."
Nelly Quijano
McDonald's Franchisee
Local 2 revisited all three restaurants more than a month after the initial visit when Carr-Jordan took the swab samples. The play areas looked much cleaner, and the owner of the McDonald's on Fulton said she is ordering new parts for the restaurants sky tube because the graffiti Carr-Jordan spotted cannot be removed.
Carr-Jordan has spoken with Texas State Rep. Carol Alvarado's office about introducing a bill to regulate play areas in Texas. The next legislative session convenes in January 2013.
In the meantime, if your children play in these indoor playgrounds, Carr-Jordan said parents should ask the manager how often they are cleaned. She said if they hesitate answering your questions, there isn't likely a regular cleaning protocol. Parents should also check out the play area themselves. And lastly, make sure children wash their hands immediately after playing.