Cleaning at the End of the School Year

When the final bell rings and school lets out for the summer, students leave behind a lot more than old textbooks. Throughout the school year, a layer of germs and bacteria builds up on school floors and surfaces. Take advantage of the fact that the classrooms and halls are now empty, and use this time to perform a thorough, deep cleaning. Here are some tips on how to master cleaning at the end of the school year.

Classrooms

Now that students have left the premises, custodians can get inside each area of the classroom easily. Instruct your team to focus on the following areas.

1. Desktops and keyboards. Keyboards and touch points on and inside desks should be cleaned thoroughly, because these areas can serve as a breeding ground for bacteria. To avoid cross-contamination, custodians should use a numbered microfiber towel that will prevent them from using the same side on more than one surface.
2. Classroom sinks. When students head to the classroom sinks to wash their hands, they often leave behind germs on the faucet knobs and sink itself. Your teams should spray these areas with chemical treatments before using a wet vac or squeegee device to remove the soil.
3. Cabinet doors and bookshelves. Cabinets and bookshelves are other major touch points. Custodians should clean these areas thoroughly with disposable wipes or towels.
4. Floors. The last part of the classroom that your team should clean are the floors. Custodians should spray a cleaning fluid and then use a wet vacuum to dry the area.

Once your team has covered these spots, they can move on to the next classroom without worrying about cross-contamination.

Locker Rooms and Athletic Facilities

The bacteria in gym facilities, like locker rooms and wrestling mats, can cause an outbreak of ringworm and staph infections. This is a major health concern, so it's important that your custodial crew devotes a great deal of focus to cleaning these areas of the school. Once again, mops and rags are inadvisable if you hope to remove soils from the facilities. Instead, your cleaning crew should use spray-and-vac systems with automatic chemical injection.

The same approach should be taken with pool decks, student lockers, and restrooms where students hit the showers after athletic activities. During sports seasons, these areas are constantly filled with sweaty, dirty athletes, so it is difficult for custodians to keep them clean. But with the right equipment and the time to do the job, thorough soil removal can be achieved at the end of the school year.

To learn more about school cleaning, click here.