Just because the kids aren’t coming in and out every day doesn’t mean that nothing gets done in classrooms and school offices during summer. Once the kids leave, it’s time for the cleaning staff to attack the months and months of dirt, grime, and other messes that the kids spent the entire school year spreading around and grinding into the floors and walls. To help summer cleaning go smoother, we’ve put together this list of helpful school cleaning steps…
Cleaning an entire school building is a big undertaking, one that involves multiple people performing different tasks at the same time. To make sure that cleaning staff always know who is responsible for each task and the order that they need to be performed in, create a written plan with tasks and how they are assigned. Take the time to make sure it gets done right, too – good preparation can spare hours of work down the road.
Step 1: Have a Plan
Before cleaning begins, go through all the janitorial and cleaning supplies and discard all the outdated chemicals. Chemicals shouldn’t be stored for more than a year; if you haven’t used a chemical cleaning agent in six months or more, it needs to be replaced.
If your worksite has been considering adopting more eco-friendly practices, summer is the perfect time to put those plans in motion. Replace any outdated cleaning agents with greener alternatives, and use the kid-free summer time to give the staff the training they need in being more environmentally conscious.
A big part of cleaning a schoolhouse during summer is making sure the floors get the attention they need. Be sure to spend enough time really figuring out which ones just need a scrubbing, and which ones really need serious work like stripping and refinishing. Don’t commit serious time to sections of the floor that don’t need as much attention as the worst parts do.
If your team has been complaining all year that machinery needs to be repaired, replaced, or upgraded, summer is the perfect time to evaluate which machines really are having issues. Janitorial machinery should be replaced or sent in for repair early in the summer, so that they are back and in working order in time to be used before the kids return.
If you’re bringing new people onto your janitorial team, summer is the best time for them to start. That way, new team members can be trained on how to use floor scrubbers, sweepers, and other machines when the kids and teachers aren’t around to get in the way. Summer is also a good time to initiate any changes in policy or cleaning protocol.
School furniture, especially student desks and tables, take a lot of abuse during the school year. When performing summer cleaning, have your team check all furniture and separate out those that need serious repair and attention to be back in working order by the time the new school year starts.
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Summary Summer is an important time for cleaning schools, and should be used to test out new products and policies, train new workers, and inspect equipment and supplies thoroughly. Here are your seven steps to efficiently and effectively cleaning a school during summer break.