Keeping your classroom clean can be a difficult task with routine traffic and a large number of high touch surfaces. As a teacher, it is your job to ensure a healthy learning environment to reduce the spread of illness. Without classroom cleaning standards and a thorough hygiene policy in place, you may find your students frequently absent and struggling to focus. Luckily, there are some preventative cleaning measures you can take to reduce your workload, and ensure happy students and parents.
Limit High Touch Points
High touch surfaces are everywhere in a classroom – from doorknobs to desks, chairs, touchscreens, and keyboards. Limit high touch points by keeping doors propped open, preventing sharing, keeping students stationary, and encouraging cleaning after use. Consider touch-less options for light switches, sinks, hand dryers, garbage cans, and soap and sanitizer dispensers.
Clean Between Classes
Classrooms are often shared spaces. With regular foot traffic coming and going, it is important to clean, disinfect, and sanitize between classes. This should include wiping all surfaces down with warm, soapy water, and sanitizing with a disinfectant. Allow ample time for disinfectant to dwell on surfaces, as per product label instructions. Encourage students to clean after use to limit the amount of cleaning time.
Avoid Sharing School Supplies
Avoid sharing items in your classroom to reduce high touch surfaces. Students should have their own school supplies and textbooks to prevent sickness and ensure a healthy learning environment.
Encourage Frequent Hand Washing
Frequent hand washing is one of the best things students can do to prevent airborne illness and infections. Proper hand washing requires the use of warm water and soap for a minimum of 20 seconds to be effective. Put signage in classrooms and public bathrooms to remind students of good hygiene practices.
Sanitize Surfaces Often
Cleaning and sanitizing is crucial. Disinfecting surfaces via disinfectant wipes and disinfectant sprays and incorporating Electrostatic Disinfection/ULV Fogging is the best way to ensure added protection. This method of disinfection requires proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), professional training, and ample dwell time for best results. Repeated exposure to disinfectants can cause skin and eye irritations or respiratory illness. Do not attempt classroom disinfection on your own. Hire professional commercial cleaners to prevent workplace safety hazards.
Ensure Proper Ventilation
Good ventilation is key to creating a healthy classroom. Prop windows open, turn on the HVAC system, or incorporate an air purifier to improve airflow. Regular HVAC maintenance ensures efficiency, enhances indoor air quality, prolongs lifespan, and improves safety.
Create A Hygiene Policy
Good hygiene practices are vital for classroom health and wellbeing. Without a hygiene policy, students are susceptible to increased absences, reduced engagement, mental health issues, and poor performance.
Hire Commercial Cleaners
Clean Green Solutions has commercial cleaning services for all your classroom cleaning needs. Their janitorial services maintain a high cleaning standard and assist in preventing wear-and-tear no matter the amount of foot traffic. Give Clean Green Solutions a call for a free classroom cleaning quote!