The end of summer is fast approaching, and nurseries, kindergartens, elementary, middle, high schools and universities will soon reopen the doors to their students. Going back to school has always been a delicate moment, both for students and for schools. This year, schools will also face new processes and protocols and will do it with greater awareness of cleaning and sanitizing operations, fundamental activities to limit the spread of bacteria and viruses such as Coronavirus. But, due to this emergency, going back to school this year will be a delicate moment and we will see how cleaning can help make it safer.
The value of cleaning
As we often remind here on The Comac Blog, and as Afidamp often underlines, cleanliness is essential in our lives because it allows us to protect health and live in pleasant environments. Cleaning therefore impacts people’s health, which is why the world of education must take into account its value and promote it as a health factor for students, teachers and operators in the sector.
Perhaps not everyone knows that a clean school impacts the quality of education. It helps not only to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria but also to improve student performance and reduce absenteeism. On this issue ISSA has created an infographic with data and numbers related to school absences due to illness. Statistics speak for themselves and underline the importance and value of effective cleaning in extremely sensitive environments such as schools.
So let’s see how and why cleaning can make safer the school reopening.
The advantages of high cleaning standards in schools
Cleaning in educational establishments such as kindergartens, schools and universities helps to create an environment conducive to the personal growth. These establishments must therefore always be clean, welcoming and safe. Hygiene conditions must guarantee a comfortable stay for pupils, teachers and for those who work in these environments. In addition, the prolonged stay of people in such places requires even greater attention with regard to the hygienic conditions of the premises.
Having high standards of cleanliness in schools has numerous advantages and it is worth mentioning some:
- Greater protection of people’s health. Schools are known to harbor numerous germs that may cause diseases such as flu and colds. Germs can be transmitted by touching a contaminated surface and subsequently touching eyes, nose or mouth. A high level of hygiene and sanitization help to limit its spread and therefore the possibility of getting sick.
- Increased safety. Reducing the spread of germs and the possibility of getting sick also reduces the risk of contagion, especially among younger pupils who are particularly prone to viral infections.
- Better student concentration and performance. A clean classroom is also more pleasant to live. Spending time in a dirty place does not help to studies and concentration.
- Improvement of the school’s image. Would you enroll your son or daughter in a scruffy or even dirty looking school? Certainly not, therefore cleanliness also affects the image of the school.
School cleaning: stay within the budget
We are therefore aware of the importance and value of cleaning in schools. Nonetheless, educational institutions always find themselves struggling with a limited budget. It is no secret that schools have few funds and to manage the reduced budget they are often forced to choose cheap cleaning solutions with very limited benefits. For economic reasons, in many schools the floors are still manually cleaned with mop and bucket. This is because manual floor cleaning is less expensive, but what is often overlooked is that it is also not very effective when compared to mechanized cleaning. For sure, the investment for the purchase of a professional floor scrubber is higher than a simple mop. But, if you know the benefits of mechanized cleaning you will surely realize that the long-term investment will be lower thanks to the numerous advantages of a scrubber-dryer.
Benefits of mechanized cleaning in schools
In general, benefits of mechanized cleaning are applicable to all sectors, but in this specific case we focus on cleaning school environments. Here are the main advantages to prefer the use of a floor scrubber for cleaning schools:
- Increases the level of hygiene and safety. A clean environment reduces the presence of germs and having a washed and immediately dry floor avoids slipping.
- It protects health. Thorough cleaning also affects the effectiveness of the next sanitization operations, which are now essential to limit the spread of Coronavirus and protect people’s health. Therefore, to reach high standards of cleanliness, you cannot use a simple mop, it is advisable to choose a professional floor scrubber suitable for your needs. Besides standard floor scrubbing machines, there are also scrubbers equipped with integrated systems that allow you to scrub, dry and sanitize in one step. Innova Comfort, for example, can be equipped with the CED kit – Comac Electrostatic Disinfector – which allows you to mechanize cleaning and sanitizing operations, reducing the times and costs for these operations.
- It reduces costs and saves time. The initial investment for the purchase of a scrubber-dryer is repaid by the reduction in the time spent for cleaning operations. Since labor represents the greatest cost for cleaning, it is easy to understand that reducing time also means reducing this cost. Employees will then be able to dedicate the time saved to other activities and increase their productivity.
- It saves water and chemical. Professional floor scrubbing machines are equipped with technologies that allow a better management of the solution, such as the CDS – Comac Dosing System. Improving the use of resources during floor cleaning operations makes them more environmentally friendly. In fact, technologies implemented on modern scrubber dryers grant a more responsible use without compromising the cleaning results.
- It is easy to use. In fact, modern scrubbing machines are designed to be used even by less experienced operators. Holidays or absence of operators will no longer be a problem for schools. Thanks to the ease of use and simple training, scrubbing machines can be used by several people and cleaning activities will not have to be postponed due to the absence of the responsible staff.
- It helps to preserve floors. Equipping the scrubbing machine with accessories suitable for the type of floor that has to be treated, and using the correct chemical, helps to preserve the floor. In fact, adequate and constant cleaning allows you to always have well-kept and shiny floors, making them last over time.
Comac’s suggestions
So, to have a safer back to school our main suggestion is to use professional cleaning equipment. It is important to avoid being persuaded by an attractive price for a product that does not bring any long-term benefits. But there are also other suggestions we would like to give to those who are responsible for cleaning in schools:
- Stop dirt at doorstep. Using carpets at the entrance and in high-traffic areas allows you to create a barrier to the dirt at the entrance. In this way, you can schedule a more accurate and constant cleaning of these areas to ensure that dirt does not spread throughout the structure.
- Take care of all environments, even outdoor ones. To prevent dirt from entering it is necessary to carry out cleaning operations also outside the building. Constantly cleaning the external areas and car parks also gives a positive image of the school.
- Raise awareness among students about cleanliness. A positive example comes from Japan, where young pupils help clean common areas, including floors. Cleaning education thus becomes natural and not a tedious and heavy obligation. In this way pupils end up living the moments of collective cleaning as a game, engaging even those who are not used to do it.
- Create maintenance programs to evaluate the different types of environments and surfaces. The foundation of a clean school is based on a cleaning schedule. We’re not the only ones to say so, it is also described in depth in a post published by Interclean, the platform for professionals in the world of cleaning and hygiene. In fact, having a maintenance program allows you to define the specific cleaning needs and necessary equipment to make informed choices during the purchase phase, thus avoid wasting money.
- Contact an expert. We always suggest this, and in this case more than ever, it is essential to contact a professional in the cleaning equipment field. An experienced person will be able to define the quality level of hygiene to be pursued and will help in the organization of the cleaning tasks. Moreover, he or she will be able to help in the correct management of the budget and also in monitoring the results.
So, what are you waiting for? Contact us now! Don’t be caught unprepared for back-to-school in September. A worldwide network of Comac Authorized Dealer is looking forward to supporting you in choosing the best professional cleaning solution.
This post is also available in: Italian