School is back in full swing and the kiddos are settling back into their routines. When school is in session and our kids are mingling, this means flu season is right around the corner. If you have school aged children, then you understand just how fast these sicknesses can spread. Schools are the perfect environment and breeding ground for a host of germs, bacteria and viruses. It only takes a few kids to get sick and the virus will spread like wildfire. Children are very “Hands on”, they touch everything they can get their hands on then stick their hands in their mouths or touch their faces. This is a recipe for disaster. Without careful and thorough cleaning, your school can get hit hard this year’s cold and flu season.
How Clean is Your School?
Recently, the International Sanitary and Supply Association (ISSA) conducted several studies on various elementary school classrooms to test the bacterial and viral load present on frequently used surfaces. They did this in an effort to achieve higher standards for their cleaning guidelines given to professional janitorial and cleaning services. This gives professional cleaning companies the ability to target the germiest and dirtiest areas throughout the school and properly sanitize and clean them to reduce the spread of harmful germs, bacteria and viruses in an effort to reduce the impact of illnesses spread throughout the school year. So, what were some of the dirtiest places found in schools and where should your commercial cleaning company be focusing their efforts?
Germiest Places in School
1: Gym and athletic equipment, mainly the athletic mats. They had the highest bacterial loads out of any other single object in schools because of the poor cleaning methods. Most schools used dirty mops to clean the mats which caused them to become a breeding ground for bacteria.
2: Key touch points such as desks, countertops, door knobs, hands-on learning items, faucet handles, railings and other high traffic areas.
3: Computer keyboards and mice. This may come as a bit of a surprise and be alarming, these objects were found to have 4x the number of bacteria and viruses present than that of a public toilet seat!
4: The average elementary school classroom harbors more bacteria than the average public restroom!
Does your commercial cleaning service thoroughly clean and sanitize all touch points?
Clean Schools Mean Healthier Students
Through light of this new research, it may come as a shock to some, while others had an idea of the risk students were dealing with daily. Just because a school looks clean, doesn’t mean it’s actually clean. Your school needs to be cleaned, disinfected and sanitized to remove grease, dirt and grime, kill bacteria and remove it for optimal cleanliness. Not only does a proper cleaning keep students healthy, it has countless other benefits for your school. Having children miss less days due to illnesses helps to improve testing scores. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on average, 5-20% of the U.S. Population comes down with the flu which causes $10.4 BILLION a year in direct medical expenses in the U.S. Alone.
Commercial Cleaning Services & More in Longmont, Brighton, Dacono, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Eldorado Springs, Fort Lupton, Hygiene & Boulder Colorado
Choosing to hire an experienced janitorial service has countless benefits. We here at Baker Sandoval Cleaning have eco-friendly products that are safe to use around children. We have access to professional cleaning products and equipment that are only available to licensed professionals. We will thoroughly clean and sanitize all touch points as well as keeping the rest of your school visibly clean and tidy. Give us a call if you have further questions.
