Tips for Cleaning Schools During Winter Break

By: WAXIE Editorial Staff  |  December 6, 2022 

The typical winter break in schools across the U.S. clocks in around two weeks. This period allows facility management teams to accomplish campus cleaning projects that couldn’t normally be done while class is in session. With these universally efficient tips, any facility manager rest assured that their students will continue to have a clean school to come back to. Clean school environments promote better health within the classroom for optimal learning conditions.

Maintain Entryways or Enter at Your Own Risk

Winter weather is upon us and our shoes! A common space for slip and fall hazards are as soon as someone walks into a building. Tracking in winter weather such as snow, ice and water make floors unsafe to tread. Consider combining entryway matting systems with snow deicers to prevent accidents.

Scraper mats are a great way to absorb soil, water, and dust from entering the classroom. In turn providing a slip resistant and safe place to walk. Additionally, these mats help improve IAQ (indoor air quality) by trapping excess dust and dirt, which reduces the amount of air pollutants in circulation.

Our WAXIE Alaska Branch and its customers are no stranger to blizzards and the snow brought by winter storms. When conditions get dangerously icy, they turn to snow deicers. These specialty floor cleaners completely melt the snow and ice regardless if it is day or night, making the grounds safe to walk on.

Clean & Disinfect High Traffic Areas

As we are knee deep in flu, RSV and norovirus season, it is important to take preventative measures in the spread of germs and bacteria. Throughout campus there are multiple high traffic zones that are hotbeds for viruses to live. Cleaning and disinfecting these areas are crucial in pathogen control. Here are some helpful tips to consider when cleaning and disinfecting your school during winter break:

1. Clean the surface first

Disinfectants primary purpose is to kill microorganisms, and as such they are typically not as good at cleaning surfaces as a general purpose cleaning chemical. It is necessary to use a general purpose or bioactive cleaner or degreaser to pre-clean heavily soiled areas

2. Select the appropriate disinfectant

For emerging viral pathogens the EPA will release disinfectant recommendations on its website, such as List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2.

3. Read the disinfectant label instructions

Once the appropriate disinfectant has been selected, follow the instructions listed on the label to ensure proper usage. If the product is a concentrate, make sure to dilute at the recommended amounts, and apply to surfaces as described, using recommended Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

4. Ensure that the disinfectant has enough surface contact dwell time

Depending on the specific disinfectant and desired pathogen kill, there will be a range of dwell time which will be needed to ensure that the surfaces have been effectively disinfected.

5. Provide learning resources to your facility maintenance team

For the best results train your team on how to disinfect high touch surfaces properly and safely.

Tackle Expansive Carpet Care Projects

When it comes to carpet care maintenance there are three essential elements: walk-off matting, vacuuming and spot removal. These preventative techniques prolongs the life of your carpet, improves appearance, and reduces the need for more complicated maintenance procedures.

During winter break facility teams can address more involved carpet maintenance tasks such as removing soils lodged deep into the carpets. If soils are left unmaintained, the carpet fibers will stick together inherently ruining the carpet. Depending on the contamination levels soil can be removed with these extraction methods:

• Surface cleaning (low level) - Uses an absorbent compound (dry extraction or powder cleaning), bonnet or spin cleaning, or shampooing
• Surface extraction (medium level)- An extractor sprays cleaning solution into the carpet. Normally the solution is worked in with a rotating brush to dislodge dirt. Then dirt and solution are lifted out through a vacuum head.
• Deep Extraction (heavy level)- Even when carpets become heavily contaminated with soils, they can usually be restored to good condition with deep extraction. This method is very similar to surface extraction, but the equipment is used at a slower cleaning rate.

WAXIE is committed to helping our customers keep their facilities cleaner, healthier, greener, and safer. That means creating customized cleaning solutions to meet your specific needs, and then providing the ongoing training and support to help you achieve a cleaner and safer learning environment with winter break cleaning tips.  

Please contact your WAXIE Account Consultant today to schedule a consultation.