While students and parents typically feel the frenzy of back-to-school season in August or September, facility managers and purchasing directors for schools and universities need to be ahead of the curve when it comes to planning for the return of students and staff. With many districts and universities attempting to do more with less when it comes to facility maintenance, careful selection of products, tools and machines is essential.
Consider the following best practices to make summer maintenance easier and ensure a successful start to the school year:
- Revitalize wood floors. Wood floors in school auditoriums and gymnasiums must withstand a high level of foot traffic and abuse. To bring these floors back to life, schools should look for a program featuring smart systems and trusted products that will save time and enhance appearance. These include dry microfiber to remove dust, debris and other particles, wet microfiber to deep clean and remove stains and a professional strength, waterborne cleaner that is formulated for unwaxed, polyurethane-finished wood floors.
- Bring the power of diamonds to floors. From the entryway to hallways to the cafeteria, there are many flooring surfaces within schools that need to look their best. Everyday machine cleaning is the best strategy and is even easier and more affordable with the help of diamond pads. These pads are infused with billions of microscopic diamonds to clean and polish floors at the same time without the use of chemicals, saving both time and money.
- Disinfect with the right solution. There are many high-touch surfaces throughout schools, including desks, door handles and lockers. Regular disinfection is key for reducing the spread of illness that can impact student productivity and attendance. Facility managers should opt for an all-purpose disinfectant in a ready-to-use trigger spray bottle that is fast-acting. The product should effectively remove various types of bacteria, viruses and fungi and be compatible with hard surfaces.
- Install hybrid hand hygiene dispensers. When essentials like hand soap and sanitizer are unavailable, students and staff aren’t able to perform hand hygiene properly. Today, hybrid hand hygiene dispensers allow anytime access to these products because they combine an automated dispenser with a manual function in case battery power runs out.
By focusing on the above tactics, schools can protect the image of key assets like floors, create safe and healthy environments and also save time and money. Diversey’s free Back-to-school Toolkit was designed to help your school make cleaning more effective and efficient.
