The Most Common School Maintenance Challenges
|July 19, 2022
It is true that a school is like a child’s second home. Children spend a large chunk of their day in school, where they study, play, and perform a variety of activities. This special place contributes to the mental, physical, and emotional development of a child.
Of course, it is also extremely important for school officials to ensure a clean school environment. The school is responsible for providing students with a clean and safe environment that will not harm them in any way.
Apart from quality education, your school must also focus on the cleanliness of the cafeterias, libraries, and classrooms. However, this is not easy, and bacteria and germs seem to be everywhere in school facilities. If you struggle with maintaining cleanliness in school, continue reading this piece for solutions.
Here are the three most common challenges that schools face with maintenance. We will also discuss the solutions and what you can do.
Increased Use of the Facility for Events
Previously, schools only used their classrooms for studying. However, times have changed now, and schools have become ground for various other activities as well.
Nowadays, several community events, as well as school events, take place in schools. While such activities are important to promote learning and development, they can make cleaning the school facility a challenging task. Events with children usually mean that there will be a mess to clean later. This is not restricted to grounds, but classrooms become equally dirty during events.
However, it is extremely important to conduct surface cleaning right after an event. This way, regular cleaning will take less time and resources. Also, remember to sanitize the facility every time an event or gathering takes place.
Inadequate Staff
A lot of schools in the US have a small janitorial staff. Inadequacy of staff means unsatisfactory cleaning. It is not as easy for custodial staff members to effectively clean the school.
As a result, many schools have to ask their students and even teachers to pitch in and help with surface cleaning. While doing so can solve the issue, most of the time, teachers and other staff do not have the expertise and required training to clean a school facility.
Make sure to hire a professional cleaning service with equipment to properly clean and disinfect your school.
Large Volume of People
A school facility also sees a huge crowd at any given time on any given day. The sheer number of people passing through the building poses challenges for proper cleaning and maintenance.
Inside a school, there are people of different ages who may also have different allergies and different hygiene standards. This makes it hard to encourage each person to play their role in keeping the school clean. On the other hand, as students and teachers interact, germs tend to spread as well.
Special areas like desks, bathrooms, and locker rooms harbor high levels of bacteria and germs, requiring deep cleaning and disinfecting. Make sure to guide your staff on wiping down these surfaces to prevent illnesses and infections from spreading.
Sources
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/maintenance/chapter5.asp
https://www.pictureperfectcleaning.ca/the-unique-challenges-of-cleaning-a-school/