Back To School Season Means Back To Flu Season
With children up and down the country returning to school for fall semester, it is a timely reminder of the dangers of unhygienic practices and unsanitary bathrooms in schools. Due to the constant close contact of youngsters with developing immune systems, disease often spreads much quicker than in an adult office setting.
Children often touch the same items such as doorknobs, tables, chairs, food trays, and computer keyboards throughout the day. With bacteria and viruses such as the Flu able to survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours, excellent hygiene is of critical priority in schools. Where the impact of poor hygiene is felt most is in school restrooms. Children do not always display the best hygiene habits when still in the early development stages of their lives. They often do not wash their hands properly with soap, and in some cases do not wash their hands at all.
Compounding this issue is the fact that children often put something in their mouths far more often than adults. Children aged from two to five put something in their mouth an average of 42 times per hour. Doing so with poorly or unwashed hands is a recipe for spreading contagious disease.
Why Schools Often Suffer from Infectious Virus Outbreaks
First and foremost, education is required to teach the basics of washing hands properly to children, including the effective use of anti-bacterial soap. Sadly, sometimes no basic cleanliness education is provided at all, which leads to children developing poor hygiene habits and the inevitable outbreaks of viruses and bugs.
Secondly, the methods which are being utilized to clean the school bathrooms are not of a high enough standard. Often school janitors will have one set of cleaning rags, one mop and bucket and will use the same water across the school’s different rooms. This will lead to cross-contamination since germs from the restrooms will migrate to the classrooms and dining rooms. Cleaning products bought in bulk by schools are often general in nature. This means the same generic disinfectants that are used to mop classroom floors are used in bathrooms. Bathrooms require a much high grade of disinfectant as it is the room that contains the most germs.
Finally, schools don’t have the resources to be able to invest in state-of-the-art cleaning technologies such as the highest standard of vacuum hoovers or steam cleaning machines which eradicates the need to touch surfaces altogether.
Why You Need an Outside Janitorial Contractor
Given the dangers set out above, particularly in a school setting, it is wise to hire a professional company to undertake the cleaning of school bathrooms. They are able to combine modern cleaning technology with the correct procedures, greatly reducing the infection risk to school staff and pupils.
Here at Bearcom Building Services we know what it takes to correctly clean school bathrooms. We use hospital-grade disinfectants to wipe out any surface germs, we employ color-coded microfiber towels to ensure we do not cross-contaminate germs across your school, and utilize flat mops with self-dispensing buckets, meaning we never reuse dirty water. We also provide use modern equipment, from the latest backpack vacuums (which can remove 99.7% of all particles) to the latest in steam cleaning technology for your bathroom services.
What is more, schools may end up saving money by not having to invest continually in cleaning products, technology, and staff overheads. With just one flat fee per clean, schools can rest assured they have the safety of the children and staff covered and reinvest their savings on other crucial aspects of the budget.
So when you are ready, give us a call today for a free no-obligation quotation!
