Schools that are relying on bucket-and-mop era cleaning techniques for their most filthy, germ-prone space – the school locker room – are not keeping pace with the evolution of cleaning, some experts say.
More schools are joining the movement toward cleaning for health rather than appearance, but that is still not a universally accepted concept. Nowhere is this more apparent than in a school’s locker room, where dangerous organisms lie in wait.
“The majority of schools across the country are 50 years behind the technical curve when it comes to removal processes, cleaning,” says Rex Morrison, president and CEO of Process Cleaning for Healthy Facilities, a nonprofit based in Sparks, Nev.
“We want to bring them into this 21st century by using the technology that’s developed out there for us to be good at what we do.”
The dirtiest place
Gyms and locker rooms earned an unwelcome distinction last fall when MSN’s Healthy Living website named them the dirtiest places in school. It was no surprise. Reports of staph infections in the last few years have placed increased scrutiny on these germ hotspots.
But it shouldn’t take a MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) outbreak for the disinfectant to emerge from the supply closet. There are a whole host of contaminants, from the fungus that causes ringworm and athlete’s foot to ecoli, that are attracted to the warm, moist environment of a locker room. Let’s also not forget the many, increasingly virulent strains of influenza that are surfacing.
Anything that qualifies as a “high-touch point” should receive daily attention in order to combat these threats, says Bill Balek, director of legislative affairs for the International Sanitary Supply Association. This includes sinks, counter tops, faucets, vending machines, gym equipment, door handles and anything else that people are constantly touching.
Odor also is a major, and constant, challenge for any custodian tasked with cleaning a locker room. Even a robust cleaning program like the one at East Meadow Union Free School District in New York only nears odor-free status after a thorough steam cleaning is done while the students are on summer break, says Patrick Pizzo, the district’s administrator for operations.
“The smells are always the issue because these areas are heavily used,” Pizzo says. “That’s something you really have to stay up on and you have to have a couple of different methods to take it on between the cleaning and deodorizing products.”
Throw your old program out with the mop water
Those who advocate for new cleaning techniques in locker rooms argue that districts can save money while creating a healthier environment for students and staff.
Pizzo, who has been with his district for six years, has applied green cleaning methods to even the toughest tasks in the locker room, and it’s paying off. The district saves about 22 cents per square foot of space maintained, partly due to decreased labor, according to Pizzo. That number does not factor in savings that are more difficult to quantify, like absenteeism.
For the locker room, Pizzo utilizes a base program that includes daily cleaning and periodic disinfecting with a fogger. For the odors, his staff uses a parsley-based spray and Fresh Wave. When necessary, more disinfecting and steam cleaning sessions are done.
Morrison with PCHS recommends using a spray-and-vacuum machine with a minimum psi of 500 in locker rooms. A green cleaning product can be applied using low pressure on the machine, and once that product is allowed to dwell, it can be removed using the high-pressure spray setting. The waste is then removed using the vacuum function.
“We want to remove the problem from a locker room and not just go in and exterminate the problem and leave it lay,” Morrison says.
It’s an old technology that is being applied in new ways, and it should be what replaces that old mop and bucket, Morrison says. He called these spray-and-vacuum machines the “future of restroom cleaning.”
“It’s going to be the norm everywhere within just a few years,” Morrison says. “It’s 50 percent faster than cleaning traditionally by hand and it’s 80 percent cleaner.”
The spray-and-vacuum machine should be used every time the locker room is cleaned, and that regime should be followed up with weekly steam cleaning, he says.
Allen Rathey, president of the Healthy Facilities Institute, recommends a “dry” steam vapor machine that uses only tap water and can disinfect in seconds, he says. This should be done on a weekly basis.
But not everyone is ready to swear off mops just yet. Balek says the mop itself isn’t the problem; it’s how the mop is used that can negate the cleaner’s efforts. Mops must be used correctly, which means regularly changing the mop and replacing the cleaning solution; otherwise, the soiled mops and solution can spread harmful contaminants like MRSA and other infectious microorganisms, he says.
Mopping alternatives, like the spray-and-vacuum systems, steam cleaners and microfiber mopping systems, are highly effective at removing infectious agents, but “there is a lack of evidence that fogging rooms with disinfectants will prevent MRSA infections more effectively than a more targeted approach of cleaning frequently-touched surfaces,” Balek added.
When it comes to renovations or new construction, Morrison says architects should design locker rooms with the custodian in mind in order to increase cleaning efficiency. There should be an electrical outlet every 50 feet, and tile or terrazzo should be used wherever possible.
Features like touchless faucets and hand dryers or automatic paper towel dispensers also reduce the transmission of germs. Lighting triggered by motion sensors is another example.
Germ-resistant lockers can also help. Lockers made of HDPE are so easy to clean that they’re even difficult to vandalize, making them a more attractive alternative to traditional metal lockers. Some HDPE lockers are treated with anti-microbial agents that render the HDPE even more hostile to disease-spreading contaminants.
Instead of benches, individual seating, like stools, would also help limit the transmission of germs.
Schools should also shy away from community showers and build private shower stalls to accommodate the modern student’s preferences, Morrison says. This would encourage showering and thus increase the general cleanliness even beyond the locker room. Textiles should also be avoided.
Cleaner schools, healthier students
Reduced staffing can hamper the custodian’s ability to do the kind of advanced cleaning needed to sufficiently clean and disinfect one of the most vulnerable areas of a school.
“I don’t think many of these locker rooms are cleaned as effectively as they can be,” Balek says. “I think, in some cases, that’s due to budget cuts, reduced staff. There’s not enough people to do the effective cleaning as frequently as it should be.
Balek calls this approach to cleaning programs “short sighted.”
“If you have a good, clean facility, your students, your staff, your employees are going to be in a healthy environment, and there is significant evidence to show that there’s increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, improved health in general,” he says.
In spite of the cuts to cleaning programs, Mark Bishop with the Healthy Schools Campaign noted a more heartening trend toward increased training for custodian staff emerged in the Center for Disease Control’s most recent School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS). This is a break away from reports of slashed cleaning programs.
The study also added a chapter on the school’s physical environment and green cleaning, creating a baseline to help measure growth toward greener and healthier schools, Bishop says.
“There is a lot of change going on, however, our schools in general are challenged with tight if not crisis budgets and we know that one of the first things to be cut is the operations department,” Bishop says.
“A well trained custodial staff is going to be the first line of defense for a healthy school, and those are the people who aren’t there to make sure we have shiny floors. They’re there to make sure we are reducing the spread of disease amongst our kids.”
Jill Nolin, Associate Editor
