Cleaning to Improve Health In Canadian Schools.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 60 million school days are lost each year due to colds and the flu. In addition, asthma tends to be a big concern in schools; with close to 10% of students impacted to some degree. The Canadian Lung Association estimates that children miss more than 14 million school days per year due to asthma. For many schools, student sick-days equal lost funding. With most schools all across the country now back in session, maintaining a healthy, clean environment for students and educators is crucial.

Cleaning to improve health in schools means using tools and procedures most likely to effectively remove germs from the educational environment and safeguard indoor air quality. This may involve using microfiber tools and backpack vacuums; using color-coded cloths and floor pads to minimize cross-contamination; and using safe cleaning chemicals with low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that disinfect.

Canadian educational facilities come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and types, each of which presents its own particular cleaning challenges. If you consider the fact that schools may be up to four times as densely occupied as a typical office space, creating a protocol to disinfect efficiently can help reduce how germs in an educational facility.

Attention to Educational Facility Cleaning:

Whether you operate a daycare center, private school, public school, or a learning center there are many high traffic areas which require special attention in cleaning. Rooms with special concern in an educational facility cleaning include:

• Classrooms
• Cafeterias
• Restrooms
• Hallways
• Library
• Gyms

Aside from the cleaning of floors and desktops in an educational facility, troublesome germ spots in a Canadian school include doorknobs, keyboards, mouses, water fountains, telephones, toilet handles, and switch plates.

What Educators Can Do:

To keep students, teachers and your school as healthy as possible, you might encourage proper hygiene to your students and staff through hand washing education, as well as respiratory hygiene tips such as the “Dracula Cough” whereby coughing or sneezing in ones shirtsleeve (instead of their hands) can help prevent the spread of germs. If you seek an education facilities cleaning program, you should consider school, community and state standards for cleaning, as well as your school’s schedule.

Additional Resources:
Making the Case for Prevention: Community Partnerships Benefit Students, Schools & Health – Video
Healthy Schools – Article

About the Vanguard Cleaning Systems® Brand
Founded in 1984, the Vanguard Cleaning Systems® organization is built upon over 2,500 independently owned and operated franchised commercial cleaning businesses, which are licensed and supported by an Area Franchise network of more than 50 independent regional offices throughout North America. Vanguard® franchised commercial cleaning businesses service over 15,000 businesses, healthcare companies, educational facilities, and non-profit organizations.