CLEANING
KEEPING CLASSROOMS COVID-SECURE
James White of expert cleaning consultants and equipment supplier, Denis Rawlins shares his top tips to ensure classroom cleaning gets top marks this spring.
The impact that COVID-19 has had on society is devastating and the education sector has felt this more than many. After months of closures, and a short-lived return to classrooms in September, most children are now back to home learning, after the government closed schools amid rising infections.
Schools have faced one of the hardest battles against Coronavirus. Trying to COVID- proof classrooms and safeguard pupils brings multiple challenges with it. However, despite the desperation to reduce the virus’s impact on our children’s education, these measures remain absolutely vital.
Schools have always been hotbeds for germs, with classrooms providing the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive. The close contact of pupils (often with poor hand hygiene) combined with multiple shared, commonly touched surfaces, makes it easy for viral infections to spread rapidly from child to child. But today, the infection risks carry far greater consequences for pupils, teachers, and their families.
Classroom hygiene has never been more important and, as schools brace themselves for reopening this spring, it is vital that hygiene efforts are not relaxed. A robust, science- led approach to cleaning should be adopted.
At Rawlins, we firmly believe that it’s high time to ditch the mop and bucket, go easy on the disinfectant, and invest in a process that actually eliminates bacteria and protects against it returning. We call this our ‘Remove, Improve and Protect’ method. Here are our five top tips to ensure classroom cleaning gets top marks this spring:
Stop relying on disinfectant This over-used chemical may claim to kill most bacteria, but it doesn’t remove them. In fact, it leaves dead microbes, along with any surviving germs, spread across the surface, serving as a food source for the next wave of bugs. Some bacteria also produce biofilms that can effectively defend them from cleaning agents like disinfectant. So, there is a real danger that it only increases the bacterial resistance, rendering it ineffective after consistent use.
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Remove dirt It is crucial that any traces of the virus are removed by adding water, and the correct chemistry in the form of a pure cleaning solution that is uncontaminated by previous use. With some dwell time and agitation where necessary, high-flow fluid extraction can then be used to take away the used solution, storing it separately for disposal.
Measure the cleanliness Cleaning with the above process will show remarkable results, even from first use. Then, every time the process is followed, it further improves the cleanliness of any hard surface. The effectiveness of this process can then be proven by taking ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) measurements before and after cleaning.
Protect surfaces
Once all dirt has been removed, the next step should always be to protect surfaces with an anti-microbial shield. This offers active protection for any treated surface,
significantly reducing the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses, and providing long-lasting defence. The solution can be applied to a surface by spraying, wiping, or ‘fogging’, leaving behind a mono-molecular layer that permanently bonds to the surface, forming a protective barrier. Regular, routine cleaning can continue without disturbing the effectiveness of the coating.
Breathe easy Of course, we now know that COVID-19 isn’t just carried on surfaces. In fact, recent studies have suggested that the majority of coronavirus infections – up to 80% - have actually been transmitted through the air, through respiratory droplets from an infected person. This is why we have recently added the Ilimex Air Steriliser to our portfolio, which promises to kill 99.9999% of airborne pathogens. Ideal for classroom settings, the unit rapidly eradicates viruses and bacteria on the first pass through the unit’s unique kill chamber and continues to sterilise the air five times every hour. Combining this measure with our three-step cleaning method provides customers with a complete COVID-secure cleaning solution.
www.rawlins.co.uk/remove-improve-protect-covid twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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