When the bell rings, the hallways of a school are easily one of the busiest and most congested places you’ll find in the building. After all, unlike a classroom or cafeteria, the hallways aren’t limited to a certain number of students! As you know, disinfecting and sanitizing high-traffic areas in any building is essential today, but because these areas can be so busy, it’s important to have a plan. Here’s your guide to how to clean school hallways.
Keeping your high school hallways clean can be a chore that takes up too much of your staff’s time. Supplement your school’s cleaning routine with professional cleaning from 360clean. Contact us today to receive a free quote for your school!
Sweep and Vacuum Mats, Rugs, and Floors
The National Education Association recommends creating a standard cleaning plan that you can follow repeatedly throughout the school year. One first step in this plan should involve cleaning the floors in your school’s hallways.
Begin by removing mats and rugs from hallways. This will give you the freedom to sweep or vacuum the hall’s floors without mats and rugs getting in the way. Mop tile flooring after sweeping to remove soil and stains. Wipe down mats with warm, soapy water and leave them to air dry. Vacuum rugs to remove dirt and debris. Occasionally using a wet/dry vac or carpet steamer will give the rugs a deeper clean.
Clean and Disinfect Lockers
Student lockers represent a high risk for the spread of germs and bacteria, making it especially important to keep these surfaces sanitary. After wiping them down with a mixture of soap and water, allow the surfaces to dry.
According to the CDC’s Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility Guidelines, you should avoid mixing disinfectants with cleaning solutions. For this reason, it’s important to make sure surfaces are dry before applying the disinfectant.
An alternative is to use a cleaning solution that also contains a disinfectant. This type of product saves time and performs two purposes at once. Make sure to follow the instructions on the product label for maximum effectiveness.
Clean and Disinfect Doors and Handles
The doors to classrooms and restrooms will not necessarily get cleaned along with those individual rooms. So, it’s a good practice to clean and disinfect these surfaces every time you clean your school’s hallways. After all, these high-traffic areas can never be too sanitary.
Using a clean cloth and a fresh bucket of soap and warm water, wash the surface of the doors, paying special attention to the handles and doorknobs. Use an ammonia-based window cleaner to clean windows embedded in classroom doors. To avoid leaving streaks, use a clean, soft cloth for the glass.
Know When to Strip and Wax the Floors
From time to time, the wax on your tile flooring will wear thin and lose its shine. You can tell when it’s starting to fail in protecting your flooring by the presence of black scuff marks and stains. Stripping the floors of their wax before applying a fresh coat will remove most of these blemishes.
Since this is a long process, wait until the weekend or a holiday when the school will be vacant for several hours. Begin by using a wax-stripping solution. Follow the instructions on the label and use a mop to spread the solution on the floor. Make sure you soak corners and hard-to-reach areas. Every part of the floor should receive a generous coating of the stripping solution.
You can use several different tools to remove the wax once you apply the stripper. These tools include a squeegee, floor scrubber, or wet/dry vac. Make sure you remove all of the loose wax and sweep the floor once it’s dry. Apply the fresh coat of wax using the same process involved in stripping the floor. Using a new, clean mop, apply the liquid floor wax to every inch of flooring. Make sure you cover corners, tight spaces, and flooring close to lockers and walls. If you miss a small space, it will be visible once the wax dries.
It will take several hours for the wax to dry completely, but you can use large fans to speed up this process. Once the floor is dry, use a buffer to bring out the shine.
Replace Mats and Rugs
Once the floors are dry, you can begin restoring the hallways to their normal appearance. Bring back rugs and mats, laying them in their proper places. Make sure to empty trash receptacles in the halls as well. Store cleaning equipment in a janitorial closet or another secure location.
Keep Your School Clean with 360clean
At 360clean, you can always count on professional-quality cleaning services for every aspect of your school. To learn more about our services, contact us today to receive a free quote for your school!