Your Complete Classroom Cleaning Checklist

By: Hayden Bodiford
January 31, 2023

Classrooms are high-traffic and high-touch areas. Students from all over will congregate in classrooms to learn and develop their intellectual abilities. Unfortunately, this creates a giant petri dish where viruses and bacteria thrive without proper precautions.

Keeping a classroom clean is a never-ending battle. It requires constant vigilance and regular deep cleaning. Even if you offload some of the responsibility to teachers and students by instituting strict rules regarding hand washing and waste disposal, the classroom still needs regular decluttering and sanitization.

If you aren’t sure where to start, then a comprehensive classroom cleaning checklist can help! Once school gets going, the general environment will undoubtedly become chaotic, but this solid blueprint can help you delineate tasks and decide where to focus your attention. Or, if your teachers already have enough on their plates, turn to the cleaning experts at 360clean.

We take care of the dirty work, so you can focus on finishing the school year strong. Contact us today for a free quote.

A Quick Overview

For your convenience, we have provided a daily cleaning checklist as well as a weekly cleaning checklist. It will delve into the specifics of cleaning some of the dirtiest classroom places and help you ensure you don’t miss a spot.

After reading, you should have a better idea of the work involved. Even better, once you understand the ins and outs of classroom cleaning, you’ll be able to actively ensure that your students and staff are safe from viruses and bacteria.

Germ Heavy Areas in the Classroom

Schools are teeming with viruses and bacteria, which can create a health hazard for anyone who enters the building. Unfortunately, the situation is so precarious that one cleaning mistake—such as forgetting to wipe down a desk or refill a soap dispenser—means dozens of people could get sick.

Keep in mind that there is no guaranteed way to completely sidestep the contraction of viruses and bacteria. The harsh reality is that sickness is inevitable. However, implementing a comprehensive cleaning schedule and sticking to it will lower the number of days people are out sick and keep your building in the best possible shape.

Commonly Missed Places

Surprisingly, many first-time checklists miss the germiest places in the classroom. For example, while your cleaning staff is likely cleaning the restrooms daily, how often do they sanitize the drinking fountain? What about classroom keyboards, mice, and computer monitors? All of these areas are high-touch surfaces that require regular attention.

To optimize your daily cleaning schedule, ensure you clean the tiny spaces that might otherwise go unnoticed. These spaces include the computer stations mentioned above, IPads, light switches, door knobs, faucets, and any handles touched throughout the day.

Classroom Cleaning Tips

#1 Keep Sanitation Wipes Close By

One easy way to ensure these areas remain clean is to have a fresh supply of disposable sanitation wipes. If you place them somewhere relatively easy to access, your staff and students can wipe down specific areas as they touch them throughout the day. However, even if you decide to have wipes available, you should still engage in regular cleaning to ensure you cover every spot.

#2 Be Mindful of Desks and Tables

Regarding regular cleaning, desks/tables pose a consistent enough problem to merit their own section. For some reason, people new to proper cleaning protocol tend to forget that horizontal surfaces are beacons for bacteria. Even when they don’t forget, surfaces are prone to improper wipe-downs that leave most viruses and bacteria alive.

#3 Avoid Cross-Contamination

For surfaces in the classroom, viruses/bacteria usually spread through cross-contamination. Cross-contamination is when one surface is improperly wiped down, and the same unsanitary wipe is used to wipe down another surface. In this act, the germs inadvertently transfer from one to another. Fortunately, most professional cleaners have the training to avoid cross-contamination.

Daily Classroom Cleaning Checklist

The following is a daily checklist for your cleaning your classroom. If followed properly, this should minimize the spread of viruses and bacteria throughout your classroom. For best results, combine this daily checklist with the weekly checklist in the next section.

#1 Clean the Sink

If your classroom has a sink, you will want to clean it every day. If your facility has multiple classes in the same room, you may even want to clean it after each class.

To clean the sink, you will want to rinse the basin to ensure no residue is present. From there, use a sponge, soap, and hot water to scrub the basin, handles, and faucet. When this is complete, rinse everything and dry it with a fresh cloth.

If you suspect someone in your classroom is sick, you can also use a disinfectant during this process. Just be aware that, depending on the disinfectant, you might have to give the liquid a couple of moments to air dry before wiping it off.

#2 Restock Supplies

Restocking supplies is essential to a safe and healthy classroom. After all, what if someone attempts to wash their hands and can’t find any soap? If that person is in a rush, odds are they will move on with their day without washing their hands. Fortunately, this daily checklist will ensure you’re fully stocked and prepared.

#3 Clean the Desks and Tables

Desks and tables are magnets for bacteria and viruses. Fortunately, cleaning a desk is relatively simple.

The first step of cleaning a desk is to remove any items from the surface. Then, you can wash and disinfect these items as you remove them or put them back. This way, you avoid cross-contamination. If the desk has a filing cabinet or drawers attached, clean them out, too, so that you can complete the next step more expediently.

Once everything is cleared off the surface and drawers and cabinets are emptied, wipe down the desk with a dust cloth to remove any stagnant debris. From there, spray a cloth with disinfectant and wipe over everything you dusted.

Once you have wiped everything down, you can spray disinfectant into each individual area and wipe it off with a dry, unused cloth. Make sure to read the instructions on the disinfectant because some liquids need to air dry. Finally, if the desk is made from wood, you can use a wood polish to give it an exquisite shine, though this last step is purely cosmetic. Repeat this process for each desk in your classroom.

#3 Sweep or Vacuum Hardwood Floors

As with the desk, the first step to cleaning hardwood floors is removing dust. Dusting always makes disinfecting much easier. Depending on the nature of the wood and the equipment available, you will want to use a broom or vacuum to clean up any debris.

#4 Vacuum Carpeted Floors

Carpeted floors will always require a vacuum. However, do not rely solely on your eyes when determining whether the floor is dirty. That’s because dirt sinks into the carpet fibers and can easily avoid detection. Instead, it is best to follow the daily cleaning regimen and vacuum the carpet, whether it looks like it needs it or not.

#5 Focus on Any Spills

If there have been any liquid spills in your classroom, wipe them up and disinfect the spot where the spill occurred. Take care to wash or dispose of the cloth used to wipe the liquid. Doing this will help you avoid cross-contamination as you continue to clean.

#6 Remove Any Waste

Empty all garbage cans, pencil sharpeners, and papers no longer needed. (Extra points for recycling.)

Weekly Classroom Cleaning Checklist

Here is a weekly checklist. This one focuses on areas requiring less attention that still need semi-frequent cleaning.

#1 Dust Light Fixtures

Dust tends to settle onto light fixtures, often accumulating unnoticed. Dusting these once a week should be more than enough.

#2 Dust Shelves and Cabinets

As with light fixtures, dust also loves to settle in shelves and cabinets. Fortunately, these are relatively easy to wipe out. Just make sure to exercise caution and avoid cross-contamination.

#3 Clean and Sanitize the Whiteboard

Whiteboards are dirtier than one would guess, especially when some students erase with their hands rather than a proper eraser. Fortunately, they are straightforward to clean. Simply apply a whiteboard spray cleaner to the surface and wipe it down.

#4 Deep Clean Floors

Whether the floors in question are hardwood or carpet, they will need deep cleaning at least once weekly. You might need additional wood-friendly disinfectant or a carpet cleaner to do this.

Keep Your Classrooms at Their Best with 360clean

We hope you enjoyed reading our classroom cleaning checklist! Cleaning and disinfecting an entire classroom each week can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be when you have the right support standing behind you. If you’re tired of wasting valuable time and resources keeping up with clean classrooms and a clean school, count on our team at 360clean. We proudly provide full-facility school cleaning services to ensure your staff and students stay healthy. Areas we focus on include:

✓ Classrooms

✓ Hallways

✓ Restrooms

✓ Faculty Rooms

✓ Cafeteria

✓ Gymnasium

✓ Locker Rooms

✓ Office Areas

✓ Library

✓ High Traffic Areas & Touch Points

To learn more about our commercial cleaning services for schools, contact us today for a free quote. We can’t wait to help you create a clean and healthy school for you, your team, and your students!

Hayden Bodiford

Social Media and PR Manager for 360clean. Based in Charleston, SC

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