Cintas Shares 5 Healthy Back-to-School Practices for Custodians

The first day of school is coming up soon for many students, teachers, and staff. To help custodial teams prepare for the new school year, Cintas Corp. has a list of five recommendations to help promote healthy practices.

“Helping keep all school occupants healthy, especially students, is a top priority for all school custodial teams,” shared Christiny Betsch, Cintas marketing manager. “We’re working to help custodial teams minimize sick days of students, teachers, and staff through these recommendations.”

1. Clean, sanitize, disinfect: These terms are often used interchangeably, but they all serve different purposes. Cleaning regularly removes dirt and soils from surfaces and should be done daily if not multiple times a day. Sanitizing reduces the number of germs on surfaces. Disinfecting, depending on the dwell time, can eliminate most remaining bacteria and viruses on surfaces.
2. Make hand hygiene accessible: Ensure hand soap and sanitizer are readily available and well-stocked in restrooms and high-traffic areas. This can help increase hand hygiene compliance. Consider also adding signage to remind users of proper handwashing techniques.
3. Keep custodial supplies fully stocked: Maintaining a proper inventory of cleaning products and supplies is important. By keeping cleaning supplies well-stocked and organized, your custodial team can more efficiently complete their cleaning tasks.
4. Install proper matting: Proper matting helps minimize the amount of dirt and germs that enter a building via foot traffic. Correctly placing and maintaining your mats plays an essential role in achieving this. For optimal results, consider placing mats at all entrances, lobbies, and hallways to reduce debris and preserve your floor’s finish.
5. Revisit training: Update your custodial team’s training program. Proper training helps reinforce important practices and prepares your team to efficiently address any cleaning emergencies that might arise. It also serves as a reminder of correct handling techniques for cleaning chemicals.

For more information about Cintas’ facility services, visit cintas.com/facilityservices.