Classroom cleaning with a broom

When summer arrives, the kids are free to have fun, but many members of the school staff still have work to do. While many people know that teachers have to spend some of this time off creating lesson plans and preparing for the next school year, little is said about the work custodians are doing.

With kids and faculty away, the summertime provides custodians and maintenance crews with time to conduct projects that could not be conducted during the school year. 

“When teachers and students return to school over the next few weeks, we hope they’ll take a good look around at all the work that’s been done while school was out,” says John Engel, director of marketing at Cintas. “School custodians don’t get a summer break. If anything, they work even harder during summer months to make sure their schools are cleaner and safer when students and staff return.”

Cintas developed a list of some of the more common projects custodians take on during the summer so that students and staff can better appreciate the hard work. These projects include:

1, Entrances and sidewalks cleaning: The sidewalk leading up to a school’s entrance is the first thing many notice when arriving at school. Deep cleans consisting of power washing can help to make concrete entrances brighter and more inviting.

2. Carpet care: Proper and consistent maintenance of school carpets can extend their life, sustain their performance and keep them looking good year-round. This usually involves a high-pressure steam system and hot-water extraction method to remove the accumulation of deep-down soil and residue left behind by other cleaning methods.  

3. Treatment of hard surface flooring: Whether in the hallway, cafeteria, restroom or locker room, deep cleaning hard surface flooring such as VCT, polished concrete or ceramic tile and grout, can increase the coefficient of friction by up to 35 percent, resulting in increased traction.

4. Deep cleaning of restrooms: Deep cleaning typically involves sanitizing restroom surfaces with the use of a chemical injection washer to remove soil build-up that regular mops and brushes cannot reach. This results in a fully sanitized area that not only looks and smells clean, but is clean.

5. Coil cleaning: Even if your school doesn’t run the A/C during summer months, PTAC and VTAC coil deep cleans can reduce energy costs by improving airflow and temperature accuracy once the units are turned on. They can also provide health benefits for allergy and asthma sufferers, as well as improve indoor air quality and freshness.