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As of March 17, the Florida State Board of Education has closed all schools in the state for one month. While the goal is to help protect the health of students, teachers and staff during this crisis, that does not mean steps are not being taken to ensure the schools are clean - and most importantly - healthy when they re-open.
When it comes to cleaning, one of the state’s school districts, Indian River County School District, has decided to bring in special cleaning equipment to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. The “heavy duty cleaning equipment,” as it is referred to are Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning machines.
"[The Kaivac systems] able to reach nasty, infectious grime from hard to reach areas. If they are not [cleaned and] disinfected, we’re going to have many illnesses," says Ann Reiben, head of custodial services at Indian River County School District.
She says one of her big concerns is that if a child at the school gets sick, “[then] the parents get sick, and so do the grandparents.”
Making matters worse is the fact that very young children do not seem to be as impacted by the coronavirus.
“They may have it but show very few symptoms," says Reiben. "However, they can still spread it to friends and family members.”
Asked just how soiled a school can get each day, Reiben says, “it can get just as dirty as a city bus, a train, or an airplane after a flight. So, we want to take a proactive approach to keep [our schools and] our people healthy.”
As to using the Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning systems, Reiben says that they are utilized not only in bathrooms, but in locker rooms, and throughout the school.
“Anything that is touched daily, you want to make sure it is deep cleaned," says Reiben.
Further, the fact that these machines are referred to as “no-touch” is likely more important now than ever before. Because cleaning workers do not need to touch surfaces when performing their tasks with these machines, the better able they are to protect their own health.
Reiben does not indicate if she is, or is not, using cleaning solutions or disinfectants designed for use with the no-touch system. While past tests have shown these machines can remove virtually all pathogens from a surface without the use of cleaning solutions or disinfectants, Kaivac engineers do not recommend it, especially now with the COVID-19 crisis.
Instead, the company suggests using its KaiBosh disinfectant.
"KaiBosh has been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as effective against SARS-CoV-2, germs that cause Coronavirus," says Matt Morrison, communications manager at Kaivac.
Kaivac is increasing its production of the KaiBosh to meet the needs of its customers, says Morrison.
Along with the Kaivac machines, the school will also be using electronic misters to help disinfect surfaces as well as ATP monitoring systems to monitor cleaning effectiveness. However, Morrison suggests that surfaces be cleaned first, before the misters are used.
“This is standard best practices when it comes to cleaning and disinfecting," he says.
Further, custodians in the school district will be given special training not only on how to use these tools, but on how to clean high-touch surfaces throughout the schools.
“We are trying to do everything we can think of when it comes to cleaning our schools,” says Reiben. “We’re also creating a [COVID-19] Task Force, to stay up-to-date on the virus and what steps our schools should take to keep everyone healthy.”