Back to school concept

When custodians in the City School District of New Rochelle, N.Y. get the school buildings ready for the new school year, all the indoor surfaces are cleaned "beyond green,"  according to an article on the New Rochelle Talk website.

The cleaning staff has virtually eliminated the use of conventional cleaning chemicals from the interior learning environment. Instead, custodians use solutions created from water, a water-softening agent (a type of salt), and electricity produced from generators in each of the schools.

That use of this new technology is one of the environmentally friendly practices that have been implemented in the two years since the district took its maintenance and custodial care in house.

Better training and re-allocation of staff and high-performance accessories and equipment that create healthier cleaning program have saved the district money — up to $60,000 annually in chemicals alone — while creating healthier learning spaces, the article said.

According to the District’s Assistant Superintendent for Business and Administration, Jeffrey White, the simplified cleaning process saves resources that can be allocated to education while offering students safer, healthier places to learn.

The custodial staff also has launched a new program that uses high-performance cleaning accessories and tools such as water-saving microfiber cloths. They use vacuums with specialized scrubbers and floor pads with electrically generated solutions, rather than wet mops and dirty buckets.

Plus, new matting systems prevent dirt from every entering facilities, and the addition of spray applicators with an electrostatic element helps the disinfectants used to adhere to even hard-to-reach areas.

For more details on the cleaning programs in place, click here.