Child with face mask going back to school after covid-19 quarantine and lockdown

After months of discussion and preparation, schools across the United States continue to open for in-person learning, whether that be full-time or part-time. This changes duties for facility managers and custodians at these school, as they now have to clean and disinfect objects that are constantly exposed to contact with students and faculty.

To help these professionals clean and disinfect correctly without overexposing others to chemicals, Healthy Green Schools & Colleges has created Guidelines for COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfection. The guide (which can be viewed by clicking here) suggests school custodial departments and facility managers do the following:

- Create a cleaning and disinfecting plan and communicate that plan to workers

- Ensure that cleaning personnel are properly trained

- Maintain sustainability and healthy indoor air

- Provide safer working conditions

In an effort to even better assist facility managers and custodial workers, Healthy Green Schools & Colleges went through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's List N of disinfectants that should be used against SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) and identified what it deemed to be the safest ingredients in these products. When considering the EPA's List N, Healthy Green Schools & Colleges suggests using products with the following active ingredients:

- Hydrogen peroxide

- Citric acid

- Lactic acid

- Ethyl alcohol 

- Isopropyl alcohol

- Peroxyacetic acid

- Sodium bisulfate

- Hypchlorous acid

To view the EPA's entire List N, click here.