With back-to-school season and in-person classes in full swing, having an inventory of reliable cleaning and disinfection tools available is as important as ever. You need the right depth of janitorial supplies to clean and disinfect common furniture such as tables, chairs, seats, as well as the floors and other adjacent spaces. These tools will help to keep your schools safe and germ-free when students begin to fill up rooms.
At Busy Bee, we provide the best commercial hand sanitizers in BC and Western Canada among a catalogue of effective, durable cleaning supplies. With the busy school season looming, we have an extensive guide on telling the difference between sanitization and disinfection, why it’s ultimately important to sanitize different areas, and how these cleaning supplies should be handled properly. Here is what you need to know about creating a safe educational space for both students and teachers.
Sanitizing vs Disinfecting: What’s the Difference?
Some people think sanitization and disinfection are essentially the same practice; this is not the case. While each follows some similar routines and principles, the outcomes are vastly different.
Sanitization targets germs and kills them completely on regularly used surfaces or objects. You would typically use cleaning solutions with chemicals to properly get rid of germs in a surrounding area. Although this practice does not necessarily remove all germs on a surface, the risk of spreading infection and catching it is greatly reduced.
Disinfecting, on the other hand, only diminishes the presence of germs on surfaces or commonly used objects to a safer level, depending on local regulations or requirements. Like the practice of sanitization, disinfection is done to lower the risk of infection on surfaces and stop the spread of dangerous pathogens.
Why It’s Important to Sanitize School Surfaces
Regardless of the time of day or month of the season, it is always important for custodians to sanitize, clean, and disinfect on a routine basis while properly using our commercial cleaning supplies. With COVID-19 still present and constantly changing regulations regarding in-person gatherings, it is crucial to thoroughly clean the environment students will eventually return to. It is the best way to keep them safe and prevent further outbreaks of potential sickness.
Some of the most commonly used school items like computers and keyboards should be paid a particular focus because of all the touching they are exposed to. The same should be done for other objects like doorknobs, handles, lockers, and many more items that require contact. If sanitization is difficult for certain items, then you should consider restricting access to them until you are confident of keeping them clean.
While janitors shoulder the responsibility of cleaning frequently used surfaces, you can also have teachers keep their classes clean by using disinfectant wipes on surfaces, as well as sprays if necessary. You can also inform students to limit the spread of germs through using hand sanitizers, coughing or sneezing into their sleeves, wearing a mask, and staying home when they’re sick. Overall, everyone plays an important role in keeping school surfaces clean and germ-free.
How Janitorial Cleaning Supplies Should Be Handled
When using products with chemicals to sanitize and clean surfaces, you may risk hurting yourself if you do not take any safety precautions into account. Always follow the label and the correct steps as instructed to make sure you are sanitizing properly and keeping yourself safe from chemicals. Also, pay attention to hazard symbols and only mix the right solutions as displayed on the instructions.
The best way to handle cleaning supplies is to keep them in a safe space you can access and use them in the manner as they are instructed. This will not only keep janitors safe but also the people that use the sanitized surfaces as well.
If you are interested in effective and reliable cleaning supplies, please browse our full list of cleaning supplies, equipment, and products.