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Going back to the office post Covid? – Are You Even Ready?

281 days… since March 17, 2020. When we were told of Covid-19 and our lives changed.

We started working from home, while managing kids and cramped office spaces with partners trying to do their jobs at the same time. AND with Limited Wi-Fi signals and school zoom lessons taking all the bandwidth.  We were scared to go to the store, scared to visit family and friends, and disinfecting everything in sight.

Clorox, Lysol, hand sanitizers – TOILET PAPER and PAPER TOWELS – where did it all go? Will it save us?

(side note)
Was I the only one side-eyeing my coworkers wondering why `all of a sudden’ everyone was obsessed with washing their hands…? “why weren’t you doing that all along?!?!” And now here we are, 281 days later – going into yet another lockdown and wondering how on earth we get back into the office and back into our lives.

Are you even ready to go back into the office?

Multiple factors can take place to ensure a safer work environment, including screening for symptoms and exposures, and measures that can increase social distancing and reduce crowding, such as changes to shifts, start times and breaks. Additionally, employers can take additional steps such as providing hand sanitizer, signage across the workplace, establish policies and procedures related to cleaning and disinfecting. It is also important that employees who can telework should be encouraged to do so, and most importantly, policies should be in place that encourage sick employees to stay home.

 

First Things First – Get it Clean!

How to clean:

-Wear disposable gloves to clean and disinfect.

-Clean surfaces using soap and water, then use disinfectant. (Cleaning with soap and water reduces number of germs, dirt and impurities on the surface. Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces.)

-Practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.

 

More frequent cleaning and disinfection may be required based on level of use.

Surfaces and objects in public places, such as shopping carts and point of sale keypads should be cleaned and disinfected before each use.

High touch surfaces include:

Tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, sinks, etc.

How to disinfect:

Disinfect with a household disinfectant on List N: Disinfectants for use against SARs-CoV-2external icon, the virus that causes COVID 19.

Follow the instructions on the label to ensure safe and effective use of the product.
Many products recommend: Keeping surface wet for a period of time (see product label) & precautions such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during use of the product.

Cleaning Soft surfaces

For soft surfaces such as carpeted floor, rugs, and drapes

  • Clean the surface using soap and water or with cleaners appropriate for use on these surfaces.
  • Launder items (if possible) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Use the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely.

OR

Electronics: should be cleaned and disinfected before each use.

For electronics, such as tablets, touch screens, keyboards, remote controls, and ATM machines

-Consider putting a wipeable cover on electronics for easy wipe down.

-Follow manufacturer’s instruction for cleaning and disinfecting.

-If no guidance, use alcohol-based wipes or sprays containing at least 70% alcohol. Dry surface thoroughly.

 

And of course, since nothing is guaranteed, there are going to be infections. When that happens, know that your friendly neighborhood janitorial company is here to help. ( Click HERE to be connected ) After a thorough cleaning and disinfection; we have a backpack sprayer that mists a CDC-approved chemical disinfectant over all surfaces. We leave it to dry and 30 minutes later, you are back in business.

Best of luck to you. Get back out there and here’s looking forward to a much-improved 2021!

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Protect yourself and your employees from Covid-19

The corona virus, first identified in China in December 2019, rapidly spread and caused high alarm among people across the world. People are now wondering how to keep their homes and workplaces safe from the virus going forward.

What Are the Symptoms of the Corona virus?

First things First – if you have a temp of over 99* STAY HOME. You probably work too hard anyway and need a rest.

It is challenging to confirm the corona virus infection as its symptoms strongly resemble the symptoms of the common flu. The main symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty in breathing.

How Is the Corona virus Transmitted?

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that corona viruses are transmitted through the air when the patient sneezes or coughs. The virus can also spread if you keep close personal contact with anyone infected. The good news is that using disinfectants to clean your home and office can kill these viruses.

How Can You Keep Yourself and Your Office Safe from the Corona virus?

There is no vaccine developed against the corona virus yet, as it has been identified only recently. Therefore, the best way to prevent corona virus infection is to avoid its exposure. CDC recommends these measures to safeguard against the corona virus.

  • Frequently wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth.
  • Avoid close contact with infected people.
  • Stay at home if you are sick!!!!!
  • Use a tissue to cover your mouth while you sneeze or cough and safely throw them away.
  • Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects.
  • Wear a cloth face covering in public settings
  • Maintain at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and others

If you are an employer, you should follow these measures to contain the spread of viruses in your office.

Limit Surfaces That Employees Need to Touch with Their Hands

  • Ask your employees to use their foot or shoulder to push open the door, as many office doors don’t need a handle to push open and can swing open both ways.
  • Install motion sensors in all the doors of your office, including bathroom faucets. It will help your employees in washing their hands without touching the faucet.

Embrace Technology

  • Invest in designing an office space that embraces collaboration technology and remote work. Employees working from home can help reduce the chances of cross-infection among employees.
  • Provide personal phones, tablets, and laptops to your employees. Giving every employee their own devices will help them avoid sharing keyboards, computers, or phones, which can help in reducing the spread of the virus.

Keep the Sanitizer Handy

  • Keep sanitizer in the reception area, shared spaces, and conference room of your office.
  • You can also use signs to encourage your employees to sanitize their hands regularly.

Encourage Sick Employees to Stay Home

  • If any of your employees have symptoms of acute respiratory illness, recommend them to stay at home.
  • Make sure that they do not come to the office until they are free from signs of fever and other symptoms for at least 24 hours without using any medicine.

Please keep your office or any other type of work environment clean to help prevent the further spread of infections, including the corona virus. If you want office cleaning services, call us today for high quality customized commercial cleaning services at an affordable rate.

 

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COVID-19 Cleaning Resources

As your business makes plans to reopen, T&S Maintenance stands ready to help our clients operate with confidence in a clean, safe and healthy environment. Our practice follows the recommendations from the CDC and State of California for COVID-19 cleaning standards.

During these changing times, we are diligently reviewing our safety and sanitation services to ensure that our team is well-informed and prepared to assist your business with enhanced cleaning programs designed to protect everyone.

Every business has different needs.  We are here to offer our knowledge and expertise to tailor solutions that fit the needs of your team.  These services include:

  • High touch cleaning
  • Enhanced cleaning techniques
  • Disinfection applications

Our practices for minimizing exposure to COVID-19 for your employees and customers are based on the most current guidelines from the CDC, EPA and California Department of Health.

Additional COVID-19 cleaning resources for your business:

We are now offering virtual quotes. In keeping with social distancing requirements, we are now able to provide quick and easy virtual quotes without on-site visits. Call us today to learn more. (510) 597-7900.

Thank you for working with us.  We are here to help your business succeed.

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The Importance of Properly Caring for Your Carpet

 

If you are anything like me, you probably spent a lot of time and money on your carpet. Researching the pile depth, softness, durability vs beauty, color options, etc. Properly maintaining and keeping your carpet clean increases its longevity and keeps up its appearance. Thus, protecting your investment. It’s important to ensure that your carpet is professionally cleaned at least once or twice every year, depending on foot traffic. Regular vacuuming will also keep it in good condition.

 

Dust, allergens, dirt and other particles accumulate in carpet and can stick within the fibers. When these particles get embedded within the individual fibers, they can split and deteriorate the fibers. Removal of these particles will increase the lifespan of your carpet. An expert carpet cleaner uses some cleaning techniques that involve hot-water extraction for stuff that gets deeper into the carpet.

Vacuuming more regularly is much easier than hiring a professional carpet cleaning service, although it only removes dirt on the surface. A professional carpet cleaner will remove all debris embedded within the fibers of your carpet and treat it appropriately to remove bad odors and prevent the serious risks involved by such particles like asthma or allergies.

An expert carpet cleaner will easily remove all tough stains in the carpet. The cleaner will use hot water extraction technique to remove stains from coffee spills, dirt, mud, ink, red wine and pet stains among others.

 

Preventing dirt and grime from getting on the carpet in the first place is a great way to start keeping it clean.
The following helpful hints can stop dirt in its tracks:

  • Use mats- Outdoor and indoor mats or runners can reduce the amount of dirt that enters the house.
  • The most-used entrances, doorways, traffic lanes and in front of chairs will collect dirt faster than other areas. Clean these areas as they begin to show dirt. This will stop dirt from spreading and will extend the time between professional cleaning.
  • In addition to frequent vacuuming, it’s important to clean your carpet on a regular basis. Cleaning systems will remove the oily, sticky dirt that vacuums can’t take out and will help keep your carpet looking great over time. Cleaning systems target the soils that result from cooking vapors, air pollution, and tracked-in dirt. The particles of oily dirt deposited on carpet fibers can cause gradual but significant dulling of colors. The color isn’t lost but is hidden under the film. If this type of dirt can accumulate, it begins to attract and hold the dry dirt.
  • Get on a cleaning schedule. If the carpet is cleaned before it becomes too unsightly, the cleaning chore will be easier and more successful. Choosing the proper cleaning system is important. Some systems may leave residues which accelerate re-soiling and defeats the whole purpose of cleaning.

 

Spot Removal Steps:

Act Quickly!
Most carpet available today has been treated with a stain-resist treatment, so many spills can be removed if immediate action is taken. The longer the delay, the higher the probability of a spill becoming a permanent stain. Remember, staining is influenced by many factors, and no carpet is completely stain proof

-Blot liquids with a dry, white, absorbent cloth or white paper towels (no printing).
Do not scrub the area! Scrubbing may cause pile distortion in the affected area. Continue to use a dry cloth or paper towels until the area is completely dry.

-For semi-solids, gently scrape up with a rounded spoon. Solids should be broken up and vacuumed until completely removed. If the spot can be identified, locate the substance in the spot removal computer and follow the directions carefully.

-Pretest any spot removal agent in an inconspicuous area to be certain the solution will not damage the fiber or the dye. After applying several drops to the testing area, hold a white cloth on the wet area for 10 seconds. Examine the carpet and cloth for color transfer, color change, or damage to the carpet. If a change occurs, another cleaning solution should be selected.

-Work from the edges of the spill to the center to prevent the stain from spreading. Do Not Scrub! Blot in order to absorb as much as possible and repeat if necessary.

-Continue using the first cleaning solution as long as there is a transfer of the spill to the cloth. It is not necessary to use all the cleaning solutions if the first chemical removes the spill.

Be Patient!
Complete removal of the spill may require repeating the same step several times. After the spill has been completely removed, rinse the affected area thoroughly with cold water, and blot with a dry cloth until all the solution has been removed. Some cleaning solutions will cause rapid soiling if the solution is not completely removed. Apply a one-half inch layer of white paper towels to the affected area, and weigh down with a flat, heavy object. Continue to change paper towels as needed.

A dry, absorbent, cleaning compound may be used as a substitute to accelerate drying time.

Treatment of the affected area should begin immediately upon discovery. The more time that elapses before treatment, the more difficult a stain will be to remove. For best results, use a carpet spot remover and cleaning kit.

 

Regular Care for Lasting Beauty

A regular maintenance program extends the life and the initial appearance of your carpet. Today’s carpet fibers area designed to hide dirt and reflect light and can resist soiling and stains. However, the lack of apparent dirt does not eliminate the necessity of regular cleaning.

You’ll need to vacuum your heavy traffic areas, such as hallways, stairs, and exterior entryways at least twice a week. Vacuum less heavily used areas weekly. For best results, use a vacuum cleaner with a beater bar or rotating brush, and with a strong enough airflow to penetrate the carpet backing. Most dry dirt has razor-like edges that abrade carpet fibers, causing light to reflect differently and give the carpet a dull appearance. Dirt can damage the fibers permanently if allowed to remain in the pile.

 

No matter how often you vacuum, your carpet will still need heavy-duty cleaning from time to time. Professional cleaning is usually required to maintain your warranty.

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Garbage vs. Recycle vs. Compost

One of the most challenging aspects of our job, is keeping up the ever-changing Recology mandates. Here in the Bay Area we have some strict rules about what goes into the Land Fill > Compost > Recycling. You can use black trash liners in the landfill bins, but not the recycling, those have to be clear. Compost liners are costly but do help to cut down on the smell and you don’t have to wash the can as often and the list goes on.

Most people don’t think about what goes into which cans until their garbage company sends them a letter and usually (if it’s a repeat offense) a huge fine.

It is important to train your employees to be careful with disposing of their trash. Most buildings have a pretty simple set-up. This is the standard at our office:

For the restrooms – paper towels only in the bins. They are not to be lined and they are to be put into the compost / green bin.

Recycle / Blue Bins – no can liners.  Commonly accepted recyclables include: paper, plastic, cardboard, and aluminum. You do not need individual bins for recycle. The items below can all be put into the same cans.

Land Fill: Black Bins –clear or black garbage liners. This is everything that is not recycling or compost. But be sure not to throw away batteries or light bulbs! Those must be handled specially.

The info below is a handy guide that you may want to hang in the kitchen or wherever you have multiple bins.

  1. Paper:
    Paper (staples okay)
    Newspaper
    Envelopes
    Junk mail
    Phone books
    Brochures Magazines 
  1. Cardboard:
    Ream wrappers
    File folders
    Poster board
    Frozen food boxes
    Cardboard boxes
    Milk cartons
  2. Plastic:
    Water bottles
    Take-out containers
    Soda bottles
    Bagged film plastics
  3. Aluminum:
    Aluminum beverage cans
    Food cans
    Scrap metal
    Some small appliances
  4. Glass:
    Bottles (clear, green & brown)
    Jars

Compost –The list is long and varied.

From the Kitchen:

  • All Food Waste
  • Egg shells (crushed)
  • Coffee grounds
  • Coffee filters
  • Tea bags (Make sure they are made of natural materials like hemp or cotton, and not rayon or other synthetics. If in doubt, just open it and compost the tea leaves alone.)
  • Loose leaf tea
  • Used paper napkins and paper towels
  • Unwaxed cardboard pizza boxes (ripped or cut into small pieces)
  • Paper bags (shredded)
  • The crumbs you sweep off the counters and floors
  • Crumbs from the bottom of snack food packaging
  • Paper towel rolls (shredded)
  • Cardboard boxes from cereal, pasta, etc. (Remove any plastic windows and shred)
  • Used paper plates (if they don’t have a waxy coating)
  • Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which are toxic to plants)
  • Unpopped, burnt popcorn kernels
  • Peanut shells
  • Cardboard egg cartons (cut them up)
  • Wine corks (chop up so they decompose faster)
  • Toothpicks
  • Bamboo skewers (break them into pieces)
  • Paper cupcake or muffin cups

From the Bathroom

  • Used facial tissues
  • Toilet paper rolls (shredded)
  • Old loofahs (cut up, natural only)
  • Cardboard tampon applicators

From the Office

  • plain paper documents (shredded)
  • Envelopes (shredded, minus the plastic window)
  • Pencil shavings
  • Sticky notes (shredded)
  • Old business cards (shredded, if they’re not glossy)

One of the things you want to make sure to do is shred those papers. Composting can take a while, you don’t want a full sheet with account information on it, just sitting around in a pile of dirt. Shredding the docs allows them to break down even faster while providing the necessary security.

 

If you have questions or want to host a training session for your employees, most county waste management programs offer onsite training.

Here are some links to Bay Area Waste Management Companies:
https://www.recology.com/

https://www.republicservices.com/

https://ssfscavenger.com/ 

https://www.wm.com/us

A common misconception in our business is that your janitor will sort through your trash for you… NOT SO. We will make sure the liners are the correct type and will dispose of items into the proper totters. The most important thing you can do is train your employees. Make sure everyone is on the same page and helping to save the earth and the company some $$.

 

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Healthy & Happy Employees Need a Clean Work-Space

Employee morale sagging? They may love their job, but on those bad days, a bright and clean work-space can help lift their moods and keep them productive. Working in a clean, healthy environment can have a major impact on how people feel. (I know I love coming home after my housekeeper has visited. That clean smell that hits my nose when I walk in the door perks me right up.) In a dingy or cluttered work-space, frustrations can mount more quickly and bad days and problems seem to only get worse.

While your employees may be more concerned about pay raises, benefits and vacation time, one of the top issues affecting their overall performance is the state of the office environment. In fact, as study done by Harvard and Syracuse Universities ( https://phys.org/news/2017-05-air-quality-productivity.html )  shows that if you improve air quality at work, you’ll improve productivity too. It’s one of those things you don’t think about until it becomes a problem.

It goes beyond your employee’s moods, and can save your business money.

Going too long without a good cleaning can put the health of your employees at risk. A clean work-space improves air quality and reduces the spread of germs and bacteria. That cuts down on sick days and absenteeism. When your workers are healthy, they’ll have more energy and feel more creative, resulting in improved performance and a boost in business. Who doesn’t want that!?!?

A clean work-space benefits your customer service as well. A well-maintained and clean work-space will make your customers feel confident entering your business and working with you. A bright, clean, airy space is like putting out a welcome mat for your clientele and it demonstrates your professionalism and attention to detail.

The bottom line is that you want people, customers and employees, to feel good about your work. If you don’t have the internal resources to clean and maintain your work environment as well as you’d like, a commercial cleaning company such as Townsend & Styer Maintenance can help you put together a regular and affordable cleaning and maintenance schedule. Townsend & Styer Maintenance provides cleaning services for commercial, industrial and institutional work-spaces. Give us a call 510-597-7900 today for a free estimate.

 

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6 Surfaces Swarming With Germs

  1. Money

It’s cringe-inducing to wonder who last handled your cash or coins. A sick drugstore customer buying medicine? A child sticking the quarter in his mouth? A person traveling straight from the bathroom stall to the vending machine without stopping at the sink? New York University researchers found in 2014 that a dollar bill carries about 3,000 different types of bacteria, so wash your hands after shopping.

  1. Towels

Washing your hands is a great step in preventing illness, but where you dry them must be clean, too. University of Arizona researchers found in 2014 that 89% of kitchen towels contained coliform bacteria, and 25% contained E. coli, which gets introduced to kitchens by uncooked meat. After each use, machine wash towels using warm water for colored towels and hot water for white ones.

  1. Door Knobs/Door Handles

Doors get us from point A to point B, and they open our microwaves, ovens and refrigerators. But in 2014, University of Arizona researchers found that one germ-infested doorknob could spread a virus to 40-60% of a workplace staff within two to four hours. Microbiology professor Charles Gerba said people can stop the spread anywhere with a simple item: Disinfecting wipes. In the studies, the wipes alone reduced occurrences of the virus by 80%.

  1. Electronic Devices

Phones, tablets, TV remotes and gaming controllers all spend hours in our hands, and they’re germy. We pass around TV remotes and video game controllers while stuffing our mouths with food. And our cell phones, which follow us everywhere, contain 18 times more than the amount of germs you’ll find on a toilet handle. Debate continues on how to clean a phone or tablet without harming the screen, but the New York Times offers ideas you may try at your own risk.

  1. Light Switches

We finish touching our light switches after a quick flick, but nonetheless, they’re communal locations that everyone lays hands upon. Studies show light switches can have as many germs as a trash can. Run a disinfecting wipe across the light switch to eliminate the germs living there.

  1. Washing Machines

We’ll save you the stomach-turning specifics, but just know that underwear introduces bacteria to the washing machine. And when wet laundry sits in there after the cycle, the bacteria invades, according to ABC News. Use hot water (140-150°F) or bleach to wash your clothing when possible. When it’s not laundry day, run a wash cycle with bleach and no clothing to rinse your washer. Always wash your hands after handling laundry.

 

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Allowing Dogs in the Office

Do you allow dogs in the office?

It is becoming a more popular practice. Personally, my Ava Louise comes to work with me every day. She takes her job seriously. That patch of sunshine isn’t going to nap alone.  And everyone that walks in to the office gets stopped for kisses and belly rubs.

Ruff day

There are pros and cons to allowing pets in the workplace.
*Helps reduce stress levels
*Encourages getting up and away from computer
*Encourages midday walks = more exercise = healthier employees
*Happy employees = productive employees (unless games of fetch get a little rowdy)
*Employees can work later because they don’t have to run home to the dog
*It is also financial benefit for the employees: It eliminates Pet Care Costs
Allowing owners to bring their pets to work also provides a significant financial benefit—it eliminates the additional costs of doggie daycare or dog walking services for employees who work long hours or commute a significant distance from their home each day. Daycare or walking services can be quite costly, so this can be an excellent perk for a pet owning employee.
*Customers and Clients like being greeted by a wagging tail
*Promotes Positive Interactions
A pet-friendly workplace tends to increase employee satisfaction and to improve morale.  Pets are also a point of common interest that can help to promote an atmosphere of teamwork and communication.

Pitfalls:
Allergies and messes – 

Dog-friendly workplaces can cause a serious medical problem for employees who are allergic. For most, the allergy resides in the pet’s dander, which is secreted through the dog’s saliva, skin, and hair. Dander can travel through the air, so an allergic employee can be exposed even if he or she tries to maintain a distance from the pooch. Vacuuming regularly, which is often offered as a solution, may help some, but it is probably not a cure-all.

That’s where we come in.

Professional janitors have the tool to handle any dirt (or muddy paws) you throw at them. HEPA filters are your friend (see https://tsmaintenance.com/hepa-filters-often-change ).
If you allow pets in the office, then your cleaning team needs to be detail vacuuming on every visit. And that’s just for the dander… Accidents happen and spot cleaning doesn’t always get the job done. The dog will likely do his/her business on the floor at some point,
so have cleaning supplies (spray cleaner and paper towels) available. Then, call your janitorial company and give them a head’s up to bring the spot bot with them on their next visit. Mark the area with a note and give that dog a written warning from HR.

Obviously there are a lot of things to consider, when considering a dog-friendly workplace. Don’t let fear of dirt and hair be one of them; Hire a professional cleaning company, Good dog!

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Benefits Of A Back-Up Estimate

Here at T&S Maintenance, we often contact businesses that currently have janitorial services through another provider. Many times the companies that we contact are relatively happy with their current service. Believe it or not, it is still worthwhile for us to put together a free, no obligation estimate for our services. The reason we are willing to put together an estimate is that you never know what might happen to the current service. For Matt and I, putting together this free, no obligation estimate is of not an inconvenience to us. With our twenty years of experience, we have found that companies need to make unexpected changes for a variety of reasons. We’ve seen companies need to make changes due to family emergencies, moves, acquisition of new accounts, financial difficulties, etc.  If one of these unfortunate situations were to arise with your provider, you would have a detailed service and rate in your file. It is like having an insurance policy for janitorial services. If you would like to receive a free, no obligation estimate, please fill out the request for quote form and we will happily contact you.

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The low down on keeping your restrooms clean

Periodic Detail Restroom Cleaning

Your plan for maintaining clean restrooms should include periodic cleaning tasks that either take a little more time than daily cleaning or require the restroom to be closed for safety. These detail restroom cleaning tasks include but may not be limited to floor scrubbing, dispenser maintenance and high dusting. Detailed fixture cleaning is another essential task and steam cleaners are ideal for this task.

The reason it is a good idea to include these tasks in your overall restroom cleanliness plan is that they serve as preventive maintenance. By scheduling this periodic restroom ‘deep cleaning’ you reduce the chances of having to perform restorative cleaning, which requires more time and effort.

 When to Perform Periodic Detail Restroom Cleaning

Because many of the tasks involved with periodic deep cleaning of restrooms take more time than typical regular cleaning, it is a good idea to schedule this work when the restroom is at a low traffic time or when it is possible to close down the restroom all together. Wet floors and equipment can also be potentially dangerous for restroom users. Plus having the restroom closed allows the cleaning staff to work uninterrupted.

 What Should Be Included?

Periodic detail restroom cleaning should include anything that cannot be done during regular daily cleaning. There are always those tasks that simply are not possible to accomplish or do not need to be done every day. A perfect example is floor scrubbing with a compact auto-scrubber. Every type of floor requires some type of scrubbing from time to time. It is not usually practical to scrub a restroom throughout the day and for most facilities floor scrubbing on a daily basis would be overkill. But weekly or bi-weekly makes sense.

Every facility is different and has different traffic patterns. The times and the tasks that are needed will very. The important thing is that periodic detail restroom cleaning is included in your overall restroom cleanliness plan.

When it comes to deep cleaning restrooms, there are several tools that can make the process easier. Before mechanical scrubbers and high pressure cleaning systems, we were pretty much relegated to using a hand brush to deep clean floors and baseboards.

While the elbow grease methods still works, the use of restroom cleaning equipment makes the deep cleaning process much faster, safer and produces much better results.

Restroom Floor Scrubbing

Rotary floor scrubbers are very versatile when it comes to cleaning floors. In a restroom setting, they are able to quickly deep scrub tile and grout, loosening built up soils to be easily removed. For this application, it is most effective to use a brush rather than a pad. The longer bristles are better able to get down in the uneven surface of the floor. When partnered with the correct cleaning chemicals, a rotary scrubber can make a big difference.

Square floor scrubbers are also a good option. These machines have an oscillating head rather than a rotating head. Providing more of a vibrating motion, square floor scrubbers make it easier to control when scrubbing in tight areas like restroom stalls. Also, because they are square, corners are much easier to get into. Turf pads are an excellent choice for grouted areas when using a square machine.

Edger scrubbers can be a big help as well. They look similar to a line trimmer, but have a small brush on the base. This makes it possible to get behind toilets and into other tight areas that a rotary or square scrubber cannot.

 Restroom Cleaning Equipment for Floors and Beyond

Another type of restroom cleaning equipment are touch free systems. These employ high pressured water, that blast away dirt and soils. Using a controlled stream of water, you are able to deliver cleaning chemicals directly to the areas you need to clean, both to the floor and to the fixtures in the restroom. Areas like stall walls, toilets, urinals and sinks can be quickly and easily cleaned without the user having to touch them. These systems use detailed procedures to do both deep cleaning as well as daily maintenance.

Steam cleaners are another method of deep cleaning. Using steam rather than water, difficult soils can be removed without chemicals. Although this is a slower method, it can produce great results on hard to clean areas.

Using mechanical equipment to deep clean restrooms provides a cleaner facility, extended maintenance cycles and happier, safer employees.

Every trade has its tools and restroom cleaning is no different. Having the proper tools will always make tasks easier, faster and provide better results. So when it comes to above the floor restroom cleaning, such as dusting, wiping and scrubbing, it just makes sense to have the correct cleaning tools for the job.

 Dusting Tools

I have always thought of dust as job security for cleaning. No matter where you clean, there will always be dust settling on surfaces. Restrooms have lots of places that dust can be found. Partition walls, window ledges, counter tops and fixtures are just a few of the examples. Controlling dust during cleaning is the key to overcoming it challenges. The old traditional feather duster is only a quick fix that usually just makes more work for later. The better option is to use a damp microfiber cloth or pad to grab and hold the dust. It is important to not use an overly oily chemical for dusting. The residue left behind by the oil can for a dust trapping film on the surface. This will build up over time and be difficult to remove. The film can also discolor surfaces.

If you are more of a traditionalist, there are microfiber dusters that look similar to feather dusters that work very well. But keep in mind, that they do not catch all of the dust. Much of it will still be stirred up into the air.

The best option for removing and controlling dust is to use a vacuum. Back pack vacuums make it very easy to remove dust from surfaces at all heights. By containing the dust in the vacuum bag, it will not settle back on to surfaces you will need to clean again later.

 Wiping Tools

There is only one type of material that is guaranteed to work for wiping surfaces in a restroom and that is microfiber. Because it grabs and holds dirt and soils so well, microfiber cloths, pads and mops make cleaning much more effective. Microfiber is made of synthetic fibers that can also help to prevent the spread of bacteria.

When setting up your microfiber cleaning processes, it is also a good idea to use a color coding system to reduce cross contamination. Designating specific colors for specific tasks and surfaces help with staff training and provide a safer working environment.

 Scrubbing Tools

Brush technology has come a long way in the last few decades. Synthetic materials provide a cleaner, more effective means of getting those hard to clean areas without the spread of bacteria. Because they use plastic rather than natural materials, soils can be rinsed away easily and bacteria cannot thrive on them.

Scrubbing pads are also a great option along with the newer technology Magic Erasers. These provide optimal scrubbing power without damaging surfaces.

Above the floor restroom cleaning is an important factor in the overall cleanliness of a restroom. Having the best tools for the job will make all of these tasks easier, safer and more effective.