School Gyms and Auditoriums: Cleaning To Keep Students Safe

It’s a no-brainer that school hallways, restrooms and lunchrooms have to be cleaned daily to keep germs at bay. However, when it comes to school gyms and auditoriums, cleaning is just as important to keep students healthy – maybe even more so.

 

Consider the number of students who pass through a school gymnasium every day. Or how many rest their hands on the armrests in a school auditorium. It takes only one child with a cold or virus to spread germs among their classmates.

 

There’s a big difference between cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting, and all of them are appropriate to use in school gymnasiums, auditoriums and other spaces. While traditional cleaning removes dirt you can see, such as debris on carpet, the same methods also can be used to sanitize surfaces by removing most pathogens from nonporous surfaces. Disinfection actually kills bacteria and viruses on surfaces.

 

Exercise Equipment

 

Just as adults going to a local fitness center are asked to wipe down exercise equipment after working out, students should be encouraged to clean off the gym equipment they use at school. Cleaning would remove the top layer of grime from equipment, but sanitization and disinfection are important to get rid of the germs from dirty hands and sweat.

 

For students who are too young to properly use and dispose of disinfectant wipes, that may mean a teacher or custodian is asked to apply disinfectant spray on athletic equipment or rubber mats between classes. Just be sure they know the importance of letting disinfectant air dry before the next student uses it; that ensures the disinfectant sits on the surface long enough to kill germs.

 

An easier, safer and more reliable solution for both fitness centers and school gymnasiums is to hire a commercial cleaning service to provide cleaning and disinfection services. Professional commercial cleaners are trained to properly sanitize and disinfect schools and workplaces. They are trained to follow all manufacturer and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Environmental Protection Agency guidelines to protect students, teachers, parents and themselves.

 

Auditorium Seating

 

Whether students are listening to a guest speaker or parents are watching a school play or chorus concert, finding a seat in the school auditorium can make you sick. Hundreds of little hands that insist on touching every seat they walk by most likely touched the armrest where a student or parent ends up sitting. And because auditoriums rarely if ever allow social distancing or fresh air, every cough that you hear behind you lingers over the audience like a pathogen-laden fog.

 

Because wiping down every armrest in an auditorium would be inefficient, a professional cleaning crew armed with electrostatic sprayers might be the best method to disinfect such a large space. Electrostatic disinfection is ideal for use in common areas like an auditorium, gymnasium or cafeteria, as well as personal spaces such as a desk or cubicle, and hard-to-reach corners and crevices in a school or other public building. Electrostatic sprayers are effective in fighting the spread of germs that cause flu, COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

 

To learn more about the cleaning services Office Pride offers in your area, please check out our franchise locations and call your nearest franchise location to request a free custom quote for all your cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting needs.