Flu season is hard on everyone, but it is especially hard on teachers, students, and faculty in schools. While many staff members get a flu shot each year to help prevent infection and keep the virus from spreading, it isn’t a fully effective solution to keeping the flu at bay. Consistent handwashing and sanitizer use help, but not everyone follows these important flu prevention protocols. Sick students make for sick teachers, resulting in hundreds of hours of lost instructional time and teaching time throughout the school year.

Fortunately, one of the most effective precautions a school can take against the flu is also among the simplest: hire professional cleaning staff to complete a thorough cleaning of the entire facility. Keeping professional cleaners on hand to disinfect and clean all flu season long is the best way to prevent outbreaks and control the spread of flu each year. Not convinced? Here are all the ways a cleaning service can help reduce and contain flu outbreaks.

Professional Cleaning Companies are experts at identifying what areas of the school present the greatest risk of infection. Door handles, sinks, toilets and classroom doors are going to be high priority areas for daily cleaning and disinfection. Experts can also help you determine lesser-known areas that viruses and illness can spread, too. Coffee makers in break rooms, vending machines, and cafeteria tables also need to be cleaned and disinfected daily to prevent the flu from spreading. Administrators and staff members can certainly take their own precautions, but having a dedicated cleaning staff ensures that high-risk areas are cleaned and disinfected daily.

Cleaning to prevent a flu outbreak requires a consistent schedule. Cleaning only a few days a week allows the infection to spread, and the longer contaminated areas go without a thorough cleaning and disinfection, the greater the risk that someone will become infected with the flu virus. Weekdays during peak flu season should involve periodic disinfection of high touch areas, and weekends should be used as an opportunity to deep clean and disinfect low traffic areas.

Using disinfectant to clean surfaces and furniture that come in contact with staff and students daily is critical to preventing flu outbreaks. It can be a quick spray and wipe, or a full floor cleaning. Wherever people pass through most and all the surfaces they touch need regular disinfection. Without disinfecting these high touch areas daily, it is difficult to prevent or contain a flu outbreak once it starts. Freeing up your staff members to continue their duties and hiring cleaning staff is the best way to make sure every high touch area is disinfected several times per day.

Proper Disinfection and Disinfecting Agents

Not all commercial disinfectants are created equal. A professional cleaning service holds certifications and employs staff with extensive training in selecting the right disinfectant and cleaning agents to prevent flu outbreaks and contain the virus in the event of an outbreak. Narrow spectrum disinfectants are only effective against specific viral strains and certain types of bacteria.

To keep your facility as flu-free as possible, you will need the right cleaning solutions and disinfectants. You can have your faculty and staff clean all surfaces and areas in your school days but if you don’t have the right cleaning products your efforts will be a waste of time and money. It’s best to hire an expert to clean and disinfect everything thoroughly using the right products the first time.

How you clean and disinfect high touch and high traffic areas around your school matters. Disinfectant and cleaning solution won’t do much good if your staff aren’t properly cleaning high touch areas. Professional cleaning staff knows how to ensure that every surface is spotless and disinfected properly before moving on to the next area.

They also know which products to use for specific cleaning tasks, ensuring that they are cleaning effectively every time they clean and disinfect. While good intentions and some cleaning spray may have some limited effectiveness if you want to make an impact at preventing or controlling the spread of the flu you need to know how to clean thoroughly and what cleaning products will be most effective. Hiring the pros makes a significant difference, and helps maintain high sanitary conditions all over campus.

If you want to prevent a flu outbreak at your school this year, or you want to make sure its spread is limited, hire a professional cleaning service.  Certified professional cleaners are going to be a wiser use of resources than your faculty and staff, and you don’t need to find a substitute to cover their classes or duties if they get sick. Don’t wait, tackle flu season head-on and make sure that your school is being kept clean and sanitary.

Give Gator Cleaning a call at 813-929-1122 to get a no-obligation quote for your school cleaning services!

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