Keep Schools Clean: For Children, For Teachers, For the Future

Importance of keeping schools clean

I hear a lot of stories from parents, school staff, and cleaning workers about the state of schools.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing now, many parents have elected to homeschool their children, not because they don’t see value in public school, but because they aren’t confident that the school can keep their children safe from germs. In fact, one survey showed 46% of parents don’t feel confident that K-12 schools are being adequately cleaned and prepared for students¹. And unfortunately they may be right: many of our public schools face issues like mold, lead pipes, and insufficient air filtration in addition to less than desirable cleaning and disinfecting.

On average, children catch between 3-4 colds every year, and this leads to 189 million missed school days per year². Additionally, dust and other matter contribute to allergies and asthma which can make it hard to focus and perform well in school³.

Parents, teachers, and school staff alike all agree that the education of children is so important. But are we cleaning schools in a way that will help?

Children are not little adults: We should clean their spaces differently.

It is tempting to apply the same cleaning and disinfecting practices to schools that we apply to office buildings. However, there are some real differences in how children behave and function that suggests schools should be cleaned more frequently and with more focus on the specific needs of children, which should include using more eco-conscious products.

1. Children’s bodies are less developed and more sensitive. Children are more susceptible to germs that can cause illnesses. In fact, children are about 6 times more likely than adults to get infected with multiple viruses at the same time⁴.
2. Children’s activities and behaviors are different. During cold and flu season we tell adults to keep surfaces clean and to wash hands frequently. Handwashing is helpful for children too, but they are not as good at doing it right. 4 in 5 students don’t use soap after going to the bathroom, and that doesn’t even account for the students who don’t wash their hands at all⁵. Their hands get dirtier, and they touch more surfaces than adults do: over 300 surfaces in as little as three minutes⁶. Children are also much more likely than adults to put their hands, toys, and other objects in their mouths⁷. With these habits, it is easy to see why children get sick so much more frequently than adults.
3. Schools are more densely occupied than office spaces. Offices are recommended to have between 150–250 square feet of office space per employee⁸. In schools, often that figure is much lower — in many places as low as 73 square feet per student⁹. And given the different behaviors children exhibit (poor hand hygiene for example) compared to adults, it is easy to see why teachers are exposed to 7 times more bacteria per square inch than a doctor’s office⁶.

All these factors together highlight that schools should be cleaned more frequently during the day to remove germs and prevent their spread. Since optimal cleaning and disinfecting for schools includes cleaning during the day, choosing eco-conscious products, like disinfectants that are EPA Design for the Environment certified, can provide peace of mind while killing germs.

Not sure where to start?

We know that cleaning staff are stretched and teachers have plenty to worry about besides how gross surfaces are.

To learn about a new product that can help teachers keep school surfaces clean, join our live event on September 10th!