Your Complete School Cleaning Checklist

Whether they’re in elementary school, middle school, or high school, we all know kids can be messy. In a day, a classroom can go from being pristine to being absolutely trashed.
Keeping classrooms clean is an important but sometimes neglected priority for schools. With cleaner classrooms, students can focus better, the school earns a better reputation, and health outcomes for all involved improve.
The question is, what’s the best way to clean a school classroom? Better yet, is there a classroom cleaning checklist you can follow? Keep reading to find out.

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How to Deep Clean a School: The Value of Clean Classrooms

Clean classrooms and schools are incredibly beneficial and arguably necessary for better educational and health outcomes. These are just some of the benefits of maintaining clean classrooms in your school:

Focused children – Cleaner environments help children focus better, allowing them to learn more and succeed in their academic environments.
Higher attendance – Research suggests that attendance is higher in cleaner schools. Though cleanliness is only one factor in attendance, a dirty school environment can make disaffected kids even less engaged.
Greater productivity – People accomplish more in clean environments. Whether they’re taking a test or writing an essay, students get more done in less time in a clean location.
Cleaner air – Poor air quality is associated with a variety of negative health outcomes. Dusting and cleaning can improve air quality.
Reduced infections – Schools can harbor infectious diseases, but regular disinfecting can stop (or at least slow) the spread.
Happier parents – Parents want their kids to be in a healthy, clean environment.

Children are more likely to catch illnesses, and schools are the perfect place for infection to spread. In fact, it’s been estimated that when a child goes to school, he or she can expect to bring home six to eight different illnesses throughout the year, ranging from stomach bugs to respiratory ailments.

Improve Your School Cleaning Efforts

School Cleaning Checklist: The Classroom

Now let’s take a look at the school cleaning checklist that can guide you to cleaner, healthier, and more productive classrooms.
These classroom cleaning tasks should be done every day:

Pick up rubbish – One of your first tasks should be walking through the classroom and picking up any rubbish or debris you find. Crumpled balls of paper, empty water bottles, and dropped items should all be properly disposed of.
Take out the trash – It’s a good idea to take out the trash even if the trash bag isn’t full. This keeps your trash cans from overflowing, prevents the buildup of bad smells, and generally gives an impression of a well-maintained classroom.
Put materials away – If there are any studying or learning materials strewn about, put them away. Put blocks and toys in their proper location, books back on the shelf, and notebooks, pencils, and similar items on desks.
Disinfect high-touch surfaces – Take the time to disinfect high-touch surfaces that people come in contact with regularly. For example, you can wipe down door knobs, pencil sharpeners, and materials that are regularly handled.
Disinfect desks and chairs – It’s also a good idea to disinfect desks and chairs on a daily basis. This is especially important during periods of high infection, such as the winter.
Lightly dust – You can also take the time to lightly dust the area.
Sweep the floors – When you’re done with all these tasks, sweep the floor of the classroom to remove dirt, hair, and other debris.

These classroom cleaning tasks should be done every week:

Clean and disinfect equipment – Each week, you should clean and disinfect pieces of equipment that are commonly used in the classroom. For example, you can clean monitors and keyboards of any computers that are present.
Dust nooks and crannies – You can do a light dusting every day, but every week, you should spend time dusting every nook and cranny of the classroom. If you neglect this task, the dust can build up and circulate in the air.
Wipe down whiteboards/chalkboards – At the end of the week, wipe down whiteboards and chalkboards unless otherwise directed.
Organize academic materials – You can also take this time to organize academic materials and make sure they’re in the proper order.
Give the floors a deeper clean – At the end of the week, your floors deserve some extra attention. Give them a deeper clean in the summer.

These classroom cleaning tasks should be done every month:

Clean windows and treatments – Wash the windows and any curtains or blinds that are present.
Clean fans and vents – Fans and vents are typically in high or out of reach areas, so it’s fine to clean them only once a month.
Disinfect low touch surfaces – At the end of each month, disinfect everything, even surfaces that aren’t commonly touched.
Clean trash cans – On a monthly basis, you should also clean the trash cans to prevent bad smells from developing.

Cleaning Companies for Schools: Hiring a School Cleaning Service

Professional school cleaning services are ideal for school systems that want to maintain clean, healthy learning environments. If you’re in the market for a new school cleaning service provider in Little Rock, or to find out more about our capabilities, contact us today!