Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Tackle High Dusting With a Vacuum

  • By Marvin Mauer
  • 07/01/19

People tend to notice the cleanliness of surfaces immediately around them like desks, floors, and shelves. They don’t necessarily look up and consider the cleanliness of light fixtures, windowsills, and overhead air ducts. Janitorial professionals know that dust in high places can end up falling onto surfaces where people work, play, and eat. This particulate may become airborne and is easily inhaled into the lungs.

That’s where high dusting tools really change the conversation. Adding extension wands to a vacuum can add 10 to 12 feet of reach, bringing many surfaces within reach. Unless completely ignored, the traditional approach to cleaning high places is either with a ladder and some sort of dusting tool or the utilization of a scissor lift. High dusting tools allow janitors to vacuum these areas with two feet safely on the ground.

Putting someone on a ladder to clean is a potential health and safety hazard. It is the employer’s responsibility to take every reasonable precaution and train janitors on the proper use of a ladder to ensure they are used correctly, thus reducing the risk of serious injury from a fall. With the right high dusting tools added to a vacuum, this risk is mitigated as anyone can clean with both feet safely on the ground.

There’s so much more to vacuum than just floors—be they carpeted or hard surface. By pairing high dusting tools with a vacuum, it can be safer, easier, and more convenient to clean just about anywhere.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management July/August 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Marvin Mauer is the Canadian country manager for ProTeam® (proteam.emerson.com/en-us).

Featured

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • El Paso District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, recently announced that construction has begun on a 119,000-square-foot elementary school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Pfluger Architects, Carl Daniel Architects, and LDCM Solutions on the new Davenport Elementary School, which has an expected completion date of 2027.

  • LAN, Inc. Opens Office in College Station, Texas

    Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) recently announced the opening of a new office in College Station, Texas, to support its regional client base, according to a news release. The organization provides engineering, design, and program management services for water, wastewater, transportation, stormwater, and education clients in the Brazos Valley.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.