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

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • 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.

  • textured paper collage shows a school building on fire as a fire truck sprays water into the flames

    Why a Fire Loss Is More than Flames

    We've all seen what fire damage can do to a property, but the types of damage building owners often encounter after a fire loss can exceed expectations. Having full awareness of the different forms of damage properties can sustain helps owners respond faster, reduce continued damage, and get back on the road to recovery in short order.

Digital Edition