5 Keys to Proactive Locker Room Cleaning

locker room cleaningSmart cleaning isn’t just about removing soils; it’s about controlling the sources. Entryway mats are a great example. When it comes to locker rooms, a proactive approach controls and contains, so spaces across the school don’t suffer by association. Here’s a few proactive locker room cleaning tips:

From Clean to Dirty
It’s tempting to tackle the big stuff first, but locker rooms should be cleaned in a specific order, starting with the least dirty to the most. Organize the order of cleaning to ensure progression never crosses over previously cleaned areas. And just like home, clean high before low — an efficient process never re-soils cleaned surfaces. Since every locker room is different, special attention must be taken to adjust best practice to the shape of the space.

Flex on Those Microbes
Quality locker room cleaning for schools should use EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectants to clean all touch points and floors. Look for EPA-registered disinfectants that leave less residue while still providing the superior cleaning you need for grouted tile and other surfaces. Consider electrostatic disinfection to drastically improve sanitation of crevices and other locker room locations that are hard to reach with other tools.

Address Those Smells
Protein-based soils can build up around floor drains, or on other surfaces, contributing to that infamous mashup of smells locker rooms are famous for. Supplement your cleaning cycle with periodic application of enzyme-based chemicals to break down those proteins before they can build up persistent odors.

Test Your Water
If the water used in your locker room is “hard water” that will make some cleaning solutions inappropriate. Higher concentrations of calcium, iron and magnesium can require different solutions to achieve deep cleaning efficiently.

Keep Up with Your Students
Locker rooms are high-traffic areas. If cleaning doesn’t rise to the frequency of use, that unfairly impacts students using the locker room late in the cleaning cycle. It also increases the amount of soil and particle spread from the locker room to other school spaces. Efficiency in locker room cleaning can instead come from careful attention to the schedule and rigorous training.

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management September 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Gordon Buntrock is the national director of service delivery for education services at ABM. Prior to joining ABM, he was a director of operations for environmental services at Aramark Healthcare. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • KI Wall Demonstrates New Solutions at NeoCon 2025

    KI Wall attended NeoCon 2025 in Chicago, Ill., last month to showcase its new architectural wall systems and collaborations, according to a news release. Its customizable, design-forward wall solutions are intended to support creativity in work, education, and healthcare environments.

  • Midland ISD Starts Construction on Two New High Schools

    The Midland Independent School District recently announced that it will break ground on two new high schools in Midland, Texas, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Pfluger Architects, Lee Lewis Construction, and Satterfield & Pontikes to create a total of over 1.5 million square feet for 8,400 students in grades 9–12.

  • Image courtesy of MiEN Company

    6 Ways to Pull Off a Major District Construction Project

    Designing and building a large-scale project on a K–12 campus is a monumental undertaking that requires the right blend of ideas, funding, design and execution to get it right. The process also relies on multiple partners, each of which has to handle its respective aspect of the project while also keeping the district’s broader mission and goals in mind.

  • Texas K–12 District to Build New Elementary, High Schools

    The High Island Independent School District on the Bolivar Peninsula in Southeast Texas recently announced that construction on a new elementary school and a new high school will begin in January 2026, according to local news. Funding will come from a $27.9-million bond passed in May 2025.

Digital Edition