Tips for Custodial Workers and Employers

Below are a few guidelines from the CDC when cleaning and disinfecting facilities. For more information, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.

When Cleaning

  • Wear disposable gloves and gowns for all cleaning, including handling trash.
    • All personal protective equipment (PPE) should be removed carefully to avoid contamination of the wearer and the surrounding area.
  • Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.
    • Always wash hands immediately after removing gloves.
    • In addition, wash hands immediately after blowing one’s nose, coughing, or sneezing; after using the restroom; and before eating or preparing food.

Additional Considerations for Employers

  • Educate custodial workers to recognize the symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Provide instructions on what to do if workers develop symptoms within 14 days after their last possible exposure to the virus.
  • Develop policies for worker protection and provide training to all cleaning staff on site prior to providing cleaning tasks. Training should include when to use PPE, what PPE is necessary, how to properly put on, use and take off PPE, and how to properly dispose of PPE.

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2020 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.

  • RIT Saunders College of Business – Lowenthal Hall Addition

    RIT Saunders College of Business – Lowenthal Hall Addition

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. RIT Saunders College of Business's Lowenthal Hall Addition has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.