GENERAL CLEANLINESS & CLUTTER ISSUES
Many indoor air quality complaints arise from general cleanliness issues. Inadequate or ineffective housekeeping that fails to remove dust and other dirt is a major contributor to indoor pollution. Dust is known to be a carrier of various organisms, including dust mites, pollens, hair, skin cells, food crumbs, bacteria, and animal and insect allergens. Many of these items are also found on EPA’s list of asthma triggers commonly found in schools: dust mites, mold, animal allergens, cockroaches and other pests.
To improve indoor air quality and help maintain a healthier school environment, custodians must be provided with the best available cleaning technology and supplies. They also require periodic training in the correct procedures for using the cleaning products available to them. Budget cuts, staff reductions and lack of resources to buy better cleaning equipment lead to ineffective or inadequate cleaning and maintenance practices.
Two of the best ways of ensuring cleaner school environments are: 1) reducing the amount of dust, dirt and pollutants that enter the school; and 2) reducing the amount of dust that gets recirculated into the air by the cleaning equipment itself. The following equipment and practices are important in accomplishing those two objectives:
· Use entry mat systems (walk-off mats and grills) at building entrances. The most effective are multi-level scraper walk-off mats with rubber backing:
o inside of entryways (and outside where possible)
o span the entire entryway
o 15 - 20 feet long, where applicable
o rotated on an appropriate schedule for weather conditions
They are designed to remove dirt and other contaminants from shoes when people enter the building, stopping it from being spread throughout the building. Entry mat systems also reduce building maintenance costs and contribute to better IAQ. Grit tracked onto smooth-surface flooring can grind away the protective finish and water is a slipping hazard. Carpets can become loaded with pollutants and moisture, reducing the life of the carpet and potentially leading to air quality problems.
· HEPA vacuuming carpet or damp-mopping resilient floor coverings removes more dirt than conventional vacuuming, sweeping or dry mopping, Traditional vacuum bags allow dust to pass through the vacuum and back into the air.
· Dusting with a damp folded cloth keeps dust from being swept back into the air. Cloths should be changed often.
· Areas around heating, cooling and ventilation air returns and supply grills should be vacuumed regularly.
· Damp cloths are an easy and effective way to collect chalk dust.
Classroom clutter is a general cleanliness problem and a health concern. Clutter contributes to the accumulation of dust and gives pests, such as insects, cockroaches and rodents, a place to hide and breed. By reducing clutter, schools can help to keep allergens and dust at a minimum. This will improve the indoor air quality for all students and staff, especially those who have asthma.
When clutter is reduced, there is increased access to floor spaces, countertops, window sills and shelves. This makes it easier for custodial staff to sweep, mop, vacuum and dust and creates a healthier learning environment. De-cluttering the inside of cupboards and closets eliminates hiding places for pests and reduces allergens.
Summary Of CT LAWS Dealing With School Maintenance Issues:
(CT General Statutes Section Nos. 10-220 (a) and (d), 10-282 (19), 10-283 (b), 10-286 (a) (9) and ( c) (2), 10-291, 10-231 e and f )
For all schools:
Requires a Board of Education to:
- Ensure operation and maintenance of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in accordance with prevailing standards
- Adopt and implement an IAQ program that provides for ongoing maintenance and facility reviews necessary for the maintenance and improvement of the IAQ of its facilities
- Report every two years to the State Commissioner of Education on the condition of its facilities and on actions taken to implement its IAQ program
- Keep HVAC maintenance records for at least 5 years.
Allows for the establishment of an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Committee for each school to address issues affecting the health of school occupants. A school safety committee established pursuant to section 10-220f of the general statutes cannot be prohibited from addressing IAQ issues that affect the health of occupants of school facilities.
For newer schools (constructed, extended, renovated or replaced after January 1, 2003):
- Requires comprehensive inspections and evaluations by the local board of education, prior to January 1, 2008 and every five years thereafter, to detect environmental problems. To be reviewed are HVAC and plumbing systems, radon levels, potential for exposure to microbial contaminants and chemical compounds, degree of pest infestation and pesticide usage, degree of moisture incursion, building cleanliness, building structural elements, use of space, presence of and plans for removal of hazardous substances and provision of IAQ maintenance training for staff.
- Requires that these inspection reports be made public at a Board of Education meeting.
For schools being constructed, extended or replaced:
- Requires the State Department of Education to deny approval of a school building project if the building maintenance staff is not trained in plant operation, including HVAC systems and IAQ issues.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Question: Do you have any hints for reducing clutter?
Answer: If you haven’t used it in the last 2 years, toss it!
· Use plastic storage bins with tight-fitting lids. Do not use cardboard boxes. Cockroaches love to eat cardboard.
· Designate specific storage areas throughout the school.
· Boxes should be stored a minimum of 8 - 12 inches off the floor to allow for necessary access by brooms and mops. If storage boxes must be placed directly on floor, leave an empty space of about 12-16 inches between the boxes and the walls to allow for cleaning.
· Designate two days a school year as Clean Up Days. Bring in extra dumpsters and encourage staff and students to clean house.
Question: What general cleanliness problems have you found during a school walkthrough inspection?
Answer: Most of the housekeeping problems we found during our walkthroughs had to do with classrooms that were cluttered or arranged in ways that made custodial work difficult. We also found that many hard to reach places, like light fixtures, high vents and under heating units were rarely cleaned and dirty ductwork, filters and other HVAC components. Many classrooms had stuffed furniture, stuffed animals that were filled with dust and allergens.
One summer our custodians removed the covers from the heat registers and used air compressors to clean out the dust that had accumulated. So much dust came out that it set off the smoke detectors. The fire department even showed up to find out where all the “smoke” was coming from.
RELATED LINKS:
- Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics Web site: http://www.breatherville.org/ Lung Association Asthma & Children Fact Sheet American
American Lung Association Controlling Asthma Triggers: http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35622
- Centers for Disease Control Healthy Youth – Creating an Asthma-Friendly School:
EPA IAQ Maintenance and Housekeeping Programs:http://www.epa.gov/iaq/largebldgs/i-beam/text/maintenance_and_housekeeping.html
- EPA TfS IAQ Reference Guide Appendix E – Typical Indoor Air Pollutants:
- EPA Indoor Environmental Asthma Triggers:
- EPA “Dusty the Asthma Goldfish and His Asthma Triggers Funbook”:
- EPA Managing Asthma in the School Environment:
- EPA Design TfS Entry Mat Barriers:
http://epa.gov/iaq/schooldesign/controlling.html#Entry%20Mat%20Barriers
- Pest Press Issue on Clutter Control:
Pe s t Pr e s s C L U T T E R CONTROL
HOW do you de-clutter a school?
Kitchen staff
Do not use corrugated cardboard for long term storage. German cockroaches are actually brought inside our schools hiding in the corrugations. They actually feed on the glue starch that holds the boxes together.
Rotate out all corrugated cardboard if possible.
Keep pantry shelving free of needless debris. Emptied supply boxes should be broken down and recycled rapidly.
Clutter is also a problem around and in drains: debris blocking and clogging up drains can not only lead to maintenance issues, but drain flies love to breed in the scum that accumulates around the edges (and bleach won’t help!). Make sure all drains have covers, especially sink drains. There are heavy duty metal sink-drain baskets that can be dish washed.
Custodians
Though you are the sanitarians of your schools, in general you are not responsible for decluttering areas other than your own. Custodians can set a great precedent by maintaining well organized custodial closets.
Hang brooms and mops (head end up) on a wall rack; brooms & mops are pest havens as they contain food, moisture, and a protected area in which to feed & breed. Keep these items hung up
Get good shelving! Too often, custodians have no shelving or organizational features in their closets. However, this is a “pest vulnerable area” and without organization it can lead to a rapid decline toward bugs, dirt and filth. Shelves should be wire (not wood), with the bottom shelf a minimum of 6” off the ground to allow for cleaning under. Use the IPM/IAQ program you are part of as leverage for good quality shelving that will get your school on the right track.
Custodians: make sure your closets are not reservoirs for cans of illicit pesticide sprays, from classrooms or elsewhere.
It’s a fact that we may not want to hear, but clutter does not inspire, it creates chaos …And of course nice nesting habitat for mice which often follow. No true clutter connoisseur lives or works alone! A cluttered workspace, be it a classroom or kitchen, creates barriers to efficiency and an environment in which many (including students) may feel stressed with the informational and visual overload. Clutter also contributes to the accumulation of dust and provides harborage for insects, such as cockroaches. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, insect allergens (which often come from insect feces and dead insects) along with dust mites account for two out of the six most common indoor asthma triggers. In this way, clutter is more than a stress-inducer – it can also be a health concern. Asthma accounts for more than 14 million missed school days each year and is the leading cause of hospital visits among children. Approximately one out of every 13 school-aged kids has asthma, which means your school probably has at least one in each class. Keeping insect allergens and dust at a minimum will improve the indoor air quality for all students and staff, especially those who are asthmatic.
When your health and that of a child are tied to clutter issues, de-cluttering becomes more than a suggestion. It becomes a necessity.
De-cluttering has the immediate effect of eliminating pest harborage. When clutter is reduced, there is increased access to floor spaces, allowing for more thorough cleaning by custodial staff. The same is true for shelves and inside cupboards. When there are nooks and crannies – created by “stuff” – for pests to hide and breed among, there will be allergens and lots of bugs. Clutter control also helps improve overall school hygiene. It’s easier for custodial staff to sweep, mop, and dust when things are generally organized. Minimizing clutter also helps teachers stay organized. It’s much easier to keep your room tidy when your cupboards and bookshelves are not overflowing with stuff!Remember:
Clutter control reduces pest harborage, improves sanitation, and ultimately improves the quality of indoor air that staff and students breathe each day.
Information sources:
1. Arizona Asthma Coalition. Website: www.azasthma.org
2. Beyond Pesticides. School Pesticide Monitor. March/April 2004.
3. Salam, Muhammad Towhid, Yu-Fen Li, Bryan Langholz, and Frank Davis
Gilliland. May 2004. Early Life Environmental Risk Factors for Asthma:
findings from the Children’s Health Study. Environmental Health
Perspectives. 112: 760-765.
4. USEPA Indoor Air – IAQ Tools for Schools. Website:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/index.html
Few bugs are bad! More than 95% of all insect species are beneficial to humans
TeachersAs the educators in your school, you have a great opportunity to set an example for students and staff. Get the kids to help out with the following suggestions, too!
Art supplies – Cockroaches dine on glue, and crickets, termites, booklice and silverfish (among others) will readily consume paper. One guess as to what they do with macaroni noodles and rice! Keep glue containers clean and capped. Store art supplies in plastic pest-proof containers, such as Tupperware or Rubbermaid, with tight-fitting lids.
Storage closets – have you ever seen a well organized teacher’s closet? We have and generally they belong to the best of the best teachers we know. We appreciate that it’s tough for teachers to create projects and educate on a budget; of course you want to keep all that stuff! But ask yourself one question: have you used it in the last 2 years? If the answer is no, then toss (or recycle) it. This goes for the rest of your classroom, too. No cheating by stuffing storage bins full of things you plan to get to “one day”. Benefit from the extra space and let the clutter go.
For everything that’s left, organize it and store it in plastic tubs with tight-fitting lids. No boxes – you’re importing cockroaches AND feeding them when you use corrugated cardboard!
End-of-week 15 minute desk clean off. Think “file not pile”. Documents go in one of 3 places: the file cabinet, recycle bin, or trash. Have students do this with their desks as well! Not all clutter is trash; it’s up to each of us to decide what is worth keeping and store it properly. Maintaining an uncluttered and organized classroom sets the tone for an organized day. Reducing classroom clutter helps custodial staff do their job more effectively, too!
Lost & found
Principals - make sure there is a designated person responsible for maintaining this area. Pest inspections almost always reveal a neglected lost & found area, with clothes lying on the floor in heaps. This is wonderful pest harborage, and you can expect to find cockroaches, mice, ants and crickets.For more information on the IPM in Schools
Contact Dawn Gouge or Jennifer Snyder
520-568-2273, dhgouge@ag.arizona.edu
Reducing Pest Problems in Schools by Reducing Clutter
Pests and Clutter
Remember: In School or daycare center IPM programs it is the responsibility of everyone to work
together to reduce both pests and pesticide threats to our students (and to ourselves).
Adapted from: Corrigan, R.M. 2001 Bugs and Clutterbugs: Reducing Pest Problems in Schools by Reducing
Clutter. Pest Control Magazine. 2001. Robert M. Corrigan, Ph.D, is an Urban IPM Specialist with RMC Pest
Management Consulting, Richmond, IN.
posters, books, and a myriad of items must be utilized by teachers to create effective learning.
Effective use of multiple materials for learning is to be applauded, not discouraged. However, if
these materials are not managed carefully on a daily basis, and are allowed to accumulate over time
within classrooms and storage areas, a condition of clutter will result which can create pest issues.
Stored materials that are left undisturbed for long periods of time are of particular concern.
Clutter and pest problems go hand in hand. Consider the following consequences of clutter:
Pests gravitate towards cluttered areas because clutter enables pests to hide and reproduce
undisturbed from predators and people.
Some cockroaches, ants, and silverfish prefer the various types of crevices layered clutter (e.g.,
stacks of paper) provide.
Clutter can be dangerous. The brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) prefers to hide among
layered papers and within forgotten boxes of cluttered corners, and similar areas. Brown recluse
spiders and other pests have bitten children and teachers reaching into clutter piles to retrieve papers
or other items.
Rodents also take advantage of clutter. It is not uncommon for 2-3 families of mice (15-20
mice) to share the base of one cardboard box in a classroom's cluttered closet
Pest control efforts are impossible in cluttered areas. Should mice, spiders, cockroaches, etc.,
be embedded among boxes, paper piles, and junk, there is very little a pest management professional
can do to eliminate the pests. There are no magic sprays, bug bombs, or mouse baits that will
penetrate cluttered closets or rooms and eliminate hiding pests.
Custodial cleaning efforts are diluted or impossible in cluttered classrooms.
Clutter Management Recommendations
1. Reducing clutter makes you feel good
Reducing clutter has psychological benefits. Facing clutter each time you enter a classroom,
an office, look upon a cluttered desktop, or open a cluttered closet can be psychologically
burdensome. Clutter presents feelings of being overwhelmed by work before you even start
to work. Facing an organized area on the other hand helps to promote quick work starts, and
facilitates efficient use of work time. And once an area is organized, it is easier to keep it
this way.
2. Reduce clutter in bite-size pieces
Sometimes, the clutter is so overwhelming, we realize it will take hours and hours of work to
organize, and thus we procrastinate starting. We tend to think in terms of "when things slow down,
I'll clean up this mess". But in these busy times, "cleanup days" have become rare events indeed. It is
far more realistic to allocate 30 minutes 3-4 days each week, and reduce the clutter in bits and
pieces. After a just a week or two, cluttered areas will amazingly look organized again.
3. Utilize modern storage boxes
For items that must remain in storage in the classroom or office, modern plastic see-thru boxes exist
in nearly every size, shape and color for storage needs. Utilize such boxes to eliminate clutter.
Questionable and long term items can be stored in inexpensive banker's boxes in off-site storage
rooms or areas until they are needed.
4. Allocate specific storage spaces
Teachers should allocate certain areas of the classroom for organized storage. Schools should
allocate certain rooms for organized group storage rooms. In older schools, storage areas may be
virtually nonexistent. However, pre-assembled, storage sheds of all sizes are now economically
available, and can be installed on school grounds. During the planning stages of new schools
enough extra space or storage buildings should be considered to foresee for future storage needs of
the staff.
5. Organize a Clutter Reduction Effort
When clutter for the entire school or daycare center has become severe, clutter reduction teams
should be organized. The fear of staff members of losing valuable items can be overcome by placing
their items into banker boxes clearly marked with their names, the date, and contents.
6. Clutter Management Efforts Must Have Administrative Support
School principals and daycare managers should request from their custodial staff on a quarterly basis
a list of those classrooms or areas where the clutter is inhibiting proper cleaning or pest management
inspections. Reminder notes should then be sent to personnel, requesting their immediate
cooperation. Brief stop-by visits two weeks later by the administrator is necessary to convey the
message that clutter management is important.
7. Store items properly to prevent pest infestations
To discourage pest infestations into stored items and storage rooms, all boxes, should be stored off
the floor by a minimum of 8 inches and preferably 12 inches. This space will allow for necessary
access by brooms and mops. This space will also discourage any insects and rodents from hiding
beneath the first shelf. It is important to avoid using storage shelves that enclose the bottom shelf close to the floor. It is
common for school maintenance shops to assemble such storage shelves using 2x4 stud lumber and
plywood, and beginning the first shelf with the 4-inch side of the stud. With these types of shelves,
the bottom shelf is enclosed and basically creates a pest cave in which mice and insects will hide and
thrive. In situations where boxes or other items are placed directly on the floor, an empty space of about 12-
16 inches between the boxes and the walls is necessary. This storage-free zone also allows for
inspection, cleaning, and the application of pest monitors and pest traps if needed.
8. Be considerate of custodians
Building custodians, just like teachers, administrators, kitchen staff, and the parents, have a vital role
to play in maintaining the overall quality and health of our schools. Please don't make the
custodian's job more difficult by rendering your own work area hard to clean due to an abundance of
clutter.