Locker room cleaning for health is necessary for eliminating disgusting odors and ensuring the health and safety of student-athletes all year long.
Locker Room Cleaning For Health
It is estimated that more than 36 million U.S. students between the ages of 5 and 18 participate in athletics each year, and for a good reason.
Team and individual sports provide numerous benefits for all participants, from athletes to coaches, parents, teachers, and the fans and local communities, including:
- Healthy weight.
- Problem-solving.
- Self-esteem.
- Leadership, and;
- Team dynamics.
Unfortunately, many of those youth are routinely exposed to the foul odors caused by mold and mildew, as well as dangerous germs and bacteria all too common in school and public locker facilities, including MRSA.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria are resistant to all beta-lactam antibiotics such as methicillin, penicillin, oxacillin, and amoxicillin.
A MRSA infection can be fatal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were nearly 120,000 Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections and 20,00 related deaths in 2017 in the United States.
Further, the high levels of humidity common in locker rooms, often exacerbated by low-quality cleaning practices combined with the mold and mildew typically found in these facilities, can trigger far more than a rancid stench.
Often humid, locker rooms are great places for mold and mildew to grow.
Trying to clean with rags or a mop deposits more water on the area, encouraging more mold growth and more unpleasant smells.
Left unchecked, mold can produce allergens, irritants, and sometimes toxic substances.
These can trigger asthma attacks and irritate the eyes, throat, nose, and lungs of both allergic and nonallergic people.
Proactive Locker Room Cleaning
Start by performing a walkthrough of the locker room and break it up into logical zones, identifying each zone from the cleanest to the dirtiest.
Start from the cleanest area, working from top to bottom, and moving toward the dirtiest, making sure to establish a path that avoids foot traffic over previously cleaned areas to prevent cross-contamination.
When selecting the right tools and products, look for EPA certified hospital-grade disinfectants and no-touch cleaning and disinfection appliances that will penetrate deep into porous surfaces and provide full three-dimensional surface coverage of the entire locker room.
No-touch sprayer and vacuum scrubber appliances combined with enzyme-based cleaning products will also help remove the proteins from urine and sweat that odor-causing bacteria feed upon that are easily missed, and often made worse, by conventional cotton mops.
Key Locker Room Zones
If you're preparing for a new bid or considering tackling the task of cleaning the locker room yourself, you'll want to educate yourself on the primary zones that should be addressed regularly.
Keep in mind that cleaning should be performed in accordance with occupancy and use as opposed to an arbitrary time and date schedule to ensure the health and safety of everyone.
The first and most obvious zone in any locker room is the restroom, which should be thoroughly sanitized every day that it is used from top to bottom with a hospital-grade disinfectant, high-pressure no-touch vacuum scrubber, and electrostatic disinfection appliance.
Showers should be cleaned in the same manner and according to the same schedule.
Floors should first be mopped to remove any residual moisture from the showers, scrubbed with a no-touch vacuum scrubber, and then disinfected with a medical-grade product.
Make sure to strictly adhere to the recommended disinfectant laytime to ensure maximum efficacy.
Finally, the lockers themselves should be cleared out every week, cleaned inside and out with a microfiber cloth and an EPA-registered cleaning product, and then disinfected with an electrostatic disinfection appliance.
References & Resources
- Five Keys To Proactive Locker Room Cleaning
- Techniques To Tackling Locker Room Odors
- Odor Control In Locker Rooms
Takeaway
Locker rooms provide a valuable service for student-athletes--functioning as a safe storage location for expensive equipment and personal items, as well as providing necessary personal health and hygiene facilities.
However, due to their very nature, locker rooms are havens to numerous germs, bacteria, mold, and mildew that can cause serious harm.
Even cleaning and disinfecting the facilities can be dangerous without the proper safety equipment, cleaning products, and training.
To ensure the most desirable outcome--encompassing the highest standards of cleanliness, professionalism, and safety--consider outsourcing to an experienced service provider as your first choice.
Contact us today and discover why Vanguard Cleaning Systems® is the Standard of Clean® for businesses throughout Northwest Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
In Oklahoma, dial 918-960-4450
In Arkansas, dial 479-717-2410
In Missouri, dial 417-812-9777
