Janitors—unsung heroes of education and business—are often overlooked for their vital contributions to the organizations they work for and the communities they serve. But what separates the average from the great?

Ten Days Without A Janitor
A day without a janitor.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a critical component of healthy schools and workplaces and has a direct impact on occupant performance.

The Importance of Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality describes the quality and comfort of the air inside of a building.

Workplace clutter negatively impacts the mental and physical health and performance of students and office workers and may be a sign of underlying mental or emotional trauma.

Cleaning Workplace Clutter
Clutter in school and work environments, while inevitable, can lead to significant degradation in occupant health and performance if not properly attended to regularly.

Superbugs--a silent epidemic quietly sweeping their way across the United States--are antibiotic-resistant germs brought about by the overuse of disinfectants and the absence of strict cross-contamination controls by the custodial department.

Superbugs--The Silent Epidemic
Superbugs are antibiotic-resistant strains of disease-causing bacteria that have led to the infection of millions, as well as the annual deaths of tens of thousands of people, just in the U.S.
A superbug is a disease-causing bacteria that is immune to treatment with antibiotics.

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"description": "Workplace hygiene refers to the practices, policies, and standards implemented to maintain a clean, sanitary, and safe work environment.

Mold inside of schools and offices can have a range of effects, from unsightly to deadly, depending on the strain, and has been directly linked to several preventable deaths over the last few months in both school dorms and medical care facilities.

Addressing Mold Cleaning Challenges
A mold cleanup was recently completed by the facilities maintenance staff at Oklahoma University after a series of complaints were filed by students concerned with the potential health issues.

Student absenteeism is a critical component of school funding and is directly influenced, almost exclusively, by student health, much of which may be correlated to hand hygiene and school surface sanitation.

How Hand Hygiene May Impact Absenteeism in Schools
School-aged children are highly susceptible to several germs commonly found on surfaces throughout every school and facility in the United States, including:

Influenza - The flu.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 8.4% of children (6.2 million) in the United States have asthma, a debilitating condition that can be caused or complicated by indoor environmental conditions often directly connected to cleaning and cleanliness.

Cleaning for health sometimes referred to as green cleaning, is an alternative approach to facilities maintenance and janitorial services which focuses on the use of safer cleaning products, and scientifically advanced equipment to reduce the exposure to toxic chemicals and natural resource waste.

As the flu season ramps up, facilities managers and custodial staff are increasing the frequency of cleaning activities to combat the challenges of the, often deadly, influenza virus.

Increasing Cleaning & Disinfection Services to Combat Rising Instances of the Flu
Over the last few weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a sharp spike in confirmed cases of influenza, as well as widespread rates of infection across 48 states.