Public spaces are a common place to find the results of unattended messes and unclean conditions. Schools are one such location, despite their dedicated janitors on staff, and some problems slip through without notice. That is why it is so important to keep your eyes open for the signs that danger is present.
1: Drips
Dripping water can cause all kinds of problems. It can cause slips, damage ceiling or floor tiles, rust important machinery, and cause a number of other issues. Drips cause a significant degree of damage to school property and are often the precursor to further damage. That’s why catching a drip early on can be a very important factor in avoiding other issues.
2: Warping, Sinking, or Sagging
Disfigurements in a school’s structure are a clear indication of trouble. A dip in the floor, warping in the walls, or sagging of the ceiling indicates that something has gone wrong. Behind a warped wall might be mold, in a sagging ceiling might be hiding a waterfall from a broken or leaking pipe, and a dipped floor is a tripping hazard.
3: Stains
Some changes in structure are easy to identify, thanks to the discoloration that accompanies them. Caused by mold or other water-based effects, stains indicate that there is something that needs looking into by the janitorial staff.
4: Smells
There is a reason that people have noses;they exist so we can identify smells that are in no way good and can alert us to danger. Strange smells identify the presence of things that are better dealt with quickly: mold, insects, and other dangers that may be hidden in hard to reach alcoves.
5: Sick Students
Sick students, if there are more than the average number, tell you something is hanging around the school just waiting to cling to any passerby. Schools are hotbeds for bacteria, so higher than normal absence rates may be a sign that something has found its way onto the more commonly used items: doorknobs, gym equipment, and other areas where many hands are placed and not many are washed.
6: Bodily Fluids
Vomit, sweat, and spit are the most common culprits of illness. When the janitorial staff isn’t able to effectively get at every point of contamination, there will always be some left over. In any school, there are a plethora of reasons for a child to lose their stomachs, and not every incident gets reported quickly enough to be cleaned properly.
7: Infected Surfaces
Sick kids means that nearly everything they touch could be a source of potential illness, and it can be next to impossible to disinfect everything that a student is going to touch. What a janitor or other staff member can catch is most likely not going to be a large portion of what is actually there. These infected surfaces then put other students and staff members at risk.
8: Hidden Damage
Damage is not always visible. It may be hidden above ceiling boards or in the walls, and there’s always a space for a problem to grow before it becomes obvious. When hidden damage finally becomes obvious, problems abound.
9: Rust
Rusted equipment can be found everywhere: old playground equipment, fences, under desks, benches, railings, and more. There are plenty of dangers in rusty equipment, and there are even more dangers in rust that can't be seen.
10: Weather
The cause of some of these problems is the weather, of course. The changing of the seasons turns on heating and air conditioning units after months of inactivity. In addition, there is a risk of particularly bad storms shaking the foundations of a school and the potential damage caused by these storms could go undetected. Changing weather can lead to damage and possibly missed problems that will eventually need to be addressed when it grows.
Keep an eye out for signs that things are not as clean or as safe as they should be. Proper vigilance can stop small problems from becoming large ones. There will always be some level of mess in a school; it is inevitable with so many children in one place. The best that any janitor, teacher, staff member, or responsible student can do is help clean up the danger that they see.
Teachers and students can help best by alerting the janitorial staff to 
any of the signs of damage that they can see. Janitors are equipped with the right tools to clear spills, stains, or other issues that might attract notice. MBT offers a range of tools that can help keep schools clean and healthy for students and staff.
Schools can be a lot less clean than expected, but that doesn’t mean that they have to stay that way. Keep an eye open; problems can be avoided if you have the right eye for detail and know who to contact in the school to get those problems tended to immediately.
Want to learn more?
We’d be delighted to discuss how we can help with any challenges that have arisen in your need to clean up spilled liquids and which Meltblown Technologies items, like our line of Flood Control Products, would best help keep your school clean.
Use our contact page, or call us at 888-653-7509.
