Physical Cleaning Tasks and Safety

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Guiding Cleaning Principles

You might be thinking... Clean, disinfect, sterilize, decontaminate... What? Are they not the same thing? **These terms are not the same. ** We'll study what they all mean on the next slide.

In this course, we will focus more on CLEANING. At the end of this course, you will be able to... Identify the best products and equipment to use when cleaning Learn and practice pre-shift stretching and warm-up exercises Apply ergonomic practices when mopping, dusting, bed making, and garbage handling

Pre-Clean This stage is where we wipe, sweep, or rinse out those loose debris or substances.

Main Clean We use hot water and detergent to remove substances, dirt, grease, and debris that we were not able to remove during pre-clean. Equipment that we can use are mops, cloth, or we can opt to leave the cleaning products to do their jobs.

Rinse We can now remove the loosened debris, substances, or dirt and the detergent we used from the previous stage with cloth, mop, or squeegee, etc.

Disinfection It's time to destroy those bacteria and microorganisms. Chemical disinfectants or heat can be used to do this. Make sure to follow all the manufacturer's instructions when using a product or equipment.

Final Rinse We will now remove the disinfectants that we used on the previous stage using hot water. This stage is optional depending on the surface you're cleaning or the product that we used.

Drying Time to leave the surface to dry. Drying cloths can be used, although make sure that they are disposable because instead of maintaining the cleanliness of the surface we might end up adding bacteria to it leaving them to grow and contaminate the surface again.

Before we continue, let's establish our baseline.

Cleaning Supplies and Equipment

Staff only It's now time to collect your supplies and equipment from the maintenance room.

Cleaning Products

liquid soaps • Cleaners • Detergents We combine cleaning products with water, scrub and produce friction to clean surfaces.

**Neutral detergents **with pH between 6 and 8 are the most environmental cleaning products that can easily mix with warm or cold water.

Specialized cleaning products might be needed for tasks such as bathroom and toilet cleaning, floor polishing, and glass cleaning.

Tips when using cleaning products Develop and use a master list of the cleaning products and policies that we use and have. The lesser the better. Using fewer cleaning products will help simplify the cleaning processes thus reducing the potential risks that we may encounter. Ensure proper storage to eliminate contamination, degradation, and lessen its contact with our co-workers. Utilize Safety Data Sheets(SDS) by displaying them on where the products are prepared and stored. Follow manufacturer's instructions when preparing and using cleaning products. Check the product description to ensure that it won't damage the the surface we will clean or the equipment that we will use. Follow standardized procedures and instructions when preparing, using, and disposing of the cleaning products.

Personal Protective Equipment

PPEs are required to reduce exposure to harmful microorganisms, exposure or contact with cleaning chemicals, and spreading substances from one area to another.

High Dusting

This image shows an incorrect posture when high dusting. Standing really close to the area causes our neck to tilt backward.

Mopping and Wringing Mops

Cleaning the floor by hand requires a rapid and repetitive movement while kneeling, crouching, or crawling.

You will also have to bend your upper body and neck.

It is best to stand upright and keep elbows close to your body.

Wringing Mops

Typically, janitors bend at the waist and have to push the lever hard to squeeze the mop.

This action causes intense contact pressure over the hand and wrist.

It also adds strain to the lower back.

Bed Making

Garbage Handling

Lifting Garbage from a Barrel

The garbage barrel produces a strong suction when you try to pull out the trash bag, requiring you to exert more force doing the task.

Dumping Trash Bags

If available, use trolleys or other moving equipment in bringing the trash closer to the dumpster.

Use the lifting techniques that you learned earlier in this lesson.

Stand in front of the dumpster and move closer before tossing the trash bag inside.

Drop the trash bags inside the dumpster.

Pre-shift Stretching and Warm-up

Custodians and maintenance staff often deal with injuries in their extremities involving bones, cartilages, muscles, and nerves. Body parts that are usually affected are: Back Shoulders Neck Arms Wrist/hands/fingers Knees Ankles Elbows

Do you experience any of these symptoms? Constant fatigue Cold hands Swelling Numbness Tingling Changes in skin color of hands and fingertips Weakness or reduced grip strength Loss of sensation Aching, burning, or shooting pain Decreased range of motion Report to your supervisor!