The Cedar Rapids Community School District has the second largest enrollment in the State of Iowa. Currently, the District serves more than 16,000 students in 21 elementary schools, six middle schools, and four high schools. It also has ‘alternative schools,’ to educate children with special needs or abilities. Though they are all unique, the schools have many things in common – including how they are cleaned. And that methods leaves their schools spotless.
The District has been using Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning® systems for more than five years. The reason for this, according to the District, is that by using Kaivac equipment, school custodians can ‘minimize restroom cleaning to a single machine without using numerous disinfectants and tools to do it.’
The Power of No-Touch Cleaning
Kaivac introduced No-Touch Cleaning more than twenty years ago. The machines are as simple as they are effective. They provide extreme soil removal and empower workers to clean hygienically without touching contaminated surfaces.
First, the worker uses to machine to apply fresh cleaning solution to all surfaces. This can include floors, counters, restroom fixtures, walls, tile-and-grout, doors, etc. The same areas are then power-rinsed with fresh water. This provides the agitation to loosen soils, which are then vacuumed up, along with all moisture, using the machine’s built-in wet/vac system.
The high-powered vacuum leaves restrooms dry as well as clean. In most cases, they can be open for use in minutes after cleaning.
‘Cleaning restrooms with Kaivac allows us to clean deep into corners where dirt and germs can accumulate,’ according to a District spokesperson. ‘We use Kaivac machines to clean both the inside and outside of toilets, urinals, and sinks without the custodian needing to have contact with those surfaces.’
This last point is why no-touch cleaning was invented in the first place. Engineers at Kaivac were looking for a way to dignify cleaning when it comes to cleaning toilets and urinals in public restrooms.
Cleaning Done Easier and More Dignified
Historically, workers cleaned these fixtures by touching soiled fixtures; bending to clean hard to reach areas of the fixture; and even requiring cleaning workers to get down on their hands and knees. No-Touch Cleaning systems eliminated these undignified cleaning procedures.
The district also uses the Kaivac systems to clean floors. ‘[While] mops tend to help kill germs and bacteria, they don’t remove them from surfaces. [The] Kaivac does.’
Not Only Cleaner, but Greener
Further, the District believes the Kaivac cleaning systems are a ‘big step,’ as they call it, in bringing green cleaning practices into their school.
‘Many disinfectants and restroom cleaners evaporate harmful fumes into the air, and can be harmful to those using the restrooms. Kaivac eliminates this concern. Disinfectant pools on the floor after application and the worker removes it with a vacuum.
And one last thing, the District has found that the Kaivac systems are fast. They help us ‘clean restrooms almost twice as fast [so] our custodians have more time to complete other projects, helping to keep our schools spotless.’
For more information on Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning systems or to see one in action, click here.
