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Washroom Care Tips

Info courtesy of www.Enviro-Solution.com.

Why Green?

The Benefits of Enviro-Solutions for Washroom Care:

  • Our products are safer for people, property and the environment.
  • They are effective for all cleaning applications: mirrors, tubs, sinks, showers, taps, counters, floors, dispensers, toilets, and urinals.
  • Washrooms Sanitation has been historically problematic. Many very hazardous products have been used to remove accumulated soils and these corrosive chemicals have caused serious personal injuries to staff and building occupants while damaging many washroom fixtures and floors.
  • Washrooms are the most frequently cleaned areas of most commercial establishments and many of the traditional products used to clean them are the most hazardous cleaners on the premises.
  • The potential hazards can be classified under three separate categories: Human Health, Physical Damage, and Environmental Contaminants.

Human Health
The health effects of cleaners used in washrooms are substantial. Many are identified right on the label as being poisonous. Disinfectant cleaners can be extremely toxic and even the residues left on sinks, toilets and other surfaces may have a cumulative effect on human health. Many traditional cleaners used in washrooms are corrosive and can be damaging to skin and residues of corrosive materials left on surfaces can be harmful to building occupants. Cleaners have been developed which are non-corrosive, utilizing blends of organic acids or EDTA. In either case, product pH is buffered to avoid being classified as corrosive. Usually these cleaners are blended with petrochemical surfactants and up to 10% Volatile Organic Compounds (glycol ethers, D’Limonene, etc.), which evaporate and pollute the air; occupants and staff are then forced to breath. The use of oxidizing agents such as chlorine can have severe reactions with other chemicals and organic matter, which can also be hazardous.

Physical Damage
Washroom fixtures are frequently damaged by the use of cleaning agents. Bowl cleaners are commonly strongly acidic. The use of these products on grouted ceramic tile floors can dissolve much of the lime base and weaken the surface and ultimately weaken the mortar to a point where it cracks and portions of grout start to break. Strongly acidic cleaners damage faucets and chrome fixtures leaving them permanently discoloured. Many common washroom cleaners utilize a high percentage of non-ionic petrochemical based surfactants which have been associated with damaging a number of acrylic washroom fixtures taking highly attractive fixtures and permanently dulling and sometimes destroying their chemically sensitive surfaces. Powdered and gelled abrasive cleaners damage soft or highly polished surfaces.

Environmental Contaminants
Indoor air quality is affected by the use of Volatile Organic Compounds as cleaning ingredients and as perfumes to make the organic odors or to create an artificial clean scent. Indoor air is many times more contaminated than outdoor air. Indoor air quality has become a major source of concern for building occupants. Discharge of washroom cleaning products into our wastewater stream adds to the problem of degradation at the waste treatment plants both for aerobic and anaerobic biological degradation systems.

Summary
By using Enviro-Solutions Washroom Care products, you are using products that are safer for people, property and the environment.

Washroom Care Steps

1. Prepare Area
Knock on the outside door. Open it slightly and announce your intention to enter. If the restroom is occupied, wait until it is empty. Take cleaning supplies into or near the restroom. Place wet floor sign in entranceway to prevent public use while cleaning.

2. Clean Toilet Bowels & Urinals
Flush toilets and urinals. Using bowl brush. apply Toilet Bowl Cleaner to inside toilets and urinals and let stand while the balance of the restroom is being cleaned.

3. Dusting

  • Remove all dust webs with a duster.
  • Clean wall vents, tops of doors and partitions with wipers dampened with cleaner.

4. Replenish Supplies

  • Refill all hand soap, hand towel, toilet tissue and sanitary napkin dispensers.
  • Check deodorizers and refill when necessary.
  • Check the working condition of all the dispensers, sinks, toilets and urinals in the restroom and report any damage.

5. Clean Light Fixtures & Mirrors
Apply glass cleaner to light fixtures and mirrors then dry with clean wipers or paper towels. Move around the restroom until all are cleaned.

6. Clean Wash Basins

  • Using solution, clean the interior surfaces of all washbasins. Exterior surfaces, faucets and pipes under the basins should also be cleaned daily.
  • Wipe chrome dry with a soft cloth or wiper.
  • Check faucets for dripping and ease of operation, also check the drain flow to see that each drain is clear and empties the washbasin properly. Report any problems to your supervisor.

7. Spot Clean Walls, Partitions & Vents
Dampen a cloth with Washroom Cleaner or Disinfectant Solution or spray directly to the surface. Wipe off shelves, dispensers, receptacles, doors, partitions and wall vents.

8. Clean/Disinfect Inside Toilets/Urinals

  • Clean toilet bowls and urinals thoroughly with toilet bowl brush and cleaner. Check toilets and urinals for stains and incrustations that form under the rim.
  • Flush, agitate with the brush or bowl swab. Flush again.

10. Clean/Disinfect Exterior Toilets/Urinals
Moving down the line, clean from top to bottom with solution. Clean all surfaces, pipes and valves.

10. Pick Up Trash
Use a dustpan and broom to pick up all paper and trash from the floor. Use a putty knife to remove any gum.

11. Empty Waste Bins
Empty and remove waste can liners then spray and wipe the inside and outside with disinfectant solution. Replace liners.

12. Clear Floor of Obstructions
Remove all supplies and equipment. Put waste receptacles out of the way.

13. Mop Floor

  • Apply Washroom Cleaner or Disinfectant Solution around the toilets, urinals and floors with your wet mop.
  • Starting at the far end of the washroom, mop your way out.
  • If using Disinfectant Solution, allow wet disinfectant solution to work for up to ten (10) minutes (during the waiting period, move equipment and supplies to other areas and allow floor to air dry).

14. Return Washroom to Service

  • Replace all waste receptacles, carts and equipment.
  • Wash hands and arms carefully to avoid cross contamination.
  • Rinse and wipe down the sink.

15. Clean-Up
At the conclusion of the shift:

  • All buckets and wringers must be thoroughly washed, rinsed and allowed to dry
  • All mops must be thoroughly washed and hung to drip dry
  • All other equipment is washed, disinfected or wiped down and stored in the proper location.