Washroom Maintenance Checklist For Schools

Taking care of your washroom facilities needs to be done correctly and there are a few areas that are often overlooked. By staying on top of the daily, weekly and monthly maintenance, you’ll not only be compliant with regulations but prolong the life of your washroom and it’s facilities.

CLEANING SCHEDULE

Regular cleaning is the most obvious step in your washroom maintenance and a set procedure should be put in place that is easy to follow for anyone undertaking the work. Washrooms should be checked for visible mess and problems several times a day, the check being logged with both time of visit and signed by the member of staff who did so. Cleaning should be broken down into areas and include flush handles, door knobs, taps and windowsills as well as the floor, toilets, sinks and urinals. Keeping all your fittings clean helps to prevent unnecessary corrosion or damage and also enables you to spot little problems before they become big ones.

LEGIONELLA CHECKS

You should implement thorough Legionella checks in your washrooms. These checks are fundamental to the hygiene of your facilities and help to prevent outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease. There are various procedures that take place, weekly, monthly, quarterly, six monthly and annually. Most of these checks are relatively straightforward to carry out, but all can be outsourced to a specialist firm if necessary. For more information on Legionella checks, read our article on them here.

SANITARY BINS

Our School Toilet Refurbishment advisers will always recommend that in a secondary or upper school, sanitary waste bins need to be handled correctly and routinely. This involves them being regularly emptied and cleaned. Again, this is a service commonly outsourced and one that is easy to stay on top of. Sanitary waste needs to be handled, transported and disposed of properly and procedures need to be put in place at every step.  For instance, the bags should be of a different colour to highlight their contents. These bags are often yellow and black striped and referred to as ‘tiger bags’. Bags should not be opened and if it is absolutely necessary, tools should be used.

CONSUMABLES

You never want to be caught short when it comes to washroom supplies, particularly in a school environment, so making sure you have adequate stock of washroom consumables like liquid handsoap, paper towels, toilet paper and urinal cakes is of high importance. However, don’t overlook the actual cleaning products needed on a day to day basis, as these are of equal importance. If you have waterless urinals, you may also want to keep extra supplies of products like Urilock and replacement key valves.

MONITORING WEAR AND TEAR

Naturally, over time, washrooms show signs of wear and tear, but the important thing is to keep on top of it and nip these things in the bud. Site managers could consider putting together a checklist to monitor the wear and tear of a school toilet paying weekly attention to fixtures and fittings, such as hinges and door locks. Checking that no seals are coming loose and that grout is not coming away are also areas to pay attention to, as well as accidental damage and vandalism. General maintenance and replacing fittings where necessary not only prolongs the life of your washroom, but also instils high standards.

If you are responsible for maintaining the facilities at a school, or would generally like more information regarding what might need attention as part of your washroom checks, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the button below... 

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