Graffiti: How to Channel Self Expression in a Positive Way

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Nurturing the artistic side in students is important. However, when that art becomes graffiti, it can become a major issue for a variety of reasons. Not only can graffiti be vulgar and offensive, but it can also cost your school in repairs and maintenance. The important thing is to find a middle ground to help students channel self-expression in a positive way while reducing the amount of graffiti popping up.

Focus on the Arts

While it’s important for students to express themselves creatively, they need to do so on paper and leave the walls, lockers, and toilet stalls alone. Some of these “graffiti artists” may be enrolled in art classes, but sometimes, that’s not enough to help contain their creativity. After-school art programs can be very beneficial at keeping these students focused on creating artwork rather than vandalizing school property. When students have a creative outlet that they can focus on, they’re less likely to damage school property in an attempt of expressing themselves.

Meet Them in the Middle

There’s nothing more unsettling to a school facility manager or principal than to see a wall in a high-traffic area coated in spray paint or permanent marker. Regardless of what the image depicts or says, it wasn’t cleared to go up on the wall and constitutes as vandalism and destruction of property. However, you can meet them in a middle by instituting a mural arts project for the school.

Get an art teacher to oversee the project and help the students come up with an approved image. They’ll be able to work together and put it up on a wall in your school. Not only will this channel their self-expression in a positive way, but they’ll learn while working in a team-oriented environment. The end result is a beautiful display in your school that can be appreciated by the students and faculty and invoke school spirit and pride.

Taking Preventative Measures

There are a number of ways that you can prevent students from painting graffiti in your school. If there are areas in the hall that see a lot of unapproved artwork popping up, positioning a security camera towards the wall can help reduce graffiti from popping up. Students won’t want to risk getting caught to face the punishment for their artistic expression.

Lockers and toilet stalls are also frequent targets for graffiti. Luckily, you can replace your lockers and partitions with HDPE solid plastic. This durable material features an exterior coating that can prevent the plastic from absorbing the paint. Should graffiti appear on these lockers and toilet partitions, you won’t have to repaint any of them because graffiti can be easily wiped away. Installing HPDE plastic in your school can greatly reduce the risk of graffiti showing up on your lockers and toilet stalls.

Want to learn more about how to handle graffiti in your school? Check out this blog post, How to Implement a Zero-Tolerance Policy to Graffiti Vandalism, from your friends at Scranton Products.

Maintaining Your School Bathroom

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As a facility manager of a school, you’ve got a lot to keep up with in terms of maintenance. However, one of the most important areas to focus on are the bathrooms in your school. There are a variety of factors that can contribute to the drop in quality of your bathrooms, but there are a few ways that you can stay ahead of the elements and keep your bathroom in great shape.

Factors That Affect Your School’s Bathrooms

The bathrooms in your school may be the most visited areas of the entire building, which means that you’ll need to stay on top of cleaning and maintenance to ensure that everyone walks away with a pleasant experience. However, the first step towards keeping your bathroom in great shape is identifying the factors that affect your school’s bathrooms.

  • Unpleasant Odors. There are a few reasons why your bathroom has a distinct and unpleasant smell, but the first step is identifying where the smells are coming from before you initiate a plan to rid your restroom of these odors.
  • Dirty Floors & Vanities. No one likes to see excessive dirt and crud on the floor, especially in the bathroom. Countertops and bathroom vanities are also known to collect dirt, so executing a thorough cleaning plan is important.
  • Low Water Pressure. If your water pressure is low, it can add stress and aggravation to the bathroom experience. Be sure that the sink and toilet water pressure are up to your standards.
  • Mold Growth. Over time, your bathroom will begin to sprout mold because the humidity and moisture create an environment where fungus thrives, and foul smells are present.

Execute a Heavy-Duty Cleaning & Maintenance Strategy

Make a plan to clean your school’s restroom vigorously on a regular basis—and not just sweeping the floor and throwing away any paper towels that didn’t quite make it into the trash. You’ll want some anti-bacterial cleaning products to meticulously clean the restroom. This can help combat the smells and bacteria that are growing. You’ll also want to regularly check your facility’s water pressure to be sure that the water in the sink and the toilet flushing are up to par.

Stop Mold in Its Tracks

Earth Toned Bathroom interiorYou’ll be able to spot mold sprouting in the corners of your bathroom, but that’s not the only place it can grow. Often, mold begins to sprout inside toilet partitions that have an inner core. The kraft paper interior stays moist due to the humidity in the bathroom. Over time, the mold will begin to take over. Once mold has grown inside these partitions, it’s difficult to clean and salvage the partitions.

However, you can stay ahead of mold growth and put off on replacing your partitions repeatedly. Using HDPE plastic partitions can help ward off mold because this solid plastic doesn’t feature an inner core that can absorb moisture. Installing HDPE plastic partitions has a variety of benefits: they’re easy to clean, mold won’t grow, and they outlast most other materials.

Picking a Long-Lasting Solution

Having a solid plan to regularly maintain your bathrooms is important. You’ll want to take the necessary steps that you’re combatting the elements, preventing any mechanical issues, and warding off mold and bacteria. HDPE plastic partitions can aid you in a number of ways, from preventing mold growth within your stalls, reducing the foul odors, and having a material that can last a long time to stand up to the factors that affect your school’s restrooms.

Want to learn more about HDPE plastic partitions and how using the right materials can help you maintain your school’s bathrooms? Check out this eBook, Choosing Bathroom Materials, from your friends at Scranton Products.

How to Leverage Sustainability to Boost Profits

We live in an era where sustainability is one of the most important practices with businesses. Millions of companies around the world have gone paperless. Several buildings are being designed with sustainable practices and materials, and natural and sustainable energy are making a huge impact on businesses around the world. The threat of climate change has enacted entrepreneurs and innovators to explore greener alternatives, and with the green movement and sustainability are on the rise, they aren’t going away anytime soon. What Makes HDPE Sustainable

Businesses that make sustainability more than just a practice have seen their efforts pay off with their profits. Your business can make efforts to implement a sustainability plan that will not only help the green movement, but will help grow your business.

The Importance of Sustainable Practices

No matter what type of business you’re in, you can always take steps to make it more sustainable. Whether it’s implementing a thorough recycling program, replacing your light fixtures with LEDs, using green building materials, or even going solar, these sustainable practices are only meant to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere, but lower the costs of unnecessary expenditures. By taking these steps to make your business align with the green and sustainability movement, you’ll be able to do your part, lower your costs, and even inspire others.

How Sustainability Can Boost Your Profits

There are several ways where sustainability pays off. It helps reduce your energy costs when you go solar or install LED light fixtures. There are various programs out there that offer incentives to companies that recycle properly. Basically, going green and using sustainable technology will help lower your overhead costs.

Sustainability can also improve your actual profits. Whether you’re in a direct-to-consumer or a business-to-business industry, customers and clients love to see business that they partner with on the upward trend. Being a sustainable business can actually attract customers and clients with a similar mindset towards the green movement.

Getting Started on Becoming Sustainable

When you’re looking to improve your sustainability with your current facility, there are a few things you can go to lower your energy costs and help reduce any emissions. While recycling is important, it’s an on-going practice. You’ll want to set things in place now, so they can begin to pay off.

The first step is choosing lower-energy lightbulbs and motion sensors, so the lights can automatically shut off when they’re not needed. If you’ve got it in the budget, consider installing solar panels, which will show a huge decrease on your energy expenses. You’ll also want to incorporate some green building materials in your facility. Consider replacing your toilet partitions and vanities in your restrooms with HDPE, a durable, recyclable, and sustainable building material. By implementing a plan of sustainability, you’ll see your facility and energy costs go down and your profits rise.

Want to learn more about how to become more sustainable? Check out this eBook, Sustainable Building Products: How to Make Your Facility Eco-Friendly from Top to Bottom, from your friends at Scranton Products.

 

8 Ways to Improve Your Commercial Bathroom’s Experience

Even though the bathroom in your facility is visited every day by numerous occupants, do you ever ask them how their experience was? This probably isn’t the right approach to assess the quality of your commercial bathroom design or how the occupants gauge it. However, in order to improve the bathroom experience in your facility, you’ll want to focus on the areas that actually need the improvement. Commercial bathrooms have evolved over the years, and are now becoming an alluring and relaxing component to your facility. Here’s eight different ways you can improve the commercial bathroom experience for your occupants.

  1. Consider Renovating Your Bathroom.

You may keep up on industry trends, but you’ll have to remodel your restroom if you want to stay ahead of the times. Some facilities offer a stylish and comforting restroom by using the right materials and some design implementations that can transform a normal bathroom into relaxing getaway. To truly improve the experience, you may want to consider starting from the ground up.

  1. Stay Up on Industry Trends.

Some modern offices and facilities encompass artistic design into their buildings. Whether it’s taking on the open space concepts, or simply using more stylish accessories, facilities are changing drastically, so it’s always important to learn about the latest commercial restroom trends. This can even translate to your restroom. Take a look at a few to get a better idea of how you can transform your bathroom that can enhance the experience.

  1. Amplify the Space in Your Restroom.

Did you know that you can make your restroom appear more spacious without having to knock down any walls? By using the components and materials creatively, you can get a lot out of the confined space. You can get this done in a few different ways, one of which is by using larger mirrors behind your vanities, which makes the restroom seem more spacious. Another way is by leaving open space under your sinks. Most restroom sinks have their pipes and components covered, but if you leave this space open and your vanities slim, it can add space to your facility’s restroom.

  1. Use Soft Colors & Lighting.

Lighting can have a huge effect on the restroom experience. Do away with the bright fluorescent lights, and go for something softer and more energy-efficient. You can even complement the light with softer and neutral colors. Using neutral colors will not only help make your restroom soft on the eyes, but it can also reduce the sight of dirt or stains that would be very noticeable on a brightly colored wall.

  1. Think Long-Term with Your Partitions.

When it comes to choosing your toilet partitions, you’ll want something that’s visually appealing, but will also last for a long time. Materials like HDPE plastic have been utilized in restrooms across the country, and has yielded positive results. It’s a solid plastic that’s durable, impact resistant, non-absorbent, and best of all—sustainable. It’s made from recycled material and can easily be recycled, but they’re guaranteed for 25 years, so you won’t have to worry about recycling or replacing them anytime soon.

  1. Improve Occupant Privacy.

A common complaint that occupants have about the restroom at their job is that it’s not as private as they’d like it to be. There can be major gaps under the stall, and even the door leaves a considerable space that can make for an uncomfortable experience. HDPE partitions can be configured using hidden hardware and clasps to eliminate sightlines, which provide a private and secure experience for the occupants.

  1. Invest in Automated Fixtures & Features.

It may seem like a major investment, but utilizing automated fixtures like sinks, soap dispensers, and even motion-sensing lights can save you costs. The soap dispensers will provide the precise amount for each occupant, which will reduce waste. The motion-sensing lights will help reduce your energy costs significantly. It also saves occupants from touching any components in your restroom.

  1. Combat Mold & Mildew Ahead of Time.

Mold is always a threat to reduce the quality of the commercial bathroom experience. The constant moisture and humidity in the restroom are the perfect environment for mold to grow and spread. When it finds its way in different components, like your vanities and partitions, getting rid of it can be very tricky. However, utilizing HDPE plastic bathroom stalls and vanities can help combat mold because these materials won’t absorb any moisture and mold won’t sprout inside the plastic. By utilizing a few of these tips, you can certainly improve the occupant experience with your facility’s restrooms. Want to learn more to help you get started? Check out this eBook, The Professional’s Guide to Commercial Bathroom Renovations and Remodels, from us at Scranton Products.

 

HDPE Partitions: Styles & Advantages

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If you’re getting ready to start an intense remodel of your facility’s restrooms, you’ll want to utilize the best materials possible. This is especially true when it comes to choosing your toilet partitions and stalls. You don’t want to make any mistakes and choose the wrong material that will require a lot of upkeep—or, even worse, an early replacement.

HDPE plastic has risen in popularity, and it has become one of the most utilized materials with toilet partitions due to its durability and its longevity. HDPE partitions even come in a variety of styles that will easily go with your plans and design scheme for your facility’s restroom.

HDPE Plastic Partition Styles

Hiny Hiders®

Hiny Hiders® Partitions are sleek, well-constructed, and built to last. They come in a variety of design options and colors that can easily be configured for the aesthetics of the restroom. You can choose from an assortment of layout options, such as ceiling hung for a sleek and modern look, floor to ceiling for added privacy, or even floor-mounted-overhead braced for the classic look.

Eclipse Partitions®

Eclipse Partitions® provide an innovative design that encompasses a contemporary appearance while ensuring enhanced privacy. These partitions come in 27 different color and texture designs to choose from to heighten the style of your remodeled restroom. They feature hidden hardware for a clean and sleek appearance while reducing the sightlines to provide increased privacy. These partitions are available in a variety of sizes that allow you to tailor the ideal aesthetics for your facility’s restroom.

Aria Partitions™

Aria Partitions™ are the latest in toilet partition innovation, providing a sleek and modern look that will elevate the appearance of any bathroom. These innovative partitions deliver the highest level of privacy by eliminating any hints of sightlines and gaps. They’re available in 7 panel designs, 17 door designs, and 27 different color and texture options that will allow you to separate your facility’s restroom from all the others.

Advantages of Using HDPE Partitions

Durability

HDPE plastic is a solid and dependable material that can outlast most toilet partitions in a variety of ways. Its surface is resistant to scratches, dents, impacts, and even graffiti. HDPE partitions also offer a reduction in noise, providing a softer sound when being shut.

Bacteria Resistant

A common problem plagued by most toilet partitions is the absorption of moisture, which leads to mold growth. HDPE plastic partitions don’t absorb the moisture in restrooms, which prevents mold from sprouting and the pungent odor that follows. Due to its resistance to bacteria and mold, these partitions won’t need to be replaced like other materials.

Sustainable & Cost Effective

One of the key advantages to HDPE partitions is that they’re relatively low maintenance, and pay themselves off after just a few years. They don’t need to be repainted, nor do they require any repairs or adjustments with their screw retention. The plastic is also made from recycled material, making it sustainable and Greenguard Gold Certified. They’re even warranted for 25 years, so you won’t have to worry about finding a replacement for a long time. HDPE plastic partitions are sleek, innovative, sustainable, and private. If you’re planning on a renovation or remodel of your facility’s restrooms, you may want to consider utilizing this durable and reliable material to add some style, security, and innovation in your restrooms. Want to learn more about the best materials to use when remodeling your facility’s restrooms? Check out this free eBook, Choosing Bathroom Materials, from your friends at Scranton Products.

 

How to Implement a Zero-Tolerance Policy to Graffiti Vandalism

As a facility manager of a school, nothing is as stressful as ridding an area in the school of recently applied graffiti. There can be debates of what constitutes as art, but there’s no denying that graffiti is vandalism. While art should be left in the classroom with washable materials being used, you’re tasked with finding ways to combat this problem and ensure that it doesn’t continue. You’ll need to implement a zero-tolerance policy to graffiti vandalism in your school.

Here are a few steps on how to work towards stopping graffiti from popping up in your school.

Communicate with School Administrators About the Costs

As the facility manager of the school, you don’t have any disciplinary sway with the students, so you’ll need to address these issues to the administrators and/or principals. Remind them that graffiti is not only an act of vandalism, but it’s costing you money and time with maintenance. If they can come up with a disciplinary plan that can thwart students from marking up the walls and other components in your school, you’ll begin to see a drop in “artwork” from appearing in your school.

Focus on the Problem Areas

The most common place that you’ll find graffiti is on the toilet partitions. Students with graffiti aspirations use these stalls as their springboard because it’s enclosed and private. However, you can stop graffiti in its tracks by utilizing the right materials for your bathroom.

HDPE plastic toilet partitions are resistant to graffiti. They won’t absorb any paint or permanent marker. Once any mark is made, it can easily be wiped away without having to invest in some fresh paint to coat over the graffiti.

Take Away the Graffiti Hotspots

This step requires you to think like a graffiti artist. You need to look out for easy targets, like blank walls, and even elevated areas that can be viewed by everyone in the school. To combat the students’ desire to tag these spots, beat them to the punch and paint the walls with a darker color that makes it less appealing to spray an image or phrase on.

Update Your Lockers

Lockers are another target area for students to mark up. Since most lockers are made from steel, you’ll have to repaint them once graffiti pops up. However, HDPE plastic can also be used for lockers. This will save you the cost and time that goes into painting, all while updating your schools lockers with a strong, durable, and graffiti-resistant material.

Utilizing HDPE plastic materials has a wide variety of benefits. When it comes to combatting graffiti, these lockers will help you save money and time on maintenance because they resist paint. Once graffiti appears on any HDPE locker or partition, it can easily be wiped away. Want to learn more about HDPE plastic and the many benefits there are to choosing it for your school? Check out this blog post, Why HDPE is a Super Material, from your friends at Scranton Products.

 

 

 

Why Sustainability is So Important to Us

Sustainability is one of the most common goals of every facility manager. The idea that you can implement some materials and designs that will not only stand the test of time, but greatly reduce any harmful output to our environment is what managers, designers, and architects yearn for. However, why is sustainability so important to us in the commercial facility industry? There are several answers to this question, so we’re going to explore the many benefits of sustainability and how it can help commercial facilities thrive.

The Importance of Sustainability

The overall goal of sustainability is to prevent the unnecessary depletion of our natural resources. While this may not seem like it has a correlation with your facility, it actually does. Given the various energy required to heat and light a facility, the amount of waste generated by a facility’s occupants, and the toxicity of certain cleaning products and chemicals that are used within a facility, it’s now more important than ever to make facilities and commercial buildings more sustainable. There are several ways you can set sustainable goals and achieve them. Here’s a few to help you get started:

Waste Reduction & Improved Recycling

One of the key principals of sustainability is to reduce waste and increase the ability to recycle. Since there’s finite space on the planet, there’s little room for waste. Unfortunately, we’ve got plenty of it to go around. By implementing a thorough recycling plan for your facility, you can cut a lot of disposal costs and you’ll reduce the amount of waste generated by the occupants in your facility. Properly recycling materials can actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere.

Using Clean & Sustainable Energy

Installing solar panels on the roof of your facility has nothing but positive benefits. It significantly cuts costs on your energy bill because the energy that you’re using gets replenished every day. Depending on where your facility is located, local organizations often give incentives and tax breaks for businesses who utilize solar panels for clean and emission-free energy. Overall, solar panels pay for themselves within a matter of years, so you’re essentially cutting down on your operating costs.

Use Green Building Materials

Another way you can make your facility even more sustainable is by utilizing some green building products anywhere Sustainabilityyou can. While bamboo and hemp may be sustainable materials that can be used to build a home, it doesn’t really hold sway in a commercial facility. However, recycled plastic, like HDPE (high-density polyethylene), can certainly be used inside your facility to help add to the sustainability efforts.

HDPE solid plastic has been used in commercial facilities across the country as toilet partitions, storage compartments, and even lockers in schools. It’s a solid material that doesn’t scratch, rust, crack, or dent. It’s not absorbent, so moisture and mildew won’t wear it down. HDPE plastic is very low maintenance, so it only requires a little cleaning periodically. Above everything else, it can outlast other plastic materials on the market, so you’ll cut costs by not having to replace the product frequently.

There are plenty of benefits to trying to make your facility more sustainable. It not only helps you cut operational costs with your facility, but it can help reduce the harmful effects of emissions in the environment. Do you want to learn more about how to make your facility more sustainable? Check out this free eBook, Sustainable Building Products: How to Make Your Facility Eco-Friendly from Top to Bottom, from your friends at Scranton Products.

Scranton Products’ All New Aria Partitions®

At Scranton Products, we’re proud to have helped facility owners and building managers with our sustainable Aria Partitions in Industrial Restroomproducts that have helped them cut costs on maintenance and increase occupant productivity and happiness. While many of our products have made facility managers happy, we’re set to raise the expectations by giving you a peek at our new Aria Partitions™.

Welcome to the next level of bathroom privacy and design.

Upgraded Privacy

Most restrooms in office buildings, restaurants, and public places have an invasive feel to them. The partitions have gaping sightlines, they’re short, and there’s plenty of visibility at the bottom. Aria Partitions® aim to reduce the sightlines and provide a secure and personalized setting for your bathroom experience. There’s no visibility of feet due to our shoeless system, and there’s no wide crack between the door and hinge that provide a window of sight because of the overlapping edges. Instead, you get an enclosed partition where you can comfortably use the restroom without a worry in the world of being seen through the cracks.

Sophisticated Design

Have you ever walked into a restroom that just seemed bland and uninspired? The toilet partitions have a huge effect on that, but with Aria Partitions™, there’s an added elegance and refinement that will provide an alluring sophistication to any restroom. The best part is that you have your choice of design. The first choice is the height, with 86 inches or 112 inches, providing a tall and private structure for occupants. Aria Partitions™ are customizable to tailor to your restroom, with seven different panel designs, 17 door designs, as well as 27 available colors and textures that you can pick to customize the restroom in your facility.

Easy Installation

One of the many benefits of Aria Partitions™ is that they’re easy to install. There’s less structural restrictions than normal toilet partitions because they’re floor supported. You don’t have to make sure they’re fixed to the ceiling or wall. Each partition features the floor and frame aluminum brackets, stainless steel hinges, and door accessories, like wall stops and coat hook bumpers.

Durability & Longevity

Aria Partitions™ are made from HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic. These partitions are highly durable and can stand up to the elements, like humidity and moisture. Since the partitions are made from solid plastic, they won’t absorb any of the moisture or sprout any mold. Aria Partitions™ are also impact-resistant, meaning they won’t crack or break after taking a hit or two.

Another major advantage to HDPE plastic like Aria Partitions™ is that they’re low maintenance. Since they don’t absorb moisture, they won’t need to be replaced. They don’t need to be repainted because their color won’t fade. The only maintenance that these partitions require is a light cleaning. Due to the low maintenance, these stalls rank as one of the best for the cost of ownership.

Are you interested in learning more about Aria Partitions™ from Scranton Products? Download the brochure or contact us today.

Flu Season is Coming: Reduce the Spread of Germs in Your School

Flu season can be a tough time of the year for school facility managers. Finding ways to combat the spread of germs

is easier said than done, but the important goal to keep in mind is to provide students with a safe and healthy environment to learn. The flu and germs can be easily spread in a school setting due to the many surfaces that are constantly touched, shared items, and the sheer number of students that could be ill. At times, it almost seems like an uphill battle. However, as a facility manager, there are several steps that you can take to help reduce the spread of germs in your school during flu season.

Inspect Your Water System

As flu season rolls in, you’ll want to be sure that your water system is in great shape. This not only means changing the filters to directly reduce any possible germs, but you’ll want to make sure that the actual water flow systems are functioning properly. During flu seasons, teachers are expected to stress to their students the importance of washing hands to avoid getting sick. This means that the faucets in your bathroom will be getting a lot of use, and that by functioning properly, it’ll allow students to wash their hands and help prevent the spread of germs.

Clean & Disinfect

Due to the many contact surfaces in your school, there’s no doubt that they’ve accrued their fair share of germs. During this season, it’s important to ramp up your cleaning schedule. Be sure to properly disinfect lunch tables, lockers, water fountains, door handles, and any other point that gets touched by many people throughout the day. By properly disinfecting any contact surfaces, you’re doing your part to greatly reduce the spread of germs and the flu.

Install Hand Sanitizer Stations

Hand sanitizer is one of your best friends when flu season rolls around. Even if a portion of the student body utilizes hand sanitizer, there will be a significant drop in student absences. You can put hand sanitizer pumps in bathrooms, the lunch room, and any administrative office. However, you may also want to invest in a hand sanitizer stand in high-traffic areas like major staircases, the library, and anywhere where there are computers. Shared computer keyboards are often a hotbed of germ spread, so be sure to combat it by offering hand sanitizer for students to use after they use the computer.

Reevaluate Your School’s Lockers & Toilet Partitions

Believe it or not, your lockers and toilet partitions can have a pretty significant part in the spread of germs. Toilet partitions can absorb moisture and sprout mold, and both partitions and lockers are touched frequently by many students throughout the day. Keeping up with sanitizing these components can prove difficult, but instead of regularly cleaning and sanitizing, why not replace these components with a better material that can resist the absorption of germs?

HDPE plastic—available as toilet partitions, lockers, and storage cubbies—provide a secure and stable structure that can stand up to the spread of germs. The surfaces are non-porous, so no bacteria will be infiltrating the inside of this solid plastic. HDPE plastic is also highly durable, and can actually resist scratches and dents. The biggest benefit of HDPE is that this material is low-maintenance and only requires a light cleansing, as opposed to the other materials that require vigorous scrubbing.

Would you like more information about keeping your facility in tip-top shape? Download our free commercial restroom cleaning checklist now!

How is MRSA Spread & How to Protect Students in Your School?

As a facility manager of a school, you’re familiar that during cold and flu season, the halls may be a little less crowded. In fact, most students contract sicknesses while at school, so you’ll need to take the necessary steps to reduce the spread of disease in your educational facility. However, MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) has become a common problem in schools. This bacteria can be spread in a variety of ways, but the best way to prevent it from spreading is to stop it at the source: locker rooms and restrooms.

How MRSA Actually Spreads

MRSA is spread by contact. Whether a student comes in contact with an already infected student, or they’re in the locker room handling athletic equipment that hasn’t been properly cleaned, the spread of MRSA is an ever-present threat. This is especially true in high-risk areas, like your school’s locker room and restroom, because of the atmosphere is usually ripe for bacteria growth and spread.

Signs & Symptoms of MRSA

When someone is infected with MRSA, they’ll begin to show signs. MRSA usually appears in the form or bumps, pimples, and boils. Infected individuals will also appear to be red, as well as warm to the touch. Unlike most skin irritations or signs of swelling, the boils that are present due to MRSA can result in a lot of pain to the infected student. The bacteria usually stays in the skin. However, in some cases, it can find its way deeper into the body, resulting in potentially life-threatening infections to organs, bones, and even the blood.

How to Reduce the Spread of MRSA & Protect Students

As a facility manager, the only way you can really prevent the spread of this bacteria is by ensuring that you properly clean and sanitize the high risk areas. However, no matter how hard you clean, the risk of MRSA may still persist because certain materials, like your lockers or toilet stalls and partitions, may already be beyond the point of no return. You may want to consider replacing some of these materials for a stronger, more reliable and secure alternative.

Most lockers are made of steel, and locker rooms (and restrooms) deal with constant moisture and humidity, which can cause rust and even help exacerbate the spread of mold and bacteria. Most toilet partitions are made from a thin plastic and have a paper core interior. However, this inner core can absorb the present moisture and begin to sprout mold and bacteria.

It may already be too late for your current lockers and toilet partitions to be thoroughly cleaned and be cleared of any bacteria. However, it’s not too late to replace your stalls and partitions with a better material like HDPE plastic. This solid and durable plastic is impenetrable, so mold and bacteria can’t contaminate the interior. This plastic just needs a simple cleaning with some sanitary products to be free of bacteria and moisture. Implementing HDPE lockers and partitions in your school can reduce the amount of sick or absent students.

Are you interested in learning more about HDPE plastic materials and how they can help you keep your school secure and free from the spread of bacteria? Check out this blog post on how you can prevent bacteria growth on bathroom partitions, from your friends at Scranton Products.