How Custodial and Maintenance Teams Can Help Curb the Impact of Cold and Flu Season
October 02, 2024 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign
With cooler temperatures and the onset of fall, it’s time to prepare for the approaching cold and flu season. Facilities Directors play a crucial role in creating and maintaining a healthier school environment. With students, staff, and teachers spending hours in shared indoor spaces, it’s essential to take proactive measures to minimize the spread of illness to reduce the following negative impacts:
- Increased Student Absenteeism: When students get sick, absenteeism rises and disrupts learning. Students miss valuable instructional time, which can lead to gaps in their education and falling behind on core concepts. According to the Council of Economic Advisors, absenteeism can account for up to 27% and 45% of the post-pandemic test score declines in math and reading, respectively.
- Lack of Consistency in Instruction: When teachers and support staff are out sick, it creates inconsistency in the classroom. Staff absences also strain resources as schools scramble to find substitutes, which may not always be available. Students may also struggle to adapt to different teaching styles of substitutes. Disruptions for Families: When children are sick, parents often need to take time off work to care for them. This can lead to lost wages, decreased productivity, and added stress for families.
The best way to manage cold and flu season in schools is to minimize its impact by preventing the spread of illness. Below are four practical steps Facilities Departments can implement to support student and staff health this season.
Check and Maintain HVAC Systems
Cleaner air helps mitigate the spread of illness and disease and is an effective way to reduce airborne transmission of viruses. Within buildings, ensuring HVAC systems are functioning properly is a key step in the process. Regular inspections and maintenance of HVAC systems should be a top priority, and include the following steps as outlined in the HGSC Standard.
Inspect HVAC systems, covering, at minimum:
- outdoor air intakes, including obstructions, pollutant sources, and airflow, o system cleanliness, including air filters, drain pans, coils, air handling units, unit ventilators, and mechanical rooms,
- outdoor air supplies, including controls, clocks, timers, switches, control components, outdoor air dampers, freeze stats, mixed-air thermostats, economizers, and fans,
- air distribution, including supply and return air pathways and pressurization in buildings
- exhaust systems, including exhaust fan operation, exhaust airflow, and exhaust ductwork, and
- quantity of outdoor air, including outdoor air measurements and calculations and levels of outdoor air quantities.
It is also critical to establish and implement an HVAC issue response plan that prioritizes issues based on their scope, urgency, and consequences for the safety, health, and wellness of building occupants.
Replace MERV Filters and Upgrade Wherever Possible
Air filters in HVAC systems remove pollutants from the air by catching particulate matter such as pollen, dust, pet dander, dirt, and allergens. They can also reduce the spread of airborne viruses. It is critical to replace filters regularly and use the highest Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rated filter that the HVAC system can support. Facilities should use MERV 13 filters whenever a system can support them.
Use Supplemental Air Filtration
Beyond the HVAC system, adding supplemental air filtration in high-traffic areas such as classrooms, cafeterias, and libraries can be beneficial. Portable air purifiers that are equipped with HEPA filters generally have a MERV 17 rating and can capture 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, which allows for capturing far more airborne viruses and bacteria than MERV 13 filters in HVAC systems alone. Placing standalone units in spaces where students and staff congregate can improve air quality and reduce virus spread.
Implement Safe Disinfection Protocols
Cleaning the air as much as possible reduces airborne transmission of viruses, but custodial teams have an additional role to play in reducing the spread of surface-based virus transmission.
High-touch surfaces — such as doorknobs, light switches, desks, and shared equipment — are common sources of virus transmission, and implementing disinfection protocols that focus on these surfaces is essential.
It’s important to use disinfectants that are effective against viruses while also avoiding active ingredients that cause other health impacts such as triggering asthma. Ensuring the use of safer disinfectants can be tricky, as parents, caregivers, teachers, and building staff often play a role in supplementing cleaning products in schools, especially when school budgets are tight.
It is critical to communicate requirements regarding safer disinfectants to the entire school community. Products entering a school must comply with its district’s purchasing policies, and safeguard the health of students and staff alike. Those making disinfectant purchases for use in schools should use the following guidance:
Look for disinfecting products with the following active ingredients on the label:
- hydrogen peroxide,**
- citric acid,
- lactic acid,
- ethanol,
- isopropyl alcohol,
- peroxyacetic acid,** and/or
- sodium bisulfate.
Do not bring to school disinfecting products with any of these active ingredients:
- benzalkonium chloride compounds (commonly called quats or quaternary ammonium),
- sodium hypochlorite (commonly called chlorine bleach),
- phenol, o-Benzyl-p-chlorophenol, o-Phenylphenol, chloroxylenol (i.e., all ingredients commonly referred to as phenols), or
- glutaraldehyde.
Children should never handle disinfecting products, including using disinfecting wipes. Ensure that custodial staff are trained on proper application methods, including contact times and appropriate cleaning tools, to maximize the effectiveness of disinfection efforts.
As Facilities Directors, the responsibility of ensuring the health and safety of students and staff is more critical than ever. By focusing on HVAC maintenance, upgrading air filters, supplementing air filtration, and implementing safe disinfection protocols, you can help create a safer school environment and reduce the spread of illness this cold and flu season.
