Too posh to wash?

[ITWombat]

A little while back there was criticism of some nurses who considered that their increasing high level of training meant that they had no interest in doing the basic tasks of nursing such as bathing patients.

 

Are edu geeks to clever to clean? OK it might not be just a case of status but of practicality. It may be just too much to expect technical staff to clean all end user equipment as well as doing the other support work we do on a regular basis.

 

What do you do in your school? Do you ask individual departments to clean their own machines? Do you special contractors, like in the corporate world, who come in every so often to clean computers. Are your normal school cleaning staff approved to clean computer equipment?

Or do you just accept the inevtible, roll up your sleeves and don the Marigolds?

 

I have been in some places which seem to use the 'factory method'. That is, the only cleaning a computer might see is when they are given the once over before leaving the factory and shhipped to the warehouse.

[beeswax]

slightly off line, and I can't remember if I read it here, but it seems that mice (computer) in internet cafes hold the most bacteria, followed by public toilet door handles. And looking down at my own (pro-biotic) keyboard and mouse I can see why.

[pshuttle]

At my old job we used to give all the computers a once over with cleaning stuff once a term (i.e clean monitor screens and the keyboard mouse and tower units).

 

However, at my current job the cleaners are responsible for this. There is no way my colleagues would mass clean the computers (although they do wipe one down if it has been in for fixing etc).

 

Pete

[russdev]

lol

 

i just had this with one of our staff she was sitting there and watched a kid pick his nose and wipe on keyboard

 

Then she relised how dirty they could be and durley prompted to clean them all...

 

Russ

[john]

I clean mine when they get repaired, and when they are starting to look grubby, each summer when we re-do things they all get a top notch clean then as well, it works well. We even clean the desks, chair, and remove gum from them as well.

[pinemarten]

@ Russ - it gets worse, mate;

 

I spoke to a teacher who noticed a - hmmmm , shall we say "agricultural" - smell around a pupil as she stood over him at the workstation.

 

she cautiously enquired as to whether he could perhaps have 'stepped in something' as there was an unsavoury aroma -

 

he then casually informed her that he had just been to the toilet and was unable to wash his hands properly, as there was no soap to be found....

 

eeeeeeyuk!

 

well - rubber gloves ,disinfectant or both ?

[ITWombat]

Well ... I think you've won the prize for gross out post of the week eeugghh!!

[GrumbleDook]

In my last place of skiving we used to have students come up to us and ask for cleaning wipes after a particular student had been at a computer ...

 

She suffered from the dreaded green bubble and it seemed like she saved wiping her nose (with her hands) for during ICT lessons.

 

At my present place we are too overworked to clean the kit ourselves ... we would need another member of staff for that (and that is including the one we appointed on Friday ... which makes how many now Ric_ ?)

 

We have our own cleaner who uses decent wipes and cleaning kit to do all machines on a round robin basis. We have noticed a slight downwards trend of grafitti and vandalism in some rooms and less mice being moved about.

 

We do still clean the odd item ourselves. We have a supply of palstic gloves for dealing with the worst problems ... and they tend to be stay laptops ... there have been some absolutley vile keyboards to deal with.

[john]

Yuck to some of them, just when I was going to eat my lasagne for tea, I think I may wait a while.....

[MkII]

Found a 'new' condom on a keyboard once last year! We have no policy. Cleaners are told not to touch PCs, I do it very rarely, I just don't have time. I do de-litter rooms as some classes seem to leave masses of paper all around the machines, and food wrappers and empty bottles I recon would encourage the litterers.

[tosca925]

Ours don't get cleaned.....................! Our cleaners won't touch them because its no in their contract. We dont do them as there is not enough hours in the day.

 

Trouble is when we have to bring a pc back for repair we normally end up filthy.

[SpuffMonkey]

Well ... I think you've won the prize for gross out post of the week eeugghh!!

 

Well - I wasn't going to mention it - but the cleaners had to deal with turd (human) in the corridor this week. I cast aspersions about the kids and she told me they'd had to deal with another one in the female toilets and also a pool of vomit in there too - great!

[russdev]

our cleaners have had to in pass deal with with said human waste on walls, tampons and pads (used stuff behind the loos.. heck there is bin for them in every girls cubicle)

 

ok wont be long before this thread goes into toilet humour

 

Russ

[ITWombat]

:toimonster: Cheers Russell for lowering the tone.

 

I thought you were the sensible one. [-X

[russdev]

lol

 

me

 

russ

[john]

Nice one ITWombat, making use of our new icons already!

[Geoff]

I get kids to do the non-technical stuff. Fetching, Carrying, Cleaning, etc. :axe:

 

That's what they are for anyway isn't it?

[e_g_r]

Our head of ICT complained about mice not running smoothly in his room so i gave him a small screw driver - problem solved.

[lee.munton]

Our cleaners don't touch our computers - we try and clean the computers as much as possible - but because of time restraints this usually means a quick wipe down with a cloth - not a proper fettling

[bishopsgarthstockton]

We have aactivities week, were all the kids go out of school, the last week of term before the summer holidays. I tend to go round them all. only takes a day.

[witch]

Cleaners won't touch them and i don't have time so the desks (and intake fans) are covered in burgundy fluff from the sweatshirts!

I really resent cleaning desks - I don't mind wiping over the machines but I don't really think it is our job.

And I do enough cleaning at home (the three teenagers!!)

[Mr_T]

I don't think we should be cleaning the kit I personaly think i'm paid to well to be doing it not that i am beyond cleaning but its seems a waste of resources. However because no one else does it, we go around usualy about once a term to remove the dust from the machines and give the keyboards a wipe over. Our librarians are very good and keep the PC in the library clean.

[SpuffMonkey]

Funnily enough - I've just spent 3 weeks in hospital - ugh - and the first poster is pretty accurate - nurses don't seem to do washing of patients, or bedpans etc - thats left to the Health Care Assistants (skivvies), as the nurses do have other skills that are needed. The staffing level on a ward of 30 people was 2 + 2 (ie 2 nurses and 2 HCAs) and often they were working a "long" shift - 7am til 9:30pm - and they hardly stopped all day. Puts our jobs in perspective doesn't it?

[flyinghaggis]

We used to clean the lab PC's each summer but our networks grown so large now that it's not really feasible to spend 15 minutes cleaning each PC even just once every couple of months as it would be near enough a full time job. The cleaners don't do it because it's not in their contract though we should probably re-negotiate that as it's to only real solution for keeping the PCs clean.

 

I'm not averse to doing it and will clean a PC if we bring one back for repair ,as other people have said, but it's not possible to go around the entire school doing it pro-actively. If it's a choice of either spending time making sure the PCs are working properly or keeping them clean then the former is always our main priority.

[Mr_T]

Oh i should mention i caught impetigo twice last year from working in a filthy school yuk!!