Can Outsourcing Campus Cleaning for the Summer Save Your District Money?

Nate PruittSchool Cleaning Services

School campuses are incredibly vibrant, busy places. It doesn’t matter if you’re on an elementary, middle, or high school campus. The school year is typically filled with the hustle and bustle. Once everything wraps up at the end of the school year, staff members, from teachers and principals to janitors, are left with many tasks that they must take on to prepare for the new year. 

Take a look at your janitorial needs over the summer. The campus needs a deep cleaning. Tasks that cleaning staff couldn’t do during the school year can be scheduled. Unfortunately, cleaning costs are rising for many schools, leaving them scrambling for adequate cleaning services. Outsourcing some of those essential summer cleaning tasks can help save your district money. 

Summer Campus Cleaning: What Needs to Be Taken Care Of?

Related: Floors, Windows, Deep-Cleaning, and More: Checklist for Summer School Janitorial Operations

Many tasks need to be taken care of over the summer: tasks that you need to take care of before you can wrap up the previous school year and duties you may need to take on before the next school year begin. 

Desk, Locker, and Cubby Clean Out

Many students aren’t as thorough as you might like when cleaning out their areas at the end of the year. They may leave papers, books, and other items behind in their desks, lockers, and cubbies. To prepare for the next school year, it’s important to clean those areas and have them fresh and empty for incoming students. 

Deep Cleaning

After a long, busy school year, it’s time to take care of the deep cleaning tasks that always seem to get put off. You want your campus to look its best as new students and their parents arrive at the beginning of the following year. That may mean that you need to:

  • Wash the carpets and floors
  • Clean the windows
  • Deep clean behind desks and in instructional areas
  • Mop and buff hard floors
  • Deep clean the school kitchen

Summer is the time to make sure everything gets pulled out away from the walls, items get moved from the spots they stay in on the floors all year, and any debris is cleared away.

Sanitizing the Restrooms

It may feel like the restrooms are never thoroughly cleaned during the school year. As soon as one mess is wiped up, another student moves into the washroom. Over the summer, on the other hand, you can take care of sanitizing the restrooms and make sure that the bathrooms look their best. 

Cleaning the Teacher’s Lounge

The teacher’s lounge can be one of the messiest places in the school building. All too often, this critical area is overlooked throughout the school year. You don’t want to interrupt teachers trying to plan lessons or snag a little rest between teaching students, after all! During the summer months, you can take care of all the deep cleaning in the teacher’s lounge. Don’t forget to clean out fridges and other storage areas. 

Taking Care of Repairs

It can be challenging to keep up with necessary repairs during the school year. Many kids don’t intend to be destructive (though some certainly do), but it may seem like a never-ending string of items that the janitor needs to take care of. You may have desks and chairs that need to be fixed, equipment that needs to be serviced, and, in some cases, even walls or doors that need to be set. During the school year, there may not be enough time to take care of those essentials. During the summer, on the other hand, you can often catch up.

Sprucing Things Up

In addition to the many other tasks that may fill the summer, those weeks with no students in the building are the perfect opportunity to spruce things up and ensure they look their best. Do you have walls that have gotten grimy over time? Paint peeling? Flooring that needs to be replaced? The summer months are the ideal time to break out the paint buckets and rollers, replace worn flooring, and ensure that the campus looks bright and new for the coming school year. 

Moving and Rearranging

In most schools, space is at a premium. As many as 60% of fourth and 66% of sixth graders reported attending an overcrowded school in 2019. Making the most of that space is critical, and summer is often the best time to take care of that move. Furthermore, new teachers may come into the building, schools may add new amenities, and the janitorial staff may be responsible for ensuring that desks, chairs, and equipment are in the right places for those teachers. 

Related: Planning Annual Project Work for Church and School Cleaning

How Can Outsourcing Campus Cleaning Save You Money?

During the summer months, it may seem as though your janitorial staff is busier than ever. Outsourcing some of the vital tasks they need to perform over the summer months can, in many cases, help you save money on those essential services. 

Avoid Hiring Additional Janitorial Staff

Although your buildings are empty (and that, theoretically, fewer people are making messes), your janitorial staff may be busier than ever over the summer. Some districts handle the increased work by hiring additional help over the summer months. However, the cost to hire your employees can rise substantially higher than the cost of outsourcing. 

Make Sure You Have Adequate Coverage

Your janitorial staff will need to go on vacation over the summer months just like every other school team member. In some cases, that may leave you without adequate coverage for regular cleaning tasks, much less all the extra that has to go on over the summer. When you outsource many of your summer cleaning services, on the other hand, you’ll find that you’re less likely to miss out on vital coverage.

Get Your Tasks Done on Time

Chances are, your institution has a schedule you need to stick to through the summer to ensure everything gets done before the new school year begins. If you end up down to the wire at the end of the summer, you may pay more for someone to come in and take care of those tasks. When you outsource your summer cleaning services, on the other hand, you’ll find that you’re in a better position to get those tasks done on time. 

Save on Equipment

Do you often have to acquire specialty equipment for summer cleaning, including floor cleaners? When you outsource those services, the provider will often bring in their equipment.

What Summer Cleaning Tasks Can You Outsource?

You can’t outsource every task on your summer cleaning list. However, you can outsource many cleaning tasks that fill your team’s summer.

  • Basic cleaning. Let someone else come in and take care of the basic tasks, freeing up your janitorial staff to focus on tasks only they can do.
  • Deep cleaning. Bring in a professional to take care of those deep cleaning tasks. 
  • Outdoor cleanup. Let your campus cleaners take care of cleaning out the gutters, clearing the leaves, and more.
  • Carpet cleaning.
  • Floor cleaning.
  • Pressure washing.

Campus cleaners can also take care of many of the “reset” tasks involved in the school year, allowing your janitorial staff to take a much-needed break or focus on other tasks that need to be completed throughout the school.

Do You Need Summer Cleaners?

Do you need to spruce up and deep clean your campus this summer? DTK Facility services can help. Our dependable, reliable, clean team can help your campus look its best before the new school year arrives. Contact us today to learn more.