Summer break is just around the corner. Hallways are emptying, and staff are going on break, making this the best time to schedule deep cleaning and maintenance of the school.

Without the daily hustle and bustle of students and staff, facilities can clean, refresh key areas, and prepare for the upcoming school year. Whether you’re focusing on floor care, deep cleaning, or providing training for your team, now is the time to optimize your cleaning program.

Floor Care: A Step-by-Step Approach

The first thing people notice when they enter your school is the floor, and floors endure constant wear and tear throughout the school year. Summer offers the chance to restore them with proper maintenance, whether that means stripping and recoating hard floors, deep cleaning carpets, or refreshing entrance mats. To properly approach your floors, you should:

Plan Your Process: Prioritize longer projects such as refinishing floors into sections of the school throughout the summer and schedule cleaning in phases to maximize efficiency and drying time.

Use the Right Products: From floor strippers like Juggernaut^® and Green Seal-certified Penetrate^™ to cleaners like Buckeye Blue and Green Light^™, Buckeye offers the proper solutions to achieve lasting results.

Deep Clean Carpets and Mats: Remove dirt and build-up with effective cleaners like Gone™ H2O2  and Jet Stream^™ to ensure all flooring surfaces are in top condition before students return.

Sanitizing High-Touch Areas

A thorough summer cleaning includes disinfecting and deep cleaning of high-touch surfaces. High touch areas can range anywhere from desks, chairs, whiteboards, and restrooms, to cafeterias. Did you know that school cafeterias can be dirtier than a toilet seat? Each of these areas can accumulate germs and buildup over the course of the school year and require deep cleaning.

The best way to disinfect these areas is with powerful cleaning solutions designed to eliminate bacteria and viruses. Buckeye’s Eco Proportioning Program provides custodial teams with the tools and products needed for efficient and effective cleaning and disinfecting. Our Buckeye Eco Proportioning Systems Buckeye Eco Pro™, Buckeye Eco Element®, and Buckeye Eco Edge® are compact, flexible, and designed to fit seamlessly into custodial closets.

To complement these systems, Buckeye offers high-performance disinfectants and restroom cleaning solutions, including Buckeye Terminator™, formulated to eliminate bloodborne pathogens and bacteria, and Ever-Clean®, a Green Seal-certified solution ideal for maintaining restroom cleanliness.

Training through the Summer

With summer cleaning, floor resurfacing, and many other projects, comes the need for training staff to handle these projects and prepare for the fall. The best way to train your staff properly is to implement a program dedicated to preparing your team for success. Buckeye’s Honors^® Program gives your staff all the knowledge they need to succeed and help your school to shine throughout the summer and into fall. 

With the Honors® Program, Buckeye provides 24/7 access to an online training portal, including instructional videos, tests, reporting, customizable surveys, and progress tracking. No matter when new hires join your custodial staff, this program ensures seamless and effective training.

Next Steps

There is a lot to do in the summer months, however, with the right steps in place, all can be achieved, and your school will be ready for the new school year.

If you want to learn more about Buckeye’s programs and products reach out to a  Buckeye representative.

Most facilities require a variety of cleaning and disinfecting products to stay clean. This can require purchasing products from different manufacturers, learning new dilution ratios, and finding storage space for bulky ready-to-use products.

Simplify Your Ordering Process 

Eco^® proportioning systems dilute all Eco products. This includes disinfectants, cleaners, sanitizers, and carpet care products. When you choose Eco, you have access to any product you need to clean or disinfect your facility. No need to worry about communicating with different suppliers.

Eliminate Dilution Guesswork

Many concentrated products need to be diluted by hand. At best, this process slows down custodial staff members. At worst, it causes improper dilution of important chemicals like disinfectants. Eco proportioning systems take the guesswork out of dilution, automatically diluting products at the proper ratio with a push of a button. Because Eco has a cohesive user interface with a color-coded labeling system, operating the proportioning system is seamless.

Improve Storage Space

Eco offers three proportioning systems, the Eco Pro™, Eco Element™, and Eco Edge™. All are designed to fit in virtually any custodial closet. Eco products are super concentrated, making them compact for storage purposes.

Other Eco Benefits 

Eco products are innovative, high-quality, and cost-effective.

Several Eco products are Green Seal™ certified.

Eco 1.25 L bags are manufactured with 83% less plastic than similarly sized rigid containers.

Eco packaging is made from recycled and post-consumer material.

Eco super concentrated products reduce labor time and offer superior end-use cost.

For more information about the full Eco Proportioning Program, contact your Buckeye representative.

During the winter months, respiratory diseases like COVID-19, influenza, and RSV are spread more easily. Implementing an effective cleaning and disinfecting program can reduce the spread of germs. The Eco Proportioning Program is equipped with multi-purpose disinfectants that remove soil and effectively kill a wide array of organisms.

Eco Disinfectants

Eco One-Step Disinfectant/Deodorizer/Cleaner E22 cleans, disinfects, and deodorizes in one step. This hospital-use disinfectant is bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal.

Eco Neutral Disinfectant E23 is a multipurpose disinfectant designed for use in hospital, healthcare, and industrial settings. It is ideal for routine cleaning and floor care maintenance.

E22 and E23 may both be used against SARS-Related Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) [cause of COVID-19] with a one-minute contact time at a ½ oz./gal. dilution rate.

Proper Disinfection Can:

Combat absenteeism in schools
Reduce HAIs (healthcare-associated-infections) in healthcare facilities
Create a safer environment for retail customers and staff

In-Person and Online Training

Buckeye offers in-person and online training for all products and programs, ensuring your staff has the tools they need to keep your facility clean and looking its best. Complement in-person training with the Honors®  Custodial Training Program for Schools and Universities, or the Prescription Hospital Environmental Services Maintenance Program. Honors and Prescription training videos cover routine, interim, and restorative maintenance procedures. Both platforms include additional resources like PowerPoints, wall charts, and posters. Users can take tests to assess their knowledge at the end of each video and supervisors can monitor test scores from the reports page. With new videos detailing enhanced disinfecting procedures, Honors and Prescription can help keep your staff informed.

The Eco Proportioning Program 

Eco disinfectants are part of the Eco Proportioning Program. The Eco Proportioning Program utilizes proportioning systems to automatically dilute products at the correct rate, removing guesswork from the process.

Eco’s extensive line of super concentrated products includes disinfectants, cleaners, sanitizers, and more. With effective, ecologically friendly chemistry, Eco products are designed to protect workers and preserve the environment.

To learn more about Eco disinfectants and the complete Eco Proportioning Program, contact your Buckeye representative.

Proper cleaning and disinfecting begin with proper product dilution. Diluting products by hand can be messy, unsafe, and inaccurate. Eco^® proportioning systems seamlessly and accurately dilute products without exposing workers to concentrated products.

Accurate Product Dilution

When products are diluted by hand, user error can result in incorrect product dilution. This can be detrimental to the effectiveness of cleaners and disinfectants. Eco proportioning systems prevent dilution mistakes by automatically diluting concentrated products with the push of a button.

Eco proportioning systems are easy to operate and color and number coded making products easy to identify while filling spray bottles and mop buckets.

Protection from Harsh Chemicals

Like many cleaners and disinfectants, Eco products are super concentrated to reduce labor time and offer superior end use cost. Diluting products by hand exposes workers to super concentrated products. Eco proportioning systems are self-contained, meaning staff members have no contact with concentrated products or exposed tubing.

Compact

Eco proportioning systems can fit in virtually any custodial closet. Depending on the needs of your facility, choose between the Eco Pro^®, Eco Element^®, and Eco Edge^®. The Eco Pro is designed for broad spectrum cleaning and can dilute for up to six different applications. The Eco Element and Eco Edge are designed for remote and focused applications, diluting for up to 3 different applications.

Sustainability

Because Eco proportioning systems utilize concentrated products, less packaging is required to ship Eco products. Eco’s packaging consists of recycled and post-consumer material and Eco 1.25 L bags are manufactured with 83% less plastic than rigid containers.

The Eco Proportioning Program 

Eco proportioning systems are part of the larger Eco Proportioning Program. This program includes training and educational materials highlighting proper procedures that promote human health and safety.

Keep your facility clean with the Eco proportioning program. Contact your Buckeye representative to see which proportioning systems and products are right for your facility.

As facilities reopen during COVID-19, properly cleaning and disinfecting are important steps in the process. Buckeye is committed to enhancing the performance and safety of its products along with providing proper training and education. Using Buckeye dilution systems, wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), following Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, reading Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and product labels, learning how to use products safely, and following state, local and facility guidelines for wearing a face mask are all part of working smart.

Thoroughly clean objects and surfaces before disinfecting. The Eco^® Proportioning Program provides products like Eco All-Purpose Cleaner, Eco Glass Cleaner HD, Eco Muscle Cleaner and more to clean all surfaces in your facility. Eco proportioning systems are closed, preventing exposure to concentrated products. They automatically dilute products, taking the guess work out of product dilution. Each Eco product is easily identified by color and number, eliminating product confusion. Clean restrooms, hallways, offices communal areas, and more with properly diluted products that make cleaning easier and quicker.

High-touch surfaces and objects must be disinfected daily. These include countertops, door handles, sink handles, faucets, hand railings, restroom stalls, light switches, phones, toilets, and computer equipment. Some high-touch areas may need to be cleaned more often depending on how often they are used. Stores should disinfect shopping carts and sale keypads before each use.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has compiled a list of disinfectants for use against COVID-19. This list contains several Buckeye products, including two Eco products, Eco Neutral Disinfectant E23 and Eco One-Step Disinfectant-Deodorizer-Cleaner E22. When disinfecting with Eco Neutral Disinfectant or Eco One-Step Disinfectant-Deodorizer-Cleaner, remember to let each disinfectant dwell for ten minutes to achieve complete disinfection.

Attain the best overall value for each dollar spent with the fully integrated Eco Proportioning Program, designed and manufactured with proprietary technology with you, the end-user, in mind. Effective, safer, economically and ecologically friendly chemistry; hermetically sealed, flexible and sustainable packaging; together with a simplistic approach to proportioning to protect and preserve your environment.

Contact your local Buckeye representative to see which Eco products and proportioning systems are right for your facility.

Restaurants, retail stores, and schools are preparing to reopen during COVID-19 and the CDC urges these facilities to develop and implement a plan to reduce the risk of exposure.

Following CDC protocols, Buckeye programs can help keep these facilities on the right track. With cleaning products, disinfectants, hand sanitizers and more, Buckeye programs have the necessary tools for visitor well-being.

Complete Hand Hygiene Program 

The Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program offers a complete line of hand hygiene products. Symmetry’s high quality, low cost products are less likely to contribute to dry hands and leave no sticky residue behind.

In addition to high quality products and reliable dispensing systems, Symmetry offers education and awareness materials, and behavior modification tools. Education and awareness materials include wall charts, posters, product literature, and handwashing videos that focus on the “HOW” and “WHY” or proper hand hygiene. The Symmetry Behavior Modification System uses customizable placards, visual lighting cues, and more to capture attention in the moment and inspire an immediate hand hygiene event.

Enhanced Cleaning and Disinfecting Program

 

Frequently clean and disinfect high touch objects, surfaces and areas using our EPA recognized emerging pathogen disinfectants approved for use during COVID-19. Our Eco Proportioning Program is fully integrated with effective, hermetically sealed products, including EPA emerging pathogen disinfectants, for any application.

The complete Eco^® Proportioning Program allows you to consider space availability, how many products you will dilute, cost, and whether or not your products need additional security. Eco products are diluted automatically through Eco proportioning systems, ensuring their effectiveness and preventing product waste.

Microban^® Antimicrobial Product Floor Protection 

 

A recent study conducted in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and a COVID-19 General Ward (GW) at Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China confirmed that the virus was widely distributed on floors, computer mice, trash cans, and sickbed handrails. Another study found that bacteria and fungi can live on soles of shoes for up to five days.

Clarion^® 25 Microban Antimicrobial Floor Finish and Arena^® 300 Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating can provide an added level of 24/7 proactive protection against damaging microbes. Though Microban is not a substitute for normal cleaning practices, Microban protection continuously fights the growth of microbes, and makes floors easier to clean - keeping floors cleaner, longer at no additional cost to you.

Training Programs 

 

Buckeye’s training programs provide step-by-step manuals and customized wall charts to accompany in-depth, in-person training. Provide your staff with the proper products and procedures to meet the needs of your facility.

Social Distancing Decals

 

In order to reopen, facilities need to maintain safe daily habits in order to reduce the risk of exposure. This includes reminding patrons to wear face coverings, practice social distancing, and avoid public places when sick. Buckeye can help bring awareness to the people in your facility with social distancing signage at entrances, on floors, on walls, on carts, and at registers.

For more information about how Buckeye can assist your facility in reopening, contact your local Buckeye representative. 

The Eco^® Proportioning Program can help standardize cleaning in any facility. With cleaners, disinfectants, sanitizers, and odor eliminators all dispensable from one system, Eco makes cleaning easy for staff of any facility.

There are three compact Eco proportioning systems, made to fit in virtually any custodial closet. Designed for broad spectrum cleaning, the Eco Pro can dilute for up to six different applications. The more compact Eco Element and Edge are designed for remote, satellite, and focused applications, each diluting for up to three applications. Each proportioning system operates the same, automatically diluting products with the press of a button, taking the guess work out of product dilution.

Eco’s extensive product line provides products to clean any part of your facility. They are each color and number coded to make proportioning even easier. Each product’s number and color match with its corresponding bottle and proportioning system dispenser. Recently a church in Phoenix, AZ switched from ready-to-use products to the Eco Proportioning Program. They had also been using several different product dispensers throughout their facilities, making diluting cleaners a confusing, time consuming process. The Eco proportioning systems automatically diluted products and each Eco product, bottle, and dispenser is labeled with a corresponding color and number making it easy to distinguish between products. Switching to Eco helped consolidate their cleaning supplies and develop a better cleaning system.

For schools looking to implement the Eco Proportioning Program, Buckeye’s Honors Custodial Training Program can help guide staff as they clean. Available 24 hours a day, the Honors Program provides training in routine cleaning, restroom, shower and locker room cleaning, carpet care, hard floor care, gym floor care, food service procedures, summer cleaning procedures, and product safety. The program presents easy to follow procedures that are researched and proven to increase efficiency with videos, tests, training manuals, product literature, and wall charts.

For more information about the Eco Proportioning Program and how it can simplify cleaning in your facility, contact your local Buckeye representative.

From general cleaning to restroom cleaning and food service area cleaning, the wide range of necessary products can begin to add up. Keeping track of the dilution rate and application of each product can get overwhelming. It can start to waste the time of staff members and, in some cases, prevent them from cleaning and disinfecting properly. The Eco^® Proportioning Program is designed to maximize efficiency with easy-to-operate proportioning systems, cohesive labeling, and outstanding product performance.

All Eco products are proportioned through Eco proportioning systems. Eco proportioning systems are automatic, compact, and self-contained with a cohesive user interface and experience. All three proportioning systems (Eco Pro^®, Eco Element^®, and Eco Edge^®) have the same user interface with seamless push and lock buttons. All Eco products are diluted and dispensed with the push of a button, consolidating the dilution process for all facility cleaners and disinfectants.

Eco products use a unique and intuitive labeling system to help staff members easily identify products. Each Eco product has a corresponding color and number that can be found on the product packaging, spray bottle, and proportioning system. In combination with Eco’s proportioning systems, Eco’s labeling system simplifies the proportioning process for all staff members, helping them focus on the more important task of cleaning.

Eco products cover all your facility’s cleaning needs including food service and preparation areas, restrooms, carpet cleaning, and other general cleaning. When asked about his elementary school’s switch to Eco, one head custodian said, “Staff has really liked the change to Eco. The chemicals work a lot better than what we used in the past.” Because Eco products work better than other cleaners and disinfectants, staff members no longer have to waste time recleaning areas because residue has been left behind. Eco products work on the first application.

When Buckeye representatives install Eco proportioning systems, they train staff members on the proportioning systems and products. Eco also has customizable wall charts that staff members can refer to as they dispense products and clean. Staff members at one university commented on the helpfulness of Buckeye training and wall charts, saying, “Buckeye has been extremely helpful in making sure that our staff is properly trained. I like the wall charts above the systems. If I ever forget what a chemical does or how to install a bag, it’s posted right there.”

With Eco and the training provided by Buckeye representatives, staff members can be confident in a clean facility. To find out more about the Eco Proportioning Program, contact your local Buckeye representative.

Proportioning systems are the easiest way to keep the cleanest facility. Achieve the best overall value for each dollar spent with the fully integrated Eco^® Proportioning Program, designed and manufactured with proprietary technology and the end-user in mind.

Automatic

Eco proportioning systems make diluting cleaning products as simple as pushing a button. Proportioning systems take the guess work out of product dilution. Facilities don’t have to worry about workers coming into contact with harsh chemicals or wasting product by improperly diluting them.

Compact

Eco offers three different proportioning systems including the Eco Pro, Eco Element, and Eco Edge. Each of these systems is compact and able to fit in virtually any custodial closet.

Eco Pro^®

• Used for broad spectrum cleaning
• Dilutes up to six applications
• 4 low flow fills at 1.25 gpm
• 2 high flow fills at 5 gpm
• 1 water only fill at 5 gpm

Eco Element^®

• Used for remote and satellite locations
• Dilutes up to three applications
• 2 low flow fills at 1.25 gpm
• 1 high low fill at 5 gpm

Eco Edge

• Used for remote and satellite locations
• Dilutes up to three applications
• 2 high flow fills at 5 gpm
• 1 low flow fill at 1.25 gpm

Standardized

Whether you need to clean the floors, the bathroom, or windows in your facility, with the Eco proportioning system, the process to dilute each cleaning product is the same.

The clear buckets of the proportioning system allow users to check product levels and clearly see the color of each product. Each product is labeled by color and number on both the proportioning system and the silk-screened spray bottles to help identify them and make product dilution simple. Eco’s goal is to provide standard systems and procedures to make cleaning easier and more cost-effective for the end user.

To learn more about other features of the program, including the many Eco products, contact your local Buckeye representative.