4 Safety Tips for Cleaning School Toilets

Photo courtesy of Carlos Paes

School toilets need to be cleaned with all the highest standards of hygiene in mind. Keeping this area clean can help prevent the spread of disease and improve school attendance. Using a cleaning system similar to a HACCP cleaning system, may be useful. HACCP was developed by NASA to ensure food safety for astronauts. It has been adopted by the food preparation industry to keep food safe. The principles of HACCP ensure that germs are not spread and there is no cross-contamination of bacteria.

• Use colour-coded cloths for cleaning different areas. Toilet pans, urinals and cisterns should be cleaned with one cloth – you could make this one a red cloth. Then basins, taps and cubicle doors and door handles and locks should be cleaned with a separate cloth and this one could be green. Do not use the same bucket of cleaning products for these two cloths and do not let them lie together when not in use.
• Cleaning products should always be handled responsibly and staff must be trained about proper handling and dilution.
• Cleaning products must always be stored in a locked room that is not accessible by students. 
• All staff that clean must be familiar with their products and have all necessary safety gear including safety goggles, masks, acid-resistant overalls, acid-proof gloves and safety boots.

For more information on cleaning products for all areas of a school please visit our website at www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures a huge range of cleaning products in Midrand, South Africa. We are the best local wholesaler of cleaning chemicals.

The Rules of Cleaning - 5+6

I have some more of those fabulous rules for cleaning for you today. Some of them may seem like common sense to some of you but you’ll be amazed by how not considering just one of these points can cause a lot of hassle for you and your staff. Having a clean, safe and hygienic place of work really does make a huge difference to morale.

5.  Start soft

When cleaning it is a good idea to start with the softest and gentlest approach first. Use the softest cleaning equipment with the least harmful and well diluted cleaning product as your starting point if you are unsure of how to clean. Use more aggressive techniques and cleaning chemicals only if you have to. Cleaning equipment like steel wool can seriously damage surfaces so you wouldn’t want to start off with it. Harsh cleaning chemicals can also cause damage to the item being cleaned as well as being more likely to cause damage to the environment. Start soft and gentle, you can always be more aggressive later.

6.   Time is on your side

One of the things that make cleaning products work better is contact time. So let your cleaning products do the work for you. Spray or wipe the cleaning product onto the item being cleaned and leave it for a couple of minutes to activate. Don’t leave it too long or it might dry out. When you come back to wipe it off chances are that you will only need to wipe it away rather than scrub at it.

For more information on cleaning and cleaning products please visit our website at www.blendwell.co.za. We manufacture a huge range of cleaning products at our factory in Midrand, South Africa. We are your best local cleaning products wholesaler.

How to clean - food and beverage

Cleaning in any food factory or food processing plant is something that has to be taken very seriously. In these environments so many things can cause for bacteria to start to grow and spread. It can spread really quickly and getting rid of it then becomes a real challenge.

This is where the H-range can help. This range of cleaning products has been designed to be the easiest and most effective way of cleaning in a food environment. These cleaning chemicals are also HACCP compliant. H-range chemicals are safe and effective at cleaning and disinfecting.

For more information on what h-range can do for your food and drink processing plant please visit www.blendwell.co.za/Food_Industry_Cleaning_Products. Blendwell Cleaning Solutions manufactures the h-range of cleaning chemicals at their factory in Midrand, South Africa. We are your local cleaning products manufacturer!

What is HACCP

The acronym HACCP stands for hazard analysis critical control point. It was a system developed by NASA to ensure food safety for astronauts. Since then the HACCP system has become internationally recognised as the best system for food safety assurance. HACCP can be described as a food safety management system that affects all stages of food production and distribution. It is about the prevention of hazards rather than the inspection of the finished product.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has adopted the HACCP system as the most effective way of controlling foodborne diseases. 

The HACCP system is now being used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Adopting the HACCP system will involve following very specific cleaning and handling procedures through every stage of manufacture. For more information on HACCP cleaning chemicals please visit www.blendwell.co.za/Food_Industry_Cleaning_Products.  These food safe cleaning chemicals are manufactured by Blendwell Chemicals in Halfway House, South Africa. We are your local cleaning chemical manufacturer!

How to clean your office the eco-friendly way - Part 8

An office area is one of those spaces where a lot of people spend a lot of their time. Keeping it clean, safe and hygienic should be a priority for any company. If drains are not cleaned once in a while, this can lead to some pretty atrocious smells. These smells often grow slowly over time and can easily not be noticed by the people who are working there.

Blendwell Chemicals supplies an amazing product in the Delphis Eco range that can drains, toilets and pipelines really easily. The Delphis Eco range of green cleaning chemicals is available through Blendwell Chemicals under license to the UK.

Bio Fizzy Tablets are superb. All you need to do is put a tablet into a bucket with at least 4 litres of water. Let the tablet dissolve and then pour this mixture evenly down all drains and toilets. You would only need to repeat this once a month. Good bacteria are then released into the drain line and it is cleaned in a very natural, eco-friendly and safe way.

For more information on this product please visit www.blendwell.co.za/Green_Cleaning_Products Blendwell Chemicals supplies cleaning products for their factory in Midrand, South Africa. We are your local cleaning chemical supplier! 

How to clean your office the eco-friendly way - Part 1

Office suites require many different types of cleaning to get them properly clean. There is not one cleaning chemical you can use for the entire area and the cleaning products that you use you may need to use them differently in different areas.

It has become more necessary for companies to be more responsible in how they clean and which products they choose. The need to go green with your cleaning products is no longer something that only a select few can do. With the prices of eco-friendly cleaning products coming down there is no longer any excuse for companies to not choose green. The Delphis Eco range of green cleaning chemicals will also give you peace of mind that the products you are choosing are as good as if not better than any traditional cleaners you may have used before.

In your toilet areas and kitchen it will be necessary to have some hand soap. I would recommend having a dispenser for a liquid soap like Delphis Eco’s Hand Soap. This liquid hand soap will allow everyone to clean their hands in a clean and hygienic way. The awesome thing about this hand soap is that it will not dry the skin out so use can use it as often as you need to. This eco-friendly cleaning product is also fully biodegradable and safe for people and the environment.

For more information on this cleaning product and all the others in this range please go to www.blendwell.co.za/Green_Cleaning_Products  Blendwell Chemicals manufactures the Delphis Eco range under license to the UK. Blendwell Chemicals has a factory in Midrand South Africa 

How to clean vinyl floors - Part 1

Keeping vinyl floors clean and shiny is not as hard as you think. This type of flooring is often found in hospitals, offices, shops and homes. These floors can handle a great deal of liquid being spilt on them and general wear and tear without getting damaged. They make the ideal type of flooring for many spaces.

If liquid polymer polish has been used it will be necessary to use a stripper as the floor will not look its best with the build-up that will result. An ideal cleaning product to use is Blendwell Chemicals Stripper. This cleaning product will not be able to strip a hard wax polish but works brilliantly with a liquid polymer polish.

Depending on the area to be cleaned you may wish to use Blendwell Chemicals Stripper NA. This cleaning product does not contain ammonia which makes it ideal for use in hospitals where a smell of ammonia cannot be tolerated.  

To mix up a 10 litre solution of cleaning product, take 500ml (half a litre) and put it in an empty bucket. Then fill up the bucket to make it 10 litres in total. Using a mop, cover the floor with this solution. Leave for 10 minutes to allow the cleaning product to react. Then take a soft broom or a mop and rub the floor. It will be necessary to rinse the floor with water after using this cleaning product. Please make sure that this process is done when floors have been cordoned off and people will not accidently slip on the wet floor. Please ensure that safety eyewear, gloves and shoes are worn when using this cleaning product.

For more information on this and other floor cleaning products please visit www.blendwell.co.za Blendwell Chemicals is a manufacturer of many cleaning chemicals and is based near Pretoria very close to the Midrand Gautrain station. We are your local cleaning products supplier!

How to clean your Christmas decorations - Part1

Maybe you’re a bit of a kid like me and you’ve already put up your Christmas tree. I like to have mine out for at least a month and really enjoy it. Putting it all up feels a lot like a military operation with all the boxes and boxes that need to come out of storage and there is a very specific order in which items are to be placed on the tree.

You’re going to save yourself a lot of time and energy by storing your decorations correctly. It’s really important that your decorations cannot be attacked by any damp and the more delicate ones cannot be broken. Getting a couple of big plastic boxes, bubble wrap and tissue paper could be very useful. Be very careful with any decorations with glitter on them as you may wipe off the glitter whilst cleaning.

Glass ornaments will need to be wrapped up individually and when they come out of their wrapping a quick clean with Blendwell Chemicals Window Cleaner will work beautifully. In a 1 litre spray bottle pour in 80ml of Window Cleaner and fill up the rest of the bottle with water. Spray the ornaments and wipe gently with a soft clean cloth.

Plastic baubles that have been attacked by the grubby hands of an overexcited 3 year old can be cleaned the same way. Please be sure not to rub these ornaments too vigorously as the paint can come off. A gentle wipe should be all you need.

Blendwell Chemicals manufactures Window Cleaner and many other cleaning products. To see their full range of cleaning chemicals please visit www.blendwell.co.za Blendwell Chemicals is near Pretoria in South Africa. We are your local cleaning chemical supplier.

What is safety equipment? Part 2

In part one we looked at gloves and eyewear. Here we will look at other types of safety equipment that are often required when dealing with cleaning chemicals.

Often forgotten is safety footwear. Proper boots or shoes should always be worn when dealing with cleaning chemicals. Firstly, they will protect the skin on your feet from accidental spills. Secondly, they should have steel toe caps and these would protect your toes should you accidentally drop anything heavy on your feet.

Overalls are a very important part of safety gear. Wearing a suitable overall is imperative. Typically a blue overall has the same protection as wearing a pair of jeans. If dealing with harsh chemicals it may be better to rather look at an acid-proof overall which is usually bottle green in colour and if dealing with flammable materials you could rather buy a flame retardant overall (these are usually fern green in colour).

Safety respiratory masks may be required in conditions where products can be harmful to lungs. This may be because the dust off a powder product could hurt the lungs or the fumes off a liquid product could create a problem.  Where safety respiratory masks are required a dust mask will not suffice. These are simply ineffective and you would be better off with a proper breathing unit.  A safety respiratory mask could be a single or double depending on requirements. Cartridges will need to be replaced from time to time and the appropriate cartridges will need to be used. Cartridges are made for different proposes so be sure you have the right type.

When dealing with cleaning chemicals these would be the most common types of safety gear. However, there may be other requirements for specific chemicals. Product information should very clearly state if other types of safety gear is required. Please follow the advice given. If there is no safety advice given with a product, always get in touch with the manufacturer to make sure about what you may require.

Please visit the Blendwell Chemicals website at www.blendwell.co.za for information on cleaning chemicals that we have in our range. Blendwell Chemicals is a manufacturer of cleaning chemicals that has a factory in Midrand South Africa.