Ohio University’s modified cleaning protocols ensure spaces are sanitized for fall return to campus

Facilities Management and Safety staff focus cleaning on high-traffic, high-touch areas

Ohio University’s Facilities Management and Safety team continues use of its modified cleaning process, originally created in March, to keep our University community safe while ensuring spaces are fully sanitized.

The changes include using EPA-approved disinfectants that destroy the COVID-19 virus and focusing cleaning efforts on common spaces, restrooms, and high touch points. High touch points are areas that are frequently touched by individuals’ hands as they move through a facility, such as door handles and glass, handrails, drinking fountains, faucet handles, light switches, and elevator keypads.

“Our custodial team has been using this new process for months and has done a fantastic job to date,” Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Steve Wood said. “The team is prepared to focus on the areas that are most likely to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or other diseases safely and consistently.”

When campus reopens for normal traffic, Facilities Management and Safety will continue to focus on common areas, restrooms and high touch points, and when in-person classes resume, staff will add additional in-depth cleaning and disinfection of classrooms on a daily basis, along with increased cleaning services in residence halls.

Once these cleaning tasks are complete, staff then move on to project work, such as detailed and restorative cleaning, such as floor refinishing, carpet cleaning, cleaning of light fixtures, and deep cleaning of restrooms. With limited functions returning to campus in recent weeks, more emphasis has been placed on cleaning of public spaces and less emphasis on project work.