Healthier and Asthma-Safer Cleaning in Class: Information for Parents and Guardians

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  California. Department of Public Health ; California. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  A large number of classrooms in California have adopted healthier and asthma-safer cleaning practices, and we are proud to be one of them. Our simple act of switching to microfiber cloths for routine clean-up jobs is making a difference. This is part of a partnership with the California Department of Public Health's Cleaning for Asthma-Safe Schools project. Why the change? Cleaning products, sanitizers, and disinfectants, including disinfectant wipes, can contain harmful ingredients. Chemicals in these products may cause eye burns, skin rashes, or headaches. Some have been linked to asthma, cancer, and other long-term effects. Children are particularly vulnerable to chemicals, and it's safest to not use chemicals around them. Why are microfiber cloths a safer choice for classrooms? Microfiber cloths clean really well, even without chemicals. The cloths can trap and remove soil and germs. The tiny fibers penetrate cracks that traditional cloths cannot, and they attract dust. We use microfiber cloths to clean desks, after snack time or art projects, for spills, and for dusting. We can re-use the cloths hundreds of times, keeping wipes out of our landfill. When are you disinfecting? Sanitizers and disinfectants are pesticides, so we use them only when necessary. Staff will still disinfectant after removing body fluids like blood or vomit, when required by law, or for specific circumstances. What laws and policies are in place? School staff or volunteers who use a pesticide, including disinfectant wipes and sanitizers, must take a yearly California Healthy Schools Act training. People who do not disinfect, sanitize or use any other pesticide in school are not required to take the training. It is also against the law for children to use pesticides. What about washing hands? Handwashing is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent illness. Please help children practice good handwashing, reminding them to wash their hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Ask them to hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Disinfectants Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Chemical Hazards Cleaning Compounds Safety Practices Sanitation
• Publisher:
  California Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Lay Publication ; Lay Publication
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066591
• Citation:
  Sacramento, CA: California Department of Public Health, 2019 Aug; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Healthier and asthma-safer cleaning in class: information for parents and guardians
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c485e664c9aa5b73514d6a6221594ac6519ca7db5cef2732663b993ca6bc439ed8fcab31a368bf60e47310a0625b8c2d711056cf55581e26f4a267b3f2dccaa2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231065/cdc_231065_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 408.76 KB ]