McMinn Co. Schools takes advantage of students and staff off to deep clean

ATHENS, Tenn. (WVLT) - The first line of defense against germs in schools is working, even when teachers and students are off.

Custodians clocked hours and miles all over campus at McMinn County High School on Thursday. They continued to report while the school system was closed due to illness.

“It’s just a lot of cleaning, a lot of extra stuff that you don’t normally have to do,” said Sid Dickey, the Head Custodian at McMinn County High School.

He normally mops and sweeps, but since the pandemic he and the other custodians sanitize desks, door handles, light switches, water fountains and more, more than ever.

Classrooms quiet, but custodial staff in @McMinnCountySch continue to report to school. Constantly cleaning and sanitizing for when students and staff return, whenever that will be. Watch & learn how many rooms these workers go into multiple times a day tonight at 4 & 5 on @wvlt pic.twitter.com/isoTd1ylej
— Ashley Bohle (@AshleyWVLT) January 20, 2022

He used a disinfectant machine to go through the 75 rooms in the school. Before, when he used a manual spray bottle, it took double the time to clean rooms. The machine cuts it down to a few minutes.

“The teachers help a lot cause they wipe a lot of their desks off in between classes,” said Dickey.

Out of the eight custodians, a couple have gotten sick this season, but most are staying well.

If you are interested in job opportunities click here.

Copyright 2022 WVLT. All rights reserved.