? for MCPS teachers re cleaning supplies allowed in classrooms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one's going to sniff the desk tops or swab! (maybe some of our huffers . . . )

Just use the damn Clorox wipes! They'll kill anything - MRSA, H1N1, and yes, even the AIDS virus!

Do be sure that you use enough of the Chlorox wipes to leave a wet surface for 4 minutes, and let it air dry. That's how long you need to leave the solution to disinfect the germs you mention. A quick wipe with just one swipe will only clean the surface, but not to disinfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one's going to sniff the desk tops or swab! (maybe some of our huffers . . . )

Just use the damn Clorox wipes! They'll kill anything - MRSA, H1N1, and yes, even the AIDS virus!

I'm sure MCPS is in bed with some "green" cleaning manufacturer.

I can't believe everyone is so fearful. I've taught gang members. Do you think I care about Alpha-HP Multi-Surface Cleaner???

I'm somewhat fearful of a $5000 fine. Our staff was told that there will be inspections of classrooms and if anything other than the MCPS approved spary bottle is found in our classrooms, there will be serious consequences. This year in my portable, I've had students with headlice, students with swine flu, a student throw up, kids sneezing and the spray going everywhere, and nose pickers who wipe their snot on to their desk, the floor, etc. The spray bottle of cleaner provided to us does not seem to clean the desks well. Stains still remain and a vinegar like smell permeates the air. In the past, I would use lysol spray after school on common areas like the door, pencil sharpener, crayon bins, etc. The MCPS spray bottle is liquid and can't be used in the same way lysol can be used. I will still be using clorox wipes and lysol on MY desk. The kids are on their own with the MCPS approved, watered down cleaner that doesn't seem to clean.

Who's conducting these inspections, PP? Does your school really have the person power to invest in that time? I'm assuming you're elementary. During your oh-so-long planning periods use the Clorox wipes on the desks. Or, commit the "crime" after school. As I said in an earlier post, hide the items during the day and take them home in the afternoon.

The nose pickers are the worst! We still have some in high school! yuck

And about the vinegar? What if this "cleaning" product is really a water-vinegar mix??? I'd be tempted myself to take it to a lab for testing!

[Anonymous]

The reason for the change in cleaning supplies is because our kids are getting sick at a young age and thanks to our selfish complaints of wanting something more than whats natural we are the reason for that. Did you know that Lysol is a registered pesticide. Yes look it up on the FDA website. Why would we spray that in our home or classroom where our kids can breath it in. It doesnt matter if its on the desk top and they dont lick it.. it is like putting lab rats in a box and filling the box up with fumes. Who opens the windows or doors to their home anymore? Ok, the fumes cant escape and you just get immune to it and a few years down the line that chemical you have been breathing in all these years has caused cancer or many of the other problems we are seeing. Yet we dont know what causes this stuff right?

[Anonymous]

I am not a teacher, and I know that there are lots of scary germs out there. But my son gets serious asthma from chlorine, ammonia, and other VOCs often found in school supplies. We've appreciate it a lot when teachers have been willing to use stuff that is less irritating to his lungs. This is unusual, I know, and I don't suggest we set county standards to the needs of the extreme (especially given tradeoffs). But I do want to alert you that for some children the stronger stuff is not safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason for the change in cleaning supplies is because our kids are getting sick at a young age and thanks to our selfish complaints of wanting something more than whats natural we are the reason for that. Did you know that Lysol is a registered pesticide. Yes look it up on the FDA website. Why would we spray that in our home or classroom where our kids can breath it in. It doesnt matter if its on the desk top and they dont lick it.. it is like putting lab rats in a box and filling the box up with fumes. Who opens the windows or doors to their home anymore? Ok, the fumes cant escape and you just get immune to it and a few years down the line that chemical you have been breathing in all these years has caused cancer or many of the other problems we are seeing. Yet we dont know what causes this stuff right?

Where's your hard core evidence?

I would rather sanitize my classroom (as I "selfish[ly] complain") than to bring home germs to my little ones.

Get a grip. You've probably ingested more pesticides from food products sold at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Where's your hard core evidence?

I would rather sanitize my classroom (as I "selfish[ly] complain") than to bring home germs to my little ones.

Get a grip. You've probably ingested more pesticides from food products sold at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

You do realize that many germs spread through the air, not through surface contact? Might want to get your kids to wear masks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Where's your hard core evidence?

I would rather sanitize my classroom (as I "selfish[ly] complain") than to bring home germs to my little ones.

Get a grip. You've probably ingested more pesticides from food products sold at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

You do realize that many germs spread through the air, not through surface contact? Might want to get your kids to wear masks.

Yes, but many of the germs spread through the air may at some point land on a hard surface that should be sanitized with something other than the vinegar based cleaning spray that the schools are using. They were talking about preventing the spread of germs on the Today show not too long ago and the guest speaker specifically said that bleach is a "green" product. Parents continue to send their kids to school when they have no business being there to spread their germs to others. In the past few weeks a student informed me that she threw up at 4:00 in the morning but "felt better" when the bus came so she came to school. She was sent home later in the day with a high fever. Another boy told me that he had a fever when he woke up but his mom told him he had to come to school. I walked him down to the health room and he had a fever of 101.3 (and threw up before his mom arrived to pick him up). When the kids leave at the end of the day, I will continue to scrub the desks and all other hard surfacwes with something other than vinegar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Parents continue to send their kids to school when they have no business being there to spread their germs to others. In the past few weeks a student informed me that she threw up at 4:00 in the morning but "felt better" when the bus came so she came to school. She was sent home later in the day with a high fever. Another boy told me that he had a fever when he woke up but his mom told him he had to come to school. I walked him down to the health room and he had a fever of 101.3 (and threw up before his mom arrived to pick him up). When the kids leave at the end of the day, I will continue to scrub the desks and all other hard surfacwes with something other than vinegar.

As a parent this is a pet peeve of mine. My son has been absent from school too often this year (he was sick a lot) and the attendance officer sent me a letter requiring I come to school with all my recent documents to prove we live in the school's district. She also told me if my child was absent any more this year, she reserved the right to call me in again (to a 11 am meeting) to re-prove that we lived there! In addition if my child is out more than 2 days, he needs a doctor's note. Clearly it's an attempt to make it a pain in the ass for me to keep my kid home from school; you can bet I'll send him in with a fever from now on, and let the teacher send him home. (I hope he pukes on the attendance officer, though, not his teacher, who really is blameless in all this).

Still -- don't be so quick to judge parents for sending their kids to school sick -- apparently that's what we are supposed to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When the kids leave at the end of the day, I will continue to scrub the desks and all other hard surfacwes with something other than vinegar.

Can you ask the county (maybe through the teacher's union) to provide evidence that the spray cleaner they mandate is in fact, scientifically proven to disinfect surfaces?