cleaning the science labs

[lab-woman]

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering what everyone else does regarding "cleaning the teachers labs". I go in the labs once a week to make sure all of the equipment required is in there. I also top up the paper towel, cleaning cloths etc.

But... Is it our job to remove all of the graffiti from desks and chairs? Do we actually have to clean out the teachers cupboards in their labs? Not sure what is required of us?

What do you guys do?

Thanks.

[J]

Definitely NO to the graffiti and the teachers' cupboards!
Yes to checking the bays for equipment, the hand towels, handwash etc.
J

[sunray18]

when I first started here, the HOD told me that I had to clean the labs every Friday - the benches, sinks and all the students desks. It became a reall issue as the school got large and we had a demountable lab and one in another building. i was cleaning labs AFTER my work hours! Decided i was a fool so stopped doing it. They get cleaned when they get cleaned! I do not clean inside ANY cupboards just benches and sometimes the desks. The cleaners do the sinks every holidays. I have too much to do to worry about cleaning - and as most of the rooms have a 'home teacher' who is in there most of the day I reckon it is up top them to clean up their own rooms. I have 4 prep rooms to keep clean - that is mroe than enough for me

[noona]

I get year 7 to clean the labs and they love it once a term we get in and clean the under benches and make sure all is in order then we have a pizza day for all the kids.
The teachers here have the kids make sure all equipment is back under the benches after each prac and it works well

[nickykinz]

This has always been a bit of a bugbear for me. Other classrooms don't have someone to keep them clean and tidy and seem to manage ok so I don't see why I should have to do that for all of the labs. Obviously I look after the "sciencey" side of it but not things like student desks and teachers cupboards. The side benches and sinks get cleaned when they need it or when we have time and once a week we check soap and paper towels. As Sunray said ours are home group rooms too so I think they should take some responsibility.
We have one lab that isn't a home group room and that is a bit more of an issue. Some of the MY teachers will get their classes to give the labs a good clean at the end of term/year for something to do.

[fibreweb]

I go around most Thursday afternoon's during sport to make sure the labs are stocked with handtowel, soap and that the class sets of test tubes, beakers, glue ,calculators etc. are there.
Just as it is not my job to pick up my husbands' or sons' dirty clothes, I do not consider it is my job to clean up students or teacher mess.
All teachers bar one have a home room so I consider if you s**I in your nest you lie in it. it is their responsibility to keep their rooms as tidy as the other faculties. Who cleans up after the maths or English staff?
Once a term I wash all the test tubes and beakers, and sometimes in between when they are just too filthy.

[lada]

Similar to fibreweb,
I wash dirty glassware, when needed (most days), replace into each lab (I have 4) about once a week, make sure all the equipment is back under benches, wipe benches after dissections or dirty prac etc, but do not place used equipment back into bins, when I can get away with it. Labs are used all the time so unfortunately will have to clean up and put away, if next class is again prac class.
Lada

[Xenon]

I restock the labs once a fortnight, clean the sinks every blue moon and remove items that belong in Prep/Equipment rooms or Chem Store. Help with graffiti removal if asked nicely.

[smiley]

At the end of term when teachers say "Let's do something FUN with the juniors" (and feeding them to the crocodiles is somehow frowned upon ) I hand out dishwashing detergent, and straws, and chux. We have The Great Bubble Challenge - where the kids have to blow bubble domes inside of bubble domes. The aim is to get the maximum number of concentric bubble domes - current record is 5. SO that everyone gets a turn, we spread out onto side benches and student desks. After fun and hilarity, 10 minutes before the end of the lesson we clean up, and wipe all the benches down and voila! Clean surfaces everywhere - Yay!

[sunray18]

what a great idea! EXCEPT that here the teachers and students would walk out and already be on their way home and i would be the one left late cleaning up the mess.

[curie]

How much cleaning up of glassware & benches do you do?
I know it says in CSIS that students should be cleaning their own glassware and bench areas, but some teachers are better at it than others (and some apparently still take their laundry home to mum!) As I've said before, I've spent the whole day or more cleaning, washing and stocktaking in one lab, only to have dirty glassware and equipment strewn around it the next day. And my concerns seem to fall on deaf ears. I've had experiments sitting around for weeks that no one wants to deal with. One teacher (that one) told another teacher to tell me the students were finished with their test tube experiments and I could clean them up. ( I figure she must be running low on test tubes.) No labels on anything (despite my earlier concerns being voiced about the same) .
I'd love this job if it weren't for some of the people.

[Merilyn1]

I try to get into the labs at least once a term to give the stainless steel sinks a good scrub, but some terms this year that just hasn't happened! Our (new) coordinator believes it should be the students keeping the labs clean and restocked, they aren't perfect at it, so I do check up occasionally to make sure everything is in order. The difference is, I no longer feel pressured to keep it in order, so I'm much happier with the new arrangement. If I get through the labs once a week or even once a fortnight (depending on what sort of pracs are being done) it all seems to run pretty smoothly. I leave pracs in the labs until I'm asked to clean it away.

[gotolady]

Just had a run in with a teacher of many years experience(?) who insisted it was my job to remove bromine water experiment from the fume cupboard as he didn't know how to do it. I am not happy with teachers who think they can put it over me!!! No support from head teacher either.
But in keeping with topic, I don't clean labs at all but check equipment on sports afternoons (when not seconded to admin duties) and constantly nag teachers about leaving equipment and experiments on benches or hidden in the back of the cupboards. BAD FORM, no labels but more nagging. TGIF

[sunray18]

Is it my job to clean out all the cupboards in all the labs? I have 7 of them, one of which is cockroach haven.. I just do not have the energy to sit on the floor and wash out each cupboard individually.. and I wonder why I should do it.

[curie]

I wouldn't think so Sunray. If the place stayed clean for more than 24 hours I might have some more motivation and job satisfaction. At this point it's not top of my list of priorities. I'm not as young and flexible as I used to be.

[Labbie]

As we Labbie DO NOT have a job description. I would say it is NOT OUR JOB. God only knows when the PSA will get one going.

[CC]

I clean benches and sinks once a term. I have no glassware in the labs it is always ordered and then cleaned, I know what gets broken, I get rust stains strain away, I just find this way works for me.
I only have 2 teachers who actually get the kids to rinse the glassware before it comes back thats why I adopted this way

[Narelle01]

Once a term i check the labs for equipment, or ad hoc if stuff is laying around. I only have 3 labs that are shared.
My cleaner does the benches and sinks. Although a couple of times he has bumped the gas taps with his mop on the benches and left the gas on....

[Jennag]

The cleaners wipe the desks over but not the benches and they NEVER check the sinks. The get a proper clean about once a term but its very hard to keep things as tidy as i would like with 7 labs.All glassware etc is kept in my stores (X3) because often labs are used as general classrooms when the timetable is a bit tight. People are forever taking things without ordering them i so i dont know who had it or if they are done with it. They seem to be pretty clean at the moment but lets see how long that lasts

[sunray18]

using a mop on the benches! Brilliant I dea! so quick