Are you being told to clean toilets at work?

[noblegiraffe]

If cleaning toilets wasn’t previously anywhere near your job description?

It’s being claimed on another thread that this is just part of the new normal, everyone is pitching in. I’m not convinced.

YABU - I’m being asked to clean toilets

YANBU - I’m not being asked to clean toilets

If you are, are you ok with it?

[nicknamehelp]

our office toilets like all communal areas have packs of wipes and people are asked to use before/after use. We all need to take responsibility to stop the spread and keep work places open.

[FishyDuck]

Clearly teachers are not going to enjoy cleaning toilets but where would schools get tens of thousands of extra cleaners from in time for September?

I suspect this may be the unions' latest obstacle block to schools re-opening.

[DomDoesWotHeWants]

@FishyDuck

Clearly teachers are not going to enjoy cleaning toilets but where would schools get tens of thousands of extra cleaners from in time for September?

I suspect this may be the unions' latest obstacle block to schools re-opening.

Or, perhaps, it's teachers saying no to even more extra work without PPE.

But carry on pretending it's the unions. Daft notion.

[noblegiraffe]

but where would schools get tens of thousands of extra cleaners from in time for September?

How can we have on the one hand people be being told that they’re lucky to have a job as many don’t, and on the other, there isn’t anyone available to take on a cleaning job?

[averythinline]

My office is still wfh it projects... but no I will not be cleaning toilets when I go back... happy to clean after myself but other people...no -not my job ... I don't know anyone that's been asked to ...

[DramaAlpaca]

We are asked to give the loo a quick once over after we've used it. It doesn't bother me.

[userxx]

I always wipe the loo down before I use it, just give it another quick wipe afterwards now. Dont see a problem.

[MorganKitten]

It’s not that hard to wipe the seat after use and put bleach down the toilet, it makes it safer for everyone. Or should the cleaners be put at extra risk?

[ememem84]

Office worker here. 25 in total in the office. We’re half a team in half wfh on rotation at present so a week in a week out. On our week in if we use the toilet we are asked to wipe it down with anti bac wipes etc.

The cleaners come in at the end of the day and clean again and deep clean over the weekend.

No clients in the office though at present.

[slashlover]

I'm retail, we clean the staff toilets with wipes after use but it gets a deep clean at the end of the day by whoever is in store. TBF, we don't have cleaners so we've always cleaned it, just doing it more regularly now.

[SimonJT]

@MorganKitten

It’s not that hard to wipe the seat after use and put bleach down the toilet, it makes it safer for everyone. Or should the cleaners be put at extra risk?

But where will the bleach be stored? In a school you cannot store cleaning products in areas that children can access them, you also have to be adequately trained so they cover their own arses, the toilet also must be left in a state that no residues of cleaning products are left behind.

Shoving bleach down a toilet also doesn’t clean it, scrubbing the bowl and under the rim is needed.

If a cleaner is required to clean for 30 minutes per day thats fine, but are parents going to be happy that children then lose 30 minutes of teaching per day?

[Inertia]

Perhaps it would be more accurate to ask where schools would find the extra money to employ tens of thousands of extra cleaners.

I'm having to clean toilets as required during the teaching session, in part due to the nature of the children I teach.

[Chaotic45]

I would not want to employ anyone who was so inflexible that they wouldn't clean a toilet to help protect colleagues during a global pandemic. Flexible, practical, reasonable employees are to be treasured- right now employers are deciding who to treasure and who they can do without.

[CallmeAngelina]

I think there's a vast difference between cleaning a toilet (used by relatively few people in an office) before/after your own personal use, and cleaning toilets used by hundreds of children who, let's face it, aren't always careful with their aim.

[safariboot]

I think there's a difference between wiping down the seat and the taps, versus being expected to bleach and scrub the bowl and floor and everything. I wouldn't be doing any more than a wipe after myself in my office.

But in a school you can't really expect the children to wipe down after themselves, primary children are too young and at secondary half the teens just won't bother. Recruiting more cleaners might not be straightforward especially as they'll need an enhanced DBS and possibly children's barred list check. So I understand the school wanting the teachers to do regular wipe-downs. The "proper" cleaning at the start/end of the day should be done by the actual cleaners though.

[Fandanglethat]

No. GP surgery. We have an onsite cleaner - hours increased and additional cleaner employed. They do a walk around cleaning every service multiple times daily. Previously they came each evening and did a clean.

[Wannabefarmer]

Yoga teacher here and we're expected to clean and sanitise the toilet after each person uses it once we go back. Bit difficult if someone needs the loo halfway though the class!

[0blio]

We can all work from home but have been asked to be in the office twice a week, 3 or 4 of us at a time. We have to clean the office, kitchen, toilets and public areas twice a day so there isn't much time left for actual work - and some people manage to avoid their turn

Our cleaners were told they were no longer required!

[bringincrazyback]

It's not ideal but we're all going to be have to be grateful to have a job.

Nope. Glad, relieved, pleased to have a job - yes. But the minute you start feeling grateful, you're laying yourself wide open for your employer to walk all over you.
It's still a quid pro quo just like it has always been. A day's work for a day's pay. A business arrangement.
Yes, times have changed and I can see the need for people to do things that aren't in their job descriptions right now, but if we're not all very careful at this time, then exploitation in the workplace will become even more rife than it already is.

[greenestolives]

No, because it has always been part of my colleague's job, so she does it.

[EmbarrassingAdmissions]

I used to have appallingly bad IBS - I went everywhere with a clean-up kit and still do. It wouldn't occur to me to leave a cubicle without cleaning round for the next person - and I know why some public/shared facilities don't but I wish it were easier to clean loos/sinks/taps etc. for the next user.

It's wasteful but I like the Japanese method of using a paper towel to open doors and keeping a bin outside the washroom to collect this waste.

[TenShortStories]

If I was the only woman in the office and asked to clean the ladies loos (which presumably only I use, plus maybe the occasional female visitor) then I would, happily. If I was expected to clean the mens' then that would be a big fat no.

In Japan, the children get heavily involved in cleaning their own schools, including the toilets for older ones. Maybe this would be a good way to encourage them to make less mess in the first place!

[averythinline]

Agree enough of this grateful for job .. I work hard have good skills etc am flexible in my role/hours ... but I am not "grateful " and I'm not cleaning up after other people... and as people will find out others won't do their turn ...So is it an effective use of skills to spend time cleaning or spend time doing your job???

[FishyDuck]

@inertia

The question I'd ask is should schools be spending money on extra cleaners instead of teaching and learning? I'd say they shouldn't, particularly when there is a resource already in the building in the form of teachers who are perfectly able to undertake additional cleaning.

[diddl]

There's a difference though isn't there between cleaning the toilet after you've used it & cleaning up after a load of kids?

So does each toilet have to be cleaned after each use?