JasmineG

  • Posts: 3
Cleaning Toilets
« on: September 18, 2007, 11:59:59 pm »
Do I need to wear gloves while cleaning toilets?
A colleague told me it's unhealthy that I'm cleaning toilets without using gloves.

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2007, 12:06:44 am »
Jasmine

Before i or anyone else gives you the correct answer can you talk us through your toilet cleaning procedue and why you think you should or should not wear gloves.

Cheers

Stephen

Fox

  • Posts: 824
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2007, 08:05:13 am »
Hi

It is best to wear gloves whilst cleaning toilets and I advise all of my staff to do so, although it does come down to personal choice, if you don't wear gloves then make sure that you wash your hands thoroughly before touching anythiing else and of course either use disposal cloths or colour coding to stop cross infection.

Fox

garyj

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2007, 07:45:06 pm »
But Fox, if you use gloves you can't use your finger nails to get off the hard bits.

Fox

  • Posts: 824
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2007, 08:10:17 am »
Ah now Gary thats where you're wrong!  All my gloves are preprepared with the tip of the index finger removed for such purposes.

I also have my custom made gloves lined with a special cream that keeps your hands soft while you work.

Fox

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2007, 03:31:20 pm »
whilst the humerous replies are amusing, i find it shocking that anyone would want to clean a toilet without wearing gloves.

i could not tell you the amount of things i wear gloves for ( I MEAN WHEN AT WORK AND NOT FOR 'PLEASURE'), i wont even empty a kitchen bin or pick up dirty laundry witjout gloves.

I feel quite ill at the thought of cleaning a toilet without gloves  :-X

stephen

The Great One

  • Posts: 11784
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2007, 06:15:28 pm »
Hi

I always use them too.

I use the black industrial ones for EOT cleaning, especially the bog.

I also spray the entire toilet, base & back pipe with anti bac before touching it.

once cleaning is finished in the property i spray both the gloves and my hands with anti bac

Regards

Martin 8)

merlin

  • Posts: 13
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2007, 01:40:20 pm »
 :)hi i too would not dream of cleaning a toilet without gloves and we also spray the entire toilet with anti bac  come to think of it i ware my gloves most of the time i also try to make sure the staff have gloves on ( DONT WANT THEM OF SICK DO I ) hope this helps


carol

Cleaning Resource

  • Posts: 495
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #8 on: September 21, 2007, 04:35:10 pm »
I don`t use gloves they annoy the hell out of me and I reckon they harbor more germs than they protect you from. I have gloves on all sites as well as alcohol hand sanitizer and leave it up to my staff if they want to wear gloves or not.

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2007, 06:59:36 pm »
i am just astounded  ::) ??? ::) ???

stephen

wilclean

  • Posts: 341
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #10 on: September 21, 2007, 07:02:18 pm »
hi

  we always use colour coded gloves and would never clean a toilet with out gloves its all down to health & hygine and  safty.

so if your not wearing gloves shame on you ::)

Fox

  • Posts: 824
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #11 on: September 21, 2007, 07:05:17 pm »
I don't use gloves personally either!  Any one want to hold my hand!  :-*

For those of you doing domestics - do you use gloves when you turn the taps on in a kitchen sink?  If yes then what do you touch next with your gloves?  Think cross contanimation, a kitchen sink tap is liable to harbour more germs than the average toilet, with the raw meat and food debris in a kitchen area it's not surprising.

There is absolutely no problem with cleaning a toilet without gloves as long as you thoroughly wash your hands afterwards, how many of you thoroughly wash your gloves or do you just carry on cleaning the rest of the bathroom?  Food for thought.

Fox

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #12 on: September 21, 2007, 07:07:17 pm »
I just cannot get a grip on this.

So you go to a toilet and at the very least (and i am so sorry to be so crude) you can expect to find urine, feaces, pubic hair, blood, semen, vomit, and probably more, and there are people who are willing to clean all this up without gloves?

I'm telling ya, this thread has GOT to be a wind up  :o

Stephen

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #13 on: September 21, 2007, 07:11:22 pm »
Fox,

I'm not on about cross-contamination, i'm on about the fact that i dont want all that stuff on my skin. When i clean a kitchen i start with the sink.

Bleach around all of it, taps, drainer, the lot. I then consider that to be as clean as it's ever gonna get. From there i then begin cleaning the rest of the kitchen. Avoiding cross-contam completly is impossible, even cleaning itself is only about 'controlling' and not 'irradicating' all the bad things that are around the place.

But that said, you would NEVER get me near a toilet without gloves. And another point, what about chemical damage to your hands and skin??????

Stephen

dhnjj

  • Posts: 62
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #14 on: September 21, 2007, 08:59:06 pm »
Hi

I agree with Bertie on this, i know its personal choice but I always wear gloves when cleaning the loo.

I am surprised to read that fox doesnt!  :o
It is very likely that some of the chemicals we come into contact within our day to day operations (scrubbing the sh itta) will pass through the outer layers of our skin if we dont wear gloves, causing loads of skin conditions one for example, contact dermatitis (also known as eczema) is caused by coming into contact with irritants such as cleaning chemicals and then the more serious hepatitis virus is found in the faeces of infected people and can survive many days after its excreted. I wouldnt even trust my own judgement that my hands didnt have the slightest cut or graze on as they are not always visible. There are lots more.

Unless, well..theres always an excuse not to wear them...Coprophilia perhaps? lol

but gloves for me are here to stay

Dave  :)

p.s Bertie clean the sink last - cleanest area to the dirtiest an all that  ;D ;D
Failure lies not with falling down.
Failure lies with not getting back up!

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #15 on: September 22, 2007, 12:48:45 am »
Dave

When i clean a kitchen i use the sink area as my 'base', ie the sink filled with hot water to wash-down all other surfaces. Thats why i clean it first so that i know its done, then a quick-do over when the whole kitchen is finished.

I am a firm beliver that, when cleaning any room, there are certain jobs that have to be done twice. Like if a floor is covered in cr*p i will vacuum it throughly before i clean anything else so that i am not walking it all over the house. Then when the room is finished i will vacuum (and mop if hard surface) the floor last.

BTW i just googled 'Coprophilia'. U filthy beast!  :D :-X :D

Stephen

Fox

  • Posts: 824
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #16 on: September 22, 2007, 08:51:55 am »
Quote
causing loads of skin conditions one for example, contact dermatitis (also known as eczema)

That's why I'm all scaly! I did wonder  :o ;)

Kevin White

  • Posts: 97
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #17 on: September 22, 2007, 09:28:52 am »
Just a point of note, if you are to clean a toilet without gloves then you will have in your hands a brush or a nice thick cloth. Does anyone think about wearing gloves when they do that other thing where the only protection against your skin is a couple of microns of tissue paper. Don,t think so !

I personally enforce the wearing of gloves where the chemical in use carries an irritant classification, other than that, it's up to the operator.
BE A WINNER
coming 2nd means you were 1st to LOSE

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #18 on: September 22, 2007, 11:17:59 am »
Yes, i think wearing gloves to wipe ur a ss is probably a good idea too.

Fact is, at least when you wipe your ass its your own ass and not piles and puddles of poo and p1ss from god knows how many other people. And what happens when someone has shat all over the loo seat, am i right in thinking there are folk here who would attend to that without gloves on???????????

Stephen

Cleaning Resource

  • Posts: 495
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #19 on: September 22, 2007, 07:39:11 pm »
we have carried out our own tests and discovered that the toilet is the last place you wanna worry about picking up germs from, think about it your ar$e is always covered, in-fact the only time it is not is when you go to bed, have a bath/shower or are going to the toilet. your hands on the other hand are exposed all day picking up germs from any number of places and yet you seem to think that there are less germs on the everyday things that your hands touch than there would be on a toilet seat which is touched by nothing but clean (in comparison to your hands)ar$es.

The most germ infested places we have found on new contracts are usually fridges,
like I say toilets are the least of your worries. I would recommend everyone gets themselves and their staff inoculated against hepatitis if you have not already. 

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #20 on: September 22, 2007, 07:47:57 pm »
Gleam

No, thats not what i think, i know that there are more germs around the place than on the loo, its the type of germs on the loo and the fact that that its not just 'germs' that you come into contact with (its other physical matter too) that i dont like the sound of..

Stephen

Robert Parry

  • Posts: 535
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #21 on: September 22, 2007, 08:32:11 pm »
Cant quite believe this thread is still running!

If you employ staff you have a legal duty to protect your employee's health, in the case of the toilets this means issuing gloves of some sort, as part of their PPE.

Its not only the fact that bacteria and other nasties lurk within the washroom areas, but next time you spend a little time with a memeber of your staff, just take a look at weather they bite their nails at all!

We all slate the NHS for hygiene lapses, that sometimes lead to patients deaths, does anyone really think that the commercial/office sector should be any different?

Regards,

Rob
A world of difference....

Mike jones

  • Posts: 6
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #22 on: September 23, 2007, 08:40:30 pm »
Always gloves, not just germs but protection from chemicals. After many years of using  detergents i now get a severe dermatites reaction from even washing up liquid.

I hate to think of the food poisoning etc that could be picked up from a toilet especially one used by young children with bad aim etc.

I provide gloves for my staff and expect them to be used.

Cleaning Resource

  • Posts: 495
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #23 on: September 23, 2007, 11:11:41 pm »
I use barrier cream to protect my hands from the chemicals, have been for 14yrs and my hands are as soft as a babys behind.

dhnjj

  • Posts: 62
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #24 on: September 26, 2007, 04:23:44 pm »
Hi dg

Well we are cleaners afterall and thats part and parcel of the job. I do think you should have scrubbed it off whether that be with a toilet brush, a scourer or your tongue like martin_606  :)

Would you feel the same if your client was disabled and couldnt clean the bowl or if a client had kids? I know my two always forget to flush!
I dont think you should approach the subject with a client as it is embarrassing and could potentially make them want to discontinue the service. however as for asking for a toilet brush why not?, how can you do a job if you dont have the right tools. Even suggest picking one up for your client and you will add it to the bill. (remember to add profit!)

Regards

Dave
Failure lies not with falling down.
Failure lies with not getting back up!

dhnjj

  • Posts: 62
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #25 on: September 26, 2007, 05:27:55 pm »
have u not just read my post?
Not sure what you mean, but yes I read it and replied
I asked for them to supply a toilet brush via their comments sheet which I leave with them.
Yes I read that bit also, my reply was why not ask? as in "yeah, I agree"
i have no problem cleaning poo from toilets ofcourse its part and parcel of job
Then why leave it there?
but im not really prepared to remove it without a brush.
I think we covered this one
I think it's common courtesy for the client to clean things like this themselves
Then why employ a cleaner?
Failure lies not with falling down.
Failure lies with not getting back up!

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #26 on: September 26, 2007, 07:40:09 pm »
Now now, ladies and gents (i think dhnjj is a gent? at biologically anyway.......gotta notion he's as all-man as me  :D), corners please....

DG, much as i love ya' i have to say we are scrubber and skiddy toilets we will scrub. I rarely use a loo brush (and ye, if i DO its one of the clients brushes), i use rubber gloves and a cloth. I have a loo brush at home which i use to give my lavvie a twice-daily swish, but in a clients home we are sometimes talking 2 or more weeks of use on that poor old crapper. So, a cloth and disinfectant it is.

I dont think you should mention it to the customer, i DO think you should have cleaned the loo. In my time i have removed used sanitary towels from under sofas, emptied bins that contained tissues that had been used by someone to clean themseleves after a moment of self pleasure (and before i get some smart-arsed "how do you know it was that" let me tell you could detect the odour a mile away), i've found used condoms, pooty towels, dirty underwear, the list goes on.......i just remind myself i didnt go into this job for the glamour.

It breaks my heart to disagree with you ( :'( ) but, as dhnjj says, people have a cleaner to do the cleaning for them.

Stephen


Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #27 on: September 26, 2007, 07:59:27 pm »
oh dear oh dear oh dear........... ::) :'( ::)

Good luck DG

Stephen

dhnjj

  • Posts: 62
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #28 on: September 26, 2007, 08:10:38 pm »
 dg, I am not here to play semantics with you but your question was -
do u think I did the right thing or should I just have got in there and scrubbed it off with a cloth?!
and I gave you my answer. Your question was not " what is everyone elses policy on this?"
Then to find your reply was "have u not just read my post?" was certainly uncalled for. And where did "why don't you just do it then" come from?? I never wrote that.
If you ask a question, expect answers to that question
Failure lies not with falling down.
Failure lies with not getting back up!

dg-cleaning

  • Posts: 135
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #29 on: September 26, 2007, 08:33:24 pm »
Then why leave it there?.... was your comment, same difference

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #30 on: September 26, 2007, 08:37:36 pm »
Dg

yes, true same difference, but you quoted him as having said it......to some it gives the impression that their reply has not been read correctly.

Anyway, why must you two fall out like this?

Stephen

dhnjj

  • Posts: 62
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #31 on: September 26, 2007, 09:13:05 pm »
No problem

there was obviously a misunderstanding with us both reading in different directions, i though for a minute there that me and the dyslex... i mean domestic goddess spoke a different language  :)

Im not here to fall out with anyone

Regards

Dave
Failure lies not with falling down.
Failure lies with not getting back up!

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #32 on: September 26, 2007, 09:16:08 pm »
DG

No need to apologise, really.

Point is, it is oh so easy to think that people have left a mess because they have a cleaner. But thats not true.

They have left a mess because they are mucky bug*ers. It's nothing to do with having a cleaner, it's how they would leave things even if they did their own housework. A lot of people dont even realise or can't see the mess they make. They can only see when something has been cleaned, but when dirty it just looks 'normal' to them.

It is also a sad fact that for many people who dont do housework that they simple choose not to look. By not seeing it, it's not there (whatever 'it' is). I have just started working in a house that is so dirty i almost turned the job down. No one in that house does a thing and the mother has just switched off to it all. I feel really sorry for her.

Either i have a thicker skin than i thought, or my clients dont take the p1ss, i just dont know. All i think when i see a grubby toilet and bathroom is that they obviously need me. When i go in and its clean THEN i worry.

Chin up girl and dont take it personally. You would be astounded if you knew just how much respect people have for their cleaner. I bet your clients love you to bits.

Stephen

Prestige1

  • Posts: 332
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #33 on: September 26, 2007, 09:17:09 pm »
Still surprised this is still running, can't believe how many use a cloth for toilets! What do you do with the dirty cloth? Dispose I hope? All my girls are instructed to clean toilets with spray disinfectant and kitchen roll, which is then flushed down the loo. When carrying out estimates I point this out which pleases the client, the thought of a cloth going from loo to loo god knows what you might create!
Who Dares Wins

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #34 on: September 26, 2007, 09:17:27 pm »
No problem

 i though for a minute there that me and the dyslex... i mean domestic goddess spoke a different language  :)


eh?

stephen

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #35 on: September 26, 2007, 09:21:35 pm »
Still surprised this is still running, can't believe how many use a cloth for toilets! What do you do with the dirty cloth? Dispose I hope? All my girls are instructed to clean toilets with spray disinfectant and kitchen roll, which is then flushed down the loo. When carrying out estimates I point this out which pleases the client, the thought of a cloth going from loo to loo god knows what you might create!

Prestige

The dirty cloth (along with all other cloths and mops) is placed immediatly in a plastic bag which is then tied up at the end of the job. i take these home where in my garage i have a washing machine that is used exclusivly for washing my cloths and mop-heads. These cloths and mops are boil washed then tumble-dried. This was what i was instructed to do by my friend who is an NVQ cleaning assesor. When i did my BICS and my NVQ training the tutors said that i was doing the right thing.

I accept that other people may not go to all that bother, but its what i do.

Stephen


Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #36 on: September 26, 2007, 09:25:12 pm »
dg is short for domestic goddess bertie....and I think he was making a bad joke that I may be dyslexic with reference to my grammar.
.

DG

Thats how i read it too.......i was hoping i was wrong  >:(

Bit below the belt if you ask me....

Stephen

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #37 on: September 26, 2007, 09:32:09 pm »
OMG  :o :o :o :o :o :obertie!
I may be in the wrong job but I would never wash pooey cloths and reuse!!!

why don't u get some cheapo cloths like the j cloths I get sure u will be able to get them in most £1 shops,that way you can just dispose of them for good once used.

DG

when you've used disinfectant on the cloth anyway that goes someway to killing the germs whilst a boil-wash will kill everything for sure.

That said, i didnt know you could get as many cloths as 50 for £1. What pound shop is that?

Stephen

dhnjj

  • Posts: 62
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #38 on: September 26, 2007, 09:42:09 pm »
agreed a bad joke, my apologies but didnt see the harm at the time, not like me at all
btw- dg it wasnt towards your grammar, it was that we had misread each others posts.

Regards

Dave
Failure lies not with falling down.
Failure lies with not getting back up!

Prestige1

  • Posts: 332
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #39 on: September 26, 2007, 10:28:10 pm »
Berti
Your NVQ friend is correct for general bathroom cleaning, but you would never wash and re-use poey cloths, ask him and see what his reply is, and if you’re so confident would you tell your customers that you use poey cloths and wash them with kitchen cloths and mops to use again and again, dear me? You need to wear gloves all the day with your cloths.
Dusters should be wash separate
Mops, Toilet, and bathroom washed separate
And Kitchen cloths washed separate
Who Dares Wins

Bertie Boo

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #40 on: September 26, 2007, 10:37:38 pm »
Hi prestige

I disagree that they should be washed seperatly. When you say 'pooey cloths' i am not using them to clear up solid matter, i am using the cloths to clean toilets with. Any cloth with a solids on it gets binned (thats why i hang on to old cloths). I know that some hospitals launder all cloths and mops together on a boil cycle. The advice from my friend was that all cloths can be boil-washed together. He knows that includes toilet cloths as that was a specific question i asked about.

Stephen

Fox

  • Posts: 824
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #41 on: September 27, 2007, 07:28:58 am »
Quote
All my girls are instructed to clean toilets with spray disinfectant and kitchen roll, which is then flushed down the loo.

Prestige,

We also use disposable paper towels to clean toilets and urinals, but I certainly don't flush them down the toilet!  Kitchen roll and hand towels are made of different paper than toilet roll and are not so readily biodegradable, therefore if they are flushed they could cause big problems with blockages.

Fox


Cleaning Resource

  • Posts: 495
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #42 on: September 27, 2007, 11:52:52 am »
reading your posts dg, I don`t understand why you don`t just supply loo brushes yourself, you can buy them for less than 50p, even Asda are selling them for 37p or B&Q for46p I get mine for 32p surly it would be better to just buy the loo brush yourself and save your self any conflict with your clients, 

The Great One

  • Posts: 11784
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #43 on: September 27, 2007, 06:15:45 pm »
HI

I always use kitchen towel also and I do flush them.

I use the tesco recycled white ones.

You can get a disposable toilet brush that also goes down the bog.

In extreme cases I have had to use Acid on bowl where the brown stuff has got a good grip.

Dg, you work for £8.50 p/h?

Sorry, no offence, but you must be crazy, how can you run a business on £8.50?  If you even only pay min wage that doesn't leave a lot. You can get that in a supermarket, surely?

I charge £25-30+ per hour, although that is EOT, for domestic i would charge £12.50 -15

Regards

martin 8)

dhnjj

  • Posts: 62
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #44 on: September 27, 2007, 07:46:56 pm »
Hi dg

Have you had those clients very long? you could up the price every year or so to get it up to your current price. They are getting a very good deal for £8.50. If their on old contracts you could also issue a new contract each term to

Dave
Failure lies not with falling down.
Failure lies with not getting back up!

Cleaning Resource

  • Posts: 495
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #45 on: September 27, 2007, 09:20:05 pm »
Having now told every one that I buy my toilet brushes for 32p they are not actually what we use to clean with, we use unger toilet brushes they are $hit hot, if you got loads of toilets to do you don`t get a bad back cos they are longer and they are shaped to make scrubbing easier, and they hang in their stand on the edge of most kentucky buckets or stand free on the floor, the heads are replaceable and they last for ages. Cost 8 quid but i`ve got ones over a year old.

Cleaning Resource

  • Posts: 495
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #46 on: September 27, 2007, 11:52:43 pm »
just bringing it back to the top, it seemed a shame to see it drifting to the bottom of the pile.................................... ::) ???

garyj

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #47 on: September 28, 2007, 12:30:45 am »
Those Ungar toilet brushes do last a long time. I've had one for over 5 years and its only had 10 new heads and 3 new handles.

garyj

Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #48 on: October 02, 2007, 11:22:40 pm »
Phew, this topic almost dropped off the page, thought I'd rescue it  ;D

JasmineG

  • Posts: 3
Re: Cleaning Toilets
« Reply #49 on: October 16, 2007, 11:21:23 pm »
Thanks for all the answers. I'm going to wear gloves from now on.