Category: Projects

 

Today’s task, was to sort out the Washroom. It was a right mess and needed urgently attending to. it was a job that I knew needed to be done and would take up most of my day. The 1st job, was to empty the room of anything that was not fixed down. This meant carrying thing out and cluttering the break area. However, there was no where else to put it all.

Here’s our empty washroom. It needed a good clean, so that was the 1st job on the agenda. The good old Vel Mop came out and I used this to sweep the floor clean.

As you can see, the lino was looking rather tired and dirty and that was my next job on the agenda. If you have seen my post on cleaning Safety Lino, you will know that is a real pain in the neck to get clean.

Thankfully, this is where neat disinfectant poured on to the floor and a deck brush comes in handy. The deck brush. gets deep down dirt (which is stuck in the abrasive surface of the floor) out. I also used my deck brush, to scrub the skirting boards clean, at the same time. (Making sure to rinse my deck brush in the bucket, at regular intervals)

 

Here is the floor, after it had been scrubbed with the deck brush. It looks so much brighter and alot more clean! I really had to scrub it hard, to get it to look this good! (Good old elbow grease was needed here!)

Once scrubbed, I washed the floor with clean water. Because of the cleaning process, it took ages for the floor to dry and left footprints, every time that  someone went to the loo, so I was continuously having to re-mop, which slowed the drying process down.

Thankfully, I was able to put the heater on, which helped to dry the floor. The floor was dry the time I had finished covered on the shop floor.

 

Putting everything back was the last job. Both of my Tub Hoovers, (We have a pair of Henry Vacuum Cleaners) plus the mop, vel mop, buckets and the box that I keep all the toilet rolls, paper towels and spare hoover bags, needed putting back neatly.

As you can see, the space is much tidier now and you no longer fall over things to get to the sink.

I hope the washroom remains tidy, after spending most of the day sorting it out. My boss was really impressed with what I have done and the effort I have put in.

 

Finally, I have to post this – Lucy (Our Deputy Manager) took this picture of me in my Tabard, rubber gloves and radio in hand. I am also wearing my new glasses, which look really nice on me.

My neighbour Steph also had come into the shop today with her fella, so it was nice to see her. I served her at the till, while I was on lunchtime cover.

I am back in tomorrow and have a list as long as my arm of jobs to do. It never stops at the BHF, but that’s how I like it.

 We are a great team and I love everyone I work with. (Especially Maria, Lucy and Bethan!)

So for those of you that don’t know, I hold a voluntary position at the British Heart Foundation, as their Shop Facilities Manager. (Basically I am a Caretaker with a fancy title.) I actually have done Caretaking before, so am not new to it. I was a volunteer in the last place, looking after a Church, Church Hall and Grounds.

So the BHF has me cleaning the store, I keep things tidy and I do a lot more, that would take up too many pages! It’s a very busy job and I am there every day of the week, 11.30 – 3 Mon – Sat and 11.30 – 4 on Sundays.

Deep Cleaning is needed, often where a normal clean will not get rid of the dirt. Before I continue, I must stress, that the cleanliness of the shop it is not the fault of the staff or volunteers. We had no one that could do the cleaning regularly, until I came along. My boss and even the Area Manager, have said that I have really turned the shop round in the space of a week!

So today’s task, was the toilet. (Not the nicest of jobs) but it needed deep cleaning. Using my Vel Mop (a mop with a fluffy flat head) I got down all the dust and cobwebs off the walls. I dipped my pads in the bucket and then wrung it out. Then when it was reattached to the head, I used it to wipe down the walls. On a ladder, I then went right up to the area above the window and used a microfibre cloth to clean round the top of the window and get the fan clean. The bucket contained disinfectant and water, which I used to rinse the cloth and the Vel Mop Pad in.)

Next came the floor. Now the floor is Safety Lino, so it is a real pain in the neck to get clean. (This is because the lino has grips, which the dirt can easily get stuck in. To clean the floor, I had to mop the floor with neat floor cleaner to get it damp, then use a stiff brush and scrub the floor. This meant removing the Sanitary Bin and the normal bin, while I did this. Then I mopped the floor to clear off the suds. Once done, I was able to put the wet floor sign in place, to warn everyone that the floor was wet and leave it to dry, before coming back later and doing another toilet clean. (I cleaned the toilet during the deep clean, cleaning all surfaces, including the sink, toilet, door handles, toilet paper holder etc) The 2nd clean was carried out at the end of my shift. The deep cleaning, took me most of my shift, because there was so much to be done.

I still managed to get down on the shop floor and spot clean the floor, as well as hoovering through, making cups of tea and having the odd “fresh air break!”