Facilities Management began regular weekend restroom cleaning in several residence halls Sept. 9. Targeted residence halls included Keeney, Wriston and Vartan Gregorian quadrangles and Perkins, Miller, Metcalf, Andrews, Hegeman and Caswell halls.
"We feel, with (the Office of Residential Life), we've tackled the majority of the restrooms to make sure they're clean," said Donna Butler, director of custodial services. She said the expanded coverage is a work in progress and that Facilities Management would be seeking feedback on how the program could be improved.
The weekend cleaning is in addition to normal weekday cleaning, Butler said. Bathrooms essentially receive the same type of cleaning on weekends as on weekdays, she said. Commodes and sinks are cleaned, trash is removed and dispensers are replenished. As of now, though, custodial staff will not "foam down" surfaces in the restrooms on weekends, though they will on weekdays.
Last year, bathrooms were cleaned during Parents Weekend and Spring Weekend as "test runs," The Herald reported on March 13. The original impetus for the cleaning came with the realization that Brown is a 24/7 campus, Butler said.
"Bathrooms, especially in larger dorms, get trashed on the weekends," said Jane Zhang '10, Undergraduate Council of Students admissions and student services chair. "I think ResLife and Custodial Services have taken that in mind."
Stephanie Le '10, a former resident of Keeney, agreed. "People throw up in the bathrooms (on weekends)," she said.
"I used to live in Keeney, and by Sunday the sinks would be filthy," Sheila Lin '10 said. "It affects your quality of life."
The trial runs during Parents Weekend and Spring Weekend were successful and paved the way for additional weekend coverage, Butler said. "The custodians were excited about it. They felt much better on Monday morning."
She said student feedback from those weekends was also positive.
The funding and the original proposal for regular weekend cleaning came from ResLife, Butler said.
"Cleaning the bathrooms on weekends has been on the minds of UCS, Reslife and Facilities Management (for some time)," Zhang said. She said the funds for regular weekend cleaning only became available this year.
