Above the gym door, twenty feet elevated from the padded mat wall pads, there are these faint star bursts of permanent stains. Its a fancy holo stamp of water stains and grime etched into the brick. Around one of them are dirty, gummy peppered globs of some red sticky shit. Someone, years ago in the 90s, took a fistful of gummi bears and just catapulted them against the walls. And they have been there, for nearly 30 years, digging into the wall and pulling away from their edges.
Thirty years ago there were arguments over who could clean them.
"That is not my job," said everyone
"My union contract says I can't get on a ladder," said the cleaner.
"My union contract says I don't clean," said the custodian.
So, thirty years later, volunteers scrub away at the splotches. Using long reach scrubby pads called Doodle Bugs and buckets of warm water swimming with Bar Keeper's Friend. BKF is the cleaning truth. These are the products one will use to save this space. Whether we turn it into a new school or wonky wide hallway apartment buildings the survival kit includes
BFK, because see above
WD40, to make things move when they don't
Duct Tape, to make things stop when they don't
A convertible screwdriver that flips between flat head and Phillips
A wrecking bar for all the abandoned furniture that needs smashing before one can drag it to the dumpster.
Extension cords
Looped mop heads and a bucket for each floor.
A broom on each floor and a broom tucked into each corner office. One should never be less than 25 feet from a broom.
With all these we will strip the veneer off railings and banisters. Cover up friable asbestos and go check on it later. Mend steam leaks and dripping pipes until we get those guys arguing over union contracts.
No comments:
Post a Comment