Beaufort County Schools is proud to announce its latest investment in the Clorox Total 360 System to minimize illness-related absenteeism and protect valuable instructional time and maximize learning.

The Clorox Total 360 System uses patented electrostatic technology to provide superior disinfection to surfaces to safeguard our facilities against the illness-causing germs and viruses that can result in high rates of absenteeism, losses in productivity and in worst-case scenarios, school closures.

This year’s flu season proved challenging as the state of North Carolina reached an Influenza-Like-Illness rate of 11 percent, approximately three percent higher than the top ILI rate during the 2016-2017 season and seven percent higher than the top ILI rate during the 2015-2016 flu season.

Influenza, among other illness-causing viruses like the common cold and fast-spreading norovirus, present schools with a unique challenge as they can survive on surfaces anywhere from days to months.

Moreover, schools have an abundance of large, frequently-shared spaces and touched surfaces, providing countless opportunities for illness-causing germs to be spread via cross contamination.

Beaufort County School District is comprised of nearly 7,000 students and more than 800 staff members across its 14 schools and six administrative buildings. As a result, daily cleaning and disinfection is a critical line of defense against illness-causing bacteria and viruses.

The Clorox Total 360 System works by atomizing and charging Clorox disinfecting and sanitizing solutions, making them attracted to both frequently-touched and hard-to-reach surfaces with a force stronger than gravity, resulting in uniform and complete surface coverage.

BCS custodial staff can now cover more ground in less time, with less manpower and less product while providing more comprehensive surface coverage. The system can cover up to 18,000 sq. ft. per hour, providing superior surface coverage up to four times faster and using 65 percent less solution than traditional cleaners.

“Once we saw the Clorox Total 360 System demonstration, we were sold and so was our board. It is an easy sell because once you see the system in action, it instantly proves its worth,” said BCS Superintendent Dr. Don Phipps. “We received our first two systems right before the flu season and as a result, we were able to put them to use right away and we believe the systems help us mitigate the normal increases in the number of absences that we routinely see during flu season. In only two weeks, word had spread and everyone in our school district wanted the systems brought in to their classrooms and offices – demand became so high we decided to invest in a third system. In fact, word spread so far, a school district in another county heard about our success and requested a demo. Immediately thereafter, they invested in three systems themselves.”

BCS uses its two Clorox Total 360 Systems across it 14 schools, six administrative buildings and entire fleet of school buses to help maintain a clean learning environment during tough times of year like flu season as well as year-round. In addition, if high rates of sickness are reported, the school system can now quickly and effectively treat the affected areas, whereas before it would force BCS to shut down and take an entire afternoon to adequately disinfect the affected areas.

“We at Beaufort County School District saw this as an important investment for the well-being of our community and we have already seen the ROI in a short couple of months,” added Phipps. “We are a relatively small school district with limited resources but the Clorox Total 360 System helps us better protect our students and faculty and therefore provides a better education making it worth every penny.”

To learn more about the Clorox Total 360 System, visit www.cloroxtotal360.com.