How cool and clean is your locker room? What you need to have and maintain a winning facility.To some people, the vision of a team locker room is a dank dank adj. dank·er, dank·est Disagreeably damp or humid. See Synonyms at wet. [Middle English, probably of Scandinavian origin. , dirty, smelly place with uniforms, sports equipment, and towels piled high in the corner. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In some segments of the country that's not too far off. With yearly budgets forcing athletic directors to be more fiscally responsible, updating and/or revamping locker rooms may not be all that high on the priority list. While your athletes perform on or inside top-notch athletic facilities, it is the locker room in which they dress before a game, return to during intermission of football and basketball games, and undress following games. Take a good, hard look at your locker room facilities. Are the metal lockers rusty? Is your flooring in poor condition? How stable are the benches? Are the tiles in the showers covered in mildew? Is the locker room properly ventilated ven·ti·late tr.v. ven·ti·lat·ed, ven·ti·lat·ing, ven·ti·lates 1. To admit fresh air into (a mine, for example) to replace stale or noxious air. 2. ? How reliable are your washers and dryers? Does the possible presence of staph staph n. Staphylococcus. staph adj. , MRSA MRSA Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. See MARSA. , bacteria, mold, mildew, or fungi exist? These are critical elements in maintaining a winning locker room, and more importantly, ensuring the safety and well-being of your athletes. No one expects schools to have a locker room that rivals the Taj Mahal Taj Mahal (täzh məhäl`, täj məhŭl`), mausoleum, Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Yamuna River. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Indian , but with a more proactive approach, a little ingenuity, and a cost-effective solution, having a locker room your school and your athletes can be proud of is a worthwhile investment. The following tips can help. LOCKERS What would a locker room be without lockers? Heavy-duty lockers--heavier gauge steel and all-welded construction--have become more and more popular. A good finish is equally important. So invest in a locker that has a quality powder coat. This provides better corrosion protection and better resistance to wear and tear. Plastic lockers are very popular for swim teams or areas that are close to shower rooms. As for appearance and functionality, open access or open front lockers, which were popularized in the professional sports The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. ranks, have grown over the last few years in popularity. "It started with the pros having a wooden version and then the colleges started getting a version of that in metal," said Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is a professional American race car driver. He was born in Vallejo, California, raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. , Sales Manager sales manager n → gerente m/f de ventas sales manager n → directeur commercial sales manager sale n → for Lockers, Lyon Workspace Products. "And then the high schools started to kind of reward their successful teams with a nicer locker room." Said Mark Eu, Advertising/Marketing Manager for Salsbury Industries: "We definitely see much more of a specialization. The football or swim team wants to have its own lockers. The challenge of course has always been trying to fit those all in the same locker room. From our end, we have tried to compensate for that by offering open access lockers." Lyons' Collegiate Locker is a larger locker, usually between 24 and 36 inches wide, with an open front. It has a bolt lock-up box at the bottom for larger personal items and a smaller lock-up at the top for a wallet. The Stadium Locker, from Penco Products, is an open front locker, which generally has ventilated sides. The front is completely open, with the possible exception of a bench you can sit on. The bench has a lid, similar to a footlocker, in which athletes can store stuff. Salsbury's open access locker has two locking compartments: one at the top for valuables and one at the bottom for bigger items. Ventilation is another vital component of a locker. "Most lockers can be ventilated on the doors and the sides," said Phil Krugler, Manager of Marketing Services, Penco Products. "The back can be ventilated, but not generally. We use a diamond-shaped perforation per·fo·ra·tion n. 1. The act of perforating or the state of being perforated. 2. An abnormal opening in a hollow organ or viscus, as one made by rupture or injury. Perforation A hole. . Some people use a different pattern. But it gets a high percentage of air moving through there." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While rust remains a major concern, innovation is also driving advances in locker design. For instance, Lyon LifeStyle Lockers are exclusively finished in an advanced powder coating Powder coating is a type of dry coating, which is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension technology from DuPont and Agion[R] Antimicrobial that inhibits mold, bacterial, and odor build-up on locker surfaces, as well as the touch transfer of microbes on locker handles and doors. "A few years ago we were looking at mold issues in construction in general and that turned out to be a huge problem," Gordon said. "In looking at that it led us to what options were available and we discovered that DuPont, who we buy our powder coat paint from, had actually developed an anti-microbial coating that deals with mold but is also very effective on bacteria. That addressed more of the concerns at schools, especially the athletic facilities." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FLOORING According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Carla Lieblein, marketing manager for Centaur centaur (sĕn`tôr), in Greek mythology, creature, half man and half horse. The centaurs were fathered by Ixion or by Centaurus, who was Ixion's son. Floor Systems, moisture, bacteria, and smell are a constant battle when it comes to flooring. Rubber, vinyl, polypropylene, and aggregate have all been popular choices in battling the locker room surface issue. Maintenance, wear ability, and anti-microbial properties are key issues when selecting the right flooring. "The anti-microbial properties of polypropylene are characteristic of the material," said Lieblein. "Nothing can grow on the fiber. When the floor is kept clean, bacteria becomes a non-issue." One of Centaur Floor Systems' signature products is its Sport Weave Fitness Flooring, a rubber floor that has been needle punched with polypropylene. Lieblein explained that polypropylene fiber repels moisture, including sweat and food stains. The fiber is far more durable than traditional nylon carpet and easily stands up to heavy furniture and weight training machines placed on it. "Sport Weave is anti-microbial and fast drying," she said. "It will not rot, stain, or mildew around water fountains or in locker rooms. The needle punching prevents flooring from zippering like standard tufted carpet." Maintenance for Sport Weave should include daily vacuuming with a commercial grade vacuum cleaner vacuum cleaner, mechanical device using a draft of air to remove dust, loose dirt, or other particulate matter from dry surfaces. It is especially useful on highly textured surfaces, such as carpets and upholstery, that are difficult to clean by wiping or brushing. that features a rotary power Rotary Power is an engineering company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and designs and manufacturers hydraulic motors and pumps. It is a division of British Engines Ltd, also based in Newcastle, formed in 1922. Rotary Power was previously named RHL hydraulics. brush or beater beat·er n. 1. One that beats, especially a device for beating: a carpet beater. 2. A person who drives wild game from under cover for a hunter. bar. Product releases more soil when completely dry. Periodic maintenance should include the use of a hot water extraction The Hot Water Extraction (HWE) method, is a method used in chemistry for extraction and for "steam cleaning" (e.g. carpets. as listed by the IICRC to be the primary method for cleaning carpets. Residential, and Commercial). machine. BENCHES According to Salsbury's Mark Eu, locker room benches are more of a financial choice. "We've been getting a lot of purchases, in terms of percentages, that are for wooden benches," he said. "We also noticed that more are coming from private high schools or colleges. Wood is more aesthetically pleasing. For public schools, durability-wise, aluminum benches work very, very well." Stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. pedestal and regular steel pedestal benches are also very popular. LAUNDRY FACILITIES Not all high schools have the space or the money to have on-site laundry facilities either within or close proximity to locker rooms. If it's not something you have considered, there are advantages. "On-premise laundries present significant advantages over a laundry service in the areas of cost savings, loss control, quality control, and on-hand availability of items the facility may need during off hours of a given week," said Joel Jorgensen, VP/Sales at Continental Girbau. "High schools and colleges realize the advantage of on-premise laundries and specify the equipment in new facility development and expansion projects on a consistent basis." Jorgensen recommends high performance washer extractors and properly sized tumblers For other meanings, see Tumbler. Tumblers were proposed by Ted Nelson in "Literary Machines" as a means to address every bit ever written, or a particular span of bits in any text ever written. A tumbler is a unique numerical address of an interesting artifact. to move soiled items through the process faster and much more efficiently than low performance machine options. The production advantage allows for less time on task, lower utility consumption, extended towel and uniform life, and a reduction of soil storage, and clean inventory. Regarding mold and staph, Rick Kelly Rick Kelly (born on January 17, 1983 in Mildura, Victoria, Australia) is a V8 Supercar racing driver and the younger brother of V8 Supercar driver Todd Kelly, currently living in Melbourne, Victoria. , VP/Marketing & Sales for Pellerin Milnor Corporation, suggests you invest in washing machines with baskets and shells made from 304 Stainless Steel. "304 Stainless steel is an excellent anti-microbial surface," said Kelly. "In addition, commercial washers are typically connected with wash chemistry designed to thoroughly clean garments. Think about hospitals, nursing, and even hotels. Thousands of these institutions use commercial and industrial washers to thoroughly clean sheets, towels, and garments, and to reduce the risk of bacterial and viral contamination." As for dryers, Kelly explained that heat kills just about everything. But proper care for uniforms and athletic apparel doesn't end after they are removed from the dryer. "Properly drying the garments, towels, uniforms or whatever to the manufacturers' recommendations should also decrease the chance of mold, mildew, staph, etc.," he said. "After all of this, proper storage of these items is critical as well. Taking a properly cleaned and dried uniform and storing it under a moldy moldy animal feed overgrown with fungus; the feed may be harvested and stored or be still in the ground. moldy corn disease see leukoencephalomalacia, fusariummoniliforme. dripping air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. vent--or storing them on dirty shelves or in open shelving where who knows what can get on or in them--simply defeats the effort of properly cleaning them in the first place." ANTI-MICROBIAL/CLEANING PRODUCTS With the multitude of staph and MRSA outbreaks occurring on high school and collegiate sports teams, more and more athletic programs are investing in anti-microbial products that inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause these contagious skin infections. Adams USA, which is better known for its football helmets and shoulder pads, recognized the need for an antimicrobial product to add to its extensive product line. Thus, it struck up an agreement North Carolina-based Chem-Tex Laboratories to become the exclusive distributor of Bac-Shield for the sporting goods world. Bac-Shield cannot only be applied to football equipment, but the multi-use product can also be used on clothing, carpeting, upholstery, training tables, weight benches, and wrestling mats and headgear headgear, n the apparatus encircling the head or neck and providing attachment for an intraoral appliance in use of extraoral anchorage. headgear, radiologic, n a device that is used to protect the head from injury by radiation. . "We just felt it was a product that would benefit the guys and gals in the locker room," said John Bartlett Jr., VP/Sales. "We feel like we have such a locker room presence--with everything we sell head to toe--that it was just a natural to be able to apply something to our helmets, shoulder pads, and our protective padding, to inhibit the growth of bacteria, mold, mildew, fungi, etc." Bac-Shield, which is an EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. classified product, comes as a concentrate and is sold by the pint, gallon, or five and 42-gallon quantities. According to Bartlett, the basic application is six ounces per gallon of water. "However is the most economical way for that school to apply it," Bartlett said. "Some people are mixing it with water and putting it in a two-quart spray bottle. Some are applying it from a two-gallon sprayer. It's important to remember that it doesn't kill, it inhibits, so it would be used in conjunction with a disinfectant or an antiseptic." Bac-Shield can also be added to the rinse cycle during laundry. Bartlett recommends that once the regular laundry cycle is done, reset the washing machine on the rinse cycle and pour the appropriate measurement of Bac-Shield and let the washer run its course. As an aside, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga just installed an automatic sprinkler system in their locker room that sprays Bac-Shield across the entire locker room for about 30 seconds, completely covering everything. Pioneer Athletics, the nation's leading developer and manufacturer of athletic field marking paints and striping Interleaving or multiplexing data to increase speed. See disk striping. striping - data striping equipment, has partnered with SportsCoatings/Coatings Specialists Group to promote SportsAide, part of the company's Sports Antimicrobial System family of products. SportsAide is designed for use in locker rooms, training rooms, whirlpools, and sports equipment, among other applications. SportsAide is powered by the AEGIS Microbe microbe /mi·crobe/ (mi´krob) a microorganism, especially a pathogenic one such as a bacterium, protozoan, or fungus.micro´bialmicro´bic mi·crobe n. Shield, which, for more than 30 years, has been safely used in a host of consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and . Additionally, 2XL Corporation now provides EPA registered disinfectant wipes designed to sanitize To remove sensitive data from an information system, a database or an extract from a database. See sensitive. surfaces. Its Gym Wipes Antibacterial antibacterial /an·ti·bac·te·ri·al/ (-bak-ter´e-al) destroying or suppressing growth or reproduction of bacteria; also, an agent that does this. an·ti·bac·te·ri·al adj. Towelettes, are pre-moistened, disposable, surface disinfecting wipes, that have been developed to stop cross-contamination on surfaces. According to the company, Gym Wipes will sanitize surfaces and kill 99.9% of germs that can cause illness. |
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