The general collections area

The floor and all horizontal surfaces in the collections area should be kept free of dust and dirt. This is an ongoing problem in building 33 due to the open nature of the collections cages and the daily truck and automobile traffic through the building. An effort should still be made to keep things as clean as possible. One good way to maintain a high level of clean is to set aside one entire day every month or every two months for general cleaning. Have everyone attack the problem at the same time. Assign specific jobs to individuals, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming and wiping down horizontal surfaces, washing and drying plastic cover sheets, etc. Brooms and brushes should be used as little as possible as they tend to raise as much dust into the air as they gather on the floor. The best thing to use on the floor is a wet mop or sweeping compound and a dry mop, or a vacuum cleaner; on other horizontal surfaces, a moist cloth, tacky cloth, or vacuum cleaner should be used. If a moist cloth is used on a metal cabinet, the surface should be wiped dry so it does not rust or mildew. In particular, make sure the interior of a cabinet is completely dry before sealing it closed with the door.

When to clean cabinets, drawers, and specimen trays

• Any time most or all of the drawers are removed from a cabinet, wipe clean all the drawer runners and vacuum out and wipe clean the bottom of the cabinet.
• Any time a drawer is emptied of its contents, for any reason, such as consolidating specimens or shifting specimens to create space for middle-fill, clean the drawer both inside and out, clean the foam drawer liner.
• Any time a specimen tray and specimens are removed from the drawer, remove the specimen, label, and foam liner from the tray, wipe or brush off the dust from all surfaces and replace the tray contents.

Cabinets, drawers, and specimen trays will always have some dust, sediment, or matrix sloughing from the specimen, or powdered paint and metal shavings caused by the action of the drawers sliding over the runners. When cleaning any of these objects thoroughly wipe all surfaces, top, bottom, sides, inside, outside, front, back, underneath, etc. It often helps to turn the drawer or tray over and tap the bottom to remove loose dust before wiping the surface, to prevent scratching the surface by dragging grit across it. All surfaces should be wiped because dust adheres to vertical surfaces as well as upside down surfaces. As a standard, just clean everything you see and everything you don't see.

• Cleaning painted metal cabinets

On painted metal cabinets, mild, non-abrasive cleaning fluids or soapy water can be used with paper towels or a soft rag to clean the cabinet and drawer surfaces. Read the labels on cleaning fluids to find out what effect they may have. Test any product you are not familiar with on a small, out-of-the-way painted surface. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL IF YOU USE ANY CHEMICAL SOLVENT TO CLEAN THE CABINET AND DRAWER SURFACES. ESPECIALLY BE CAREFUL WITH ACETONE and even Alcohol may remove or dull the paint.

• Cleaning wood cabinets

On wood cabinets use Pledge, or other brand, wax base cleaner. A pump bottle is desirable from an environmental standpoint, but spray cans may also be used. Avoid using water on wood, no matter how badly weathered or deteriorated the finish is. The water will make the wood swell and promote deterioration of the finish.