I maintain a rest area in western Michigan. I'm wondering if there ary others out there that do what I do. Would like to hear your stories.[/SIZE]

Are rest areas run by the state? What are your hours? aren't they open 24 - 7 ? Is it hard to maintain them with so many people in and out all the time? Sorry for so many questions,just curious. :hi:

Yes rest areas are owned by the State but they sub contract the work out to the cleaning company with the lowest bid.

I work three days a week, 12 hours during the winter and 12 hours Monday thru Thursday and 14 Friday Saturday and Sunday. There are three of us who work there on different days of the week . Two of us work three days a week and the other just one. About the only time the building is closed is if there is a power outage and if there is we still have to stay and finish our shift in the event the power comes back on

As for the question of being hard, it's not any harder than any other account that's open to the public. The only thing with a rest area is you have to deal with people who may be tired from driving for hours and may not be in the best of moods. If you keep the building clean and treat them with respect when they come in, most people are pretty easy to get along with.

Besides keeping the building clean in the summer we have to tend the flower beds and keep the walks clear of leaves. In the winter we have to snow blow the walks and keep them salted which is the hardstt part of the entire job.

With me, I'm somewhat handy so I learned to fix toilets and any other minor repairs that I have the parts for since the state maintenance man has so may other accounts and gets there when he can to fix things.

All in all it isn't a bad job but I'd give anything to clean a quiet office once in a while just for the peace and quiet.

Funny you should ask. I just applied for a LTE Park Ranger position and was curious what cleaning chemicals you use at the waysides restrooms. In Wisconsin the waysides were first maintained by state prisioners. Now they are maintained by handicapped organizations. My son is handicapped and works at the waysides in the summer. It allows him to earn a decent hourly wage rather than working piece meal. They go out and work as a team and have a support leader.
Waysides can be a rendevous area for illecite behavior because of there remoteness
I would like to here what you use to clean waysides and different procedures you use that are specific to waysides. It would really assist anyone searching for cleaning assistance in that field. The position I applied for has cleaning camping restrooms so Park Rangers from all over could benefit from information posted. Your introduction was needed and timely. Thank You

One thing I thought I should mention that I thought of when I read your procedure for cleaning urinals and that is that you don't have eyewash stations. Please keep this in mind that if you should loose your vision due to a spill or because of vapors and you are alone you better have an operable phone on your person. For this reason I would suggest eyeprotection and definitely gloves so after your done cleaning you don't transfer chemicals to your eyes. Those toilet bowel acids will continue to due damage to your eyes as time elapses before they are flushed and the associated pain might make it an even difficult to access and use your phone. Food for thought when working by yourself in a remote area especially when you don't have disablity insurance to cover your loss. We are not Superman and ---- does happen.

I agree with dirts.Even a little splash in the eye hurts like crazy.I spent the night in emergency because of a splash. My eye was red for days.luckly no permant damage.