CAUTION WET FLOOR, BUT IT’S ALWAYS WET ALL THE TIME
In Pollen — The UIC/SoArch Journal. Fall 2024,
In the Walter Netsch designed Arts & Architecture Building at the University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Harrison Street, the janitorial staff is working around the clock. When I enter the building in the morning they are mopping and when I exit the building in the evening they are still mopping; the building will never be clean. When a ‘Caution Wet Floor’ sign is stationed in a walkway after a mopping, dusty grey footprints immediately circle the bright yellow warning sign. It’s as if the floors live in a perpetual coating of salt and a constant layer of dust creating the need to mop an around-the-clock task.
Full text available upon request.
Dry Dusting Broom on a Staircase, April 22, 2022.
A dry dusting broom is abandoned on a major staircase. The broom leans against the handrailing halfway to the top of the stairs. An odd placement for such an item as it is neither at the starting point of the task, nor the ending point, rather it is deserted midway.
Caution Wet Floor Sign and Yellow Commercial Mop Bucket before a Staircase, February 15, 2023
In the main stairway, staples of institutional janitorial equipment are deployed. A mop bucket, presumably just used, and a ‘Caution Wet Floor’ sign has been stood in the middle of the walkway. Strangely, dusty footprints surround the sign suggesting another mop may be necessary.
Yellow Rubbermaid WaveBrake Mop Bucket (with Side Press Wringer) and Mop in Exterior Staircase (Facing the Willis Tower), March 28, 2023.
Atop spray paint stained flooring, in an exit stair facing the skyline of Chicago, a mop bucket rests upon the guardrail awaiting its use.