Many cleaning companies have either made the switch to green cleaning or are planning to do so at some point in the future. But it can be tough to imagine just how big of a change it will be and what it will look like when you're practicing green cleaning methods and using green cleaning chemicals.

Here is an example of a traditional cleaning situation, and then what it would look like if you used green cleaning chemicals, tools and methods in the same situation.

Dusting

Traditional Cleaning:
In a traditional cleaning situation you may be using a feather duster to dust surfaces. You may also use a glass cleaning chemical that is alcohol or ammonia based, for wiping smudges from glass surfaces.

The problem with using feather dusters is that the dusts settles back onto the surfaces you just dusted, and it also becomes airborne. While airborne you can breathe in the particles, which can cause respiratory irritation and aggravate existing breathing disorders. You can have some of the same problems if you spray cleaning chemicals such as glass cleaner on surfaces. Trigger sprayers release the chemical as a fine mist, which can cause respiratory irritation.

Green Cleaning:
If you replace your feather duster with a microfiber cloth, the dust will become trapped in the cloth rather than getting spread around and becoming airborne.

If you replace the traditional glass cleaner with an environmentally friendly glass cleaner, you'll be producing fewer harmful vapors. You can also adjust the spray to more of a stream, rather than a mist in order to reduce the vapors released into the air.

Another "greener" method of cleaning is to apply the cleaning chemical to your microfiber cloth rather than spraying the surface. This reduces the amount of vapors released into the air and protects surrounding surfaces from overspray.

As you can see, making simple changes in the products, tools and methods you use to clean will put you on the road to offering green cleaning services.

Next week we'll have another example for you.

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