Disinfectants and Green Cleaning: Make a Safer Choice!
With the beginning of fall weather, we are unfortunately reminded of the up-coming flu season. Many buildings owners and property managers become anxious this time of year, afraid the flu bug will make its way through their building, infecting their employees as well as customers and visitors.
According to the Medical Dictionary; the definition of disinfection is “the act of disinfecting, using specialized cleansing techniques that destroy or prevent growth of organisms capable of infection.”
People's first response is to disinfect everything, every day to keep the flu bugs away. After all, just the word disinfection conjures up the image of a clean, safe, and healthy work environment.
Disinfectants and green cleaning go hand in hand when it comes to making the safe and healthy choice, right?
By definition, it sure makes sense. But there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the question of using disinfectants and providing green cleaning services. The first thing to keep in mind is that there is no such thing as a safe disinfectant - they contain toxins and are all designed to kill viruses, bacteria, and other harmful organisms.
As BSC's and green cleaning service providers, our goal is to look for opportunities to reduce the use of disinfectants. In many cases, people are using disinfectants in areas where a general purpose cleaner would suffice. If you just need to remove soil from a surface, then use a general purpose cleaner. If a sanitizer is all that is needed (which removes or lowers the number of germs on a surface) then use a sanitizer.
Disinfectants are meant to KILL germs, not simply remove or lower their numbers, and should only be used where appropriate, in areas of high risk, and not for any other cleaning purposes unless specified by the manufacturer. Disinfecting should be done AFTER your cleaning and/or sanitizing protocol. High risk means there is a possibility that a disease causing organism could be transferred from an object or surface to a person. These high risk or touch points are areas or items that are frequently touched by people. Examples would be door handles, faucets, phones, light switches and hand rails.
Today's chemical manufactures now offer safer and more eco-friendly alternatives. What makes these types of cleaners "green" is that they are a less hazardous alternative to conventional disinfectants. In other words, they cause less damage to the surface you're cleaning, they're less corrosive, and they cause less irritation to respiratory systems. But don't take the manufacturers' word for it.
Look for disinfectants that are third party certified such as Green Seal and Eco-Logo or an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered product. For a product to become EPA registered, the product must undergo and pass tests for efficacy. Manufacturers are required to submit their disinfectants to the EPA for verification, meaning, they have to prove the claims made on their labels and marketing materials about their products ability to kill microorganisms. If approved, the product is assigned a registration number, which is displayed on the product.
Chemicals will always have an important role in our ability to clean but whether or not we offer green cleaning services, as BSC's, it's our duty to use chemicals in a safe, healthy, and environmentally conscious way. Always be on the look-out for new and safer products to replace conventional cleaners, especially disinfectants. Look for products manufactured by reputable companies that have the Green Seal or Eco-Logo label, or are EPA registered. These companies have done extensive research and development of environmentally friendly products.
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