Green Cleaning: Leaving Traditional Cleaning in the Dust! Part 2
In Part 1 of our article: Green Cleaning: Leaving Traditional Cleaning in the Dust, we discussed the differences in traditional cleaning vs. green cleaning when it comes to cleaning chemicals and packaging. In part 2 of our discussion, we will cover the use of traditional equipment, tools, consumable products and cleaning methods compared to greener solutions.
In addition to ‘green' chemicals, companies should also focus on the equipment, tools, products, and procedures used to perform their cleaning services. This would include such things as vacuums, carpet and hard floor equipment, mopping and dusting tools, disposable janitorial products such as paper towels and trash bags, and company cleaning systems and guidelines.
How does traditional cleaning methods compare to green cleaning methods?
Cleaning restroom floors in the traditional way includes sweeping and mopping with a broom or dust mop, then using string mop-heads and mop buckets to clean the floors. Green cleaning involves using environmentally friendly and safer cleaning products, more efficient tools and cleaning systems and methods.
Cleaning floors using green cleaning equipment and methods means you'll use a back pack vacuum to vacuum the floor, rather than sweeping. Sweeping can spread soil around and causes dust to become airborne, which is inefficient and unhealthy. Look for vacuums that have HEPA filtration systems, certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute's (CRI'S), and operate with a sound level of 70dBA or less.
Mopping floors using green cleaning equipment and methods requires using a microfiber mop instead of the traditional mop and bucket. Microfiber mops are lighter weight, use less water, and are able to trap more soil in the fibers than traditional mops. Microfiber mop heads can easily be removed and replaced with clean ones as the cleaning technicians move from room to room, thus, avoiding cross contamination. This is extremely important when cleaning medical facilities.
Using white cotton cloths to clean surfaces is the traditional way of cleaning. But like most traditional cleaning methods, there is a risk of cross-contamination. This is where microfibers outperform and are much “greener” than most traditional tools. For example, restroom cleaning involves disinfecting a number of different surfaces, so you want to avoid cross-contaminating surfaces. The best way to do this is to use color-coded microfiber cloths. Each color is used for a particular task. For example:
- Blue - mirrors and bright work
- Yellow - sinks and countertops
- Red - toilets and urinals
Green Dusting & Glass Cleaning
In a traditional cleaning situation, a feather duster is used to dust surfaces. The problem with using feather dusters is that the dusts becomes airborne and then settles back onto the surfaces you just dusted. These airborne particles can cause respiratory irritation and aggravate existing breathing disorders. For green cleaning, replace your feather duster with a green microfiber cloth. The dust will become trapped in the cloth rather than getting spread around and becoming airborne.
Traditional glass cleaning chemicals are alcohol or ammonia based. This can be harmful to cleaning technicians as they spray mist the glass cleaner onto the surface. Trigger sprayers can release the chemical as a fine mist that becomes airborne, creating a risk for respiratory irritation.
A greener solution would be to replace the traditional glass cleaner with one containing no harsh chemicals or fumes. Look for glass cleaners with plant or mineral based ingredients, since they produce no harmful vapors. Also, by adjusting the spray to more of a stream, rather than a mist, you will reduce the amount of vapors released into the air.
Another "greener" method of cleaning is to apply the cleaning chemical to your microfiber cloth directly rather than spraying the surface. This reduces the amount of vapors released into the air, reducing possible eye or skin contact, and protects surrounding surfaces from over spray.
Green Consumable Products
Becoming a more sustainable cleaning contractor means using green certified products in your cleaning operations and offering your customers green certified consumable products. These would include such items as paper towels and napkins, facial tissue, toilet tissue, hand towels, kitchen towels, and plastic trash bags.
Green Paper Products
Purchase paper products such as hand and kitchen towels, facial tissue, napkins or toilet paper that are manufactured using recycled material. This helps to eliminate the amount of waste we put in our landfills and sustain our forests. Also, consider paper products that will help to reduce its overall consumption rate. Replace smaller roll towels or folded towels with larger roll towels and purchase higher end quality paper products, they are normally more absorbent than the lesser quality brands.
Green Plastic Trash Bags
Look for liners that are biodegradable and manufactured from recycled plastics and post-consumer materials. A non-biodegradable plastic bag can take as long as 1,000 years to disintegrate in our landfills. So do your part to help reduce our carbon footprint and find eco-friendly liners for your company and customers.
Are you lining all your trash cans with liners? This may not be necessary. If you have dry material trash containers or recycling containers at your facilities, eliminate the use of liners altogether.
Your criteria for becoming a greener company, for example, could include a specified percentage of products in this group are recognized by green standards. Products should be certified by Green Seal or Environmental Choice, or comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines for Janitorial Paper and Plastic Trash Can Liners, and/or be derived from rapidly renewable resources (non-petroleum) or made from tree-free fibers.
You could set a company minimum of, let's say, fifty percent of the products that you use and provide to meet the above criteria.
Green Company Methods and Procedures
To become a more green cleaning company, take a look at the equipment, methods and procedures used to perform your cleaning services, from top to bottom.
Some ideas to start with would include carpet extractors that use less water than traditional carpet extractors. Choose a carpet extractor that has a high level of water recovery so carpets will dry faster. Look for automatic scrubber that minimizes the amount of water used and maximizes the amount of water recovered in the cleaning process.
Conserve the amount of energy your cleaning company uses on a daily basis. Simple things like turning off lights when not in use, turning down the heat when the building is vacant, turning off electrical units such as computer when not in use, and opening and closing windows instead of turning the heat up or turning the air conditioner on. Check into alternative heating and cooling solutions such as window shades, planting trees, etc.
Create environmentally friendly buildings by periodic and scheduled maintenance of lighting systems, HVAC systems and controls, and water heating systems. Constantly monitor the building thermal for new ways to improve and control against heating and cooling loss. Explore renewable power sources such as solar power.
Encourage company personnel to report any “wasted energy” (i.e. leaky faucet) so that the necessary changes can be made whether through maintenance or conservation.
Promote energy and resource conservation at all your office/warehouse locations and building establishments. Make the effort to promote environmentally friendly activities, enhance the awareness of employees about environmental issues, and encourage energy conservation and effective uses of all our resources today and into the future.
As you can see, making a few simple changes in chemicals, equipment, tools, consumables and cleaning methods/procedures can make a huge impact. Not only will you be making a contribution to protecting the environment, but you'll also be protecting your employees from toxic chemicals and outdated equipment that can cause unnecessary injuries and unwanted waste.
One last thing! While looking for greener practices for your cleaning company, don't forget to look for the red, white, and blue. Meaning, products proudly made in the USA!
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