Concierge Janitorial | Office Cleaning Central Texas

Companies and businesses across the country are becoming more environmentally conscious and many are starting to adopt LEED standards and protocols. LEED stands for Leadership in Environmental Design. The US Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization, which is working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, launched the LEED rating system. The overall goal of the program is to make the places we live in and work at become healthier environments. There are two classifications for LEED; one for existing buildings – LEED-EB and one for new construction – LEED-NC.

As cleaning companies it’s no longer enough to just supply good cleaning services to your customers. Cleaning companies need to be aware of this growing trend towards becoming LEED certified. One important aspect of becoming LEED certified is integrating green cleaning into a building’s overall janitorial services and practices.

To achieve LEED recognition, a building needs to have a thorough evaluation, rating and certification program. The process uses a checklist which evaluates many items including: the building’s power use, its waste management program, the products used to clean the building, and even the storage of those cleaning products.

One portion of the LEED criteria looks at the steps a building takes to lessen the cleaning’s impact on the environment. This is an important area as it is estimated that six billion pounds of commercial cleaning products are used throughout buildings in the United States each year. In addition, commercial buildings use over 4 million pounds of hand towels and toilet tissue and 30 million trash bags each year.

Some cleaning products contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which contribute to indoor air pollution. Cleaning products can also leave residue that causes eye and skin irritation. This is irritating not only to janitorial workers, but also to the building’s occupants. Using safer, less toxic cleaning products can lead to a healthier building and higher worker productivity.

A building owner who wants to become LEED certified will look closely at their janitorial services. Integrating green cleaning practices into your business also means looking for environmentally preferable cleaning products. Labels on cleaning products can be confusing. One way to make sure you are buying environmentally sound products is to buy products that are “Green Seal” certified. Green Seal is a nonprofit organization that promotes products and services that cause less pollution and waste, conserves resources and habitats, and reduces global warming.

Becoming LEED certified shows that building owners are committed to becoming an environmental leader. In addition, some government agencies are providing financial incentives to buildings who take on this leadership role. Learning about LEED and its requirements will give your company an edge up on the competition. Put yourself in the driver’s seat by understanding your company’s role in maintaining healthy and environmentally sound buildings.

For more information on LEED go to: http://www.usgbc.org. To learn more about Green Seal go to: http://www.greenseal.org/index.html.

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Many building service contractors are aware that green cleaning is a hot topic these days due to health and safety concerns by building owners and managers. We see increasing amounts of recycling bins in the buildings we clean, which is a sign that people are becoming more environmentally conscious. Steps are also being taken to reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous and toxic chemicals in many industries. As a janitorial contractor you can be a leader in your industry by exploring the many excellent environmentally preferable products available on the market today.

If the cleaning products you are using contain any of the following chemicals, you may be putting yourself, your employees, your customers, and the environment at risk.

Nonylphenoxpolyethoxyethanol, Nonylphenols and NPE/APE surfactants:
These provide detergency to remove soil from a variety of surfaces. Although effective, they are petroleum-based products that may contain traces of ethylene oxide, which is a suspected carcinogen. NPE’s have been shown to cause disruption to the endocrine system in aquatic species and are suspected of doing so in humans. The endocrine system is a series of glands, including the male and female reproductive glands, which secrete hormones. Endocrine disruption may be linked to birth defects. You may find the above chemicals in air fresheners, all-purpose cleaners, carpet spotters, disinfectant cleaners, floor strippers, and washroom fixture cleaners.

Glycol Butyl Ethers:
This product is very effective on water-soluble dirt as well as water-insoluble oils and greases. The drawbacks are that it is very irritating to the respiratory tract and eyes. It also reacts violently with strong mineral acids and is not biodegradable. You may find this product in air fresheners, carpet spotters, floor finish removers, food service cleaners, glass cleaners and heavy-duty cleaners.

Phosphates:
Phosphates are used in products to soften water, maintain alkalinity levels, suspend dirt and increase cleaning efficiency. It can become an environmental hazard if dumped into a closed body of water, which leads to the potential for excessive algae growth. Excessive algae growth can lead to the depletion of oxygen levels and can eventually kill aquatic life. This product may be found in all-purpose cleaners, carpet spotters, disinfectant cleaners and heavy-duty cleaners.

Xylene:
Is a petroleum based product which is non biodegradable, flammable, must be disposed of as hazardous waste and requires solvent clean up. It is commonly used to reduce or thin solvent coatings such as concrete coatings. High levels of inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and even death. Exposure over long periods of time has the potential to cause damage to bone marrow eyes and stomach.

Dibutyl Phthalate:
This product is a known endocrine disrupter. It has shown to cause a high frequency of birth defects in some aquatic species. It is also suspected of having the same potential in humans. You can normally find this chemical in resilient tile coatings.

These are a few examples of the hazardous chemicals that may be found in conventional cleaning products. If you are concerned about what’s in the cleaning products you are using, consult your Material Safety Data Sheets. They should list the ingredients and the potential health and flammability risks.

Rumor has it that there will be a mandate to use environmentally preferable products in all federal buildings as early as this year. Whether it happens this year or not, the fact of the matter is that it will happen. There are many proven environmentally preferable products on the market today. One place you can find them and find answers to any questions you may have is at www.TheJanitorialStore.com .

You can also use environmentally preferable products as sales tools, as more and more people are becoming increasingly concerned about our environment and the environment they work in. Be a leader in your industry by taking steps to implement safer cleaning products and provide a healthier atmosphere for yourself, your employees, your customers, and the environment.

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If you’re thinking about offering green cleaning services in 2008, then one of the things you must consider is the equipment you use. In last week’s article we gave the example of the type of vacuum cleaners you may be using. If you use upright vacuum cleaners with a cloth bag, then you’re allowing dust to become airborne because the vacuum doesn’t have a filtration system to keep the dust contained in the machine. Your upright vacuum is not an environmentally friendly piece of equipment and you should consider switching to another type of vacuum with a HEPA filtration system.

If you clean commercial buildings you probably use conventional mops and buckets. However conventional mops tend to spread soil around, whereas microfiber mop pads do a better job of capturing and removing soil, which helps to eliminate cross contamination. In addition, microfiber mops are lighter than the traditional bulky mop, which means they’re more ergonomically friendly. Also, since microfibers need little water, there is no heavy bucket for your employees to lug around, resulting in fewer injuries.

Hard floor equipment such as high speed burnishers or slow speed machines should have vacuum attachments that capture the dust generated by the machine. This prevents the dust from becoming airborne.

You may also want to consider replacing your buffing pads with nylo-grit brushes. Buffing pads eventually wear out and need to be thrown away. Nylo-grit brushes however, can last for years so there is much less waste added to land fills.

When replacing an automatic scrubber, look for a model that minimizes the amount of water it uses and maximizes the amount of water recovered in the cleaning process. There are even models available that reduce or eliminate the need for any cleaning chemicals, which is very environmentally friendly.

When shopping for carpet extractors, choose models that have a high level of water recovery so carpets will dry faster.

There are many more things you can do to upgrade your cleaning equipment in order to be more environmentally friendly with your cleaning services.

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