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Use Green Cleaners At Your Office Building

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 Subscribe To Our Feed

Facilities managers have double duty of keeping a clean, well-run facility and making sure the office environment is a healthy workplace. Rising awareness of “sick building syndrome” has added extra pressure to take steps to make sure the building is conducive to the wellbeing and productivity of their staff. Some offices have the option of using carpet & furniture that won’t off-gas formaldehyde, air & water purifiers, and no or low-VOC paint, but one of the most simple and cost-effective ways to reduce the toxins in your office environment day in and day out is to use all natural multipurpose cleaning products. Here are some tips for finding non-toxic, green cleaning products that don’t that have poisonous fumes and won’t leave harmful residues.

Thing To Avoid:

1. Volatile Organic Compounds - Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs are fumes that can be toxic when emitted from certain solids or liquids. According to the EPA, concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. This is because of the lack of ventilation of the VOCs that are off-gassed from many common products used to clean at home and in the office. Besides cleaning supplies, health-harming VOCs also come from paint and paint removers, air fresheners, dry cleaned clothing, and plywood/pressed board.

VOCs cause short and long-term health-harming effects, such as headache, eye irritation, dizziness, flu-like symptoms, triggering asthma, and even life-threatening conditions like cancer. These VOCs can be present in glass cleaners, multi-purpose cleaners, floor cleaners, bathroom & kitchen cleaners, as well as many products used for spot cleaning on fabrics, such as carpet and upholstery. Pregnant and nursing women, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are even more susceptible to the negative effects of breathing VOCs, but it is important to take steps to reduce them for everyone’s sake.

Perhaps your cleaning crew comes in after hours and therefore you think you are not exposed to these VOCs. After all, you aren’t in the immediate area, right? This is, unfortunately, not accurate as these fumes can and do stay in the air for hours after their use. Even sitting in a closet, the bottles emit gasses. Unless your building has been upgraded recently to include a purification and ventilation system that continuously cleans the air, your exposure is not mitigated.

2. Solvents - Solvents often contain corrosive chemical ingredients, such as alcohols, esters, Ethylene Glycol Ethers (EGEs), and Propylene Glycol Ethers (PGEs). These are carcinogenic and toxic to people & the environment. They would contribute to the VOCs in the air.

Look For:

1. Neutral pH - The determination of what exactly is a neutral pH can be easily understood. Neutral has been given a value of 7.0 and is based on how the product reacts with the environment once it enters the water system, the effect on the surface being cleaned, and the outcome of usage on the skin. Acids, such as battery acid, has a value under 7.0, while the opposite – alkali – has a value of over 7.0 and would include such items as bleach. The 7.0 pH neutral is not reactive to surfaces.

A neutral pH cleaning product won’t harm even the most sensitive surfaces, such as marble, and you don’t have to worry about it throwing off the pH balance of your skin. Even with frequent use, neutral pH eco friendly cleaning products without any harsh chemicals will keep your cleaned surfaces, such as desks, conference tables, countertops and carpets free of harmful residue.

2. Biodegradable - We all know how important clean water is. There are whole industries dedicated to reclaiming water to meet growing needs. Considering the environment when choosing cleaning products is the planet-wise responsible decision to make. The most commonly used products are some of the biggest contributors to pollution, as they do not dissolve into non-toxic components. Washed down the drain they retain their harmful effects. You might be surprised to know that even among biodegradable products, there are different rates as to how quickly they reach full level. The EPA has standards for what truly constitutes biodegradable and you should look for products that do so with 28 days.

3. Plant-Based - The use of plants for medicinal and health purposes is a long-established fact. Add the cleansing properties and you have a complete arsenal, all non-toxic and organic. No synthetic chemical compound offers the non-toxic benefits of the plant-based products. Fortunately, the plant-based compounds clean as well as or better than their harmful counterparts, including less to no Volatile Organic Compounds in the work environment.

Removing harsh chemicals while maintaining the same standard of cleanliness is the goal of using all natural multipurpose cleaning products. Add in the reduction in environmental impacts with the use of all natural cleaning products and you have one smart manager!!Making the best decision for the health of the workers is easy when it comes to replacing toxic chemical cleaners with eco friendly multipurpose cleaning products. Healthier workers are more productive and using eco friendly cleaning products can greatly contribute to this.

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