Why should I care about green cleaning? Don’t my old products work just as well?

7 Benefits of Green Cleaning

1. Good for the Environment – This may be perhaps the most obvious argument for green cleaning. When traditional cleaning products are used, harmful chemicals are released into the environment, placing you, the people around you, and the air you breathe in harm’s way. When you go green, you help minimize polluted waterways and reduce your impact on global climate change and ozone depletion. Additionally, you’re using less smog-producing chemicals. Green cleaning products also use packaging that is recyclable to further minimize waste.
2. Healthier Work Environment – When you employ the usage of green cleaning products, chemicals aren’t absorbed into the skin or breathed in by the person cleaning. Employees are no longer breathing in toxic cleaners that remain in the air and cling to surfaces. Using a run-of-the-mill house cleaning spray just once a week can increase the chance of developing asthma, one of today’s most common chronic illnesses which can lead to absenteeism at work.
3. Your Employees and Family Members Will Enjoy Better Air Quality – Nobody likes the stench of chemical odors. When professional cleaners use green cleaning agents, the cleaning experience is more pleasant – the products often include pleasant natural essential oils.
4. Green Cleaning is Less Expensive – Investing in environmentally friendly cleaning products makes sense for companies. While the cost of green cleaning products is becoming more competitive, cleaning in an environmentally responsible way reduces the risk of fires, chemical spills, and sick days.
5. Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products are Safer for the Cleaning Staff – Whether your cleaning team is in-house or out, you can rest easy knowing that when you go green, your cleaning staff will no longer be subjected to breathing in dangerous chemicals or running the risk of having these chemicals absorbed into the skin.
6. When You Go Green, You Know More – You may not be aware of the fact that government regulations do not require ingredients to be listed on cleaning products. When you use products friendly to our environment, you know what you’re getting – healthy, safe cleaning components.
7. Fewer Antibacterials – This is an even lesser-known fact. According to the Food and Drug Administration, washing with antibacterial soaps isn’t superior in any way to regular soaps. In fact, the American Medical Association says that using antibacterial ingredients frequently can foster bacterial resistance. Additionally, common antibacterial agents like Triclosan can interfere with the thyroid and hormonal system. Most green cleaning products do not contain these antibacterial agents.

Commercial Cleaning Products Used in Excess Can Harm Your Staff, You, and Your Team

While incorporating some commercial cleaning products into an office, warehouse or other professional venue is safe, using only commercial cleaning products can be detrimental to the health of yourself and your valued employees.

Commercial cleaners, disinfectants, and sanitizers have been known to cause:

• Headaches
• Cancer
• Endocrine disruption
• Irritation of skin, eyes, nose, and throat
• Reproductive problems

Excessive use of bleach, for example, has been linked to a number of these health risks. It’s problematic in two ways: causing a harmful vapor that leads to lung problems, and corrosive properties that can cause irritation to the eyes and skin, and can even be deadly if swallowed.

Asthma in the Workplace

You likely know how expensive and unwieldy excessive sick days can be when you are running a business. People working near or with products that have chemicals in them have a higher risk of developing or exacerbating asthma. And according to NCBI.com asthma-related sick leave is becoming an important health-economic issue.

What Can You Do?

Use a professional cleaning team that is taught how to properly clean your commercial business property with environmentally friendly agents. Educate the staff about why you are hiring a company that employs green cleaning products so that they can understand and appreciate the benefits.

Using environmentally friendly cleaning products:

• Makes the workplace healthier
• Costs less
• Works just as well as old-school commercial cleaners

If you are cleaning in-house with staff, ensure that you know how to find proper green products. Look for products that have been tested by the EPA*, which does not allow products that may cause reproductive problems, asthma, or cancer to be labeled clean. Additionally, the products must meet a cleaning effectiveness standard in order to be certified.

If you work with Interworld Cleaning, you can inquire about the details of our green cleaning services. Our team knows which cleaning method is going to be the best for every situation that arises.

We understand that cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting do different jobs.

Cleaning products will typically remove 99% of germs, making regular disinfecting unnecessary. However, our staff is trained to clean high-touch surfaces like door knobs, walls, table tops, etc regularly.

Areas like kitchens and break rooms that contain food products will be required to be sanitized and disinfected.

Beware of “Greenwashing”

Some cleaning companies may label their products as “green” or “natural,” and at times, these labels just aren’t true. Greenwashing occurs when companies declare their products are green and safe when they may not be. Each company has its own standards for “safe” products.

*EPA = US Environmental Protection Agency