Green Cleaning: Products and Practices to Improve Indoor Air Quality

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Green Cleaning Products and Practices to
Improve Indoor Air Quality

• Alicia Culver
• Green Purchasing Institute
• 510-547-5475
• Info_at_GreenPurchasing.org

2008 Green Schools Summit Anaheim, CA December
8, 2008
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Why Avoid Toxic Cleaning Products?

• Protect workers health
• Improve indoor air quality (IAQ)
• Children most vulnerable
• Reduce environmental impacts
• Smog, ozone depletion, global warming
• Toxicity to fish, wildlife

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Health Hazards of Cleaning Chemicals

• 5 billion pounds used annually
• 6 out of every 100 janitors injured each
  year
• 20 of injuries are severe chemical burns
  to eyes/skin

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What is Green Cleaning?

• Products and practices that protect human health
  and environment
• Choosing safer products
• Reducing quantity of chemicals
• Minimizing exposure

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Green Cleaners Save

• Opportunities to cut costs by
• Reducing variety of products used
• Competitively bidding green cleaners
• Reducing amount of chemicals used via
  best practices

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Replace High Hazard Products

• Floor strippers (asthma, burns)
• Disinfectants (asthma, organ poison)
• Degreasers/Solvents (cancer, nerve damage)
• Acid toilet cleaner (burns)
• Metal polish (cancer, flammable)
• Graffiti/Paint Removers (cancer, reproductive
  damage)

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Choose Certified Green Cleaners

• Low toxicity
• No cancer-causing ingredients
• Not corrosive to eyes or skin or skin sensitizer
• Wont pollute air or deplete ozone layer
• Wont kill fish
• Will biodegrade
• Low phosphorous
• Package recyclable
• Available as concentrate
• Limits on fragrances used
• Certain ingredients prohibited
• Performance tested
• Vendor training available

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Green Washing

• Discourage specification of industry
  self-certified green products
• Industry standards are usually weaker than
  those set by independent third party
  organizations.
• Avoid specification of products with single
  health- or environmental attribute (e.g.,
  biodegradable)

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Green Seal-certified Cleaning Product Types

• General/Multi/All Purpose Cleaner
• Restroom Cleaners
• Floor Cleaner/Finish/Stripper
• Toilet Bowl Cleaner/Descaler
• Tub Tile/Grout Cleaner
• Glass Cleaner
• Degreaser
• Carpet Cleaner
• Hand SoapSee www.greenseal.org/certproducts.ht
  m

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Availability of Less-Toxic Cleaning Products

• Made by many major manufacturers
• 3M, Betco, Butchers, Ecolab, Johnson
  Diversey, Spartan
• Sold by mainstream distributors
• Grainger
• Comparable pricing
• Special discounts offered to schools
  through State contract with Waxie

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Minimize Need for Harsh Cleaners

• Assess Where does dirt come from?
• Reduce Dirt HEPA vacuums
• Prevent Mold and Mildew Fix leaks, eliminate
  moisture, ventilate
• Improve Interior Design Door mats, no wax
  floors

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Dilute Properly

• Use automatic dilution equipment
• Prevents exposure
• Saves money
• Follow instructions
• Twice as much is NOT twice as good

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Try Microfiber

• Cost-effective (life-cycle basis)
• Reduce chemical use (1/2)
• Minimize water use (up to 95)
• Prevent injuries (chemical exposure, back strain,
  accidents)
• Effective (reduce dirt, avoid cross-contamination
  )www.sustainablehospitals.org/PDF/tenreasonsmop.p
  dfwww.epa.gov/region09/waste/p2/projects/hospital
  /mops.pdf

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Avoid Aerosols

• Fine mist can penetrate lungs
• Propellants hazardous/flammable
• Cans may explode
• Expensive

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Choose Fragrance-free

• Many people are allergic to scents
• Switch to fragrance- free products
• Educate building occupants

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Use Disinfectants Properly

• All disinfectants are toxic (EPA-registered
  pesticides)
• Disinfectants cannot be certified green
• Disinfectants should be
• Used only when needed
• Applied only after surface is cleaned
• Properly diluted
• Left on long enough to be effective
• Look for peroxide-based products

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Avoid Anti-bacterial Soap

• US Food and Drug Administration
• No more effective than soap water
• May increase germs resistance to antibiotics
• Can strip hands of oil friendly bacteria
• May interfere with hormone system
• Found in
• Hand soaps, toothpaste
• Dishwashing liquids and sponges

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Reduce Exposure

• Provide protective equipment
• Gloves
• Goggles
• Respirator
• Ventilate
• Clean when other occupants away

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Conduct Training

• New products may require different cleaning
  methods
• Training is essential to ensure proper
  transition to green cleaning products and
  practices

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Green Cleaners Save

• Opportunities to cut costs by
• Reducing variety of products used
• Replacing 20 different cleaning products with a
  single Green Seal certified product saved
  280,000 per year at the Riverside Military
  Academy in Gainesville, Georgia
• Reducing amount of chemicals used via best
  practices

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Green Cleaning in Hawaii Schools Pilot Tests

• Evaluated existing cleaning products and
  procedures
• Identified and tested less-toxic products
• Addressed implementation issues
• Trained employees products and practices
• Negotiating with vendors to secure discounts on
  products/equipment

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Benefits Documented in Pilot Tests
Cost savings Health safety improvements Equivale
nt or better performance Time savings Smaller
storage footprint Environmental benefits
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Cost Savings Disinfectants

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Green Cleaning Products Performed as Well or
Better

• Peroxide cleaner/disinfectant
• effective at removing dirt
• whitened grout, cleaned carpets/mirrors
• left no residue to rinse
• eliminated restroom odors and blue staining
• Floor stripper removed old wax with less
  rinsing needed
• Microfiber mops more effective, especially around
  edges

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Hawaii Pilot Test Health Safety Improvements

• Workers reported green floor strippers and
  disinfectants caused fewer breathing problems
• Microfiber mops easier to push around than
  cotton mops
• Green cleaners in no-spill containers

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Health Safety Improvements

• Vermont school reported
• 37 reduction in reported cold symptoms
  (from 230 to 144)
• 60 decrease in asthma attacks (from 15 to
  6)
• 10 to 15 decrease in general illnesses

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Green Cleaning Resources

• Cleaning for Healthy Schools Toolkit
• National Collaborative Workgroup on Green
  Cleaning and Chemical Policy Reform in Schools
• www.cleaningforhealthyschools.org
• Cleaning for Health Report (2002)
  www.informinc.org/cleanforhealth.php
• Green Cleaning Site Visit Checklist
• www.informinc.org/FS_CHP_Site20Visit20Check20L
  ist.pdfGreen Cleaning Healthier Cleaning and
  Maintenance Practices and Products for Schools
• www.healthyschools.org

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More Green Cleaning Resources
Quick Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools
http//healthyschoolscampaign.org/campaign/green_c
lean_schools/guide.php Janitorial Products
Pollution Prevention Project Offers fact sheets
on safe and effective cleaning methods http//www.
wrppn.org/Janitorial/jp4.cfm Graffiti Remover
Research and Field Test Report The Search for
Safer Products www.responsiblepurchasing.org/publi
cations/Grafitti_Report.pdf
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