Growing Green:
Housekeepers Continue to Embrace Philosophy

Just a decade ago, most people thought of “green” only as a color ... not a revolution. Today, the environmental movement is sweeping the cleaning industry.

Chemical manufacturers that offer green products and cleaning supplies are working to make cleaning procedures safer for the environment and healthier for occupants.

Many cities and states are creating legislation requiring government buildings to go green. These measures often influence the general marketplace to follow suit. There are dozens of non-governmental associations and programs — such as Healthcare Without Harm, the Green Hotel Association and Green Seal — dedicated to creating safer and healthier buildings.

“Before there were some recognized standards, every manufacturer could go out and say their stuff was safe and good for the environment,” says Steve Ashkin, president of Ashkin Group, a consulting firm dedicated to greening the cleaning industry. “It’s now a lot easier because these programs serve as a road map.”

Among the more recent programs is the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which is a voluntary standard for developing sustainable buildings.

Building owners interested in getting buildings LEED-certified can earn points toward certification with a green-cleaning program.

“If an organization is committed to building a green building, they obviously understand the health and environmental implications of green,” Ashkin says. “That’s one of the wonderful things that’s happening with programs like LEED. We are moving the issue up the chain.”

Another addition to the cleaning industry is a new Green Seal certification for green-cleaning programs. Green Seal has been certifying products since 1992.

The new certification, which is at least six months from completion, will likely include criteria for everything from the chemicals and equipment used to the way a floor is stripped and a restroom is cleaned.

This new certification will primarily be targeted at building service contractors who want a way to prove to clients that they provide true green cleaning. But there will be nothing to stop in-house cleaning departments from seeking the certification. The certification may be beneficial to these groups for creating positive public relations, boosting morale or increasing funding. Housekeeping departments that don’t get certified can still use the standard as a benchmark for their programs.

Arthur Weissman, president and CEO of Green Seal, sees this newest certification as evidence of green cleaning’s growing influence.

“All of these things have been coming together and forming a kind of snowball effect,” Weissman says. “There are still pockets of resistance here and there, but by and large, we are seeing a revolution. It’s a trend that’s growing and we think it’s going to continue.”

Products and procedures
Green Seal’s movement toward giving equal weight to products and procedures emphasizes that a green-cleaning program must be comprehensive. Housekeeping departments need to be certain that their cleaning programs are equal parts healthy products and safe procedures.

“Green Seal has focused a lot on chemicals because those are the basic ingredients of any cleaning program and the major source of a lot of problems,” Weissman says. “But the fact is that you can have green cleaning chemicals and still not have a very good program if the chemicals are misused.”

Managers should take an inventory of current cleaning chemicals and replace noxious, caustic substances with green alternatives. Managers also should reduce the variety of products in stock because many green cleaners perform several functions.

Using chemicals combined with the proper tools and equipment can cut down on waste and misuse: color-coded tools help minimize cross-contamination, washable microfiber cloths can reduce dust and waste, and an old-fashioned mechanical drain snake can replace caustic drain-cleaning products.

Dilution is also important. Staff can use test strips to check chemicals on a weekly basis. Staff also should apply chemicals to a wiping cloth rather than spraying or flooding them on surfaces. This process reduces overspray and minimizes the amount of chemicals in the air that can be inhaled.

An organization-wide effort
When it comes to evaluating and improving cleaning procedures, managers shouldn’t go it alone — they should get cleaning staff and the building community involved.

“The concept of stewardship includes the idea of shared responsibility,” Ashkin says. “The occupants and visitors of the building all have a responsibility to maximize the environmental benefit of the building.”

Custodial managers may not be able to affect major change in their organizations, but they can influence those who can. The first step in creating a comprehensive green-cleaning program is to educate management.

“There have been so many cuts in cleaning budgets, I believe we are at the point of coming near a public health crisis. We have trimmed all the fat away in many cases,” Ashkin says. “Facility folks need to help their bosses make the connection between cleaning and a healthy environment. They need to educate their bosses about how cleaning affects the productivity of their workers so we can use green cleaning to restore the budget and do the job we need to be doing.”

Organization-wide environmental committees created to keep an eye on green issues can help, says Harry Kendrick, director of housekeeping services at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H.

Kendrick’s group includes administrators, doctors, nurses and cleaning staff who meet regularly to discuss such issues as recycling, cleaning chemicals and graffiti. Currently, the group is evaluating the benefits of switching to microfiber cloths.

Another organization is reaping the benefits of a group green-cleaning effort.

Two years ago, Anacortes School District in Washington decided to green up its cleaning products and procedures. The process began with a pilot program at Mount Erie Elementary School and Anacortes High School.

To get things started, Mount Erie’s head custodian Von Storme got her entire school involved. First, she replaced the chemicals teachers were using to clean (including items teachers had brought in from home) with a Green Seal-approved cleaner in a spray bottle.

Next, Storme got the student body into the act by implementing a rewards program. Winning students are those who contribute most to the cleanliness of the school by putting up their chair at the end of the day, picking up debris in the halls, or keeping their desk clean when they are ill.

“We can get a room vacuumed in a few minutes because we don’t have to pick everything up,” Storme says. “That gives us more time to do deeper cleaning, like keeping the doorknobs fingerprint-free and keeping vents dust-free, because we don’t have to spend as much time in the classrooms.”

District officials are so impressed with the pilot program that all district schools are switching to a green program this year.

Keep up with green
Managers can continue to learn about green cleaning by conducting online research, talking with peers and attending training and seminars.

“It’s a process you don’t just arrive at and then you are done,” Kendrick says. “We are constantly looking at things that will allow us to say we are cleaning for health. This is the wave of the future and will probably soon be the standard.”