Understanding the Going Green Phenomenon

How seriously do you take the cleaning of your office building? Have you considered the impact of cleanliness on your customers and employees? What is all this talk about environmentally friendly and going green? If you are a business owner, you are bombarded with countless cleaning companies that want to discuss your current cleaning solutions. We know that first impressions mean everything, so when a customer walks into your facility, the first thing you want them to notice is that you take pride in your appearance. The cleanliness of your facility will say a lot about how you do business and how you treat your customers, both internally and externally. But it’s not only about a clean appearance; it is also about making the best choices in the process. We are hearing more and more about green cleaning products replacing the conventional ways of cleaning, and when it comes to commercial cleaning, there are some very good reasons to consider it to be the way of the future.

 What Does “Going Green” Really Mean? 

A number of cleaning companies will advertise green cleaning, but what does it really mean? Is it simply the new buzzword of the cleaning industry, or does it have merit? Green cleaning refers to the use of healthier and environmentally friendly cleaning products and solutions. In turn, the products need to be biodegradable. In some cases, the simple use of water over other chemicals can be the most effective and “green” way to clean.

Many people have decided to go green at home in order to create a healthier living environment for their families and pets, but does a company really have to worry about the cleaning products for their facilities? The answer is yes, and whether you are cleaning an office, warehouse, or home, the benefits are many and real. With a greater concern for the environment, every company should be doing their part to minimize the harmful effects. For a cleaning product and method to be considered environmentally friendly, it must meet a long list of requirements, all of which are safe for humans and the overall environment.

What are the Benefits to a Company? 

1. It is an overall healthier alternative – The primary reason to consider a green cleaning company is the health benefits to the staff and customers. Since there is no use of harmful chemicals within the cleaning process, whether they are cleaning carpets or walls, the cleaning company should be able to deliver an unmatched cleanliness with safe products. The cleaning products are known to affect the skin or respiratory system of the users, the employees within your facility, and the customers that frequent your office. In addition, a consistently clean and sanitized area means fewer reported incidences of illness and use of sick days. For the company, this means a huge savings on replacing employees at the last minute, working understaffed. In addition to the clean appearance of your office building, green products rid the area of allergens. No matter what your initial reason, these are all benefits to working with green products.

2. There is no institutional smell – How many times have you walked into an office building and been hit with a whiff of what can best be described as “hospital smell?” Just because it smells like it is clean doesn’t mean that it is the only way to get it clean and sanitized. The green products will give you the strength of the old products without the negative effects on those using the facility and equipment.

3. Safer for the environment – The reality is that green products are not only safer for us, but also for the environment. We all have a responsibility to keeping it clean and safe. Customers tend to look to do business with companies that are just as concerned about the similar interests.

4. Overall less costly – Between the chances for chemical spills, multiple hazards to employees, ongoing downtime while at work, or calling off for entire days, the expense of accidents can be great. Invest in your company and its future by going green. Because accidents do happen, and people inadvertently are injured, make sure that chemicals are not one of the reasons that you have people injured and off work.

 

No matter what your personal reason for going green, make sure that you are working with suppliers and service providers that also have the same commitment. Be careful in your selections, and meet with your potential cleaning service to ensure quality work. No matter what your company layout and needs, work with someone who has years of experience and can explain the process while demonstrating the quality and effectiveness of the green process.

Clean and Healthy Living

More and more, consumers are becoming aware of the impact the many products we purchase has on our health and environment. The fact is that we’ve lived in a kind of ignorant bliss up ‘till now, though bliss may be stretching it – after all, a variety of illnesses and diseases can be traced back to the misuse of chemicals in our foods and around the house. Furthermore, the environment can be negatively impacted by the amount of toxic fumes and chemicals we have flooded it with in recent years.

While we can’t erase the mistakes of the past, we can begin to make the right decisions about the products we use in our homes. When it comes to cleaning your hotel or motel, however, it can seem difficult or even impossible to do so in an environmentally responsible manner. After all, the most effective cleaning solutions seem to be the most toxic.

Green Cleaning 

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Fortunately, the “green cleaning” movement has come along to provide a solution to your eco-friendly cleaning dilemma. Not so much a movement as a collection of cleaning methods that are made to be environmentally friendly, green cleaning involves the use of cleaning substances and techniques that are designed to preserve your health as well as the quality of your environment.

These techniques do not use chemically reactive and toxic cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals or which otherwise emit organic compounds that can cause the breathing and skin problems that are so often associated with cleaning products. How many times have you walk through a freshly-cleaned, gleaming room, and come out the other end short of breath, your eyes irritated, or with a rash? It happens more often than you’d like to admit! With green cleaning, these toxic baths are a thing of the past.

Beyond being good for your personal health, green cleaning products are also biodegradable, and in containers that are themselves good for the environment, whether they were manufactured in such a way as to preserve the environment or whether the containers themselves are biodegradable. Being

Green Starts at Home

You have a number of options when it comes to making green cleaning a regular practice. While you could invest in microfiber materials to cut down on the need for anything more than water in cleaning your clothes and furniture, that is a rather expensive (and hard to take!) route. For now, you’re better off using cleaning materials that are environmentally friendly.

Some of those products include Seventh Generation cleaning materials, which are considered safe and sustainable, and Mrs. Meyers, which are largely chlorine and phosphate-free. Dr. Bronner’s soaps are also great for cleaning, well, just about anything! These substances are not any more difficult to use than the less environmentally friendly cleaning agents you typically see.

Of course, you can’t expect your staff to clean your entire building from top to bottom, much less to invest in the eco-friendly cleaning supplies and materials that you would need to do so. Fortunately, cleaning services like Classic Commercial Services are available to tackle just about every big cleaning task your business has in a safe, environmentally conscious manner.

Choosing the Right Service 

Some cleaning services treat cleaning your building like an exterminator might treat fumigation! The chemicals and other cleaning agents they use are so full of toxins and other caustic, unhealthy substances that you are barred from re-entry to your own home for days after the service has come and gone. This is an absolutely untenable state of affairs; neither your staff nor your customers should be subjected to the kind of unhealthy chemicals that your hotel is regularly bathed in by these irresponsible cleaning services.

That’s why Classic Commercial Services has gone to such lengths to ensure that the cleaning agents it uses are as safe, clean, and healthy as possible. While certain problems require quite a bit of cleaning effort, such as pet odor or years of dirt and stains, we always endeavor to use the safest, healthiest method of cleaning available.

We do this without passing on the extra cost of this to you – largely because it is already so affordable to take care of the environment! Our society is finally beginning to take seriously the threat posed to ourselves and our world by the chemicals we use every day. With time and a little bit of smart shopping decisions, we may be able to make up for past mistakes and live a healthier, cleaner life!