A recent hospital cleaning magazine cited a study done about home births, and how more and more women are opting to deliver at home rather than have their child the traditional way, in a hospital. The women’s reasons had little to do with the facility itself, and more with the kinds of cleaning supplies and disinfectants the cleaning staff use to keep the place germ free and sparkling.
It’s estimated that 35% of older, more conventional cleaning products used in hospital cleaning contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs have been known to linger in the air and on surfaces, causing all kinds of problems like respiratory irritation, headaches, blindness, severe skin damage, and even hormonal system damage.
Enter the green cleaning revolution.
There are several reasons why hospital cleaning crews are picking green as their favorite color these days, the most obvious being patient and employee health and safety. By now, everyone knows that using and inhaling cleaning products can be hazardous to your health. Besides high levels of VOCs, cleaning products often contain carcinogens, asthmagens, and other toxic substances known to cause birth defects, kidney damage, nervous system damage, and other health-related problems.
Another practical reason hospital cleaning staff are going green is cost. When compared to the price of conventional cleaners on a per-cleaning rather than a per-cost basis, green products are less expensive. Factoring in the cost of worker protection, product handling and disposal issues, once again green products just cost less. Also, one green cleaning solution used at different concentrations for multiple cleaning tasks can save closet space and help staff avoid sandal.com confusion about what to use when; again reducing costs.
