May Cleaning Tip:
By Mike Schaffer - President, Tornado Industries

Green Homework

Green cleaning chemicals have made a significant impact in virtually all areas of cleaning. End customers are finding that many if not most environmentally preferable products are as good as, if not better than, conventional products.

However, that is not as true for floorcare. Put to the test, some users have found that Green floorcare strippers, cleaners, and finishes still do not perform as well as conventional products. In fact, in one test, 25 floor finishes were tested in a major office building, but custodial workers and facility managers said only two performed as well as conventional finishes.

For the facility or cleaning professional going Green, this poses some problems. If these products have been certified by leading Green-certification organizations and both perform well and are cost effective, your homework has been done for you and you can use them. However, if they do not meet your satisfaction, here are some ways to select healthier floorcare chemicals:

• Select products with a pH no higher than 11.5* and total phosphorous concentrations of less than 0.5 percent.
• Choose products with a flash point above 150 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the point at which liquids may ignite (flash).
• Avoid products that contain carcinogens, heavy metal, or aqueous ammonia.
• Select products that have total VOCs (volatile organic compounds) less than 7 percent after dilution.

Also, these products should have full disclosure information on their labels so the ingredients and related information are readily available. If a product does not list all its ingredients, it probably should be avoided.

*The pH scale is a range from 0 to14 with 7 representing neutral solu­tions. Zero represents the most acidic pH level, while 14 represents the most alkaline pH level. Each step away from neutral in either direction is 10 times as strong as the previous number. For instance, a solution with a pH of 11 is 10,000 times more alkaline than one with a pH of 7. The more “neutral” the cleaning product, with a pH of about 7, the less impact it has on the health of building occupants and the environment.