Sustainability: It’s not just for the Environment
An eco-friendly janitorial firm can make a difference in your facility
Sustainable lifestyles and work procedures play a crucial role in preserving the health of our planet. By adopting practices that minimize environmental impact, we can contribute to the longevity of ecosystems and the overall well-being of future generations. At SMS, we hold sustainability as an important value, emphasizing its importance in every facet of our operations.
There are many reasons to hire a janitorial company that practices sustainable cleaning that will improve the health and safety of the people in your public facility, maintain a positive environment that draws people to your location, and protect your company’s bottom line.
A few sustainable practices we use are outlined below, and you should consider incorporating them into your own routines as well. Here’s a closer look at some of the methods we implement:
Enhance Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Cleaning for improved IAQ requires following the science. Green cleaning products, which contain fewer hazardous Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), lessen human VOC exposure compared to standard cleaning products. Research has linked VOCs to long-term health hazards, including chronic asthma, lung disease, and lung cancer. Studies show that the use of “green” cleaning may improve indoor air quality.
At SMS, the use of sustainable cleaning agents meeting the requirements outlined in LEED-EB O&M ensures that VOC exposures are reduced. We deliver our green cleaning products via automatic chemical dispensing, which prevents over-concentrated chemical misuse. Likewise, it also prevents an “under-mixing” of the chemical, which affects its ability to perform and disinfect.
Our vacuums use HEPA filters to reduce dust and microbes left in carpets and in the air. With our daily vacuuming, this filter reduces the soil and cleans carpets with a powerful brush and suction motor, lowering the total project requirements for carpet extraction.
Our carpet extractors are certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), an independent laboratory that tests and certifies carpet products and carpet technology for quality and low VOC emissions. When carpet extraction is required, CRI-Certified carpet extractors require minimal chemicals and hot water, where appropriate. It is common to find that carpets in high-traffic facilities have far too much chemical buildup from overuse. Our first step in fixing this issue is hot water extracting of all carpets where permitted, to reset the chemical composition contained within the fibers and reduce “chemical browning” that can occur. If there is still a need for additional cleaning after our reset, we will use Green Seal carpet extracting, spotting, and pre-sprays that properly treat the carpet but neutralize after use to leave the carpets nearly chemical-free.
Sustainable programs with quality assurance and defined cleaning procedures can enhance indoor air quality and reduce the risk of reputational harm from illness claims in your facility. This also lowers the likelihood that the people who clean your location will call in sick, which can create a vicious circle of understaffing and negatively impact turnover.
Maintain a Positive Environment
When your provider chooses technologically advanced and efficient late-model equipment to clean the floors, escalators, elevators, and other areas in your building, the adverse side effects of using that equipment are significantly reduced. SMS’ partnership with industry-leading equipment manufacturers means we are continuously upgrading to quieter, more efficient equipment that can operate in eco-friendly mode and reduce or eliminate emissions levels and noise.
Our equipment has many functions that remove the need for chemicals at all. For example, in hard floor maintenance, we often strip wax and sealer off floors using high-impact floor pads and orbital scrubbing machines. These machines spin while vibrating, causing a sanding motion in tandem with an aggressive pad and water, removing wax and sealer from the floor without requiring a floor stripper or any harmful chemicals. This process also removes the floor slurry immediately during the pass into the auto scrubber, reducing the chances of slip and fall or any chemical burns. Our daily maintenance uses PH Neutral cleaners that are Green Seal certified to clean all hard surfaces.
Even with more ordinary cleaning tools, using the right products is important. SMS uses the following microfiber products for all of our cleaning approaches:
- Microfiber wipes
- Wet-loop mops
- High dusters
- Flat mops
Microfiber is antimicrobial, making it effective for use in any cleaning. It is durable and can be washed and reused over 300 times. This prevents the waste of “disposable” products that fill trash cans with chemically treated contaminated wipes. Our wipes and flat mops are always stored in solution, ready for use, and never applied back into the solution.
Once removed and wrung to the proper dampness level, we use the wipes and mops until soiled before putting them in a collection bag for washing at the end of a shift. This significantly decreases cross-contamination and improves overall disinfection, making an immediate difference in the health and lives of those who work at and visit your building.
Consistent delivery of an eco-friendly housekeeping routine requires a robust training program and an excellent quality assurance program. Every team member must be properly trained and on board, and regular inspections are necessary. SMS enters daily audits into OPS360, our customized Quality Assurance system, to check our adherence to our environmentally friendly programs. These results can be openly shared with our customers in real-time.
Save Money with Sustainable Practices
The days of choosing between cost savings and sustainable practices are behind us. With proper training, your service provider's employees can effectively conserve paper products, select the appropriate cleaning cloths and tools for each task, and minimize water usage—all of which positively impact the bottom line.
If your janitorial provider is using efficient new state-of-the-art plug-in or battery-operated machinery for tasks such as vacuuming, carpet cleaning, or hard floor burnishing, your electricity bills will be lower. Also, your building will be safer because your floors will be cleaner, which will minimize your risk exposure.
SMS has extensive experience with a wide range of energy-efficient equipment that utilize technologies such as Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries, which have a fine glass fiber separator between the positive and negative plates that helps absorb all the battery acid. They require no maintenance or cord, have low energy consumption, and last significantly longer than conventional batteries. Our national partners recycle all of our batteries when replacement is required.
When your provider uses green cleaning products, they opt for eco-friendly, more concentrated alternatives. This means that, when applied correctly, smaller quantities are needed to achieve effective results, ultimately reducing overall supply costs.
Another money-saver is providing your visitors with easy opportunities to contribute to waste reduction in your facility. We have found the key to our success in minimizing waste and significantly increasing recycled product collection is ensuring the full availability of choices for recycling an item versus disposing of it in the trash. Clean and clearly marked containers give the visitor easy choices when they have the opportunity to recycle.
Clean water is not only a cost but also a limited natural resource. At SMS, our power washing equipment has water/chemical reclaiming ability to prevent contamination of nearby rainwater drains, which not only saves the environment but also reduces your water bill.
Eco-Friendly is a Solid Business Plan
Being sustainable is an all-around winning formula for cleaning and maintaining a healthy environment in your facility. It’s a rock-solid opportunity to improve your building’s IAQ, overall environment, and bottom line. We look forward to discussing the details with you.