Why Portland Needs Green Cleaning?

Portland has suffered from moderate pollution levels over the past few years. The air around us is degenerating fast and it is fast becoming the carrier of serious respiratory diseases. It isn’t just the big industrial facilities that are responsible for this, you are adding to it too every time you get your facility cleaned!

Keeping your facility clean is really important and maintaining basic cleanliness is mandatory. It’s important to be aware that the methods you use to get your building cleaned will have a huge impact on the air around it. Cleaning materials contain harmful chemicals that stick like a residue in the air and can spread respiratory and other diseases to people breathing in the polluted air. This means that every time that you call your janitorial services, they may leave behind a visibly clean facility but with highly polluted air in and around the building.

This fact is scary but true- one out of three cleaning products contains ingredients known to cause human health or environmental problems. What's more, various studies have revealed that the average janitor uses 48 pounds of hazardous chemicals per year. That is a huge amount, as these products contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs are quite harmful to humans as they cause headaches, breathing problems, and other allergies. That is not all, there are certain cleaning products that are responsible for releasing chemicals that can lead to: cancer, reproductive organ damage, kidney damage, neurological problems and even birth defects.

That is not all, it has been noted that 30% of office workers suffer from health problems from unhealthy air in buildings. The polluted air in the building is responsible for making people sick. If you do not want your employees and staff suffering from the “Sick Building Syndrome,” then you may want to reconsider you preferred janitorial service. Make sure that you choose a janitorial service that uses green and non-toxic cleaning products. That's right, by choosing a cleaning service that uses eco-friendly products, you will add to the efforts being made to curb the rising pollution levels in Portland.

Eco-friendly and non-toxic products have been made after extensive research, and are found to minimize the impact on the environment over other cleaning products. They are manufactured from plants, and are completely detergent-free (the chemicals in detergents make them non-biodegradable). These green cleaning products are made from ingredients that are listed by the Food & Drug Administration as safe for consumption. This means that once your facility is clean, the air in and around it will not be laden with pollutants. The water that goes out through the drains does not contain harmful chemicals that might pollute the water bodies in Portland. And more importantly, the air in your facility will not make the people in it sick.

The green cleaning products will kill bacteria just as effectively, but they will not pollute the air. Most cleaning products have volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that emit chemical gases and cause sickness. Moreover the latest and most advanced services use innovative equipment and new ergonomic cleaning techniques. These pieces of equipment produce results that are better, healthier and cleaner, and also prevent tons of toxic cleaning chemicals from entering the Portland Metro area each year. For the benefit of your own city and the people working in your facility, remember to take the green route, and most importantly, choose the right janitorial Portland is your city, and every little effort to make it better and safer for the people really counts.

The writer is a consultant with ServiceMaster Solutions – Portland, OR. They are the experts in Green Cleaning in Portland.