Archive for April, 2011

In a recent survey of adults in the U.S., it was found that 84 percent of those surveyed prefer to do business with a company that uses green cleaning products and practices. The telephone poll was commissioned by Cintas Corporation and conducted by Harris Interactive® in March 2011 among more than 1,000 adults ages 18 and older.

“Today’s consumers are environmentally-conscious and expect the businesses they patronize to use green cleaning practices,” said Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President, Cintas Facility Services. “This research affirms that using environmentally-friendly cleaning products and practices has a positive impact on the environment and can help drive repeat business.”

Has your business switched to green cleaning practices? Here are some of the articles from our 30 Days of Green to help you get started:

Green Cleaning Terms & Definitions

Green Cleaning Benefits

Evolution of Green Cleaning

The end of our 30 Days of Green is here! Celebrate Earth Day with coupon code GOINGGREEN and save 10% off. Order cleaning products and supplies for your business or home today. Offer ends soon, expires April 24.

Let’s face it: green cleaning can be confusing. From acronyms to certified products, interpreting what environmentally green cleaning terms actually mean can be a challenge. Buying cleaning supplies is easy with this Green Cleaning Glossary to help you understand even the most unclear green cleaning terms.

LEED: Stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a certification program for green buildings. The LEED program has four levels: certified, silver, gold, and platinum, and aims toward encouraging architects, builders, and maintenance personnel to design, construct, and maintain buildings in a way that is energy efficient as well as environmentally friendly. A variety of products, such as green toilet paper, can help a building qualify for LEED points and lead toward a certification as a green building.

A flushable bathroom cleaner

Biodegradable: A biodegradable product is one that will decompose naturally when exposed to the elements. Biodegradable products are environmentally friendly, and include items such as Scrubbing Bubbles Flushable Bathroom Cleaner Wipes.

Carcinogen: A carcinogen is any chemical that is known to cause cancer. Green cleaning products are known to contain fewer carcinogens and thus are healthier than nongreen products.

HEPA: Stands for High-Efficiency Particulates Air filters. HEPA filters are a common green cleaning feature on vacuums, and help reduce the number of particulates that pass through the filter, thus improving the overall air quality. HEPA vacuums such as the Saniataire Model SC5845 Bagless can be purchased at CleaningProductsWorld.

Post-Consumer Products: This term refers to products that have been discarded by a consumer and subsequently recycled into a new product. Post-Consumer Products include Sunrise Paper Towels and Green Heritage Jumbo Roll Tissue.

VOC: Stands for Volatile Organic Compounds and are given off by a variety of cleaning products including degreasers, disinfectants, and pesticides. VOCs can cause a multitude of health risks; however, many green cleaning products contain low VOCs.

FSC Certified: FCS stands for Forest Stewardship Council, an organization that ensures that all products with its certification are made from trees in FCS certified forests, controlled sources, or are recycled from post-consumer waste. Products carrying an FCS certification include Kleenex Hand Towels.

Let us know if there are any other terms you need defined!

Go Green in your Laundry Room!

Using a green laundry detergent such as Seventh Generation Liquid laundry detergent combined with the reducing water and energy usage make doing laundry a more environmentally friendly process. Many times a green laundry detergent will be better for sensitive skin because no artificial dyes or brighteners are used. Try these tips for a greener laundry day that will be better for the environment and your wallet!

Use cold water- 90% of the energy used in laundry cycles goes toward heating the water. The Department of Energy approximates that if every household switched to using cold water to wash their clothes, 34 million tons of carbon emissions would be eliminated. Simply switching from the hot water cycle to the warm cycle can reduce your energy usage by half.

Dry your clothes outside – Drying your laundry outside when the weather is nice rather than using the dryer can save you about $75 a year on energy bills. This cuts energy costs as well, and will leave your clothes smelling fresh and airy.

Wear your clothes more than once– There is nothing wrong with wearing a pair of jeans more than once. Other items such as pajamas, sweatshirts, and sweaters can be worn several times before a washing is needed. Not only will the clothing last longer from less washing, you will have less laundry to do overall, saving water, energy, and time!

Use a front-loading washing machine – Front-loading washing machines use 7,000 gallons less each year than their top-loading counterparts without compromising clothing cleanliness. When you can get your clothes just as clean and help save water and energy, switching to a top-loading washer is a no-brainer!

Fill it up! – Every time you do a load of laundry, ensure you fill it completely with clothing. For example, don’t just wash the socks; wait until you have a full load of whites to run the washer. Washing machines will use the same amount of energy regardless of load size.

The benefits of green cleaning have long been discussed in janitorial supply company circles, among cleaners, and even among moms. It is not new knowledge that using green cleaning products expose those who use them and those who use the areas being cleaned to fewer chemicals. This is probably the most well-known fact in support of green cleaning, besides the obvious environmental benefits. We’ve compiled a list of some of the other benefits of green cleaning in both public buildings and the home.

Public Buildings

Research has shown that buildings that switch to green cleaning products have:

• Healthier employees – when exposed to less chemicals employees are less likely to become sick.
• Lower operating costs
• More access to government monetary motivation plans, such as the EPA Energy Star program and earning points toward becoming LEED certified.

Homes

• Less family sickness – no one will have allergic reactions to detergents, and no one will be exposed to carcinogens, making green products ideal for use around children and the elderly.
• Lower chance of encountering other living things – some toxic cleaning chemicals do not kill bugs and rodents, rather, they cause disease and mutations among living ones – not something you want living in your home.
• Longer lasting home – green cleaning products won’t eat away at your wood furniture, damage your chrome fixtures, or fade your upholstery like the chemicals in non green cleaning products will. A key tip is to always use products that are biodegradable.

Switch to green cleaning products today!

 There are many ways to reduce the energy usage in your home, putting less strain on the environment and in the long-run saving you money at the same time.  It is understandable that not everyone has the time or money to make drastic updates like placing solar panels on their roof, or replace all of their windows with energy saving windows.  However, there are cheaper alternatives to making your household green.  Below are 5 practical ways to help you cut your energy usage in the home.

 Check Your Insulation – All insulation is rated by an R-value, or how well it can trap heat.  The average recommended R value for insulation in North America is 12.   If yours is lower, upgrading could dramatically reduce your heating and cooling costs.

 Plant a Tree – Properly sited trees planted around the house can reduce your cooling and heating costs by up to 30 percent!  Also, they may increase your property value as an extra bonus.

 Use Low Flow Toilets and Showerheads – Older showerheads are likely pumping out more water than you need, today’s standard showerhead uses 2.5 gallons a minute or less and would help cut your water bill.  Additionally, new standard low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush or less compared to much higher amounts in older toilets.

 Recycle Paper and Used Recycled Paper Products – Recycled paper uses far less resources than non-recycled paper.  One ton of recycled paper uses 17 fewer trees than non-recycled paper, and recycled paper products require less energy consuming to produce.  In comparison to producing non-recycled paper, every ton of recycled paper produced saves enough energy to power a 3 bedroom house for a year!

 Bank Online and Pay Bills Online – The amount of paper saved if every home in the U.S. paid its bills online would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 2.1 tons.

 A person doesn’t need to spend thousands of dollars to reduce their own energy costs and consumption – do you have tips for going green in the home?  Share them in the comments section!

You’ve come to the end of a roll of toilet paper or paper towels. You have a decision to make.

Thanks to coreyjune12 for the picture!

You can

There are hundreds of ways to reuse the cardboard roll that is left behind after a roll of toilet paper or paper towels is used; here we highlight some of the most creative and most popular.

Planters – Cut cardboard rolls down until they are about two inches tall and insert into potting soil. Sprinkle seeds inside of the cardboard circles and emerging plants will be protected by a compostable support system.

Plastic Bag Storage – Forgot your reusable shopping bags when you went to the grocery store and now you’re stuck with a bunch of plastic shopping bags? Use a paper towel tube to effectively store plastic bags until you’re ready to reuse them.  Stuff them in one-by-one on one end and pull them out in the same fashion on the other and you have yourself a handy plastic bag holder and dispenser!

Extension Cord Control/Storage – Trying to store electrical cords, extension cords, or Christmas lights and the cords end up incessantly tangled? Wrap the cords into a small circle or oval and then slip a cardboard toilet paper or paper towel tube over one end. Cords will maintain their shape and position and will not get tangled with themselves or with other cords.

Rodent Play – Paper towel tubes and toilet paper tubes are the perfect hiding places for mice, gerbils, hamsters, and other pet rodents. The paper nature of these tubes allows for them to be easily disposed of when soiled or dirtied, suppressing the need to clean plastic versions of such play tubes.

Packing – Need help separating your underwear, socks, jewelry, and other small items in your suitcase? Cut toilet paper rolls in half for an easy and convenient packing solution. Place cut rolls vertically in your suitcase and insert items inside to keep them secure and easy to find. Also works great for storing items in drawers.

Art Project for Kids – Toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls are a popular medium for toilet paper roll art for both adults and children alike. From pencil holders to firecrackers to animal sculptures, there are tons of different creative projects that can be made from a toilet paper or paper towel tube. A simple Google search results in a myriad of results with instructions, or just let your children use their imaginations!

Donate – If you have no need, use, or creative idea for reusing toilet paper and paper towel rolls, you can always donate those you have left over to senior centers, day cares, or elementary schools, all of which are bound to find a crafty way to reuse them!

5% Off Green Heritage Recycled Toilet Paper this week, with coupon code greentp. From standard bath tissue rolls to jumbo toilet paper rolls, in both 1 and 2 ply. Stock up and buy toilet paper for less!

CleaningProductsWorld carries a variety of recycled paper products ranging from toilet tissue, paper towels, napkins and wipers, and facial tissues. It is important to dispel the myth that using recycled paper products means you are using a product that has been recycled from someone else’s dirty tissues or soiled paper towels. These materials are not even suitable for recycling!

Rest assured, when treating your nose to a soft Fluff Out tissue, for example, you are using a product recycled from clean paper products. Read on to learn all about recycled paper products.

Making of Recycled Paper Products

The production of recycled paper products has a decreased environmental impact compared to the making of virgin (non recycled) paper products. Some of the advantages include a decreased affect on forests, less air and water pollution, less water and energy consumption, and less solid waste production. When you can impact the environment so significantly just from buying a certain kind of paper towel, why wouldn’t you?

Things to Look For When Buying Recycled Paper Products

The lingo behind recycled paper products can be extensive, so it’s often confusing to determine what you should be looking for. Key things to look for include a high percent recycled content and a high percent post-consumer content (the closer to 100% the better). Also important to look for is a bleaching process rating, which shows how much chlorine was used in the whitening of the paper product.

Good ratings include:

1. TCF (totally chlorine-free),
2. PCF (processed chlorine-free), or
3. ECF (elemental chlorine-free).

Recycling Guide

As previously stated, many paper products such as soiled paper towels, dirtied napkins, or used tissues cannot be recycled. Put only clean, uncontaminated, and dry paper items such as newspapers, magazines, and junk mailings into your paper recycling bin. Even pizza boxes with grease stains should not be recycled, but rather placed in trash receptacles.

Help the Planet!

According to the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), if every household in the USA bought ONE roll of recycled paper towels instead of their standard non recycled roll, 544,000 trees would be saved! Take a small, easy step in helping protect the environment by using recycled paper products!

Announcing today’s 30 Days of Green Green Giveaway! Customers receive a free Purell Green Hand Sanitizer 8 oz Pump Bottle when they order today at CleaningProductsWorld.com. Keep hands clean and germ free with this green alternative to hand sanitizer that is made from 100% naturally renewable ethanol. In a biodegradable gel formula, this product meets the EcoLogo™ environmental standard for instant hand antiseptics based on its use of less intrusive raw materials, a reduction of environmental hazards and an increase of product recyclability.

Green Cleaning in Schools

We already know the benefits of green cleaning include the obvious benefits for the environment, as well as limiting exposure to chemicals and allergens, making green cleaning products ideal for use around children. Therefore, it makes sense that many states are either encouraging or requiring the use of green cleaning products, such as Green Concentrated Liquid Deodorizers, Green Mop Heads, and Green Toilet Bowl Brushes, in schools across the country.

Green Cleaning Reduces Absenteeism

With there being a direct link between cleaning products used and chemical exposure, children exposed to less chemicals will end up getting sick less often. In fact, organizations such as the Healthy Schools Campaign suggest that students miss more than 14 million school days every year due to asthma caused by poor air quality.

States Require Green Cleaning for Better Public Health

Wisconsin is one of the states that recently passed a law requiring schools to use green cleaning products. State Representative Cory Mason feels that the use of environmentally-friendly products will create a better, healthier setting not only for children, but faculty, staff, and members of the public who utilize the school buildings. “The goal of the bill is to make schools and other public places less toxic and healthier for kids and the general public,” he states.

Other states with similar green school cleaning legislation include Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, and Missouri. Write your congressman and encourage him or her to pass green school cleaning legislation in your state!

Today we are featuring a guest post about vacuum cleaner maintenance. By keeping your vacuum cleaner in working condition, you improve the length of time it will work for you! It is much greener to keep well maintained tools, rather than needing to replace them all the time. A combination of maintenance and the right cleaning products form the basics of green cleaning. Follow these tips for a vacuum cleaner that will last.

If you have ever had a vacuum cleaner break down, or had your house filled with the horrible smell of a burnt vacuum belt, you know how frustrating it can be. Although changing belts is an inevitability, most people would much prefer doing it as a part of routine maintenance, rather than having one rip or burn while cleaning. Here are some helpful tips to help you keep your vacuum running properly, for a long time:

Tip 1: Before you ever start vacuuming, it is very important that you look around the area you will be working in, and pick up any small items that might be hard or sharp. A Lego head or penny may seem harmless enough, but in reality, these things can cause you to lose suction or even damage parts of your vacuum’s interior.

Tip 2: Whether you have a bagged or bagless vacuum, you should check to make sure that the bags are not full, and that any filters are clean. Again, a full bag or dirty filter can cause you not only to lose suction power and have to cover an area several more times, but it can also be harmful to your vacuum’s motor by making it work much harder. A dirty bag can also lead to dirt, hair, and dust being blown back to where you have already cleaned. Most filters, whether from a bagged or bagless vacuum, are easily replaced or even cleaned. Do not be afraid to look at your vacuum’s manual to find out proper way to handle your vacuum’s filters.

Tip 3: If you want to avoid that burner rubber smell that comes with a broken or burnt vacuum belt, make sure to check your belts before each use. If the belt on your vacuum has been stretched or has loose, fraying edges, it needs to be replaced. You do not want to have broken belt bits sucked into the vacuum itself, as this could cause damage to the vacuum’s internal mechanisms. Changing your belts as part of a routine, every six months to a year, can help you to keep your vacuum running for as long as possible.

Tip 4: You will need to inspect your vacuum’s hoses, brushes, and ports for anything that might be obstructive. Animal hair, food, loose change, or even small toys can be stuck in your vacuum’s hose or ports, and this can cause lower suction and make the vacuum’s motor work harder. It is also good to check the wheels on your vacuum. Both human and animal hair can become wrapped around them, making them move much slower and possibly stop altogether. this can cause your cleaning experience to be slow and very aggravating.

Tip 5: Doing a height adjustment on your vacuum, especially if you have different lengths of carpet from room to room, can seem like a big hassle or even a waste of time. It is not. Making sure that your vacuum’s height is set properly as you work can actually make your work go more quickly, by increasing your vacuum’s effectiveness, and lessening the number of times you will need to go over each area. Having the height of your vacuum set incorrectly can also cause your vacuum’s motor to have to work much harder.

Tip 6: Keep your cord out from under your vacuum, and out from under your feet as you work. Your vacuum’s cord is its power source, and without it, you have no vacuum. Many people unravel the entire cord, and then do not bother moving it or picking it up as they vacuum. The cord lays there while they clean, and is abused by the vacuum’s wheels, brushes, and even their own feet. Many times, if someone is cleaning from room to room, the cord will even be pinched in a door or jammed beneath furniture. All of these things can cause your vacuum’s power cord to fray, and may even hurt the wiring beneath the protective covering. You should always unplug your cord when you move to a new area, only unwind as much cord as you will actually need, and keep the loose bit in your free hand. That way the cord is easily moved from one side of the vacuum to the other.

This is a post contributed by James Adams who is a writer and a product reviewer at SparesNextDay.co.uk, offering the cheapest vacuum bags.