Page 23 - College Planning & Management, November 2017

airport, one of the solutions the contractor suggested was the use of floor machines that work effectively without the use of cleaning chemicals. At that time, this was a relatively new technology in the cleaning industry, only available from a couple of equipment manufacturers.
Essentially, it works like this: an electrical charge is sent through the tap water in the machine. The process creates a solu- tion that can satisfactorily clean floor surfaces. The process also increases the alkalinity of the water. This makes it more efficient at dissolving fats, oils, grease and other soils on the floor so that they can be more easily removed in the cleaning process.
Another no-chemical technology that may even be older than the one just discussed, but is just now making a significant impact on the professional cleaning industry, is the use of aqueous ozone cleaning systems. Aqueous ozone has been used since the early 1900s to treat water for human consumption. Over time, it has been used to help clean fruits and vegetables and is used in several industries, such as the brewing industry, to clean and sanitize kettles, vessels and containers used in the brewing process.
Aqueous ozone technology adds an extra atom to water. As it
is applied to a surface, the additional atom attracts contaminants on the surface and eliminates them, leaving just oxygen and water, which dissipates or evaporates after cleaning. Aqueous ozone has proven to be a very effective cleaning system, even having antimi- crobial properties. It helps break down grease and is an excellent odor eliminator.
These technologies are now being used successfully by more cleaning contractors. How they also promote sustainability is that they eliminate the need to purchase cleaning solutions, which means no packaging materials, no fuel for product deliveries, fewer greenhouse gasses and no waste.
Sustainable Purchasing
A school district in Colorado had lost control of its clean-
ing product selection and spending. A cleaning consultant was brought in to help bring things under control. When the consultant started, what he found was the following:
• Many individual schools were ordering their own supplies.
• Once ordered, many of these supplies ended up on the shelf,
rarely or never used.
• Different products were selected that were designed for the same
or similar cleaning tasks.
This last item lead the consultant to ask school administrators, “How many types of window cleaner do you need?”
His first step in getting purchasing under control was to remove the purchasing power of the individual schools. Everything had
to be ordered by a central office. That helped control and rein in spending. But how about all the different products ordered?
is to rank products by their effectiveness and costs. If two products currently in use in the schools are equally effective according to cus- todial workers and supervisors, but one is 15 percent less costly than the other, it’s clear the less expensive brand should be selected.
No product audit had ever previously been performed. The process not only helped reduce costs, but it also helped reduce the number of cleaning solutions used in the schools by one-half. This made ordering far easier, opened up storage space and reduced custodial training needs.
It also helped the district become more sustainable in the process. Now, with fewer products selected, the district was able to purchase products in five-gallon containers. Green products tend to be highly concentrated, so the product lasts longer. Once again, this helps promote sustainability because less packaging material and boxes were needed, less fuel is consumed, fewer greenhouse gasses are released into the atmosphere and less waste is generated.
Sustainable Cleaning
We’ve discussed new cleaning technologies that require no cleaning chemicals and sustainable purchasing, which helps re- duce the number of cleaning products selected for cleaning. There
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A product audit was conducted. The essence of a product audit
NOVEMBER 2017 / COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 23