Cleaning And The Global Enviroment

When you are buying your office cleaning supplies do you think about the global environment?

You should…  after all your choice of office cleaning supplies can help the environment or damage it if you pick up the wrong office cleaning supplier. One of the latest reports suggests the biggest damage to our environment is not from the big 4 X 4 cars parked outside the office but the “extra soft quilted” and multi-ply toilet papers being used (Mainly in American offices and homes but becoming more common here in the UK as well!).

The issue is not about the three or four seconds the toilet paper is being used for cleaning and then thrown away but the fact that these luxury papers can only be made from “virgin wood” not from recycled paper which would be more friendly to the environment we live in.

I bet you did not know that the fibres made from pure new wood are longer and consequently easier to lay out in straight lines so they can be fluffed up to generate the softer tissue which Americans are screaming out for in response to very heavy advertising by the toilet cleaning manufacturers.

Toilet paper production is also highlighted as a source of major environmental damage because of the the chemicals used to manufacture the pulp and of course the need to cut down large forests.

The American Natural Resources Defence Council Allen Hershkowitz, (a senior scientist) points out that 98% of the toilets rolls sold in North America comes from virgin forests whereas in Europe and Latin America around 40% of the toilet paper is made up of recycled products a major saving for the the environment and global warming.

Kimberly-Clark one of the largest suppliers of toilet paper have forecast that quilted papers (made by pumping air between layers of paper) and papers which incorporate hand lotion (designed to coat the bottom during the 3 second wipe) are the fastest growing brands in the US market.  The New York Times reported a 40% rise in sales of luxury brands of toilet paper in 2008. Not surprising as Kimberly-Clark alone spent 25million dollars in the third quarter of last year solely on on promoting these luxury toilet brands. (Who says the credit crunch is biting the hands that wipe and clean up the profits?)

The Forestry Campaigner for Greenpeace USA Lindsay Allen says he believes that,  “We have this myth in the US that recycled paper is just so low quality, it’s like cardboard and is impossible to use.” The fact is that some recycled toilet papers are harder but looking around it is easy to find the right compromise.  A toilet paper that cleans without scratching but environmentally sound.

We at Clean Care Scotland try to encourage the use of toilet papers made largely of recycled paper when agreeing contracts but also shy away from the cheapest brands which are known to be harder and not so gentle on the skin. It is a case of being balanced in our approach after all most of our customers buy their own cleaning supplies and simply leave us to replace them in the holders.

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Do we save money by cleaning in house?

With the recession or credit crunch or any name you want to give to the current economic issues we all face today I have come across a number of people who tell me they are cutting back on business costs.

I know some office building managers have started to think about doing their own office cleaning in Aberdeen in house and drawing up a business proposal for approval by the board. But what are the consequences of doing this? Is it really cost saving in practice?

Firstly you will need to start buying a number of different cleaning chemicals and some equipment on a fairly regular basis and hope you don’t run out if people are using too much. Who is going to take responsibility for going out to buy more cleaning products when levels run low or are all used up? This is a cost implication for time spent and time not doing their normal job! All professional cleaning service in Aberdeen will have their own preferred cleaning chemicals which their staff will have trained in using. This means they will have access to all associated safety data sheets etc from their usual chemical supplier.

You may decide to employ an extra person to do the cleaning thus doing away with some of the savings but if you are considering using your existing staff you need to calculate into the process the lost opportunities for staff doing their “normal job”. Will that suffer if they are asked to do these extras and at what cost to your business?

The job may even need doing twice if the person is not shown exactly the right way to do the task. You also need to consider whether using an existing staff member is the best use of their time. They definitely will not be using the expertise that caused you to initially select them at the interview or spent time since developing their new skills for the job. How much did it cost you to train that person in real terms not just the cost of the training programme?

In addition the potential for damage to your office interiors increases as the person does not understand the use of some materials and the surfaces being cleaned. I recall going into one office complex and seeing that the cleaner (also employed as a book-keeper) had squirted some strong bleach on a floor and it had burnt the floor almost beyond economic repair. Are you aware of the dangers of mixing cleaning chemicals (even household strength cleaning products)? Did you know mixing some domestic toilet cleaners together can give off the poisonous Chlorine gas?

• Have you all the skills in house to develop all the health and safety guidance in-house? Or will you to pay to outsource it?
• Who would do the required risk assessment for each and every cleaning task being performed? Not Necessary… just wait and see what the Health and Safety Inspector has to say after an accident on your premises!
• Can you be certain that you have the required COSSH safety data sheets for every single cleaning product your staff purchase? Your local supermarket or corner store will not be able to supply these legal documents and you will need them on site in case of an safety incident.

If the choice was down to me as an office manager I would be asking myself the following questions

• “Are the extra costs of employing professional office cleaning cheaper than the risk of staff not focusing on my business and losing more money?”
• ” What are the currently unbudgeted costs I will need to add on to cover for time spent cleaning the office twice, additional costs for repairs due to mistakes, increased insurance premiums and cost of compensation for breaches of health and safety including accidents to staff? “

Those issues are dealt with best by hiring a professional cleaning company just as you consult a lawyer, an accountant or any other specialist worker for the business.

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How Clean Is Your Office?

When you take a lunch break where would you choose to eat? At your office desk or sitting on the toilet?

The office desk is what most of you are probably thinking right now. But read on! From a bacterial cleanliness point of view it would be safer to eat on the toilet seat. Yes, I did actually just write that! Scientists from Arizona University took samples from 100 offices across the USA and found there were 400 times as much bacteria on your average clean office desk as on the average toilet seat. Does your average Aberdeen office cleaner clean the important part of your office?

Almost certainly right now you will be sitting in front of your computer with a keyboard. That keyboard will probably have around three thousand microbes looking to get onto your hands right now. Scroll down using your computer mouse to read the rest of this article and you will around 1750 microbes per square inch.

Don’t panic simply pick up that telephone to get new office cleaners and you will find you are putting over 25,000 microbes per square inch being placed beside your mouth and ears.

Aberdeen Office Cleaning company visits a number of new companies in Aberdeen area each week. Many of them already have office cleaning contracts with other companies so are no longer shocked to discover the lack of cleaning standards and half done jobs.

I remember hearing from a typist who was complaining that their office cleaners had left the waste paper bin on a chair and how inconvenient that had been for her having to put it on the floor beside the desk. The cleaner had probably lifted the office bin to empty it and ensure the area was vacuumed (believe me I have seen office cleaners who would have vacuumed around it rather than move it for cleaning).

I asked her which was the most important job for the cleaner in the office around the desks. To be told to make sure that the bins were emptied and the floor was cleaned every day but office staff would clear their own desk so papers were not disturbed. My response was to ask her to tip her keyboard upside down over some clean paper and give it a thump with her hand. She was amazed at the amount of crumbs and dirt which came out of it. After speaking about some other cleaning priorities and the stats I quoted above we signed a cleaning contract to provide that office with a regular cleaning contract which included the desk-tops and computer equipment using our own specialist cleaning staff.

It is important that all staff and your visitors to your office get to see clean and tidy surroundings but we need to think not just about visual appearances (which are important) but about the welfare of staff working in offices. Look forward to talking with you soon.

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