I often get asked the question “how can one be assured that using green products can compare to using regular off the shelf non green cleaning products?” They also like to add in the aspects of using disinfectants and other biocides on carpets for further cleanliness.
Well let’s start out by saying that scientists don’t usually view disinfecting of a carpet possible. I know of no product that is approved by Health Canada or the US EPA for such a purpose. This whole attitude of sanitizing and disinfecting things is unnecessary in many cases and bad in the long run in others. The repeated use of sanitizers and disinfectants not only kill the bad bacteria but they also kill the good bacteria that are essential for healthy life. There is also mounting evidence that biocides dumped in lakes, rivers and streams are creating antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Disinfectants are supposed to be applied to freshly cleaned surfaces. They are meant to attack that microscopic thin layer of soil that could not be effectively cleaned away from the pores of surfaces by conventional cleaning.
When it comes to carpet cleaning the key to success is thorough organic soil removal from the carpet. Dry particulate can be removed from the carpet by vacuuming. The carpet knap can be groomed up to facilitate vacuuming and allow deeper penetration of the carpet cleaning solution when it is applied. The cleaning solution used should deflocculates the soil from the carpet fiber and allow it to be extracted or absorbed by some form of medium.
The green cleaning movement has allowed industry to create many different cleaning products and solutions. When a cleaner purchases a cleaner there are many different categories of cleaning solutions. There are surfactants, enzymes, solvents and many others. The product is usually chosen for the type of soils to be cleaned. Are they oil based soils? Are they food based soils? Are they animal/human based soils? Well green cleaning solutions should be chosen in the same way. The industry now has a good selection of different green carpet cleaning solutions.
In other words don’t expect one cleaner to be able to clean every different type of soil load. Remember it’s the removal of the soil that is the important component. Proper selection of the appropriate cleaning solution is the key to success.
The green cleaning movement is speeding ahead in Canada. On January 29, 2010 the Canadian Sanitation Supply Association (CSSA) is introducing its Canadian Green Sustainability Program to its members and the public. The first certification classes will start in February. All certifications will be audited by independent third parties.
We all hope that the program will have long reaching impact and set the bar on green cleaning in Canada. There are three factors that our company expects in a green cleaning solution:
it has an excellent ability to clean carpets to levels safe enough for public health
it is safe for use around chemically sensitive people
it is safe for the environment including its affect on waste water
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