Maintaining a clean and sanitized office is crucial to the health of workers. However, an office that is cleaned every day with dangerous products that are full of toxic, unsafe chemicals is not truly clean, is it?

It’s not. In fact, 1 out of every 3 chemical cleaning products contains ingredients known to cause human health or environmental problems.

Below is an infograph about what you can do to “detox” your office and keep workers from getting sick (and also ensure that everyone has better longterm health, too!).

As always, make sure the products and solutions being used to clean your workplace are chemical-free and certified green! Feel free to visit our website for more information about the benefits of green cleaning.

Spring is finally here! It is now the season of fresh flowers, warm sunshine, and good-old-fashioned Spring Cleaning!

As we start physically and mentally preparing ourselves to tackle our chores around the home and office (seriously– after a long winter, Spring Cleaning can really feel like a full body-and-mind workout!), it is also a good time to reevaluate the cleaning products you are going to be using to get the job done.

The familiar (or more “traditional”) brands of cleaning products that we see on the supermarket shelves may currently be your usual (or sometimes default) weapons of choice, but in reality most of these products contain synthetic chemicals that are extremely hazardous to your health and the environment.

So what exactly is in these products that’s harmful, and how do we avoid unwanted exposure?

Reading product labels is the number one way to control what you are bringing into your workplace or home. Whether it’s wiping down your desktop at the end of the day or shampooing the footprints out of your living room carpet, it’s important to know the truth about what’s in your cleaning products before you or others use them.

Below is a list of some of the most toxic chemical ingredients that can be found in common household cleaning products. Try to stay away from products that contain:

– Phenol/Carbolic Acid (most commonly found in household disinfectants): Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, is a hazardous air pollutant. It can also severely irritate the eyes and burn skin upon contact. When inhaled, phenol is highly corrosive and attacks the central nervous system, heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.

– Formaldehyde (most commonly found in mold and mildew cleaners): Formaldehyde is a carcinogenic chemical, air pollutant, and irritant to the skin, eyes, and mucus membranes. Household cleaners that contain formaldehyde contaminate our “ambient air” and cause symptoms such as severe nausea and headaches, nosebleeds, difficulty breathing, and memory loss. Inhaling formaldehyde can also increase your risk for nasopharyngeal and lung cancers. 

– Ammonia (most commonly found in glass cleaning products): Ammonia can cause severe irritation to the eyes and skin upon contact and can also cause damage to the respiratory and digestive tracts upon inhalation. Ammonia is especially poisonous to aquatic animals (including fish, marine mammals, and amphibians), and has fatal consequences when it is released into our waters and ecosystem.

– Phosphates (most commonly found in general household cleaning products and laundry detergents): One of the largest culprits behind ocean pollution is phosphates, which are responsible for algae overgrowth and the subsequent depletion of oxygen in our oceans, rivers, and streams. Ultimately, high phosphate levels are fatal and create an unlivable environment for both aquatic wildlife and plant life. When it comes to human exposure to phosphates in cleaning products, symptoms such as nasal and throat irritation as well as skin rashes are not unusual.

                                                                                                                           Photo: www.triblocal.com

 Really knowing what’s in your cleaning products can seem a little bit scary, but it is so important to be aware of their serious health effects and their environmental implications as well.

At GBS, our mission is to clean green and care for our customers, our community, and for the environment. That’s why all of the cleaning products we use are completely non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, environmentally-friendly, and 100% certified Green.

Be sure to always read those labels on your own, friends! Keep it clean, and keep it green!

Sources:

EPA

www.globalhealingcenter.com/health-hazards-to-know-about/top-10-hazardous-household-chemicals

www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_279.cfm

Happy 2014! Interested in learning more about LEED? Read on! The article below outlines all of the latest updates that have been made to current LEED addenda and criteria (such as recognizing wood waste as a renewable energy source!). Check it out:

LEED Addenda and Interpretations Update: January 2014

January 1st quarterly addenda to the LEED rating systems and reference guides are now available. Use the credit library to access the new LEED Interpretations.

Access LEED Interpretations »

INTERPRETATIONS

There are 71 new LEED Interpretations (10292, 10298—10367), including 65 for Homes and Multifamily Midrise (1003—10367). Here are some highlights:

• Demonstrating compliance for LEED O+M: Existing Buildings SSc8: Light Pollution Reduction by following values listed in LEED BD+C: New Construction SSc8: Light Pollution Reduction;
• Applying ASHRAE Interpretation ASHRAE/IES IC 90.1-2007<em>baseline pump power;
• Expanding the definition of renewable energy sources to include specified wood waste;
• Calculating building-level diversion rates for individual building projects on a campus;
• Including biodegradable/compostable trash can liners in purchases for IEQc3.3: Green Cleaning—Purchase of Sustainable Cleaning Products and Materials;
• Determining connectivity measures for projects with circulation on several different levels;
• Receiving credit for advanced air sealing strategy.

Six interpretations were modified for new notes, updated rulings, etc. These inquiry numbers are: 2777, 2778, 3300, 2045, 5061 and 10097.

To access the LEED Interpretations, search the LEED Interpretation database using keyword1/1/2014, or by credit in the library—click the Interpretations tab.

OTHER UPDATES

A revision was made to the Global Alternative Compliance Path supplement to the LEED 2009 Reference Guide for Green Building Design and Construction. For credits SSc7.1 Heat Island Effect<em>Non-Roof and SSc7.2 Heat Island Effect<em>Roof, this revision provides more options for credit compliance in locations where product manufacturing data is not readily available. The guidance introduces new strategies to achieve the credit requirements by including more guidance related to in-place testing, lab testing, and using data from a previous project to achieve the credit. The guidance also includes an expanded list of resources for global teams to reference when pursuing these credits.

 

Taking a green approach is something we greatly value and pride ourselves on at GBS Commercial Cleaning.  Making your business “greener” in this day and age can seem like quite the daunting task at first, but implementing even the smallest changes around the office can instantly make all the difference. 

Here are a few simple tricks that you can follow to help reduce your business’ carbon footprint and make your work environment more of an eco-friendly one:

1)  Switch all of the light bulbs in your office to energy-efficient bulbs or LED lights.

2)  RECYCLE!  And make sure as many of your office supplies as possible— especially printer paper— are made from recycled materials.  Limiting how much you print is also smart, too (try to only print when it is absolutely necessary, and don’t forget to change your printer paper settings to double-sided printing!)

3)  Encourage your employees to bike to work, take public transportation, or carpool.

4)  Make sure you are conserving energy and electricity by remembering to turn off all of the lights and office equipment after business hours, including all computers and thermostats!

5)  Always be aware about what you are bringing into your office’s AIR!  Protect the wellbeing of  your employees and the environment by making sure that the commercial cleaning products being used in your workplace are non-toxic and green seal certified.  Check out how the equipment and products we use at GBS reflect our green approach.

You can learn more about becoming a greener business here.