All facility managers are charged with cleaning for the benefit of building occupants. Traditional cleaning methods used in many health care facilities, however, may provide a safeguard against infection for patients, but pose risks from harmful side effects to end users and other staff.

 

Many traditional cleaning products cause hand dermatitis, asthma and other respiratory issues for users, not to mention the same sorts of issues for the occupants.

 

Until there are recommendations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Design for the Environment (DfE) program regarding the labeling of green disinfectants, the use of some considerably harsh chemicals will continue to be part of controlling infectious diseases in health care facilities.

 

However, routine general cleaning is the first line of defense against germs. This is the easiest first step to incorporating green cleaning products in a total facility program. Even disinfectant and sanitization products need the proper contact time to work properly, so general cleaning of hard surfaces with multipurpose, green alternatives are a safer component of a total cleaning program that will also optimize the use of disinfectants and sanitizers, while minimizing exposure risks to users and occupants.