Seeing Results in Flooring for Schools
Sep 1, 2011 12:00 PM, By Brian Simmons
Schools can implement a cost-effective, sustainable floor cleaning program to meet green initiatives.
Automatic scrubbers that meet LEED-EBOM requirements can clean hard floor surfaces efficiently, including hallways and classrooms, requiring minimal labor.
Operations staffs at education facilities of all sizes are tasked with selecting a hard floor cleaning program that is cost-effective, efficient and highly productive. With an increased focus on the sustainability of an environment, facility managers also must select a program that meets sustainability goals while maintaining a healthful, safe environment for students and staff.
To meet these goals, many facility managers choose to carry out green cleaning processes, which includes transitioning to environmentally preferable equipment and green certified chemicals. Green cleaning initiatives are designed to help minimize environmental and human-health impacts, while maintaining or even improving the effectiveness of cleaning programs. In meeting their green cleaning initiatives, facility managers aim to reduce chemical, water and energy use, ensuring limited resource consumption and maintaining often-tight cleaning budgets. The underlying goal of a successful green cleaning program is to clean with less while improving cleaning effectiveness: fewer chemicals and pollutants, and lower water and energy usage.
Many facility managers are unsure of where to begin when considering a sustainable flooring for schools cleaning program. With an abundance of chemical, equipment and process solutions, it can be difficult to select and carry out a cleaning program that will satisfy green cleaning initiatives, while remaining cost-effective and efficient.
Getting Started
Green cleaning programs for flooring for schools employ practices that reduce environmental impact and bottom-line costs by minimizing water, chemical and energy use. The key to using fewer resources is being aware of how much water and chemicals are being dispensed into the waste stream. Before a green cleaning program is initiated, facility managers should measure and record their current cleaning costs, water and chemical usage. Once the green cleaning program is underway, costs and contributing factors should be measured and compared again with previous measurements to determine any changes in usage.
Although measurement is important to maintain budget resources, there are three major components of any green cleaning program: chemicals, equipment and processes and procedures. These components can significantly reduce the use of water and energy resources, and ensure the program is on track:
•Cleaning chemicals are used not only to remove tough soil buildup on floors, but also can be used to sanitize or disinfect floor surfaces. According to the International Facility Management Association, more than 6 billion pounds of cleaning chemicals are used each year in the performance of cleaning tasks. This level of chemical usage can result in significant environmental damage, and can lead to potential health and safety threats to those involved.
Several product-certifying organizations aim to reduce the environmental harm done by these substances, including Green Seal, EcoLogo and EPA Design for Environment. All of these certifying organizations provide approvals for cleaning products that perform well while protecting human health and minimizing toxic pollution and waste. Green cleaning programs nearly always mandate use of chemicals certified by one of these organizations.
•Equipment selection is another important factor in a facility’s green cleaning program. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EBOM) sets the most specific equipment recommendations of any green cleaning standard. The LEED-EBOM IEQ credit 3.4 standard defines the specific attributes of floor equipment required for a green cleaning program, addressing equipment design, features, performance and noise levels.
A variety of cost-effective floor cleaning equipment can be selected for education facility cleaning applications to fit these cleaning requirements, including:
-Automatic scrubbers can clean hard-floor surfaces effectively, including hallways and classrooms, requiring minimal labor. Automatic scrubbers that meet LEED-EBOM requirements will have variable-speed feed pumps that allow for low-flow solution dispensing that will reduce chemical and water usage. Onboard chemical metering will optimize the use of cleaning chemicals, while still allowing for water-only cleaning. Automatic scrubbers developed today offer additional technology that assists facility managers in maintaining a flexible cleaning solution, enabling them to base water and chemical use on specific floor conditions.
-Multipurpose machines, such as a combination scrubber-extractor, are also an efficient equipment choice for flooring for schools, as they enable operators to use one machine instead of two. With the capability to perform multiple functions, such as scrubbing tough soils or extracting carpets, facility managers not only reduce the significant initial price tag of purchasing multiple machines for a building, but also reduce overall maintenance and operating costs. This also reduces a facility’s overall environmental impact, minimizing water and solution consumption.
-Alternative options include application-specific equipment. For example, burnishers are used to bring a high level of shine to finished floor surfaces, ensuring education facilities deliver a well-kept, clean appearance. Advanced models are designed for energy efficiency, operating quietly to eliminate disruption during daytime cleaning. Sweepers also can be used to provide maximum dust control in classrooms and hallways, enabling facilities to maintain healthy levels of indoor air quality for staff and students. For outdoor surface cleaning applications, such as sidewalks and grounds, outdoor cleaning equipment with the capability to reuse water reduces water consumption and aids EPA storm-water runoff compliance.
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