According to the EPA, “the average American spends approximately 90% of their time indoors.”

Unfortunately, much of the air we breathe indoors is toxic as pollutant levels “may be 2-5 times – and occasionally more than 100 times – higher than outdoor pollutant levels.”

A higher level of indoor air pollution, according to the American Lung Association, “contributes to the development of infections, lung cancer, and chronic lung diseases such as asthma. In addition, it can cause headaches, dry eyes, nasal congestion, nausea, and fatigue.”

One of the main contributors to a rise in indoor air pollution can come from the chemicals being used inside your facility and/or home. This is especially true with cleaning products as many people are exposed to harsh and toxic chemicals that, overtime, can lead to illness or death.

Of course, there are several initiatives and valuable resources that can assist us in making great strides to improve the environment in which we spend the vast majority of our time in. One such initiative is a push for facilities to pursue greener procedures and processes by obtaining reputable third-party certifications, such as the prestigious U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program.

While cleaning represents a small portion of LEED, facilities can satisfy their pre-requisite points with a Green Cleaning Policy, and accumulate additional credits with the use of Green Cleaning Products, Materials and Equipment under the new LEED v4.

If you have a Green Seal (GS-42) certified contract cleaning company cleaning your facility you will not only satisfy the LEED pre-requisites and additional credits for cleaning, you can also reassure your occupants that they can breathe and work in a healthier environment.

Other valuable tips to help protect your indoor health as discussed in a recent BSCAI Services Magazine article include:

• Examining your cleaning products with their emissions and odors being released.

• Evaluating your cleaning processes and ways in which they can be modified to eliminate hazards.

• Performing a chemical screening and using resources and toolkits to improve the health of your facility. One toolkit highlighted in the article includes the U.S. Department of Labor OSHA Safer Chemicals Toolkit.

Click here to further read BSCAI’s excellent article entitled Protecting the Indoor Environment as written by Roger McFadden, vice president and senior scientist for Staples, Inc.

A healthier indoor environment leads to a healthier you resulting in a productivity booster in your facility!

Mister Kleen is a leading provider of contract cleaning services to Commercial and High Security facilities since 1976. Our primary service area is the DC Metro region. We also provide a variety of interior and exterior specialty services.