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Green Cleaning Practices for Green Buildings
March 21, 2013
Green Cleaning Practices for Green Buildings
While much attention has been paid to green buildings, it is also important to use green cleaning products to maintain human and environmental health. This practice is also referred to as environmentally sustainable cleaning.
Cleaning products often contain harsh chemicals that are toxic and unhealthy for both people and the environment. Recently, there have been many changes to cleaning products to ensure a healthy environment for building occupants.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia has an entire sustainability department which ensures the educational facility is ‘green cleaned.’ They require that facility cleaners use only equipment, chemicals, and cleaning methods that have the lowest impact on the environment. On the other side of the globe, the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. is debuting a museum exhibition based around the greening of American schools which explores all facets of green schools from the impact the buildings have on the health of those who occupy them to their physical systems and architectural forms.
While many are now living and working in ‘green buildings,’ people must learn to live greener lives to maintain the green status. The maintenance and cleaning of a building is equally important as the green products used to build it. Occupants of homes and other buildings should choose the least hazardous products available, seeking out products that are biodegradable, have low toxicity and low volatile organic compound content, and feature reduced packaging.
Read more at Design Build Source.
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