Executive Housekeeping Today - October 2008 - (Page 3)

Floor care is a far more complicated—and expensive—task than many people realize, and a clear understanding of the issues it involves can lead to real solutions that will pay a variety of dividends. Although the impact of these solutions may vary, overall it is important to recognize that: • Floor care is time consuming and expensive: Floor care can actually be one of the most time-consuming and expensive cleaning tasks performed by any housekeeping staff, and it is estimated that as much as 90 percent of that cost goes to pay for labor. • Floor care takes skill: Unless a proper training program is in place, many housekeeping profes- f An Easier, Greener, and Healthier Approach to Floor Care by Beth Pullin sionals learn floor care techniques by trial and error—a costly, timeconsuming, and totally avoidable circumstance. • Floor care can be hard on the health of cleaning staff, building users, and the environment: The entire process of stripping, scrubbing, and polishing floors involves the use of some of the most powerful cleaning chemicals available. In fact, in California, there are laws now in place that restrict chemicals or mixtures poured into sinks or toilets, such as floor finishes containing zinc. The ingredients are considered so hazardous that they must be taken to designated dump sites. • Floor care is dangerous: Floor care can actually be one of the most time-consuming and expensive cleaning tasks performed by any housekeeping staff. Applying some floor care chemicals/finishes to a floor makes the floor unusually slippery. Slips, trips, falls, and serious injuries are common among floor care workers. • Floor care is hard work: Floor care is probably the most (continued on next page) ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! YOUR AD COULD BE To view our 2008 Media Kit, please contact Laura DiGiulio at ldigiulio@ieha.org, or call (800) 200-6342, ext. 102 TODAY! October 2008/Executive Housekeeping Today 3 HERE!

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - October 2008

Executive Housekeeping Today - October 2008� Contents Executive Corner An Easier, Greener, and Healthier Approach to Floor Care Caring for Carpets in 24-Hour Facilities Frugal Housekeeper Case Study: University of Miami My Experiences with High-Speed Machines vs. Spray Buffers Vacuum Floor Care Q&A with Andre Motta Is a Spray-and-Vac System Really Better at Cleaning and Reducing the Risk of Disease? CEU Article The IEHA/CRI Partnership The Green Scene USGBC Green Tip What's in YOUR Janitor Closet? Inside the Industry Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members REH/CEH Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA Has Done for Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - October 2008

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