October 2, 2014
Child Care Centers and Safe Cleaning
Did you know that about 85,000 synthetic chemicals are used in traditional cleaning products today, and a only a small portion of those chemicals have been tested to determine how toxic they are? Industrial strength products that are used in many child care centers and schools today are routinely filled with chemicals that can be dangerous to the health of children, especially when those children have asthma. They can also be very dangerous to employees who are in charge of using the chemicals.
Choosing safer and healthier cleaning alternatives with the help of Greenapple House Cleaning can help make the child care center you work in a better place, and one that’s not hazardous to children.
Sanitizing vs. Disinfecting vs. Cleaning
The first step in making sure a child care center is cleaned correctly is understanding the differences between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting.
- Cleaning is the process of removing dirt and other substances from surfaces by rinsing scrubbing and washing. This must always be done first, as dirt, oil, and other substances may inactivate sanitizers and prevent them from reaching the surface that needs to be sanitized.
- A sanitizer is responsible for removing microorganisms from a surface. 99.9% of the time, however, a traditional santizer will not be able to remove specific germs.
- Disinfectants destroy microorganisms or inactive them.
Sanitizing and disinfecting surfaces is important, but cleaning is the first step you should always take so you can remove many of the germs and bacteria that could make children sick. You want to do this in as safe a way as possible, though, so you don’t introduce new and possibly worse hazards (like the chemicals in most cleaning products) into the environment where children are supposed to thrive.
Choose a Safer Environment for Children
Exposing our children to toxic chemicals can be dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Some easy ways to make sure you’re using greener, safe products is to:
- Find products that are Environmentally Preferable Products. These are made in an effort to protect both the environment and human health.
- Choose cleaning products that easily break down biologically. This means you won’t have to throw them away as hazardous waste.
- Find products that contain zero Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs. These compounds are most often toxic and can irritate the nose, throat, ears, and eyes.
- Never use aerosol cans.
- Consider home-made, safer alternatives like baking soda, white distilled vinegar, and soap and water for cleaning.
If choosing the right products seems a bit overwhelming, you don’t have to keep things clean on your own. Greenapple House Cleaning isn’t just for home cleaning; we help businesses in Ottawa as well. Trust in us to green clean your child care center in a safe, natural, and effective way. We’ll remove the germs and bacteria that could be hazardous to the young ones in your care without introducing new hazards into their environment. Contact us today for more information on how we can assist you.
