A very prominent writer on the Environmental roles of Carpet Cleaning, Michael A. Berry has addressed a few myths in his article published in the CleanFax Magazine January 2011 Edition. It is titled, “The green movement and science”.
I will bring forth two key myths for this month that will show how carpet cleaning is safe and can be done without harming the environment and what roles carpet cleaners such as our company are implementing.
Myth #1
Cleaning is an inherently polluting activity
If cleaning was a polluting activity, everything would be dirty! In fact, “clean” and “green” are complementary concepts because a clean environment is also a green environment because “clean” is a condition free of unwanted matter.
What is the matter? As Michael A. Berry wrote in his article:
“Matter” is anything of substance that has mass and is influenced by gravity. Substances are of three forms: Solids, liquids, and gases. Substances can be living or non-living. Matter can be measured and described quantitatively. The unwanted matter is any substance that gets in the way of human endeavors, poses a risk, or causes an undesirable or adverse effect. We often refer to this type of matter as pollution. It goes by many other names including waste, soil, dirt, dust, trash, and pathogenic microorganisms. (Source: Michael A. Berry, CleanFax Magazine January 2011 Edition)
And what is cleaning?
Essentially, cleaning is the process that one undertakes to reach a state of cleanliness (or, a clean condition). Michael goes so far as to say that “Cleaning can be best viewed as the fundamental environmental management process of putting the unwanted matter in its proper place, thus ensuring a sustainable functioning environment.” – which is exactly what carpet cleaners do, dispose of the unwanted matter on your behalf to provide a safe and functioning environment for your family at home or the staff in your commercial office.
Effective cleaning is the process of disposing of unwanted and harmful matter as best as possible, to reduce any chance of an adverse effect on humans. Effective cleaning is characterized by the following criteria is fully protective of the environment:
- Maximized removal of pollutants from the environment or sub-compartment in a measurable way
- Minimal amounts of the chemical, particle, and moisture residue left behind by cleaning solutions
- Prevention of pollution and minimizing waste resulting from cleaning
- Responsible disposal of cleaning waste
- The objective of cleaning is to clean for health first, and appearances second
- Understanding the environmental compartment connectedness and measurably improving the quality of the total environmental system
- Safety assurances
Michael A. Berry goes on to write in his article that “Effective cleaning is a science-based high-performance management process. The effectiveness of any cleaning system resides in the comprehensive, coordinated, scheduled, systematic cleaning coverage of the building and its connected compartments; the measured quantity of unwanted matter removed from the presence of humans and valuable materials; the use of cleaning equipment and technology tested and evaluated for effectiveness and safety; and the professional training of the cleaning staff at both the management and operational.”
Myth#2
Carpet cleaning poses special risks to humans and the environment
Michael Berry and Science Explains:
“More than 25 years ago, I wrote an article for carpet cleaners and I told them that when they practice their craft professionally they protect human health and contribute much to reducing human exposure to unwanted substances and improving the quality of the indoor environment. I told them then, as I am telling readers now, professional cleaners are managers and guardians of the environments to which humans are exposed the vast majority of their life.”
So what is “environmentally protective carpet cleaning”? Environmentally protective carpet cleaning is a structured and refined process of:
- Unwanted substance awareness and expertise: understanding and finding unwanted substances in the carpeted section or high-traffic areas
- Identifying the nature and background of those substances so that the proper technology and approach can be applied to remove them
- Effectively containing the unwanted substances and removing them from the carpet, while also ensuring the substance is not transferred to some other indoor compartment
- Extracting the largest amount of unwanted matter with the least amount of unwanted residue
- Properly and responsibly disposing of the unwanted substances
Health Benefits of Carpet Cleaning:
There are many health benefits to carpet cleaning, especially if the following are successfully extracted:
- Minute particles not controlled through normal housekeeping methods, such as frequent vacuuming, dusting, and sweeping
- Particles that are bout with other pollutants, such as solid and gas-phase organic compounds
- Biological allergens and dust mites of all types
- Heavy metals (such as cadmium, lead, and arsenic) found around the outside soil dust
- Various pesticides and herbicides are inadvertently used in and around the environment
- By-products from cooking, wood smoke, candles, tobacco, pets, etc.
The benefits of extracting pollutants from carpets include:
- Reduced health and allergy problems from commonly found loose particles
- Reduced cases of biologically induced illness
- Reduced cancer risks over a lifetime
- Reduced complaints from tenants of building owners and managers
- Reduced tenant liability of building owners and managers.
So what’s not “GREEN” or environmentally protective about carpet cleaning?
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