Did you know the air inside a building is usually 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air and can contain up to 100 times more pollutants than the air that's outside? Poor indoor air quality is a common problem in commercial office buildings, which is why many building owners and managers are requesting green cleaning services from their cleaning contractors.

Indoor air pollution can cause a wide variety of health problems including red, itchy eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, and skin rashes. It can even reduce a person's ability to perform mental tasks that require high levels of concentration, memory skills or calculations. What does this mean for your cleaning company?

Switching to green cleaning leads to a healthier work environment for a building's employees, visitors, and janitorial workers. Using green cleaning chemicals and techniques also means that your cleaning employees will not be exposed to as many hazardous chemicals. This means fewer potential problems such as spills and accidents that lead to employees missing work and the resulting higher insurance costs.

Poor indoor air quality comes from various sources, some of which will be beyond your control, such as building design or poor ventilation. But there are many things that a cleaning staff does have control over that can help to improve indoor air quality.

• Begin by focusing on entryway mats (inside and outside). Many pollutants including dust, soil, salt, and grease come into buildings on people's shoes. Mats will help to trap and remove dirt before it they carry it through the building. Mats must be vacuumed frequently so they are effective at trapping soil and debris.
• Use chemicals properly. Chemicals that are misted onto surfaces are airborne and can be inhaled. Rather than spraying the item you're cleaning, spray a small amount of chemical into the cloth. Better yet, adjust your spray bottles setting to a stream rather than a mist.
• Switch to microfibers cloths and flat mops (as opposed to feather dusters and traditional mops) that trap soil instead of spreading it around or making it airborne.
• Keep restrooms, kitchens and break rooms properly cleaned. Standing water allows mold, microbes and bacteria to grow. Food that is left out (including crumbs) also attracts bugs and pests.
• Vacuum often and with the right equipment. Vacuuming frequently helps to keep dust and soil from spreading around the building and becoming embedded into carpeting. Using vacuums with hepa filters keeps dust and soil from becoming airborne.
• When cleaning carpet use efficient equipment and drying methods. Equipment manufacturers are coming out with machines that work more efficiently than in years past, so upgrade your equipment if necessary. Carpets that do not dry thoroughly after cleaning can become a host for moisture problems and mold growth, so be sure to take measures to ensure carpet dries quickly.

A "greener" work environment means a healthier atmosphere for a building's occupants, visitors and janitorial workers. Using green cleaning techniques and chemicals helps to reduce the potential for spills, accidents and potential liability claims that can occur when using more hazardous chemicals. A study done by the EPA at a Washington DC elementary school found that after the cleaning company switched to green cleaning chemicals and procedures, airborne dust inside the building decreased by 52%, volatile organic chemical (VOC) concentrations decreased by 49%, bacteria decreased by 40%, and fungi colony-forming units deceased by 61%.

Today there are green products available for nearly every cleaning application. Green products are not only less toxic than traditional cleaning chemicals, they are just as effective. Most are also biodegradable and free of heavy metals and VOC's (volatile organic compounds). The sooner you make the switch to green cleaning the sooner you'll help to improve the building's indoor air quality as well as the health of building tenants and cleaning employees.