Green's the Thing For Hospital Clean

I ran across an interesting article the other day about home births, and how more and more women are opting to deliver at home rather than have their child the traditional way, in a hospital. Sure it had to with personal philosophy or family participation; I was surprised to discover that this wasn't the case at all. In fact, it had little to do with the facility itself, and more to do with the kinds of cleaning supplies and disinfectants the janitorial staff used to keep the place clean and sparkling.

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It's estimated that 35% of older, more conventional cleaning products used to clean and disinfect hospitals and medical centers contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs have been known to linger in the air and on surfaces, causing all kinds of problems like respiratory irritation, headaches, blindness, severe skin damage, and even hormonal system damage.

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A bit nervous about visiting your sick friend in the hospital? Me too. But read on, good news is on the horizon.

As we all know, going green is the thing, and even hospitals are getting on the bandwagon.

There are several reasons why hospitals are picking green as their favorite color these days, the most obvious being patient and employee health and safety.

By now, everyone knows that using and inhaling cleaning products can be hazardous to your health. Besides high levels of VOCs, cleaning products often contain carcinogens, asthmagens, and other toxic substances known to cause birth defects, kidney damage, nervous system damage, and other health-related problems. Hospital cleaning staff, working with a variety of traditional cleaning products, experience higher rates of occupational asthma: almost twice as much as in any other job.

Another practical reason hospitals are going green is cost. When compared to the price of conventional cleaners on a per-cleaning rather than a per-cost basis, green products are less expensive. Factoring in the cost of worker protection, product handling and disposal issues, once again green products just cost less. Also, one green cleaning solution used at different concentrations for multiple cleaning tasks can save closet space and help staff avoid confusion about what to use when; again reducing costs.

And finally, going green is not only good for the environment-no more leaking toxic chemicals into landfills and rivers-it's also good for the image. Hospitals are starting to entice staff, doctors, and patients to their facility with the promise of a green environment, and that includes non-toxic chemicals used in cleaning and disinfecting.

So the next time you're off for a social hour or (knock on wood!) a hospital stay, check for the Green Environment sticker on the door before you enter. If not, I hope you own a Hazmat environmental suit, or can hold your breath a really long time.

For a list of green cleaning products acceptable for use in hospital environments, check out Green Seal and Canada's Environmental Choice Program.

Of course, when we enter a hospital, we expect it to look shiny and smell clean. Unfortunately, most of this is just marketing.

Green's the Thing For Hospital Clean

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