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2022 Trends for the Cleaning Industry: Green, Lean & Clean

By: Briana Smith & Caitlin Dimalanta  |  February 1, 2022 

As we discussed in our previous article, 2022 Trends for the Cleaning Industry: Help Wanted, the labor shortage is having a big impact on facility and operations team’s ability to maintain clean, safe and healthy spaces for students to learn, staff to work and customers to shop in. 

So how else can teams be more efficient and productive? 

In this blog we will explore the continuing trends here to stay for 2022. These trends include smart waste and recycling strategies and with new chemistry and equipment you can reduce your cleaning time in half!

Topics: cleaning chemicals, Sustainable Solutions, disinfectant, machines & equipment

2022 Trends for the Cleaning Industry: Help Wanted

By: Briana Smith & Caitlin Dimalanta | January 21, 2022

The last couple years have been a roller coaster ride for everyone, complete with steep inclines, unexpected dips, sharp curves, and upside-down loop de loops, but the cleaning industry, in particular, has felt the impact on the pandemic keenly.

Janitors, custodial crews, housekeeping and environmental services staff have been on the frontline the entire time, keeping everyone as healthy as possible through cleaning.

And like many industries, we’re being affected by all sorts of shortages—from labor to supplies—that affect day-to-day capabilities and operations.

These issues have accelerated many of the trends that we’ve been seeing the last few years to maximize a facility maintenance program’s productivity through more effective and efficient processes and innovations.

Topics: Hand Hygiene, machines & equipment, IoT, industry news

Green Cleaning Tools, Equipment & Technology for Healthier Indoor Environments

By: Briana Smith | May 27, 2021

Part two of an ongoing series guiding you on the path to creating a cleaner, healthier, greener and safer building for re-entry and beyond.

In this blog series, we’re breaking down this overall process into eight steps, as reflected in our WAXIE GPS^® (Green Partner Support™) Program, which progresses from easier to adopt green cleaning procedures and techniques to higher level strategies and stewardship.

Part one discussed Green Chemistry.

The next step builds onto and works in combination with your green cleaners and dispensing systems. Green cleaning involves more than just the cleaning chemicals themselves. The tools, equipment and actual cleaning processes play an integral role in increasing efficiency and reducing your overall environmental impact to keep your building and those that use it clean and healthy.

Topics: cleaning equipment, microfiber, Green Cleaning, Sustainability, machines & equipment, facility maintenance

Battery Maintenance for Cleaning Equipment

By: Mike Anderson  |  March 4, 2021

There are many different varying opinions on how to maintain deep cycle batteries, so always refer to the manufacturer’s instructions. With that said, I have learned a few things over the years and found that the following advice works in most scenarios.

In general, batteries are designed well and last many years IF maintained properly. Maintenance includes “watering” of wet cell batteries, as well as monitoring the amount of charge cycles a battery can consume. Batteries don’t go bad in general, users cause the batteries to go bad. This is NOT pointing a finger at a specific user, or users, but explaining the lack of training users of battery equipment receive, or retain.

Topics: flooring, machines & equipment, facility maintenance

Meet the Newest Member of Your Cleaning Team: The Nilfisk SC50 Autonomous Floor Scrubber

Guest Blog By: Nilfisk  |  February 18, 2021

In the wake of COVID-19, cleaning teams face more pressure than ever to clean quickly and effectively. Beyond the basics of ensuring facilities are cleaned to the desired standard, cleaners are quite literally tasked with ensuring the health and safety of everyone who enters a facility.

At the same time, workforce challenges continue. Cleaning teams often work at a staffing rate of only 70-75% and the employee turnover rate can be as high as 200%.

These factors combined have led more organizations to embrace autonomous cleaning solutions as a way to stretch their cleaning dollar further.

Topics: flooring, machines & equipment, facility maintenance

The High Flow Fluid Extraction (HFFE) Cleaning Process

By Keith Schneringer  |  January 24, 2019

The Cleaning Science Behind High Flow Fluid Extraction (HFFE)

“Clean” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “free from dirt or pollution” or “free from contamination or disease,” but it is worth noting that there is no universally accepted definition of “clean” which has been adopted by everyone in the cleaning industry.

According to the Cleaning Industry Research Institute website, Dr. Michael Berry (Chairman of the Science Advisory Council for CIRI and author of the book Protecting the Built Environment: Cleaning for Health) has proposed the following definition of clean: “an environmental condition free from unwanted matter” – and has further defined “matter” as “anything of substance.” While this definition has not been universally accepted by the cleaning industry, it is a good place to start.

Topics: Education, machines & equipment, versa

On-Demand Training with Kaivac's KaiTutor™

Guest Post By: Kaivac

Training of custodial workers is frequently cited as a key challenge in the cleaning industry – and the ultimate correlation between effective training and its impact on the overall quality of work produced cannot be overstated. 

In addition to addressing work quality, many studies have shown that effective training can also lead to increased employee job satisfaction as well as employee retention no matter what industry is being reviewed.

Having an effectively trained work staff is vitally important to a cleaning organization – but there hasn’t always been a way to deliver training to the cleaning workers in a way which can fit seamlessly into their demanding schedules.

Until now.

Topics: cleaning products & innovations, machines & equipment, industry news

The Latest in Cleaning Technology: Lithium-Ion Batteries are Now Powering Cleaning Equipment

By Keith Schneringer

Lithium-Ion Batteries – In Your Phone, In Your Laptop -- and on Mars?

Lithium-ion batteries are seemingly all around us – they are the batteries which power our cell phones, tablets, gaming consoles, laptop computers, and cordless power tools, and they are even being used to power many of the hybrid and full electric vehicles which are increasingly making their way on to our roads.

The technology is even being used in outer space to power NASA’s Mars Rovers (both Spirit and Opportunity, as well as Curiosity) as they explore the terrain and take images of Mars in our ongoing efforts to answer age-old questions about how planets are formed and if there is indeed life beyond Earth!

Topics: Technology, machines & equipment, news

Choosing the Correct Floor Pad

By: Becky Mollenkamp

From polishing to stripping, janitors spend a lot of time using floor-care machines. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right pad or brush for the task at hand. But with more options than ever, many building service contractors find it easiest to simply stick with what they know.

“Most manufacturers offer upwards of 25 different pads,” says Rory Beaudette, Vice President Sales and COO for ACS Industries Inc., Lincoln, Rhode Island. “That’s complex for most operators, so they may need to spend some time educating themselves.”

Although there will always be a need for the basic pads, learning about myriad new colors and shapes is worthwhile. Many are designed to improve productivity and reduce floor damage, both of which can boost the bottom line.

Topics: Hard Floor Care, flooring, machines & equipment, cleaning tips