paid a whole lot of attention to the quiet voices on the sidelines that told them that the people who applied their products were becoming asthmatic, sensitized and disabled.
But while this chemical warfare was in its heyday, many people were indeed suffering ill effects. More and more housekeeping and janitorial staff were experiencing symptoms of sensitization from the continual use of strong chemicals. Skin irritation was becoming more common. Asthma and breathing difficulties were occurring more often. And some people became generally chemically sensitive, and were unable to continue working in their housekeeping and janitorial positions.
The building occupants were often not better off. Every building contains about 15-20% of occupants who are significantly more sensitive than most to various chemical emissions and even to the slightest traces of perfumes. Teachers and students complained combined in support groups to advocate on behalf of their hypersensitive an allergic children, some of whom could not even enter a classroom without feeling sick. Sensitive apartment occupants blocked the bottom of their doors with towels and petitioned apathetic superintendents to reduce the perfume levels in the hallways and the garbage chutes. The collateral damage was indeed extensive, and people were getting sick of it.

Why Green Cleaning first Works

Why should we green clean first? It is just far easier to disinfect a surface if it is already clean. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to disinfect a lump of soil, especially if contains blood or feces. Removing all the big lumps, small particles, sticky deposits, and accumulated layers of dirt and grease first goes a long way towards disinfecting and environmental surface. Removal, in effect, is the low-tech version of modern cleaning. But it works, and works well. An now we have come full circle.
Cleaning is highly effective at reducing the soil load, reducing the pathogen load, and reducing chemical residues accumulated on a surface. Once a surface is well-cleaned, there is little about the surface that can reduce the biocidal capacity of disinfecting chemicals, if subsequent disinfection is advised in designated areas. For most surfaces, effective cleaning leaves few enough bacteria that the area has been sanitized sufficiently for most practical purposes. Where additional disinfection is still advisable, appropriate rather than maximum concentrations of potent disinfectants can be used, to further reduce occupational and occupant health risks.

The Importance of Routine Daily Cleaning

The second part of the equation is that cleaning itself is easier and more effective if it is done regularly and thoroughly. The enemy, if there is one, is not soil and pathogens, but the buildup of soils and associated pathogen in a form that is hard to remove.
The answer to eliminating buildup is also low-tech. Clean regularly. Clean often. Clean thoroughly. Keep an environmental surface as near to uncontaminated as you can, all the time. This also includes clutter control, as no surface is harder to clean or disinfect than one you can't reach.
For most practical purposes, this means daily cleaning. Sometimes cleaning may be required more frequently, such as when a new patient is moved in, or when there is a mishap that leaves body fluids or feces. But the principle remains the same. Routine cleaning is easier to do, is more effective and requires less chemistry than occasional cleaning. And a surface that is kept clean can be readily disinfected immediately if ever the need arises.

Minimizing Chemistry and Cleaning without Harming

The final feature of the new era is cleaning without harming. Why can't we also
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