Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110

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Testing green cleaning products for performance - IEHA/TURI programme continues expansion

The International Executive Housekeepers Association has announced the continuing expansion of the High Performance Cleaning Product testing programme in conjunction with UMass Lowell's Toxics Use Reduction Institute Lab.

In 2010, IEHA/TURI embarked upon a fee-based programme for testing soil removal efficacy of hard-surface green cleaning products, and for recognising products that perform well when compared to similar products (green or conventional). Test metrics and programme scope have expanded and now encompass:

• Soil Removal
• Microbial Elimination
• Ergonomics
• Productivity
• Field Application
• Equipment (non-chemical product evaluation)

Product tests and/or proposal discussions are currently under way with a number of jansan manufacturers including the following that have given permission for their names to be published:

• Activeion
• Advanced Vapor Technologies
• Kaivac
• ProTeam
• Unger

"IEHA salutes these progressive companies and others that have stepped up to have their products' performance rigorously verified by a science-based, independent third-party," says Beth Risinger, CEO and Executive Director of IEHA.

"We are pleased to be working with the scientists at the University of Massachusetts Lowell's TURI Lab to make this flexible and innovative programme available to forward-thinking industry and corporate leaders who provide green high performance solutions to the marketplace."

IEHA's HPCP tests, verifies and helps promote hard surface cleaning products with green attributes to aid the selection of those that effectively clean a range of building and environmental surfaces.

"While green certification programmes (e.g., Green Seal, EcoLogo, DfE, etc.) do include basic product performance and efficacy criteria as part of an overall environmental review, these organisations, while laudable, emphasise multi-attribute eco-factors more than comprehensive cleaning or usage criteria," says the IEHA.

"To fill this gap, HPCP rigorously targets the cleaning performance of greener products, taking testing to a higher level through application of realistic soils on surface materials likely to be found in actual facilities (e.g., white boards, stainless steel, textured or composite countertops, etc.) This provides end-users with practical test data they can use to improve their specific cleaning situation, and suppliers with lab-based verification of product efficacy under specific, challenging and real-world circumstances. Tests can also be customised to focus on surfaces and soils most likely to be encountered in specific environments such as schools, gymnasiums, theatres, and more."

T: (800) 200-6342
Fax: (614) 895-1248
E: [email protected]
W: www.ieha.org

9th June 2011