Housekeeping

To keep a clean house

Immaculate guestrooms, spotless linen and sparkling floors are usually the order of the day. But many hotels are looking at environment-friendly products to achieve these results. Bhavika Jhaveri clears the air

While all hotels use some sort of cleaning agent or another to maintain cleanliness on their premises, some are opting for products that do the job while simultaneously protecting the environment.

Most cleaning products contain chemicals that not only harm the environment but also pose a danger to guests and staff alike. Environment-friendly alternatives, on the other hand, are not only cost effective but also crush any chance of a legal liability. Even everyday products like furniture polish, carpet cleaner, spot remover, air fresheners, disinfectants and bleach can contain hazardous compounds such as toluene, naphthalene, trichloroethylene, benzene and nitrobenzene, phenol, chlorine, and xylene. These are not only ozone-depleting substances but are toxic to plant and animal life as well.

Clean up

The good news is that non-toxic cleaners are easily available and can replace almost every type of cleaning product used in laundry and housekeeping. V Karthik, customer delight executive (Facility Care) at The Accord Metropolitan, says, "The trend is to become eco-friendly. It is important to have a healthy environment and is mandatory to obtain certain licenses nowadays."

Speaking about the process of choosing detergents and solutions, he informs, "They are selected based on the Ph value, degradability, MSDS (material safety data sheets), solubility and enhancers. Many products can be purchased in concentrated form. But if you find mixing cleaners from the concentrate form too labour-intensive, then you can opt for ready-to-use products."

Most cleaners and detergents that are biodegradable do not contain NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid), and chlorine bleach or phosphates. These include laundry and dish detergents, glass and floor cleaners, etc. According to Saji Sebastian, director of Pioneer Hospitality Services that offers facility management solutions to hotels, the chemicals that it selects are based on environmental norms. He adds, "These products are also accompanied by an MSDS order, which provides detailed information concerning immediate and long-term health risks of the primary ingredients as well as other information such as how best to store the product to maximise its shelf life." In such a scenario, he says, it becomes imperative to train the employees on how to use these products.

Types of treatment

Different areas in hotels require different treatments. Floor is often the first thing guests will notice while entering. Therefore, floor care must be an integral part of cleaning.

Akshi Singh, executive housekeeper, Grand Hyatt, says, "While rooms are generally cleaned once every 24 hours, floors are dry-mopped and then treated according to the types of stains. For instance, if an insect dies on a Jaisalmer stone, it leaves an imprint in which case we use mild detergents but heavily soiled areas would be treated with heavy detergents. Since excess amounts of chemicals can easily damage carpets, they are vacuumed once daily with strong suction power, adjustable brushes, beater bars, good filtration and an enclosed filter bag." There are various companies that provide such solutions: JohnsonDiversey, HLL, Eureka Forbes, EcoLab are just a few of them.

Hotels are a little more careful when it comes to guestrooms. C Bagavathy, executive housekeeper, Radha Park Inn International, Chennai, says, "We add liquid detergent boosters along with a softener to our linen but stains have to be treated separately. For example, collars are treated with a soft brush first then put in machines."

Jaishree Sharma, executive housekeeper, Le Meridien Mumbai, explains, "We have high turnover so our rooms are cleaned more than once in a day. We use JohnsonDiversey's Clax range of products for our laundry. They are attached to washer extractors with automatic dispensers. We have to ensure that the linen remains soft, clean and fragrant without greying or deteriorating." She adds that apart from reducing labour costs, laundry solutions need to have an alkalinity booster.

Some chemical solutions also comply with Green Seal's environmental standard for industrial and institutional cleaners. This independent non-profit organisation is slated to announce its proposed Cleaning Services Standard soon, which seeks to establish a green cleaning programme that protects human health and the environment.