Cleaning Chemicals Today Are More Sustainable & Safer

Ann Laffeaty traces the evolution of chemical cleaning products. An increasing number of today’s raw materials are plant-derived. 

Cleaning solutions - a chemical change - Ann Laffeaty traces the evolution of chemical cleaning products in the light of tightening legislation and a greater emphasis on sustainability and safety. There was at time when the only requirement of a chemical detergent solution was that it should be capable of cleaning the item for which it was intended. But that all changed when the health, safety and sustainability implications of cleaning products began to be monitored more closely. For example, we discovered that Paradichlorobenzen - formerly used in urinal blocks – was a carcinogen. We also found out that Alkylphenol ethoxylates, a synthetic surfactant found in detergents, had an oestrogenic effect and could disrupt hormones in fish.

And as our concern for factors such as health, safety and sustainability began to grow, new legislation was introduced. This has resulted in some dramatic changes to the chemical cleaning industry over the past 20 years. But are today’s safer, more environmentally-friendly products as effective as their predecessors? And do manufacturers and customers ever mourn the passing of yesterday’s more hazardous products?

CEBE Reinigungschemie manager Dr Jan Reimers confirms that today’s cleaning chemicals are generally more sustainable, safer and easier to use than their counterparts of 20 years ago. “Both the manufacturer and the end-user have become more sensitised to this issue,” he said. “It is not only legislation that puts the industry under pressure; end-users are also demanding safer and more sustainable products. This has led to changes in formulations and higher levels of training on product use along with greater transparency on the part of the manufacturers where hazardous ingredients are concerned.”

He says that many raw materials have recently been replaced with more environmentally-friendly, less hazardous alternatives. “In addition many products have become simpler - not only in their formulation but also in their use.” However, he cites niche products as an exception to this rule. “Though even where specialty products are concerned the trend is to improve efficiency while also minimising hazard.”

According to Reimers, these changes in the industry have largely been determined by legislation. “If one considers, for instance, the changes in concentration thresholds for declaring a product as an irritant to the eyes, 20 years ago that threshold was generally a concentration of 20 per cent,” he said. “Today this has been reduced to one per cent in some instances.”

He adds that in some cases, changes in formulation have led to poorer performance.  “This is the compromise that has to be made for sustainable development,” he said. “In other cases new raw materials have been discovered which have led to improved performance and sometimes also better environmental degradability.”

Change in behaviour

But is there anything about the chemical solutions of the past that either Reimers or his customers miss today?  “I can think of one thing that may be missed: Alkylphenolethxylates which, as non-ionic surfactants go, are still unsurpassed in many fields and are still in use in some industrial applications,” he said.  “However their impact on the environment is substantial which means that phasing them out and prohibiting their use with only a few exceptions was the right thing to do.”

He describes surfactant-free systems for carpet cleaning – such as the company’s own Spray Brite product – to be among the recent ‘game-changers’ in the chemicals industry. “The development of green labels has also led to a change in market behaviour, particularly since the phasing out of solvents in many products has led to them being more user-friendly.” Dr Schnell Chemie’s marketing executive Franz Felbermeir agrees with Reimers that there is a trend towards developing products with a broader application window, such as general-purpose 

cleaning solutions.

Specialist products

“Customers want to use one product to clean a range of different pollutants from a variety of surfaces,” he said. “At the same time, very specific products are being developed for specialist purposes such as the cleaning of marble, for example. This means that users can rely on a narrow range of products that resolve 90 per cent of standard issues while having a second range of highly specialised products that deal with the remaining cleaning challenges.”

He says that today’s focused research on coming up with systems designed to improve efficiency through the use of better technical equipment - such as microfibre cloths, for example - has led to more effective cleaning. “On the other hand, restrictions in the use of certain chemicals such as some dangerous organic solvents has left the industry looking for replacements for what were highly effective cleaning chemicals in the past,” he said.

Like Reimers he feels that today’s cleaning chemicals are generally more sustainable, safer and easier to use. “As soon as there is an understanding of the potential risks involved with certain substances the trend is to substitute these very quickly,” he said. “Anything that helps our customers to become more efficient in what they do is always a welcome idea. And if a product helps our customer to do a better job, that can be translated into a monetary advantage.”

But does he miss anything about yesterday’s chemical solutions? “Superficially one could complain about the fact that some highly effective surfactants such as Nonylphenoles are no longer available,” he said. “However, these substances have a highly detrimental effect on the environment so the fact that they are no longer in use is overall good news. And this has helped us to keep the focus on seeking better and more sustainable ways to formulate new products.” He describes the company’s Milizid sanitary cleaner as one of Dr Schnell Chemie’s most revolutionary products. “It is our best-selling product and it stays on the top of our list through constant evolution.”

New regulations

Global marketing director of Diversey Care Lars Bo Madsen describes the changes in the chemical industry over the past 20 years as both significant and positive. “Changes have occurred due to regulatory introductions such as the Biocidal Products Directive, REACH, and latterly by GHS,” he said. “There has also been a move towards super-concentrated products that directly deliver less chemical and that entail less packaging, less storage, a lower carbon footprint and maximum safety for end-users.

“Meanwhile, closed systems and packaging with dosing control has been introduced to ensure accuracy, simplicity and safety. And end-users are increasingly requesting products with labels such as the Swan or Ecolabel.”

When asked whether today’s products were more effective than earlier versions he responds:  “What is meant by ‘effective’? Does it mean that a product removes more dirt and soil, cleans more quickly, does so at a lower temperature, uses a less concentrated solution or cleans with less scrubbing? I don’t think we tolerated more dirt 20 years ago so the question really boils down to the last four.”

He refers to the Sinner’s circle that sets out the four cleaning parameters of chemistry, mechanics, temperature and time. “Only when all four factors are harmonised can an effective cleaning result be achieved,” he said.

According to Madsen, super-concentrated cleaning products such as his company’s Diversey Smartdose system have changed the market considerably. This is a dosing platform for super-concentrated cleaners and disinfectants that is said to deliver larger amounts of cleaning solution, reducing plastic use and transport costs.

But what do Diversey Care’s customers miss about yesterday’s chemical products? “Maybe it was the easier decision process – does it work and is it the right price?” said Marsden.  “Nowadays the question: ‘Is it sustainable?’ has been added to the decision process. “But to be honest there is little about chemical products of the past that either Diversey Care or our customers miss today since chemical products have generally become much easier and safer to use.”

The company is launching a range of products containing plant-based actives from renewable sources. Most of the SURE range of products are derived from by-products from the agro-food industry and originate from crops such as sugar beet, maize, straw bran, wheat bran and coconut.

Green cleaning

“In the future I envisage that holistic green cleaning will become more prevalent,” said Marsden. “Green cleaning has already become more formalised in North America where it is accredited through schemes from the US Green Building Council’s LEED suite of accreditations and ISSA’s CIMS-GB scheme.”

Legislation has been the main driver for recent chemical industry changes says Dr Jim Taylour, head of research and development at Holchem Laboratories. “The chief focus in terms of legislation has been on personal and environmental safety,” he said. “The chemicals industry is relatively highly regulated and as new knowledge comes to light, regulations change and the industry reacts in order to ensure it remains legal. “In addition the industry often pre-empts legislation and through codes of practice and industry guidelines recommends voluntary restrictions or a change of use for certain chemicals.”

As an example he quotes a voluntary ban in 1995 on the use of Alkylphenol ethoxylates and Nonylphenol ethoxylates in detergents based on evidence that these compounds were endocrine disruptors. The ban was brought in before the legislation had been put into place.

Plant-derived formulas

Taylour echoes Marsden’s view that an increasing number of today’s raw materials are plant-derived. “An example of this can be seen in the use of palm oil-derived surfactants,” he said. “However, this issue has been complicated by considerations about the sustainability of palm oil production.”

Holchem offers a range of chemicals including its Perbac OPD open plant disinfection solution. This is claimed to be a safe and effective disinfectant for use on open surfaces without the strong acrid smell issues associated with peracetic acid disinfectants.

Like Marsden, Taylour feels that an increasing trend towards the use of super-concentrates has further changed the face of the industry. “This is particularly the case in the hospitality and facilities management sectors where the traditional ready-to-use toilet cleaner has been replaced by a thicken-on-dilution system developed using novel surfactant chemistry,” he said. Holchem’s Optimum Toilet Cleaner Concentrate is an example of this.

Taylour believes that industry regulations will continue to change and shape the chemicals sector. “As legislation such as BPR, REACH and the Detergent Directive matures, detergent and disinfectant suppliers will continue to drive the development of their products to ensure that they remain legal, cost-effective and safe both for personnel and for the environment,” he said.  ustainability and safety.

Risks Of Working Alone

Looking into effective lone worker security training, policies, systems, and devices has become a real challenge.

Risks of working alone: David Foster of property and people protection specialist Sitex Orbis explains the risks facing those who work alone, the responsibilities of employers and how they can support and protect their staff.

In a world where everyone seems to be connected 24/7, it’s easy to forget many people work alone. Not isolated behind a computer screen and wearing headphones but actually on their own. They may have a mobile phone but if they need help it could be minutes or hours away.

Contracting trends and technological innovation have made it more cost-effective for one person to do what two or more used to. Increased outsourcing means that many people are part of a peripatetic workforce. They may be working at a client site, there may be other people around some of the time but they are not necessarily seen as part of the same community.

Multiskilling, particularly the end of the divide between mechanical and electrical skills, has also driven the trend towards 'one-man' maintenance and repair. Mobile communications, sat nav, hand-held devices with access to technical information and job scheduling make it easier do a job solo.

So who are these lone workers?  Many are public sector workers dealing with the public. From nurses to environmental health inspectors, from traffic wardens to postal workers. They are often in riskier situations than their office-based counterparts.

Lone working is very common in the support services sector. Maintenance workers, security guards, pest control experts and of course cleaners - they all spend part of their working lives alone.

Cleaners work alone

Although cleaners often work in teams many also work alone. Most cleaning is done outside normal working hours, adding to the isolation. A cleaner may enter a building while it is still busy, but may be left alone at the end of their shift. Cleaners tend to start early or finish late at night and are therefore at risk on their journey to and from work.

In many cases cleaners have the same access to buildings as staff, in fact they may have more knowledge of the premises security systems including keys and alarm codes. This makes them vulnerable to criminals planning theft or vandalism.

Cleaners will often be working in environments, such as hospitals, where they may come into contact with members of the public who could pose a risk through disorientation or simply aggressive behaviour. In hospitals and laboratories, as well as some industrial sites, they may also be working in proximity to potentially hazardous chemicals or substances.

Housekeeping staff in hotels can also find themselves alone in a room with a guest – a situation that can have serious consequences for both parties.

There is no common definition of a lone worker across Europe. In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says "lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision". Croner’s Health and Safety offers a wider definition. A lone worker is one "whose activities involve a large percentage of their working time operating in situations without the
benefit of interaction with other workers or without supervision".

What’s clear is that the numbers are increasing every year. According to the British Security Industry Association, more than six million people in the UK work either in isolation or without direct supervision, often in places or circumstances that put them at potential risk.

There were an estimated 654,000 incidents of violence at work according to the 2010/11 British Crime Survey, comprising 341,000 assaults and 313,000 threats. In 2010/11 171 people were killed in the course of their work. Of course not all the incidents involved lone working but isolation can increase the risk.

The three main risks are: violence and aggression, usually from members of the public; occupational risks (such as slips, trips, falls, electrocution); and personal wellbeing risks, including health issues caused by being in stressful situations.

The risks are different for each group of workers. Public sector staff, transport staff and retail workers face threats of abuse or violence from members of the public (more than one in three working alone in the community have been assaulted or harassed in the last two years, according to research from the Royal College of Nursing).

Other employees such as shop workers, security staff or warehouse workers might be at risk of robbery; an engineer, construction worker or maintenance staff are at risk of an accident while working alone.

The law requires employers and others to think about and deal with any health and safety risks before people should be allowed to work alone. The general duty of employers to maintain safe working arrangements under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act applies. Additionally, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess and counter health and safety risks before allowing staff to work alone.

The HSE advises employers that they have a legal duty to notify and consult with safety representatives about the jobs of employees who work alone. These responsibilities cannot be transferred to any other person, including those people who work alone. It is the employer’s duty to assess risks to lone workers and take steps to avoid or control risks where necessary.

Many organisations simply ignore the problem and risks completely – often with disastrous consequences. A major lift company had no lone worker support in place when a lift engineer working alone in a lift shaft, fell, and later died. He wasn’t found for eight hours.

A new offence of corporate manslaughter was created by the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which came into force in April 2008. For the first time, companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care.

The first prosecution was brought against a surveying company after a geologist, working alone, was killed when a deep trench collapsed. The company was fined almost 500,000 euros. Since then a storage product manufacturer has been fined almost 600,000 euros for the corporate manslaughter of one of its employees who died when he fell through a roof at one of the company’s factories. There are 50 corporate manslaughter cases currently under review.

Support and protection

How can organisations meet their obligations and protect their workers? Perhaps the first option is to review working patterns. It may be possible to avoid situations where staff work alone. For example, rather than allocate cleaners to different rooms or floors of a building, they could work as a team across the facility.

Some firms have introduced daytime cleaning, which as well as ensuring cleaning staff are not working in isolation, encourages the building’s occupants to appreciate the service and those who provide it.

Manage safety

Traditionally organisations employing lone workers have managed their safety in two ways: white board or buddy systems. A white board placed in a prominent position in the office records the names, locations, schedule and mobile numbers of all lone workers. The lone worker checks back into the office and has their whereabouts updated on the board so that should an incident occur, the organisation knows their whereabouts.

The downside is that the white board may only be monitored in office hours (whereas the lone worker may work unsocial hours) and if the person responsible for managing the board is off sick, on holiday or just snowed under, it may get forgotten about.

A buddy system is the equivalent of telling your friend where you’re going to meet a new date. Lone workers tell another colleague where they will be and agree to phone back within a set period of time. Again they may forget to phone back, and if they do call in an emergency situation, their colleague may not be trained to, or have the equipment or technology, to support them.

Communications technology offers new options. For low to medium risk lone workers, a dedicated speed dial set up on a standard mobile phone linking through to an alarm response centre will provide an increased level of safety. For lone workers who routinely face higher levels of risk, enhanced services can be combined with dedicated devices or a smart phone app that can include the ability to set up automatic welfare checks giving the user greater flexibility and protection.

Specialist devices have dedicated emergency keys, or specialist safety sensors, which detect falls, impacts, extended lack of movement or loss of vertical position, and raise the red alarm even if the worker can’t press any buttons. They may also be ruggedised and so work in all sorts of challenging environments and under the harshest elements.

The two relevant industry standards for lone worker protection in the UK are British Standards BS8484 and  BS5979. BS8484 covers  the quality and suitability of key components used for the protection of lone workers, including devices, the service provider, the monitoring and the response are required for the delivery of a robust and effective lone worker solution. Police throughout England, Wales and NI currently require BS8484 in order to guarantee a response.

Any communications technology is only as good as the centre monitoring and responding to calls. BS5979 covers the management and operation of Alarm Receiving Centres (ARC). BS5979 has two categories (CATI and CATII). An ARC operating to BS5979 CATII, such as that run by SitexOrbis, provides more physical security to cater for high security monitoring applications.

The importance of effective lone working support was demonstrated last year when a female traffic warden for Bristol City Council was subjected to a tirade of abuse and threats while issuing a parking notice to a driver who had parked illegally in a disabled bay near the city centre.

She pressed the dedicated panic button on her ruggedised mobile phone, all audio was recorded and she was discreetly connected through to the SitexOrbis alarm receiving centre (BS5979 Cat II) which is staffed 24/7 by fully trained operatives.

Employees trained

As is the standard procedure, the operator remained on the line and began to initiate the pre-agreed emergency response procedure set by Bristol City Council. The man was later arrested and found to be in possession of several knives. The quality of the audio captured between the phone and the digital recorders was commended by the police who took steps to secure a conviction. The council was also able to track the incident in real time using self-service web portal, which also provides a full audit trail.

The HSE advises that lone workers should be capable of responding correctly to emergencies. Risk assessment should identify foreseeable events. Emergency procedures should be established and employees trained in them.

Information regarding a premises’ emergency procedures and danger areas should be given to lone workers. They should have access to adequate first-aid facilities, and mobile workers should carry a first-aid kit suitable for treating minor injuries. Occasionally risk assessment may indicate that lone workers need first aid-training.

All employers have a duty of care to their staff. Supporting those who often work alone will not only protect them, it may just protect your reputation and business.

Further information: the Health and Safety Executive has produced a guide for those working alone and those employing or managing lone workers. Access it here.

European Water Fed Poles - Pole Position

Michelle Marshall, Editor of the European Cleaning Journal was kind enough to provide the full print copy to read below.
With the advent of water-fed poles, is there still a need for traditional window cleaning methods such as detergents, ladders and cradles? Will these die out, or will there always be some applications where they are essential? Ann Laffeaty finds out...

Pole position (From the European Cleaning Journal - Edition June/July 2010): It is becoming increasingly hard for window cleaners to justify going about their business in the old-fashioned way, using a ladder and squeegee. The European Work at Height Directive has revolutionised window cleaning and imposed new restrictions on the industry. Working at height is an integral part of the window cleaner’s role and the ladder was once his most important tool. But it was also his most dangerous since an estimated two-thirds of accidents that occur when working at height involve the use of ladders. The new regulations stipulate that if a high-rise task can reasonably be carried out from the ground, that is how it must be done. And the advent of water-fed poles has made the vast majority of window cleaning tasks achievable from ground level. Since using pole systems is also faster and more efficient than ladders – while enabling the window cleaner to access greater heights - it is hard to argue that using a water-fed pole is not a viable alternative in most cases.

So, is there still a need for conventional cleaning methods such as the ladder, squeegee and bucket? Probably not, according to Brodex general manager Ann Forde-Johnston. “Cleaning from the ground is much faster which means window cleaners have more time to carry out their job and earn more money,” she said. “Water-fed poles are also the safest way of cleaning windows. Cleaners are being forced off ladders because of insurance issues – building owners don’t want to run the risk of an accident on their premises.” Brodex offers water-fed poles reaching heights of around 70 feet, though Forde-Johnston concedes that 60 feet tends to be the upper limit when working from the ground. “You can’t really see the dirt on the window at 70 feet and if the pole is too long or too heavy, the window cleaner can’t control it and it can fall. Using an over-long pole can also lead to back or neck injuries.” She said a cherry picker was required at heights of more than 60 feet – though even here a water-fed-pole could be used. “Larger buildings often have a water tank on the roof and window cleaners simply use their poles from the cradle. In fact we often receive calls from architects asking us where to build a water tank into the design to make life simpler for window cleaners.”

Unger’s marketing co-ordinator Axel Droste agrees that water-fed poles are taking over the industry. “Ladders will die out as regulations restrict their use and pole work becomes more widespread,” he predicted. Unger manufactures three modular pole systems enabling work to be carried out at heights of up to 20 metres. The company also has a Classic range incorporating squeegees, scrapers and accessories. According to Droste there is still a need for traditional hand tools for indoor work, low-level cleaning and hard-to-reach areas. Unger also offers a detergent for classic cleaning. “Our RO filter has a second pump that sucks soap out of a canister to supplement pure water in difficult applications, such as where windows have not been cleaned for a long time,” said Droste. “In general soaps and chemicals are not needed but in some cases they can help.”



The IPC Group is another organisation that provides both traditional window cleaning equipment and water-fed poles. According to marketing director Walter Tomasi: “Squeegees and detergents are still useful for particular tasks such as cleaning in internal environments, in places where there is no easy access and for traditional window cleaning. “As for water-fed poles, the limit of this cleaning system has always been the maximum level they can reach - generally considered to be 15-20 metres. But at IPC we thought to go beyond this.” The company has developed the HighRise system, a robot said to be able to clean glass surfaces of any height from the ground via a radio link. “Compared with manual window cleaning alternatives, HighRise makes the task of cleaning high rise façades both safer and more effective,” claims Tomasi.

Window Cleaning Warehouse director Julian Davies says the need for traditional window cleaning methods is now mainly confined to the domestic sector. The company offers both water-fed poles and traditional equipment. “There are still a great many window cleaners working domestic rounds, and one-man businesses can find the capital requirement of buying the equipment for pure water cleaning somewhat daunting,” he said. “However, even these businesses are becoming more aware of the Working at Height regulations.” Where ladders are still being used, safety remains an issue. One company looking to address this is Rojak which manufactures a range of anti-slip ladder stabilisers. “Ladders are essentially unstable and need to be brought up to date,” said Rojak director Barry Weatherall. “We are trying to increase the safety of ladders all the time.” But according to Weatherall, water-fed poles are not without their own health and safety problems. “You see window cleaners using water-fed poles walking backwards into the road where they could easily be knocked over,” he said. “And with all that water being sprayed around you are potentially creating a skating rink during the winter months.”

Ice hazard:
Marketing manager of Ionic Systems Philip Hanson agrees that ice can be an issue in the winter. “Industry guidelines advocate spreading rock salt around the area and cordoning it off if there is a risk of the water freezing,” he said. “But personally I have never heard of anyone injuring themselves from ice caused by water-fed poles, and I read every month about people injuring themselves when working at height.” Ionic Systems launched the Reach and Wash - a mobile, vehicle-mounted water-fed pole system - in 1997. The company also manufactures a range of water-fed poles with a maximum reach of 72 feet. According to Hanson the scope of the tools is growing all the time. “External window cleaning can be carried out with a water-fed pole to heights of 7o feet - which is beyond the reach of ladders anyway,” he said. “Abseiling cleaners tend to use normal tools, but what we are finding in warmer countries is that an increasing number of abseiling cleaners use short-reach water-fed poles. This is because if you squirt soapy water on a window in hot weather it will quite often dry before you get a chance to rinse it off.” Improvements are constantly being carried out in the water-fed pole industry.

Brodex’s Ann Forde-Johnston says the company is developing lighter poles to enable the task to be carried out more safely and claims the company’s own 60 feet carbon fibre pole is the lightest on the market at only 2.6 kilos. Brodex is also working closely with the Federation for Window Cleaners to run training courses. “Using water-fed poles requires a simple technique but if you don’t get it right, it can lead to all kinds of problems,” she said. “We always train customers on how to use our equipment but we are not window cleaners. So we are planning to offer our customers discounted training course from the Federation for Window Cleaners.” So, are water-fed pole systems replacing traditional ladder-and-bucket methods? According to Forde-Johnston the only window cleaning tasks that cannot always be carried out effectively via a pole system is indoor work. “Customers don’t tend to like having water inside, so some of our larger commercial customers carry ladders for indoor use,” she said.

Even that is due to change if the water-fed pole companies have their way. Ionic Systems has developed the Pro-10 water-fed pole system designed for use in buildings with high internal glass windows. This uses a high-powered vacuum to collect, re-purify and re-use the water. And Forde-Johnston adds: “At Brodex we are in the process of developing an indoor system comprising a large reservoir of water and a high-reach indoor cleaning facility. We were mortified at ISSA/INTERCLEAN in Amsterdam that the system wasn’t ready because people were asking for it, but we’re pretty close to launching it.”

Poles not always the answer:
However water-fed poles will never take over the industry completely according to regional operations manager of cleaning service provider OCS Michael Chambers, who says the company’s window cleaners always use traditional tools for high-rise work. “We only use poles at heights of up to 60 feet - any higher than that and we use a cradle or scaffolding,” he said. “And we don’t use water-fed poles from a cradle since you are swinging about in mid-air and they are much more difficult to control.” Despite the development of water-fed pole systems for indoor work, he said OCS was still more likely to use a ladder or mobile platform plus traditional tools for internal cleaning. In fact water-fed poles are not even the complete answer for external work, according to Chambers. “If you had a 60 feet building made entirely of glass with no sun canopies, screens or other obstructions you could clean the entire structure using a water-fed pole,” he said. “But modern buildings often have such features, while older buildings may also have beams or balconies. “I think water-fed poles will become a dominant method of window cleaning but they can never replace traditional methods completely. There will always be a place for the cradle system.”

Subscribe to European Cleaning Journal

Window Cleaners Adapt to Architecture

The most recent edition of the European Cleaning Journal (ECJ) contained an article of the challenges of window cleaning today. Michelle Marshall, Editor of the European Cleaning Journal was kind enough to provide the full print copy to read below.

Cleanable windows - What are the most difficult cleaning challenges that a professional window cleaner has to face? And what equipment has been developed to cope with such tough challenges? Ann Laffeaty looks at aspects of the industry such as high-rise cleaning, large areas of glass and difficult-to-reach areas and discovers how window cleaning is being adapted to make all windows cleanable.

Photo courtesy of Unger

Window cleaning used to be a relatively simple process. One window was much the same as another, after all, and window cleaners required very few tools to carry out their trade successfully. In most cases a ladder, a bucket, a squeegee and a chamois would be sufficient. Where the building was particularly tall, a rail-like structure would be fitted around the top of the building and a cradle would operate from this. But various factors have conspired to complicate the window-cleaning task. On the one side, stringent new health and safety laws have outlawed the practice of cleaning from a ladder above a certain height. Cradles are no longer always a viable alternative either, mainly due to the escalating cost of insurance but also because the shape of modern buildings sometimes makes a rail impossible to fit.

Meanwhile, the fact that architects are becoming increasingly ambitious in their quest for that unique, award-winning design means they are building highly creative structures whose windows are often difficult to clean. Vice-president of Ettore Products Europe Niels Ysbrandy confirms this. “We find that about 10-20 per cent of buildings these days have freaky architecture that looks fantastic and the architects are applauded for it – then six months later the building manager finds it is impossible to clean, or the cleaning cost is 10 times what it should be,” he said. “For example there are buildings that are very difficult to access because they are in a car park or surrounded by hedges or trees. Sometimes it is practically impossible to get to the glass area because it is curved or set at an angle. This can occur in any type of building whether it is an office block, a school or an airport.”

Leaded light windows in historic buildings, pubs and churches also present a problem since these have to be cleaned by hand with a sponge and then a chamois, he said. “Large areas of glass are also a challenge,” added Ysbrandy. “If you have a smooth surface you can clean it very fast and efficiently, but any obstacle will slow down the process.”
According to Ysbrandy water-fed poles have greatly improved the situation. “These can be used from the ground and will clean the windows using pure water, which means there are no mineral deposits on the glass,” he said. “It is not rocket science, but water-fed poles have been the biggest breakthrough in the industry for some years.”

Ettore also offers various tools for hard-to-access cleaning. These include Reach poles that have an angle adaptor claimed to be particularly effective for use on solarium glass. The company also offers telescopic squeegees that combine an absorbent sponge head with a metal handle that extends up to seven feet.
According to Unger’s marketing co-ordinator Alex Droste, one of the major challenges facing today’s window cleaners are the large, high buildings whose entire roof is made of glass. These are often encountered in new train stations and big industrial buildings, for example. “It means you have to walk over the glass in order to access and clean the central areas, which is very hard to do.”

Unger’s answer to high-level cleaning is the HiFlo CarbonTec water-fed pole. This uses aluminium and lightweight carbon tubing to allow the user to customise the length up to 50 feet. “But in terms of height it is limited,” said Droste. “If you have a very complicated job you may need a crane, but then it becomes expensive. Sometimes buildings are cleaned by teams of abseilers but this is not very common in Europe. There is always a high cost and safety factor when dealing with high-rise, complicated buildings.”
He said the growing problem was a by-product of modern building design. “Architects are creating buildings that look very nice, but they don’t ask the window cleaners for their suggestions on how to clean them. Sometimes they are consulted but often they are not – and many window cleaning companies would like to be involved.”

This is exactly what a UK organisation is trying to achieve through the Building Cleanability Awards (BCA). This annual event encourages architects to consider how new buildings are to be cleaned by presenting an award to those designers who create the most 'cleanable' buildings.
The importance of building cleanability is greater now than ever according to BCA chairman Paul Taylor, who is also director of cleaning and facilities management contractor Incentive QAS.
“About 25-30 years ago everything was cleaned by ladder or cradle, but today’s designers have gone mad with their pencils and between them and EU legislation it is very rare that a building these days can be cleaned by ladder,” he said. “Cradles are not always viable because insurance is so expensive and if you look at modern buildings such as the Gherkin in London, where do you fit a cradle?

Another British building that must be a challenge for window cleaners is the Spinnaker Tower that overlooks Portsmouth harbour. It is a 170 metre high structure but the glass doesn’t start until 20 floors up - and then it is in the shape of a sail. You wonder how they clean buildings such as this - as well as other modern structures such as the newest hotel buildings in Dubai. It must be a nightmare.” He says the problem arises from the fact that building owners are increasingly demanding that their buildings should stand out, and architects are keen to deliver on this. “In the US and Australia, building designers consult with the cleaning bodies when designing a building. But in Europe we tend to build to be pretty rather than functional.”

However, this year the BCA has achieved a breakthrough in terms of dialogue with building designers. “For the first time in 16 years, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists have come on board and are helping to promote the Building Cleanability Awards to their architect and design members,” said Taylor. “This will hopefully lead to a new period of co-operation between designers and cleaners.” Director of the Building Cleanability Awards Richard Chisnell added: “We don’t want to cramp the designers’ creativity and make every building a square box, but we would like to encourage them to think how their creations are going to be maintained after the construction team has moved off the site. “Sometimes it is only once that has happened that the penny drops and they think: 'How are we going to clean this?’”
He said factors that should be considered in the design stage were that no trees, hedges or grass were planted too close to the building and that space for parking cherry-pickers was provided. Sometimes windows should be capable of being cleaned from the inside to make life easier for the window cleaners.

According to Chisnell, incorporating cleanable design features into new buildings would go a long way to facilitating the cleaning task while also ensuring the safety of the workforce. “In recent years a whole generation of abseilers have come on to the scene whose task is to clean the highest-rise windows,” he said. “That is fine as long as they comply with health and safety regulations – in fact, it shows that the cleaning industry has done its bit to move with the times.
“But we want to raise the profile of cleaning within the building industry and we are very encouraged by the fact that the designers have said yes, you have a point, we would like to support it.
“In the meantime the window cleaning industry has been sufficiently flexible and adaptable to rise to any challenge. In fact, that’s why we are the thriving industry we are today.”

Photo courtesy of Mr Longarm