Window Cleaning Maid Saved By Neighbours & New Law

They held on for half an hour, the picture shows the three neighbours clinging on to the maid outside an 11th storey window in Woodlands. Starting immediately, foreign domestic workers (FDWs) will no longer be allowed to clean window exteriors, unless two safety conditions are met, announced the Ministry of Manpower today.

Maid saved by trio after fall from 12th storey: A morning drama played out in Woodlands on Sunday as three men reached out of an 11th-storey window to hold onto an Indonesian maid who was hanging to a steel laundry rack for dear life. They tried to hoist her into the flat, but found her too heavy. The maid soon passed out - and thus became a dead weight for the trio, who held onto her for nearly half an hour until help came. The maid, who works for a family on the 12th storey of Block 550, Woodlands Drive 44, fell from the five-room flat at 10am.

Employers will not be allowed to let their maid clean the exterior of windows unless supervised, under new Manpower Ministry (MOM) requirements.

Maids not allowed to clean exterior of windows unless supervised, Singapore: The Manpower Ministry (MOM) has ruled that with immediate effect, employers shall not allow their foreign domestic workers to clean the exterior of windows unless two safety conditions are met. Firstly, the employer or an adult is physically present to supervise the maid. And, secondly, window grilles must be installed and locked at all times during the cleaning process. MOM said the new rules will apply to all homes, except for windows that are at ground level or along common corridors. It emphasised that anyone who cleans the exterior of their windows at home should follow similar safety requirements.

The ministry explained that many foreign domestic workers do not come from high-rise environments and may not be used to Singapore's urban living environment. They are therefore likely to be unaware of the risks in a high-rise domestic setting. Apart from window cleaning, employers should take necessary steps to eliminate the risks involved in other tasks by following the Dos and Don'ts covered in MOM's guidebooks and pamphlets. If foreign domestic workers are required to hang laundry outside the window using bamboo poles, employers should ensure that they do not stand on an elevated platform or tip-toe while handling the poles, and do not overload the pole with too many clothes.

In announcing the change, the Manpower Ministry noted that a significant proportion of fatalities involving maids falling from heights came about because they were cleaning the window exteriors.

MOM said it will be sending a circular to all existing foreign maid employers to inform them of the tightened safety requirements. The ministry will also be updating its training materials for first-time maids and their employers. MOM warned that failure to comply with these tightened requirements constitutes a breach of the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations. Employers who fail to comply may be prosecuted and permanently barred from hiring a foreign domestic worker. For added deterrence, MOM also plans to raise the penalty for employers prosecuted for failing to provide foreign domestic workers with a safe working environment.

MOM said it intends to double the penalties from the current S$5,000 fine and/or six months' jail to S$10,000 fine and/or 12 months' jail. This is part of the ongoing review of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and its subsidiary legislation later this year, said MOM. The ministry said it is deeply concerned with the recent spate of fatalities involving foreign domestic workers.

Since January this year, there have been nine work-related fall from heights fatalities, compared to four cases for the whole of 2011 and eight in 2010.  The ministry's investigations show that five of the nine fatalities were related to foreign donestic workers cleaning windows in an unsafe manner.  Two arose from hanging laundry, while the causes of the last two are pending further investigation. The ministry said this tragic and unnecessary loss of lives could have been prevented if foreign domestic workers and their employers took safe work practices seriously. 

Previous stories on these deaths here.

Window Cleaning Maids Seek Refuge At Embassy

3 Indonesian maids seek refuge at embassy in Singapore: Three Indonesian maids have sought refuge at their embassy after their employers put their lives at risk by forcing them to clean windows and hang out laundry, they claimed. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that it is now looking into the claims of one of the maids, Yuli Primariyanti, 24. She claimed that her employer made her stand on window sills to clean the exterior window panes of a two-storey bungalow in the east.

Indonesian Embassy Counsellor Sukmo Yuwono said the other two maids declined to submit formal complaints to MOM. Instead, they decided to end their contracts and return to Indonesia. This year, eight Indonesian maids have died after falling while cleaning windows, hanging out laundry, or hanging up curtains in high-rise flats.

Following the spate of deaths, Sukmo urged maids to contact him if they were being made to clean windows and hang out laundry in dangerous ways. The three maids said they ran away as they were each afraid of becoming another casualty. Yuli said she went to her agency on May 3 but was told to return to her employer's home. Unwilling to do so, she went to the embassy the next day.

She had been working for her employer, a housewife, for about two weeks. It was her first time working in Singapore, she said, adding that she is from a village in East Java where there are few high-rise buildings. She said: "I told my employer I was scared to stand on the window sills to clean the windows on the second storey of the house. But she told me I had to do it or she would send me back to Indonesia."

She added that she was made to work for more than 14 hours every day. She has decided to return to Indonesia once investigations into her complaint are completed. Yuli's employer, who is in her 50s and declined to be named, denied her allegations. "She also did not tell me she was unhappy, and just ran away," she said.

An MOM spokesman said it is currently establishing the facts of Yuli's case, adding: "Once a case has been established, investigations can then commence. At this point, it is premature to come to any conclusions." Sukmo said he has not decided what to do about Yuli's employer. He had said previously that employers or agents found to have endangered the lives of Indonesian maids would be blacklisted and barred from hiring them.

The other two maids also claimed they had raised concerns about safety to their employers but were ignored. They went to the embassy on May 2.  Sunarti Warkin, 30, said she was told to stand on a stool and stretch out of the window to clean the exterior window panes of a 15th-floor flat in Bukit Merah every day. Anni Puji Rahayu, 28, said she struggled to balance heavy laundry on long bamboo poles outside her employer's fourth-floor flat in Tampines. Sukmo said he expects more maids to approach the embassy for help.

Maid agents said maids usually run away for a combination of reasons, and it is unlikely that safety concerns were the only reason that compelled them to seek refuge at the embassy. They said it was important that MOM ascertains if these are genuine cases of a maid's life being endangered. Best Home Employment director Tay Khoon Beng said: "The maid must be feeling quite desperate to want to run away to the embassy. But this should be the last resort. They should try to speak to their agent and employer and work things out or get a transfer." There are about 103,000 Indonesian maids in Singapore.

About 1,000 foreign domestic workers attended the event at Kallang Theatre, where they called for a ban on dangerous practices such as the cleaning of exterior window panes. So far this year, it has cost eight such workers their lives.

Singapore to Ban Risky Chores for Indonesian Maids: Ban foreign domestic workers in Singapore from dangerous practices such as the cleaning of exterior window panes - that was the rallying cry of about 1,000 such workers who gathered yesterday at Kallang Theatre to celebrate Mother's Day. The event - organized for the first time by the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (Home), a non-government group - featured performances by the workers, who also shared stories of their employment here.

The festivities were mixed with calls by both activists and the workers to improve safety standards for the migrant community here. Eight Indonesian foreign domestic workers have died this year while cleaning windows, hanging out laundry or hanging up curtains in high-rise flats. Between 2007 and last year, 69 workers here fell from such flats, and 24 of them died. "These women came here to make a living, and they're returning home in coffins because of window-cleaning. It's outrageous," said Bridget Tan, the president of Home.

The group plans to collect 1,000 signed petitions to ban the practice here and submit them to Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin. Home will also reach out to the embassies of countries such as the Philippines and Myanmar, which send large numbers of workers here, to persuade them to enact tougher protection laws.

Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Halimah Yacob, who was the guest of honor at yesterday's event, said the government has introduced measures to improve workers' welfare, such as a mandatory weekly rest day, to take effect from next year. She noted in her speech that domestic workers continue to be among the most vulnerable groups of workers: "Unlike other workers, (they) can feel isolated as they work in individual homes." "They need support and encouragement, especially when they first arrive here, and are beginning to adapt to the new environment and their employers' expectations," she said.

Another maid fell to her death in April 2012. She was the eighth this year. One employer got a safety belt for her domestic helper (shown here) to use while cleaning windows.

$5,000 fine for not ensuring safety of maid who fell to death: SINGAPORE - Madam Gan Hui Leung, 46, has become the first to be convicted this year for failing to ensure the safety of her foreign domestic worker (FDW) who fell from height in Nov 2011 and subsequently died from her injuries. Gan was fined a maximum of $5,000. This is the first case involving a conviction of a maid employer for safety lapses in 2012. The Indonesian maid, Siti Ustima, 25, was employed by Gan from April 20, 2010 to November 11, 2011.

On the afternoon of November 11, 2011, Siti was cleaning the living room windows of Gan's fifth storey flat in Clementi. Shortly after, there was a loud noise and she was found lying on the ground floor. Siti died from multiple injuries. A wooden chair, a red plastic pail and a cleaning spray were later found next to the living room windows of the flat. Investigations revealed that during the employment of Siti Ustima, Gan did not demonstrate or give specific instructions to the FDW on how the windows should be cleaned.

The employer assumed that Siti, who was transferred from another employer, would know how to do so. She had allowed Siti to stand on a stool with the windows and the grilles wide open when cleaning the bedroom and living room windows. She did not stop her from doing so, nor did she ask her to come down from the stool. Gan also did not provide her maid with an extendable window wiper to clean hard-to-reach areas of the windows. Gan was found guilty of violating the Work Permit Conditions for the employment of foreign domestic workers, which is an offence under section 22(1)(a) of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Singapore Maids Banned From Cleaning Outside Windows

Filipino maid Joycelyn Bernadas started wearing a safety belt to clean the windows of her employer's seventh-storey flat two years ago. Her employer Joyce Chua bought the $15 belt from a hardware shop after reading reports of maids falling to their deaths.

Maid wears safety belt before cleaning windows (1.8m nylon rope bought by employer secures Filipino's waist to grille). Singapore. Whenever Filipino maid Joycelyn Bernadas cleans the windows of her employer’s seventh-storey flat, she slips on a safety belt first. The nylon rope secures her waist to the aluminium window grille. Her employer Joyce Chua bought the belt two years ago after reading reports of maids falling to their deaths while cleaning the outside of high-rise windows or hanging out clothes to dry. “She is like our own family member and we can’t afford to lose her,” said Chua, 49.

This year, 11 domestic workers have fallen from a height at work, of which eight died. All eight were Indonesians and had fallen to their deaths while cleaning the outside of windows or hanging laundry out to dry. The spate of accidents has prompted involvement from the Indonesian embassy. Chua bought the 1.8 millimeter belt for about $15 from a hardware shop — she is the director of an electrical and construction company, said her workers use industrial harnesses at work. Her family moved from a landed property to the five-room HDB flat in Chai Chee Avenue about four years ago.

Bernadas, 46, has worked for the family for 20 years. She takes care of Chua’s three daughters and does the housework — she cleans the outside of the windows once or twice a year. Bernadas said she was nervous when they moved to the flat and she had to clean the windows and put out the laundry, and is glad she has the belt. “I think wearing the safety belt is troublesome, but I feel safer with it,” she said. As to why the outside of windows had to be cleaned, Chua said: “A lot of dust collects on the windows over a year so we can’t just stop cleaning altogether. But we won’t force her to reach the parts of the windows that are too high up.”

She acknowledged that using the safety belt may not be a complete lifesaver as the hook is fastened to the aluminum grille, which is not as sturdy as one made of iron. The safety belt is also not approved for industrial use, and is suitable only for light cleaning jobs. “It is not 100 percent safe, but it is still a lifeline,” said Ms Chua. The Ministry of Manpower said that from 2007 to last year, 69 foreign domestic workers fell from a height at work, of which 24 were fatal and 45 non-fatal. The ministry said that maids who fell from heights varied across age, experience and nationalities.

Indonesian Embassy Counsellor Sukmo Yuwono said most of the eight Indonesian maids who fell to their deaths this year had been working in Singapore for less than a year. But incidents in previous years include experienced maids. “It is not an issue of how experienced the maids are,” Sukmo said. “The problem is that Singapore employers make their maids clean the outside of windows and hang laundry outside their apartments. “Employers in Hong Kong do not ask their maids to do things like this and we don’t have the problem of maids falling down there,” he added.

Various government leaders and maid activists have called for more to be done to prevent such deaths. Last month, Madam Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, called for maids to be barred from opening window grilles and for employers to keep the keys to these grilles from their maids. From today, employers of new Indonesian maids working in high-rise buildings must also sign an undertaking to not allow them to hang clothes outside flats and clean the exterior of windows.

Maid agency owners said having the safety clause in the contract is a step in the right direction, but added that the onus is on employers to ensure their maids abide by it. “Employers should not ask their maids to do dangerous tasks. Sometimes, their maids may forget and employers have to remind them that their safety comes first,” said Best Home Employment director Tay Khoon Beng: But some employers said that the new rule was not practical. Sales manager Lynette Lim, 39, who employs an Indonesian maid, said: “How else are we going to hang our clothes?”

Police investigate the death of a 34-year-old Indonesian maid who fell from a window in Singapore recently.

New Rule in Singapore to Curb High-Rise Falls of Indonesian Maids: (Singapore). New Indonesian maids here will no longer be allowed to clean out-facing windows or hang laundry outside high-rise homes. This rule, released by the Indonesian government yesterday to The Straits Times, is part of a contract new maids and their employers will now have to sign before the maids can work here. It is effective from today.

Maid agencies and worker welfare groups said such a clause signals employers to take the maids’ safety seriously. Lawyers, however, said that while the contract may be binding to the signed parties, the rule would be difficult to enforce as no one could monitor what maids do. Responding to this development, the Ministry of Manpower yesterday said that employers should consider this rule when hiring Indonesian maids. It said that there is already a standard employment contract for all foreign maids in Singapore, and that it exercises “rigorous enforcement” when lapses in safety put lives at risk.

The new clause is part of a document that includes other clauses, such as on insurance and salary, and was formerly applicable only to maids renewing their contracts. The document was introduced by the Indonesian government about three years ago. Indonesia Embassy Counsellor Sukmo Yuwono said he hoped applying the clause to new maids would reduce the number of maid deaths from falling. This year, eight have died while cleaning windows, or putting laundry out to dry.

John Gee, an executive committee member of Transient Workers Count Too, a worker welfare group, said that although the Singapore Government was not obliged to enforce the agreement, it was still a step in the right direction. There are about 103,000 Indonesian maids in Singapore.

Also see here, here & here.

Window Cleaning News For Vision Clearance Engineers

Washington: DLI clarifies section of window cleaning standard: The Department of Labor and Industries has added language to the Window Cleaning Safety, Section 5.7.12. The part that was omitted would enable employers to use a rope descent system to above 300 feet in height if the windows cannot be safely and practicably accessed through other means. The addition of the language makes Section 5.7.12 consistent with current requirements in Washington Administrative Code 296-878-20005 pertaining to selecting appropriate rope descent systems. The changes will go into effect June 1. For more information, visit Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

IMPACT43 launch emergency first aid: The HSE approved 'Emergency First Aid at Work' Course has been specially designed for Window Cleaners. The course covers First Aid Management for harness suspension when working at height - and concentrates on a study of the vital business of Suspension Trauma Recovery. Several High Level Window Cleaning Companies have already completed for the course, including London based Gaze a Glaze and Tailor Made Window Cleaning Limited. According to David Willis, Partner at Impact43: ‘The Health and Safety Executive is clear that when contemplating working at height – and in particular when considering the use of a fall arrest system – employers need to consider any emergency or rescue procedures that may be required. It’s important that detailed emergency and effective rescue plans are in place, and companies need to be aware that it is not acceptable practice just to rely on the public emergency services.’
Part of the course will focus on methods of facilitating emergency first aid and the need for correct procedures and instruction. Far too many companies and employees still refer to the incorrect recovery position, for example. ‘Emergency procedures need to be considered for reasonably foreseeable circumstances,’ said David. ‘All measures deemed necessary should be covered in the risk assessment, and suitable plans must be in place prior to any work activity being carried out.’

A Job Title By Any Other Name: Some titles emerge as a sign of the times; for example, Chief Blogger or Search Engine Optimization Specialist. Then, there are some titles that put a new spin on a known job, or have been changed to improve a job’s image or that of the worker doing the job. Yesterday’s Personnel Director became the Human Resources Administrator, which has now morphed into a Talent Strategist. Some companies call their Receptionist team Customer Care Associates to emphasize current trends toward customer loyalty and user-friendly service. It’s all part of new attention given to corporate and personal branding. For some, it helps to emphasize a particular focus or to realign new business goals. I’m all for making sure people have titles that accurately describe what they do and also make them feel good about it, but I do think some of the hype to improve an occupation’s perception is a little over the top. The Brits did a survey of 4,000 workers and polled them on the website www.jobs2view.com to identify “the most daft” job titles. The winner, with 28 percent of the vote, was Vision Clearance Engineer—also known as a Window Washer.

The story of a tiny baby in her fight to cling to life was featured in a television documentary this week. Parents Ian Massey and Marie Wainwright, of Charsley Close, Little Chalfont, were filmed for BBC series Children's Emergency as their premature baby Isabelle battled through numerous health problems in her first few months. Isabelle was born on July 17, 2008, weighing just 1lb 14oz after Marie went into labour suddenly during the 24th week of her pregnancy. Ms Wainwright, 30, said: "I was giving birth to my first child when I had only just come to terms with the fact I was pregnant and getting a little bump. Isabelle, who measured just 23cm long, suffered a heart valve problem, a bleed on the brain, eye and lung difficulties. Her parents could not hold her for the first 18 days of her life. Ian, 32, had to give up four months of work as a self-employed window cleaner so that he could spend time with Marie at Isabelle's bedside.

Proposal 18-A is a local law proposed to amend the administrative code of the City of New York in relation to establishing a prevailing wage requirement for building service employees in buildings owned or managed, in whole or in part, by persons receiving financial assistance or rent derived, in whole or in part, from the city treasury. Essentially, if a building owner were to rent space to any of those tenants, they would be required to increase their payroll to bring all building service workers up to prevailing-wage levels. The term "building service workers" covers a vast array of employees. Such workers are defined as those who perform work in connection with the care or maintenance of an existing building; such work includes window cleaning.

The death of Clapton’s son has been a source of urban legends. Many people believe Clapton was at the apartment and could have prevented the boy’s death, according to media reports. In fact, Clapton, who wrote the hit “Tears in Heaven,” about his son’s death, was at a hotel in NYC and was not in the apartment of the boy’s mother when the death occurred. A cleaning person had just cleaned the window and left it open to vent the room when Conor came running in and fell through the window to his death, according to news reports.

GRAVESEND: Town centre truck pull raises £5,000. A sponsored truck pull through a town centre has raised more than £5,000 for a charity which supports soldiers wounded on the front line. Former soldier John Ball, who was in the Queen’s Regiment, organised the event in Gravesend town centre in aid of Help for Heroes. The 10.5 tonne truck was pulled by Mr Ball and friends from the Royal School of Engineering from Windmill Street to New Road in less than three minutes. Window cleaner Mr Ball, aged 42, said: “The town was ram-packed and there was a fantastic response. “It was quite a task I have to say. “I thought we needed something to liven up the town and it really brought people in.”

Doncaster's Dean Cockburn will make a low-key four round return to the ring at the Dome on Friday night, but he has got his sights on bigger fights in the months ahead. "What I really want to do is to get back down to super-middleweight and to have a crack at the British title," said the former Central Area champion. It is four years since the hard-hitting Cockburn last stepped into the ring and he is the first to admit that he has piled on the weight since he hung up his gloves to due to a combination of losing interest in the sport and wanting to concentrate on building up his window cleaning business.

Rainforths turn 30th anniversary into playgrounds: The traditional 30th anniversary present for married couples is pearls, but long-time locals Lance and Lynne Rainforth are hoping for monkey bars instead. On Sunday, May 30 at 6 p.m. they are hosting an anniversary party and pig roast at the Southside Diner and donating the proceeds to Playground Builders, an organization that builds play areas for children in areas impacted by war and poverty. The Rainforth's have canvassed local businesses for donations to their silent auction, which will include a six-by-six handknit mohair blanket valued over $1,000. Their goal is to raise $3,000 in total, or $100 for every year they've been married. You don't need to know the Rainforths or their company, Great Panes Window Cleaning, to drop by; all are welcome to come out and enjoy the pig roast and party.

ESRI Canada faced other challenges such as winds, loading capacity and logistics for a project located in a busy commercial area of east Toronto, and shares the following items that needed to be addressed: “Wind velocity, particularly nine stories above ground, needed to be factored into plant selection and installation. An 85-ton crane was used to lift a total weight of 260,000 pounds of plant modules, including 100 yards of soil, 56 planter boxes and 4,000 individual modules of live root plants. Further complicating the process was logistics. Crane availability and other logistical considerations in a busy office building meant that work could only be done on Saturdays and Sundays. This was carried out with a crew of eight working 12-hour days for two weekends in early May 2009.” Another reason for doing the crane work over weekends was so that the fire routes were not blocked during working hours. One other interesting challenge was the need to access window washing anchors set within the gravel, which was accomplished through Scott Torrance’s design. The landscape architect positioned the plantings “so that the lines for the window washers go between them. The gravel also keeps people on roof away from the glass.”

Mike Rowe added, though, that nobody follows their passion into “dirty jobs,” angling to work in waste water treatment or do window washing. “You do it because you’re hungry and you’ve found a job nobody else wants to do. And then you do it well, with a good attitude, with an entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “The blind spot that we have right now, socially, is that we don’t look at entrepreneurs and associate them with dirt. We associate them with private jets. And that’s dangerous fiction.” He pointed to the ongoing effort to fund “shovel-fund” projects with federal stimulus funds as an example of why this “fiction” is so troublesome. “I hear Washington D.C. promising 3 million or 4 million ‘shovel-ready’ jobs and I think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great is ‘shovel-ready’ was something people aspired to?’” Rowe noted. “You’re trying to create jobs that have been systematically demeaned for two generations … It’s going to be a tough sell.”

One of Nick Clegg’s first challenges in office will be to avoid being crushed to death by a very large postbag. Yesterday he issued the country an invitation to nominate which laws we would like to be repealed. Nick Clegg is sure to receive a suggestion to relax the rule forbidding the use of ladders in many everyday applications where they used to be used. One Suffolk church was forced to spend £1,300 to have scaffolding erected to change a single lightbulb, a job previously performed without injury by a man with a ladder.

An Indonesian maid (pictured) who sprayed a window cleaning solution onto a plate before serving rice to her employer's mother was jailed for eight weeks on Thursday. Oktiana, 25, did this to get back at Madam Lee Neo Eng, 84, for reprimanding her for being slow in her work on April 14. Oktiana, who was then preparing dinner, sprayed the cleaning solution before scooping some brown rice onto it in the kitchen. She then served it to Madam Lee. Assistant Public Prosecutor Asran Samad said she used the same plate to serve the victim a second time. Madam Lee smelt a suspicious detergent bleach-like odour from the rice just as she was about to eat. The maid eventually admitted to spraying the cleaning solution onto the plate before scooping the rice. She could have been jailed for up to six months and/or fined up to $2,500.

SC Johnson Clarifies: Windex Is Not for Dinner: Don't spray Windex on your food. Apparently, reality show pod-person Kim Kardashian sprays the window-cleaning product on her food, "so I won't eat it," according to a report in the National Enquirer that was widely circulated last week. In a statement on its Web site, titled "Windex is a Household Cleaner," SC Johnson doesn't mention Kardashian, but notes that the company is "aware of recent comments that spraying Windex on food can help reduce calorie intake. As one of the world's largest manufacturers of home-cleaning products, we want to make clear that SC Johnson does NOT recommend ingesting Windex or applying it to food. SC Johnson, a family company believes the best way to maintain a proper weight is to exercise regularly and eat a healthy balanced diet." Not all of the reaction on Twitter to Kardashian's Windex diet consisted of shock and snark. Some had questions or offered advice for other uses for the versatile product. @rickyhurtado wondered: "Does Windex really help for cold sores?" And @Belladonna18 advised: "If you have the urge to run naked through the streets...spray yourself with Windex to keep from streaking."

Green Cleaning Schools

Knoxville High School custodian Sheila Larkins mops the cafeteria on Thursday morning. KHS is already implementing the use of some “green” cleaning products. The Green Cleaning Schools act mandates all Illinois schools buy certified green cleaning products after May 9. New state law requires districts use certified-green cleaning products after May 9. Source: Galesburg.com

“I see a dirty window, and I have to clean it,” said the Knoxville High School day custodian. And she has her preferences when cleaning those windows. A product can’t leave streaks on the glass. Sometimes, she uses paper towels from the restrooms to wipe off the cleaner, equating its effectiveness to newspaper. And just when she thinks she’s gotten it all figured out, a new state law changes the way she works. The Green Cleaning Schools Act, signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich on Aug. 13, 2007, mandates all Illinois schools purchase certified-green cleaning products in six categories — bathroom cleaners; carpet cleaners; general purpose and hard floor surface cleaners; glass, window and mirror cleaners; hand cleaners and hand soaps; and paper products — after May 9. Illinois is only the second state to implement such a law. New York was first, with much more stringent stipulations. Schools may use any remaining non-green cleaners they have on hand after May 9, but all new purchases after that time must be green. Many schools, in order to offset the potential increase in costs, have joined cooperatives allowing them to purchase supplies directly from manufacturers. “They don’t clean as well,” Larkins said of the products moving into her storeroom, but “the vendor can come and make them stronger if we complain about them not cleaning as well.