The purpose of cleaning is cleanliness - do we achieve it?

17th of December 2024
The purpose of cleaning is cleanliness - do we achieve it?

For three years a team of industry experts has been gathering material on cleaning ergonomics and conscious cleaning. And asking the question: are we forgetting the core objective of cleaning, which is achieving cleanliness? Does the outcome of cleaning support building users’ and cleaners’ health, or is it detrimental to it? Helge Alt from Puhastusekspert OÜ in Estonia and Tarja Valkosalo of Propuhtaus Finland tell us more.

The purpose of cleaning is to remove dirt and achieve the desired level of cleanliness. Every move you make in the cleaning process should remove dirt. That seems rather self-evident. But, if you look at the cleanliness of rooms, what kind of dirt they have and how the surfaces end up dirty, then it appears that a lot of dirt is actually generated during the cleaning process. For example, there can be sticky layers of cleaning agents or visible wiping and water marks on surfaces. This kind of soiling in turn starts to accumulate until deep cleaning is needed.

This is something to be aware of, because cleaning services should ensure dirt is removed, not spread around. Why does cleaning turn into spreading dirt? There are several reasons for this, such as using wrong methods related to dirt, over-dosing of cleaning agents, using excessively wet cleaning methods that do not involve drying or using dirty equipment.

In any case, cleaning is useless if you’ll end up spreading dirt over surfaces. The problem starts long before the layers of dirt become visible to the eye. Such layers provide particularly good hiding places for microbial debris and a favourable environment for the spread of disease, for example in the context of a pandemic.

We need transformation

In his keynote presentation ‘Time for a Clean Start’ during  Interclean Amsterdam this year German Ramirez said “Let’s face it: cleaning is not a sexy industry, but cleaning needs fresh talent. Change is not enough, you need transformation. It’s important to find the deeper meaning in what you do.”
Changes are happening in all directions: the industry is going digital, robots are being introduced, responsible and environmentally friendly cleaning is becoming increasingly important, etc. Modern society is driving companies to act responsibly and adhere to environmental (E), social (S) and governance (G) principles.

But are we forgetting the core of cleaning, achieving cleanliness? Does the outcome of cleaning support space-users’ and cleaners’ health - or is it detrimental to it?

Cleaning responsibly and efficiently means every movement removes the maximum amount of dirt,
while keeping work tasks as easy as possible and using the least number of resources needed. This is in line with ESG principles. Sticking to routine cleaning activities, such as washing the floor in the same way every day, is often pointless. Dirt is different every day, so there is no need to use the
same methods each time. Needs-based cleaning is the change the industry needs - regardless of equipment, cleaning agents or machines.

What is most important?

Cleanliness plays a bigger role in our daily lives than we think. Research makes it clear that the cleanliness of spaces and the cleaning methods used affect the health of both cleaners and those occupying the spaces. This applies to both mental and physical health, as well as people’s motivation to work. It even plays a role in determining the value of property. The list could go on. At the same time, cleaning is an industry where good results often go unnoticed because cleanliness is seen as the norm. Other challenges include low prices. If you need to save money, cleaning seems to be at the top of the list of things to cut.

Cleaning is medium heavy physical work. As a process and as a result it can be either beneficial or detrimental to health, both in terms of mental and physical health.

However, cleaning consciously can be like a light workout, which is good for physical health. Autonomy and the ability to see the results of their work is an important source of job satisfaction for many cleaners.

At the same time, people in the cleaning industry suffer from occupational illnesses and accidents and may be stressed. In other words, cleaning can be detrimental to health.

So, what determines whether cleaning is good for your health or not? It comes down to conscious actions and ergonomics. It is important to know how to choose the best ergonomic methods to achieve the desired level of cleanliness. If the level of cleanliness is not achieved, the work done and the strain it causes is wasted.

Cleanliness is something we all crave, and a clean environment is an important determinant of human health. Spaces differ in their expected level of cleanliness. It is important to understand what kind of cleanliness is desired and what is the deeper meaning of cleanliness in any given context.

As a customer, everyone should think about the deeper meaning of cleanliness, whether their current activities are more like cleaning or spreading existing dirt, and whether cleaning is beneficial or detrimental to people’s health. Research show that higher cleanliness correlates with higher work satisfaction level and productivity of space-users. That’s good to keep in mind.

For three years, we have been gathering material on cleaning ergonomics and conscious cleaning in the context of a pandemic and conducting real-life tests and experiments in Erasmus+ collaborative projects. The results have surprised even us. The materials produced as a result of the projects are available free of charge to all.

Read more online at: ergoclean.eu/ and: pandemicclean.eu/

 

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