Greening everyday activities is becoming an ever-increasing practice across North American households. Although there is plenty of advice available on how to green your life on a small scale, it is hard to know exactly where to start if you want to green your workplace cleaning processes, especially if you manage a warehouse or manufacturing plant that requires frequent cleaning.

Fortunately, some of the same techniques used in greening small-scale operations can be modified and applied to help you green your business, making your workplace more eco-friendly.

Green Detergent

One of the best and simplest ways to green your floor cleaning process is to invest in a detergent made from all natural ingredients with a sustainable manufacturing process. Not using chemical products has two major benefits: it is healthier for your employees who breathe in the air because no harmful chemicals will be taken into their lungs, and the processes involved in producing these chemicals pollute the environment even more than the product itself.

Alternatively, you can make your own green floor detergent in-house. Easy solutions include a 15:1 water:white vinegar ratio, or putting 1/4 cup of natural dishwashing soap into a five gallon tank of warm water. Although vinegar is known to be a bit abrasive, creating a 15:1 ratio with water keeps it safe for both your machine and your floors.

Water Evaporation

Instead of vacuuming the water from the final rinse, you can let it evaporate over night. If you have a large floor space, this is an especially effective tactic to green your floor cleaning process. You save a considerable amount of electricity that would otherwise use up precious natural resources.

Doormats for Entranceways

Even though doormats do not seem to be cleaning related, they are great tools in getting rid of dirt in a clean, green manner. Most doormats are designed to absorb and trap dust and dirt from shoes as people walk over them and enter a room. When the mat gets saturated, the dirt can be easily and naturally disposed of by beating the mat outside.

Say No to Shine

Products that promise a shiny after effect contain oil or wax, which over time creates a grimy build-up. Chances are they are also not natural. The build-up happens slowly, so it is hardly noticed after each cleaning, but it does eventually become grimy and unattractive. Because the build-up is so established, it requires heavy-duty chemical cleaning to get rid of it.

Busting Grime

The secret to busting nasty grime does not have to be a heavy-duty chemical cleaner. If you notice a small amount of grime starting to accumulate, mix baking soda into your green floor cleaning detergent, and the problem will take care of itself after one or two washes.

Greening your floor cleaning process can be done no matter what type of floor cleaning machine you use, but it is especially easy with machines that are heavily dependent on their cleaning tanks to get the job done, like scrubbers and sweeper scrubber combos. Using natural ingredients will not cause any problem with the internal system, so you do not have to worry about machine safety when switching detergents. It is important to keep in mind that your floor may need an occasional wax to keep it healthy and looking good, sometimes cleaning products (even natural ones) can only go so far.