Newlife Cleaning Systems is a nationally operating cleaning organisation, located on Beach Road in South Shields.  The company has provided a high quality, cost-effective service across the cleaning industry for over 30 years.  Taught by years of experience and intent on providing a package that is both modern and relevant, Newlife have worked hard to obtain a prestigious award, which will allow them to clean up more than just their contract work.

Newlife Cleaning Systems have been granted an ISO 14001: 2004 certificate, acknowledged worldwide for being the highest environmental award that an organisation can attain.  To obtain the award, Newlife Cleaning Systems had to operate an Environmental Management System that adhered to the strict guidelines set in place by the ISO award.

Managing Director of Newlife, Phil Dixon, explains why it was important for the company to obtain the certificate:

“We live in a time where the preservation of the environment is more important than ever, so it became essential for us to update our service to include this.  Having researched many avenues, we decided that the ISO 14001: 2004 was the most relevant and esteemed certificate we could find, and we set our sights on earning it.”

ISO is the International Organisation for Standardization and is responsible for developing and publishing standards on an extensive variety of topics.  ISO is the largest organisation of its kind in the world; affiliated with 162 countries it has a Central Secretariat based in Geneva.  The standards and regulations they set are completely inclusive; applicable to both the public and private sectors, they are without any governmental influence.  ISO ensure that both the requirements of the business and the needs of wider society are met.

To be awarded with the ISO 14001:2004, Newlife had to learn how to become environmentally friendly; reducing the waste produced in their cleaning process, learning how to recycle and to make environmentally sound decisions.  They also had to prove that they strictly followed the official environmental legislations expected of them.  The certificate was only awarded when Newlife provided evidence that their Environmental Management System’s policies, plans and actions were made using the ISO 14001:2004 certificate’s framework; including their organisation’s activities, services and choice of products.

Phil Dixon looks forward to the future of his company with this award is in place:

“We are extremely proud to be working in accordance with the award.  We are now subject to annual reviews to ensure these standards are being maintained, and we will endeavour to continually improve and update our Environmental Management Systems as time progresses.

“We can now guarantee that every process we execute, piece of equipment we operate or product we use, is in compliance with the standards set by this certificate.  As a client of this company, the ISO 14001:2004 gives you the guarantee that you are working with an environmentally conscious organisation that conforms to the legal standards and obligations expected from them.

To know more about the services Newlife Cleaning Systems provide, visit www.newlifecleaning.com or telephone 0800 018 9099 with your enquiry.

Ends: 14.06.11

Notes to editor:

• Interviews with anyone from Newlife Cleaning Systems can be made by contacting Shaun Causer on 0800 018 9099.
• Newlife Cleaning System? can be found at 7 Beach Road, South Shields, NE33 2QA.
• Information on ISO, and the ISO 14001: 2004 can be found at http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_14000_essentials.

Next time you’re in a queue or simply ambling along window shopping cast your eyes downwards and play the game of counting the number of bits of trodden in chewing gum that you can see. Yes all those black or white stains are simply trodden in gum, spat out by Joe Public and there are millions of them out there.

This scourge is increasing exponentially as anti-smoking initiatives drive people to change their habits but older habits die hard and just like ciggie butts used to be discarded without a thought so it is with gum despite the exhortations’ on the packaging.

It has been estimated that the ongoing clean up war against gum costs local authorities – that is you and me the taxpayer, between £150 – £200m a year to remove. Even then the effectiveness of the removal is only visible for a matter of days.

Also this cost doesn’t take into account the disruption caused by the use of steam cleaners, pressure washers and the esoteric range of chemicals used to dissolve the offending staining. There is also the initially unseen damage caused to block paving and the de rigueur expensive pavoirs s by the ‘blowing out’ of the sand between the blocks. This causes the loss of the integral strength of the walkway leading to slumping and movement of the actual blocks themselves which in turn is further exacerbated by the weight and torque of mechanical street cleaning sweepers leading to ruts and potentially expensive ‘slips and trips’ claims.

The answer may be at hand though with the development of a new form of chewing gum polymer which it is claimed does not effect the chewability or ‘mouth texture’ of the gum and which doesn’t require any changes in the actual production process of making the ‘chewie’ This last point is crucial if there is to be any form of take-up by the major international manufacturers who are governed by the bottom line and the need for affordability with such a spur-of-the-moment purchase.

These new polymers, if adopted, will lead to gums which are either easier to remove using simply water and abrasive action or which will degrade within 6 months to a fine powder. These benefits are not restricted solely to hard surfaces but are also effective on clothes, shoes and hair which will delight any mother who has children.

Approved by U.S. food safety authorities and currently going through the final stages of European approval it is hoped that the product could soon be adopted by the big names in the gum world such as Wrigley or Kraft. Alternatively, if the take up requires extra momentum, we could take a leaf out of the 10 year old, successful Singaporean method of addressing the problem and simply make the import and sale of non-medicinal gum illegal and backed up with heavy fines.

Columbus Dixon Jan 2011

In it he willingly shares 56 years experience in the industry with a career spanning window cleaning to building cleaning contractor then on into manufacturing of cleaning equipment based and designed on his many years of practice in the field.

What this book is about is one mans quest to explain the importance of professional cleaning.

It is mandatory reading for all Newlife Cleaning Systems Area Managers which is the highest endorsement we can give.

It doesn’t matter whether you have just started your first commercial contract or you’re a facility manager with a ‘slip and trip’ problem in your client’s kitchens. The answer is in this personal journey to excellence.

A limited number of copies are available, P+P free, to the first 50 readers who register their interest.

please email sales.national@newlifecleaning.com with your postage and contact details

Columbus Dixon Aug 2010

The consultation document in circulation to member states is suggesting power reductions to 0.5kW within four years, taking us back to the world of the Hoover Junior of the 1960’s.

Many models on the market today operate with power ratings which could boil a kettle so is this a case of straight bananas or is there merit in the proposals?

In the UK the manufacturer of the ubiquitous Henry range of tub vacuums already has lower powered machines on the market such as the James JVP 180A.

In this case the VP stands for variable power which allows the user to switch from a 800 watt sucking mode down to 500 watts depending on the texture of the surface being cleaned.

Slickly styled in true marketing speak as an AutoSave energy conservation system this rings bells with anyone wanting to prove their green credentials especially with the addition of Hepa filters

But it hasn’t always been the case that the bigger the motor the more ‘suck’ it has. Remember the Kirby? Sold by a direct sales force of hyped up, commission led disciples who started the day chanting their company mantra in the ‘80’s.

According to James Brown, curator of the Mr Vacuum Cleaner museum in Nottingham, this was the Rolls Royce of vacs in its day yet only operated on 580W. And as anyone subjected to an onsite mattress cleaning demonstration by a Kirby salesman can attest, it was certainly effective.

But the Kirby and originally the Hoover were of USA origin whereas the Numatic is solidly British. Could this be the perfect opportunity for both Numatic and the British designed Dyson to showcase cutting edge British design and engineering skills and further reinforce their positions in the global market place?

Columbus Dixon June 2010

The benefits of the Liquid Glass are numerous. Alongside being food safe and environmentally friendly it is also scratch resistant and corrosion resistant. The coatings are around 500 times thinner than a human hair and so are not visible to the naked eye. One benefit of this is that they can be used to coat domestic products such as settees in order to protect the surface and also make cleaning an easier process. The stain resistant coating even allows protected surfaces to be cleaned with water alone, this reduces the need for cleaning chemicals and so benefits the environment. The green credentials of Liquid Glass contributed to it winning the Green Apple Award and its anti-bacterial properties also earned it the NHS Smart Solutions Award.

It is the versatility of Liquid Glass that is truly remarkable. It can be used in almost any environment to reduce cleaning costs by both reducing the frequency of cleans and the duration of the cleaning process. These properties make it an invaluable tool when tackling jobs such as large scale window cleaning where one coating on the outer layer of glass would drastically reduce the costs involved in such a large scale operation. Perhaps the owners of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, should bare in mind the benefits of nanotechnology and especially liquid glass as it could well be the most versatile coating in the world.

Consider for example the phenomenon that our Bane-Clene Carpet cleaning division call “Uglied Out”

Most carpet specifiers and major users don’t realise that carpets are actually designed to hide dirt. When I was a child in the 50’s, the majority of carpeting in most homes was a square of patterned woollen carpet surrounded by a perimeter of “lino”. Once a year the carpet would be taken outside, hung over the washing line then literally beaten to release the dirt and grit that had been absorbed even though the carpet had been ”Hoovered” regularly. It would then be wet cleaned either by hand scrubbing or if you were high-tech using 1001 carpet cleaning detergent. Forget hot water extraction, I don’t think it existed then and if you were going to scrub a commercial installation it was a case of using a high foaming detergent and a low speed polisher fitted with a scrubbing head and tank.

Now most carpeting is made with new generation fibres and man made backing materials. Whereas dust and grit has always fallen to the base of the pile tufts with this new generation, often triangular shaped fibres, the soil is even more hidden from the naked eye. The result is that instead of doing an annual “Spring Clean” now, carpet cleaning only gets done when the carpet can’t physically absorb any more dirt and it becomes visible to the naked eye.

Unlike the natural fibres of yore the dirt and soil abrades the new generation fibres causing them to lose their lustre and distort. The net result is dirty dingy traffic lanes set into a carpet packed with pounds of dirt and grit to the square metre. This is the point where we say the carpet has “uglied out” not worn out. And it’s all due to the lack of a basic maintenance programme.

What happens next though is the environmental disaster. With the carpet past the point that a restoration clean can save it, the only option is dumping it to waste. But unlike natural fibre carpets whose final journey could often be to the bottom of the garden where it was used as a weed suppressant or compost cover, new generation fibres and backing do not degrade and get absorbed back into the soil. Just like plastic bags it is estimated that they can take up to 50 years to rot and disappear.

How can you help stop this waste of resources and damage to the natural environment? Well if up to 80% of the contaminants in a carpet are dry soil, the simple answer is the use of vacuum cleaner on as regular basis as your premises needs. Pay double attention to entrances and high traffic zones, use dust mats to trap dirt and reduce the amount being tracked into your building in the first place. Above all though implement a proper planned maintenance-cleaning programme. Just because your carpets can look clean doesn’t mean that they are.

Columbus Dixon

If you understand the advantages of green cleaning and have decided to implement a programme, how do you go about choosing the right one? What elements separate superior green cleaning plans from the rest? Below are some features to carefully consider when evaluating a programme prior to implementation.

1. A Holistic Approach

When it comes to maintaining a healthy facility, all areas – from entranceways to toilet areas to HVAC systems – affect the indoor environment. In choosing a green cleaning programme, make sure that the provider looks at your building holistically, considering the building’s purpose and uses.

Because entranceways serve as gateways for pollutants entering the building, a good programme will begin there. While traditional cleaning methods attempt to control this dirt after it enters and spreads throughout the building, effective green cleaning focuses on trapping and removing contaminants at this point of entry. Cleaning chemicals, processes and equipment, ventilation systems, waste removal, and even occupant habits are other areas that a holistic green cleaning programme will address.

2. A Beyond-the-Surface Focus

The primary intent of most cleaning programs is to leave surfaces looking spotless and dirt free. Green cleaning programs should go far beyond this, however. Dirt, bacteria, mould and other pollutants may not be seen, but they can certainly affect the indoor air quality. Green cleaning programmes aim to remove harmful particles from the air, not add to the problem by using harsh chemicals.

Although it may be difficult to judge how well a green cleaning programme has removed unseen particles, you can ask about equipment used to make sure that it is efficient and well maintained. Steps that facility maintenance providers can take to demonstrate a beyond-the-surface focus include emptying vacuum bags when half full and the use of Hepa filters to reduce particulate emissions into the work atmosphere. Even something as simple as a dusting cloth can make a difference: A microfibre cloth captures dust, rather than just moving it around. These small measures ensure that the equipment and processes contribute to, rather than counteract, the effectiveness of your programme.

3. Products and Services Offered

The products used in green cleaning play a vital role in the programme’s success. Products should qualify for third-party certification by organisations such as Green Seal. Unlike traditional cleaning products, these certified chemicals and equipment are designed to work effectively, while minimising environmental impact and decreasing risks to health and safety.  Here at Newlife HQ we both minimise water usage and avoid the use of harsh acidic products when cleaning urinals by the use of microbiological toilet blocks. (Refer to earlier Blogs to determine the water and financial savings possible which are most attract to heavy users such as hotels, schools and colleges)

4. Knowledgeable Employees

Employees who will be designing and implementing your green cleaning programme must understand the objectives of green cleaning, as well as their own role in the process. Cleaning staff should know each product’s designated use, green cleaning processes and equipment maintenance procedures. Regular inspections and quality control programs ensure that employees’ work meets high standards. The best facilities maintenance providers also continually train their employees on the best practices in green cleaning.

5. Educational and Communication Programmes

A truly professional green cleaning provider goes beyond the tactical implementation of cleaning strategies to become your partner in creating a healthier environment. Most successful programmes include regular communications so that building occupants and facility stakeholders understand the importance of green cleaning and what they can do to make a difference. For example, improper care of live plants can increase contamination levels and require strong pesticides that counteract the green cleaning programme. When occupants know of such risks, they can become a true part of the green cleaning process.

Small actions, including minimising clutter and eating only in designated areas, can go a long way in ensuring a healthy environment. Facility users and tenants should also know whom to contact and how to react to a spill or contamination. The faster such situations are dealt with, the less harm they do to your facility.

Communicating your green programme to the community and building occupants helps you reap the benefits of being a socially conscience facility or business. You will attract the growing numbers of people who care about protecting the earth’s resources and improving indoor air quality.

These five features of effective green cleaning programs may apply to your facility in different ways. Each facility has unique goals, and each maintenance provider will bring its own set of expertise to a project. The provider you choose should recognise your goals and offer customised services and products that ensure your programme’s success.

We suggested the benefits of a microbiological led approach to dealing with the bacteria that are the source of urinal smells.

Since then we have carried out the first of a number of trials using these products on our own facilities. This three-month trial will be repeated over the coming months using a variety of competing though similar biologically based cleaning and maintenance products.

Our first test product was Eco-Cubes available from www.eco-works.co.uk and was tested 25/02/09 – 25/05/09

For a charge of £60+vat for a trial pack we received 50 Eco-cubes, 1 litre of biological cleaner, a normal trigger spray and clear, simply understood laminated instructions for use by our cleaner.

The facilities being cleaned consisted of two urinals currently being used 50+ times per day with 70% of users favouring one particular urinal. We had only occupied the premises for a short period of 5 months and previously the facilities were subject to two or three times this level of usage by the original workforce.

Prior to the trial the urinal bottle traps were removed and thoroughly cleaned to remove scale build up. The waste pipes leading to the drainage system were not de-scaled immediately as this involved removing pipework that had been hidden behind fitted sinks. The water supply to the header tank was turned off.

Following the easy to use instructions 1 cube was placed in each urinal and the diluted washroom cleaner was used to clean the urinal, wall and floor surfaces around the immediate area. The urinal was then flushed with 3 litres of water.

Within days a noticeable difference to the smell of the whole facility was apparent. In addition the cleaner sprayed on the wall and floor surfaces thoroughly cleaned the area and lightened the grouting (especially the horizontal areas due to the longer dwell time) and also an area of Altro flooring underneath the more heavily used urinal which previously was stained / burnt by urine.

Normal daily cleaning took place till 17/04/09 when it became apparent that the urinals were not draining properly. On removing the traps and pipework it became apparent that there was a massive build up of loose scale within the drainage pipework. This was manually cleaned away and the water flow returned to normal and remained so throughout the balance of the trial period.

We believe that we may have compromised the trial by not descaling all the drainage pipework from the start as it was apparent that the blockage was caused by scale being sloughed off the inside of the pipework in large pieces as the biological cleaner attacked this build-up daily.

On completion of the trial we had 20 cubes remaining and 250mm of Washroom Cleaner.

SUMMARY

The product was clearly capable of performing the cleaning task and produced a pleasant fragrance. By not adequately descaling the complete length of the drainage pipework we compromised the initial trail. It is intended to maintain the test programme till the end of August 2009 at which point all the pipework will be opened up to see if the build up has returned. No water was added to the urinals other than the 3 litres used daily in the cleaning programme.

The only negative observation made was that the appearance of the cubes in the urinal soon changed from a dark green/blue cube to a washed out irregular shape as it broke down in the urinal which was not aesthetically attractive.

The trial will continue till all the product is used at which point it will be possible to give an exact idea of the cost per urinal per day.

Columbus Dixon

The negative came from a number of our service clients who complained that they weren’t receiving “this modern green way of cleaning” in direct reference to using biological cleaners in their toilets. We had to point out that though they were 100% correct, they didn’t actually need this method of cleaning as the level of usage in their office urinals were such that there was no problem.

There is a big difference in cleaning needs between a Senior Partners personal washroom and what happens at half time at St James’ Park, home of the Magpies!

On a more positive note by coincidence there was an excellent article in Jan Hobb’s www.thecleanzine.com this week on greening your washroom cleaning programme. This caused me to further research the use of toilet blocks, which we as a company have avoided for many years due to the para dichlorobenzene they release into the water system.

Quite simply my research indicated that I had terribly underplayed the financial benefits that can be achieved particularly with urinals by implementing a microbiological cleaning programme. Look at the following facts:

• The use of ‘green’ blocks can reduce flushing water consumption by 98% and saves you money on your water and sewerage bill! (remember when your supply is metered your sewerage charge is based on the input clean water volume) as there is no need to flush the fixture more than once every 6 hours instead of every 15 minutes, 24/7.
• The average urinal, flushing every 15 minutes wastes 151,000 litres of water a year. In the UK this can costs around £250 per urinal per annum. Using ‘green’ blocks this is reduced by 98%. When you multiply the savings per urinal by the number of urinal bays in your premises, the overall savings can be substantial….
• A small hotel or pub could save 982,800 litres a year (£1,670). A school, college, office or production facility with 500 male students or workers could save 2,850,000 litres a year (£4,8450). A large shopping centre could save a massive 13,000,000 litres (£22,100) of precious fresh water a year.

When one considers that in addition:

• There are no capital costs involved.
• Other toilet cleaning products are no longer required.
• Blockages and slow draining fixtures become a thing of the past.
• You don’t need to get involved in ongoing maintenance contracts.

It becomes obvious that you have nothing to lose but toilet smells by carrying out a trial on your own premises.

To receive our fact sheet to help you organise your own in house trial please contact andy.dixon@newlifecleaning.com. By providing costed examples of the savings potential and simple instruction sheets for your cleaning supervisor and staff you will be able to present irrefutable evidence of the cost/savings benefits within 12 weeks. ]]> http://www.newlifecleaning.com/blog/2009/05/how-many-microbes-does-it-take-to-clean-a-smelly-urinal/feed/ 0 http://www.newlifecleaning.com/blog/2009/05/we-all-nose-about-it-washroom-blues/ http://www.newlifecleaning.com/blog/2009/05/we-all-nose-about-it-washroom-blues/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 16:10:00 +0000 Phil Dixon http://www.newlifecleaning.com/blog/?p=3 Comparable to food preparation areas, washroom cleaning demands critical attention to detail if clean and hygienic standards are to be maintained.

In retail premises, for example, not only does the cleanliness of the facilities impact on the whole shopping experience, but there is a proven correlation between cleaning standards and bottom line profits. Why do you think McDonald’s has pioneered high visibility daytime cleaning in the UK? Even Weatherspoons, every CAMRA members delight, has attributed some of their profit growth to the fact that the British Toilet Association recognise their commitment to improving their ’small rooms’ standards of cleanliness by awarding them a Loo of The Year Award.

Why then do we still all know premises where, even after the toilets have been cleaned, you make sure you touch as little as possible and perhaps even use a tissue or elbow to open the door to get out? Imagine you were a mother out shopping, struggling with a pushchair and two toddlers wanting a “wee-wee Mum” in such a facility. How would you feel then?

Cleaning is meant to be high priority everywhere these days. We’ve all seen those ‘These toilets are cleaned every hour’ signs: but how often do our noses give us an instant negative judgement on the state of the facility the moment we open the door?

Too often, companies simply throw money at the effect not the cause! This results in the excessive use of air sprays, automatic fresheners and even the old-fashioned toilet block.

The truth is none of these works! All they do is to mask the smell, but the root cause – decomposing urine, faeces and other bodily matter is lodged in every crevice, grout line and flooring joint in the facility.

Take a mirror and see for yourself. Look around the interior edges of urinals, under the flushing rim of toilet bowls, down the back of sinks and around the base of the toilet pan. Yuk! That yellowish build up is ‘Meals on Wheels’ for the bacteria that cause ‘toilet smells’.

The simplest and most effective treatment is readily available and has been for 15 years but it is still a big secret. The answer is biotechnology.

Quite simply this involves killing the bad bacteria, which causes the offensive smells by using ‘good bacteria’ to break down their food source of human solids and fluids.

A comprehensive, simple-to-follow cleaning programme using extremely safe biological products only takes eight weeks to prove its effectiveness – by the impartial “nose test”.

The economic benefits are just as noticeable. No longer do you need to buy and store vast amounts of chemicals and then train staff how to use each one. You will remove the need for bleaches, blocks, detergents and de-scalers usually used in toilet cleaning (albeit ineffectually) and you also improve your environmental credentials at a stroke!

High usage facilities such as airports, office complexes and sports stadiums can often suffer from additional problems, especially in the urinals. Here the extensive uric scale build-up not only causes smells but can also slow drain flow or cause regular expensive blockages in the pipework. By installing a simple-to-fit insert into the urinal trap which drip feeds benign bacteria into the urinal U bend, it’s possible to remove all deposits and associated smells quickly and inexpensively.

Simple solutions for an age old problem!