Cleaning Chemicals
- Save money
- SF Criteria For Green Cleaners
- SF City Staff Green Cleaning Compliance Checklist
- Contract/Lease Language to Buy Green, Recycle, Compost & Get LEED Green Building Credits
- Other Green Industrial Cleaners
- Consumer Green Cleaning Products (e.g., dishwashing)
Save money
Ready-to-use products averaged 15 times more expensive than equivalent, concentrated green products. Aerosols averaged 27 times more expensive than institutional green cleaning chemicals. Buy green to save $95 per janitor per year because of cheaper packaging, shipping, and decreased product use.
SF Criteria For Green Cleaners
Many cleaning products contain hazardous ingredients. Some can cause asthma, central nervous system effects, severe eye damage, or liver and kidney damage. SF Environment developed its own specifications for cleaning products in 2004, as a more rigorous version of the GreenSeal GS-37 ecolabel at that time. The updated Green Seal GS-37 ecolabel (2009) is very similar to our 2004 specification and is recommended for products not covered by the current contract. In some product categories not covered by GS-37, such as drain openers and odor control products, we recommend Ecologo certified products. We have also conducted independent research to find safer disinfectants , floor finishes and floor strippers that meet our performance requirements, and are exploring the use of our own asthmagen/VOC specification.
SF City Staff Green Cleaning Compliance Checklist
1. Buy these REQUIRED products from City contracts:
2. Try other green industrial cleaners or ones at the bottom of this page, such as dishwashing soap from GoodGuide.com. Get them at Rainbow Grocery & possibly other city-approved vendors.
3. Get prizes- order posters to train custodians to use green cleaners, report pests, recycle toxic products.
4. Use the SF City Staff/Dept. Scorecard for Compliance & Prizes.
5. Try the Contract/Lease Language below.
Contract/Lease Language to Buy Green, Prevent Pests, Recycle, Compost & Get LEED Green Building Credits
Use this language to require green janitorial cleaners, equipment, papers, bags; batteries, carpet, lighting, paint, and safer pest management in your building or landscape.
Other Green Industrial Cleaners
See cleaners that are not in the SF Approved List:
- CleanerSolutions Database for product names & reviews by the Toxics Use Reduction Institute.
- Ecologo certified cleaners (e.g., dishwashing)
- Green Seal certified cleaners: (e.g., tile & grout)
Consumer Green Cleaners
Currently, almost all SF Approved cleaners are industrial & only available in bulk. However, you can:
- Make your own cleaners with vinegar, lemon, or baking soda (also available in Chinese & Spanish).
- Get Household Air Fresheners, Dishwashing, Cleaners at GoodGuide.com.
- Bathroom, Tub, Tile
- Carpet Cleaners
- Cleaner Degreasers
- Disinfectants
- Drain Openers
- Floor Finishes
- Floor Strippers
- General Purpose Cleaners
- Glass Cleaners
- Graffiti/Paint Removers
- Hand Soaps
- Metal Cleaners
- Odor Control for Drains, etc.
- Tile & Grout Cleaners
- Toilet / urinal deodorizers (hangers, pucks)
- Toilet Cleaners: Acid
- Toilet Cleaners: Non-Acid
