As part of Strong Memorial Hospital’s dedication to all aspects of health, Environmental Services (ES) has acquired new cleaning equipment from the sustainable sanitation company Diversey, Inc. The new equipment makes up 10-15% of ES’s fleet and has replaced old models that are now surplused or stored for use as backup.
Diversey, while based in the United States, is more well-known in Europe for its environmentally friendly products and innovative designs. The new machines are part of Diversey’s TASKI line which is known for its water, power, and chemical reductions. All TASKI equipment has “smart chargers” that use less energy and rapidly charge the gel cell battery. Overall the machines use five times less chemicals resulting in a 90% packaging material reduction. Many of the internal parts are recyclable and environmental consideration is taken when manufacturing the parts as well. The prices of the new machines were comparable to similar, less sustainable designs.
The main purchases from TASKI were auto scrubber floor cleaners and carpet cleaners. So far, ES has noticed a significant reduction in both water use and staff training, amounting to a win-win situation. Typically, scrubbing floors requires time for drying to occur. But, the floor scrubbers have smaller water tanks and leave less water on the floor after cleaning. Since water does not sit on the floor and contribute to mold or mildew, this improves overall indoor air quality and diminishes the risk for slipping and falling.
The carpet cleaners are innovative in that instead of the soaking the carpet with chemicals and air drying, risking mold and mildew, the machine spreads highly effective dry foam that releases dirt’s hold on carpet fibers. Again, not only is this better for indoor air quality, but has also demonstrated to be more effective at cleaning.
Furthermore, the machines have color coded controls designed for improved usability. Ease in use means it is simpler to train staff and thus they will be less likely to cause an error that would waste time and materials. The equipment also has pre-loaded chemical packets that control delivery of chemicals on the floor and prevent human error.
While some green cleaning equipment is less efficient and requires more effort due to reduced chemical strength compared to the older equipment, ES report no such change in their operations. The TASKI auto scrubbers clean the same or more square footage with less water. They do not need to make up any cleaning efforts when using the TASKI machines.
In future purchasing, ES hopes to continue using TASKI products (or those similarly designed) and expand their fleet of sustainable equipment. For more information, contact Tanya Henry at thenry@facilities.rochester.edu.
By Alanna Scheinerman, Class of 2013
Personally I think that while doing residential cleaning it is best to use simple tools that are energy efficient like in http://www.thoroughclean.ca/. Do the tools given above satisfy the criteria?
A few years ago we purchased a similar stand on scrubber having a vinyl bladder system. The bladder connections leak between solution and recovery sides causing cross contamination and considerable time to repair connections. I wish Taski was available at the time since it has dedicated poly tanks.
This is really an interesting article about New Equipment for Strong Environmental Services, thanks a lot
We might use something similar for our offices.
I wonder what kind of battery life that Rochester manages to get out of the TASKI floor cleaners?