Ice Melt's Place In A Green Cleaning Program

It's getting frigid and greenery is a distant memory (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least!) However, should being green should be a priority? For a lot of people, traditional salt is used to prevent slips and falls, even though it's known to harm the environment. CleanLink is discussing green winter slip prevention.

According to Jan/san distributors, most facility executives in the snow states opt for the status quo when it comes to ice melt: a sodium chloride rock salt that is cheap, effective and easy to apply.

“What the facility executives care about is reducing slips and falls,” says Mark Petruzzi, vice president of Green Seal, adding that in that sense, rock salt does the job. “It’s cheap and it works — to a point.”

As building owners strive for LEED status, and custodial operations managers build their departments around environmentally sound practices, this pervading mentality is changing — and it’s only natural that ice melt manufacturers begin to follow suit.

But, standards on existing “green” ice melters are lacking. While some manufacturers have worked to develop a chemical blend that is both high performing and friendly to the environment, others have been charged with “greenwashing.” The void of information surrounding these products has made choosing a green ice melt especially confusing for buyers.

Read the full article on CleanLink.com.