Have you ever thought about how odd it is that there are warning labels on cleaning products? Think about it: they’re supposed to be eliminating your workplace of the bad stuff (germs!), and although they may be doing this, they shouldn’t be adding another risk/danger to it.
Do you know what type of cleaning products your office cleaners use? Are they using chemicals? Do the products look like bleach? Are they leaving a chemical-like smell behind? (You know, that strong chlorine odour that makes you want to just block your nose and hold your breath.)
If you have replied in your head, yes, to all these questions then your cleaner is likely using cleaning products that include ammonia and chlorine (among other ones) which can be toxic and dangerous.
What’s the alternative then? What products should my cleaners be using at my site?
You may have heard of the term ‘green cleaning’– well, this is the solution. There are cleaning products out there that keep us and our environment healthy and free of toxins. In fact, the use of these toxic-free alternatives is called “green cleaning.”
At In-Tec, our preferred cleaning system in terms of effectiveness and sustainability is Tersano’s Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (SAO).
We even have our own Tersano iClean mini in our office! We use it to clean our desks, lunchroom table, and kitchen benches every day!
Of course, when we started our business 28 years ago, even the thought of green cleaning wasn’t really there. I even remember that we used to use things like Hydrochloric acid to clean with - something that we wouldn’t even think about using today.
However, like some other companies in the commercial cleaning industry, we have come to understand the significance of green cleaning and how it’s important for you, your team, and of course, our planet.
So you may be wondering how far has “green cleaning” come and what can it do? Well, just recently, we have installed a Tersano SAO Dispenser at a large shopping centre on the southside of Brisbane – the client, patrons (shoppers), and cleaners have never been happier!
In this article, we will explain what SAO is, how it works, and the 3 main benefits of using the Tersano SAO system. In other words, why we think it’s a first-rate choice for cleaning any workplace and why you should consider investing in the system:
To begin with, we are going to get a bit nerdy in the next few sections so bear with us. We want to get into the science of SAO to give you the full idea of this fantastic cleaning system!
Tersano’s Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (SAO) is a simple and sustainable way to clean, sanitise, and deodorise everyday surfaces.
SAO is a system that turns water and oxygen into a powerful, safe, and highly effective cleaning agent and sanitiser. Once the job is complete, it reverts safely back to water and oxygen.
It sounds like magic right? How can this even be possible?
Well, the answer is… it’s just proven science (we get into that in the next section). So, how effective is it then?
It kills up to 99.999% of germs – including COVID-19, E. coli, salmonella, MRSA, and more. It also kills bacteria that causes odours, mould, and mildew, and also removes stains and dirt.
The SAO system uses advanced technology to convert oxygen (O2) into ozone (O3) and infuses it into cold tap water. When the ozone molecules interact with the cell wall of germs, bacteria, and viruses, tiny holes are formed which break down the matter – this reaction is called oxidation and is what kills the germs.
If we’re still talking about the technical side of the SAO system, then we should mention dwell time (otherwise known as kill time).
Too often we see people spraying a surface with a disinfectant and then immediately wiping it away with a cloth. For instance, we see a lot of café and restaurant staff do this. However, there is a major issue with this – the disinfectant was not given enough time to kill the germs before it was wiped away.
While the intent is there, the cleaning isn’t actually being done properly.
Dwell time refers to the length you must wait between spraying a solution onto a surface before wiping it away.
How does SAO’s dwell time stack up against any other traditional chemical cleaner?
SAO can destroy various germs in a matter of 0-30 seconds. This means the cleaner only needs to wait for up to 30 seconds until they can wipe down the surface.
Traditional cleaning products, however, destroy germs in a minimum of 2 minutes (the dwell time can go up to 15min!).
That’s quite a big difference, right?
SAO remains an active sanitiser for up to 24 hours and a cleaner for up to 6 days while AO (which can be found in some other cleaning dispensing systems) lasts as a single-use solution for only 15 minutes.
What does this mean?
Well, it means cleaners would need to throw away unused solutions and refill their buckets, bottles, etc. every 15 minutes. This doesn’t seem efficient at all…
There are many benefits to the Tersano SAO system - it has been endorsed by many Fortune 500 companies around the world such as Domino's, Google, and Microsoft, and also local Brisbane schools and hospitals like Redland City Hospital and Sheldon College.
At In-Tec, we have begun to transition to green sustainable cleaning products for all our clients’ sites. As mentioned above, the most recent site where we have implemented this system is a shopping centre in Brisbane, however, the system has been in use at Lexus of Brisbane for well over 5 years now.
Now, you may be wondering, “why do I need something like the Tersano SAO system in my workplace?”
Tersano SAO isn’t just for global organisations or large workspaces. This product is a great fit for any office or space that requires commercial cleaning.
This is exactly why we have put together a detailed list of the top 3 benefits of Tersano and why you need to consider having your cleaners use it on your site.
Often, we think that when a cleaning solution or product has a strong or distinct smell, we believe that that’s how it should be and that it’s doing its job.
But did you know that a good, effective, and environmentally friendly cleaning product should have no smell at all?
The true definition of clean is actually having zero smell. That means no bad odours left behind and no fragrance needing to be used.
Tersano’s SAO has no toxins, chemical residue, dangerous fumes, or carcinogens – it’s able to protect people with allergies or sensitivities. It also has the capability of preventing airborne chemical particles from lingering and affecting people’s health.
But what about the facts/data to back this up?
SAO is 3000 times faster and 50 times stronger than bleach and chlorine-based cleaners. It carries an SDS (safety data sheet) of 0-0-0 which means staff are at ZERO risk from harmful cleaning chemicals.
Now you may be thinking, does it really work?
Can you give me a real-life example of how SAO has helped another business?
Of course, we can give you two!
In a two-year study conducted at an acute care hospital in Canada, it was identified that there were significant health benefits when changing from traditional cleaning chemicals to SAO. The study showed that there was a 100% reduction in skin contact irritants, burning, and redness. Additionally, there was a 100% reduction in inhalation irritation, respiratory corrosion, and breathing interruption.
A case study that’s a bit closer to home is the Redland City Hospital. After using chemical cleaning products throughout the hospital for quite some time, the manager of operational support services, Kelly, decided it was time to switch to an alternative cleaning solution – SAO. It’s safe to say the benefits were substantial.
“We have saved 78,000 litres of chemicals from going into the waterways since February 2015,” says the manager of operational support services, Kelly.
The hospital’s professional cleaners also benefited from SAO, specifically Christina, who suffers from severe allergies. Being in contact with cleaning chemicals was a challenge as it irritated her sinuses and gave her headaches on a daily basis. When the hospital began trialling SAO, “her sensitives just dropped away.”
As you can see the two examples just given are not clients of In-Tec Commercial Cleaning. Of course, we have sites where Tersano has been used for several years and at these sites our clients are extremely happy.
SAO technology is patent-protected and revolutionary. It cleans, sanitises, and deodorises all types of surfaces in one step.
And the list goes on.
SAO is approved for sanitising for up to 24 hours and cleaning for 6 days – it is an effective, innovative, and sustainable cleaning solution.
The all-in-one solution eliminates the need to purchase, distribute, store, and restock inventory of multiple cleaning chemicals and sanitising products.
As of January 2020, SAO has eliminated over 672,453,000 litres of chemicals from going down the drain or into landfills each year…wow!
And because SAO reverts back to water and oxygen after use, it can be disposed of down the drain without harming the environment, it is the ultimate in sustainability - double wow.
SAO also increases sustainability by reducing the use and disposal of plastic packaging – 83% less plastic and 72% less cardboard in our landfills and planet - dare I say it, triple wow.
Many commercial cleaning companies use standard methods of cleaning that require large amounts of water to rinse and flush the strong cleaning chemicals away. Not only is this a waste of water (think about the millions of litres of water being used!) but it is also harmful to the environment due to the chemicals being dumped in rivers, streams, and oceans. In fact, the case study that was conducted at the acute care hospital in Canada found that 90% less water was used when switching from traditional chemical cleaners to SAO.
In a nutshell, Tersano’s SAO is a natural, eco-friendly, and sustainable cleaning system that should be considered for use at any workplace.
As we’ve said, standard disinfectants may have bleach that can hurt or even severely burn your eyes, skin, and lungs if inhaled.
Ammonia-based cleaners can cause lung irritation.
Even air fresheners that most of us have at home or at work can be harmful to our health!
This is what can happen when cleaners use chemical-based cleaning products. Not only does this affect the cleaners who clean your site, but also your employees and your clients.
However, there is a solution, and a fantastic one at that – Tersano SAO. SAO is a simple, sustainable, and environmentally friendly all-in-one solution that kills up to 99.999% of germs.
Unlike other commercial cleaning companies who use cleaning products that come off the supermarket shelf, In-Tec only uses the best. If you’d like to have a chat with us about any questions you may have about Tersano SAO, or even green cleaning, schedule a call with Paul, one of the owners of In-Tec directly.
We’re here to help.