As cleaning companies we work with an assortment of cleaning chemicals. Your employees need to know how to use all chemicals they work with and be aware of where the MSDS sheets are for the products they use.

Following are safety tips that apply to the use of any product they may be using.

• Never mix chemicals.
• Measure all chemicals and mix according to the label directions. If the directions say one ounce of product to four gallons of water, keep those ratios even if you are mixing a smaller quantity. Too weak a solution may not provide the cleaning power you need; too strong a solution wastes chemical and may cause damage to surfaces or injuries to employees.
• Never use chemicals that are in an unlabeled container. Employees should never sniff, taste or try to guess what is in the container.
• Employees need to know what chemicals they are to use for each particular cleaning task and how to use that chemical properly.
• Clean spills immediately. Before cleaning the spill, employees should put on protective goggles and latex or rubber gloves. If the spill is on a hard surface carefully mop up the spill. If the spill is on carpet absorb it with a white rag. Use another damp white rag to blot the spill. Report spills to a supervisor in case it needs to be further extracted from the carpet.
• Eye protection, gloves and other protective clothing may be necessary when working with some cleaning chemicals. Employees need to know what protective gear to use when working with chemicals. Using chemicals correctly helps make cleaning tasks go quicker. Make sure your employees follow all of your company's specific guidelines when working with chemicals.

  Copyright (c) The Janitorial Store (TM)

Steve Hanson

Steve Hanson, President of TheJanitorialStore.com, has over 20 years of experience as a building service contractor. His first company was located in Boise, Idaho. In 2002 he sold the business and relocated to Minnesota where he started a new commercial cleaning company and a janitorial supplies distributor company.

Steve always had the desire to begin an online community for building service contractors. So much of what is available in this industry is for much larger janitorial companies -- there aren't many places online for people who are just getting started, or people who already have a small, successful cleaning business, but would like to take their business to the next level. So in 2005 he started TheJanitorialStore.com.

TheJanitorialStore.com is a community for owners of small commercial cleaning companies that is designed to allow subscribers to ask questions, participate in tele-seminars, find training programs designed for the smaller company, share their knowledge in telephone and online discussion forums, read new articles every week, and much more.