CM/Spotlight: Hard Floor Care ProTeam Inc. Sustainable Cleaning Company Uses ProTeam Backpacks To Improve IAQ ® R Ruben Rives is the owner and founder of H 2 Only Renewable Cleaning, a contract cleaning company dedicated to using only safe, effective and sustainable methods. He has pioneered a toxic-free approach to cleaning in efforts to create a healthier indoor environment. This goes hand-in-hand with using ProTeam ® backpack vacuums to reduce dust and improve Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). “Dust is a mode of transport for bacte-ria,” said Rives. “So if you have less dust, the bacteria have no taxicabs to spread around the school.” Rives’s staff cleans 20 facilities in the Southeast United States. Most of them are schools. Rives says that in settings with stu-dents pre-K to second grade, vacuuming is all the more crucial, because students spend much of their time working and playing on the floor. Rives was introduced to backpack vac-uums two years ago by cleaning con-sultant Rex Morrison who specializes in school environments. Previously, he used upright vacuums for carpeting and brooms for hard flooring. When his staff swept hard floors, he noticed they were doing more harm than good. “If you use a broom, you’re not really picking up anything. You are just sweep-ing it into the air, and it’s going to settle later,” said Rives. “With the backpack, you pick up more dirt and dust faster. It’s very important that you pick up more dust because of allergies.” ProTeam backpacks capture and con-tain dust in four levels of filters. Each filter captures different sized par-ticles of pollen, bacteria, mold and other impurities. The air that exits the vacuum exhaust has been purged of 99.97 percent of aller-gens and asthma triggers 0.3 microns or larger, leaving behind healthier air. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), environmental hazards pose a greater risk to children because their bodies are still develop-ing. Due to their vulnerability, insufficient cleaning can cause serious health prob-lems. Many scientific studies have linked IAQ to student health, academic performance and attendance. “We contribute to less absenteeism,” said Rives. “We contribute to healthier kids.” For Rives, it all comes down to health — the environmental wellness of the building, the health of the students and faculty who occupy it, and the health of his staff as they clean. “ProTeam backpacks are easier to man-age,” said Rives. “They are more ergo-nomic, so there is less strain for the people who wear them.” Learn more about renewable cleaning at www.H2OnlyRenewableCleaning.com. CM FREE INFO: Reader Service 301 or CMMOnline.com/freeinfo This information was provided by ProTeam as part of a paid advertisement. For more information, contact ProTeam directly at (866) 888-2168 or visit www.ProTeamNextGen.com. 26 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® April 2014
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