Cleaning Power Begins When Lightning Strikes By: Kathleen Cvitkovic Aqueous ozone can solve many of today’s cleaning challenges by harnessing the power of nature and without introducing harsh formulations into the environment. Kathleen Cvitkovic is the direc-tor of marketing for Tersano Inc., makers of the lotus ® PRO line of aqueous ozone generating units. Ideal for use in the hospitality, healthcare, education and govern-ment industries, the lotus ® PRO line of aqueous ozone generating units has achieved approval from such organizations as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more information about how you can safely harness the power of nature and utilize a sustain-able alternative to harsh cleaning chemicals, please visit www. Tersano.com. A for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Sustainability . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Ozone . A top priority in today’s environment for most of the population is using safe cleaning solutions for everyday needs. As a society, we are moving away from harsh chemical cleaners and are looking at greener, healthier and more sustainable ways to clean to eliminate germs faster and more effectively. Phasing out harsh chemical cleaners can begin with looking at more benign cleaning solu-tions that can be used in their place. Focusing on providing reduced-chemistry alternatives to cleaning such as aqueous ozone can help us become more sustainable as a society. Utilizing ozone as a key cleaning ingredient is not a new technique and is by no means new to the industry. In fact, the technology has existed for over 100 years and has been used for cleaning swimming pools for the Olympics and larger applications. Only recently has this alternative technology become realistic for uses in smaller venues like cleaning common work areas, classrooms and residence halls. However, it is sometimes difficult to compre-hend how this chemical alternative is capable of providing a powerful cleaning solution without using typical harsh chemicals as we are so used to doing over the years. That is why it is important to truly understand how and why sustainable cleaning solutions are the best option and how ozone plays a key role in completing this equation. Ride The Lightning In simple terms, ozone (O 3 ) is created naturally when sunlight or lightning adds an extra oxygen atom to the oxygen (O 2 ) molecules in the air. Some of this ozone is then infused into rain drops, resulting in aqueous ozone. Aqueous ozone can safely be used as a replace-ment for traditional chemical cleaners and kills all known food and human pathogens when used as directed. Ozone is sometimes misunderstood, but has been used in a multitude of ways to effectively clean. Ozone is a powerful sanitizer that, when used as directed, effectively deodorizes, cleans and destroys mold, allergens bacteria and viruses. It is made up of three oxygen atoms and has been used for water treatment, food sanitation and especially as a powerful disinfecting solution in many industries. 12 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • December 2012
CMM – Archives Dec 2012: 12
