The air inside your building may be making your team sick. And your cleaning program might be part of the problem.
Research has consistently shown that indoor air quality is directly tied to occupant health. The EPA estimates that indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. For facility managers, that's not just a health concern. It's an operational one. Sick days, low energy, complaints about headaches and allergies... these aren't random. They often trace back to what's in the air.
Where the problem starts
Most commercial buildings recirculate the same air through HVAC systems. That means every contaminant introduced into the space, whether from cleaning chemicals, dust, or synthetic building materials, gets cycled through again and again.
Standard cleaning products release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to poor air quality. Traditional vacuum cleaners without HEPA filtration push fine dust particles back into circulation. Over time, this creates a building environment that actively works against the health of everyone inside.
What facility managers can do
The solution isn't to stop cleaning. It's to clean smarter. Green cleaning programs that use EPA-approved, non-toxic products eliminate the chemical off-gassing problem. HEPA filtration vacuums trap particles down to a fraction of a micron instead of redistributing them. Microfiber systems capture and contain contaminants rather than spreading them.
A school district in Syracuse, New York switched to green cleaning products and saw a significant improvement in student attendance, even though students didn't know the change had been made. The air quality improvement alone was enough to reduce sick days.
The bottom line for your facility
If your janitorial provider is using standard chemical products and conventional equipment, they may be contributing to the very health problems your team is experiencing. A managed cleaning program built around green products and proper filtration doesn't cost more. But it changes the air your people breathe every day.
Delta Janitorial Systems manages green cleaning programs across Dallas-Fort Worth using EPA-approved products, HEPA filtration, and microfiber systems. Schedule a free walkthrough and let us show you the difference.