The new product is a microfiber cleaning technology used mostly in wipes, mops and pads. It uses more water and fewer harmful products, said Michael Smith, supervisor of Academic Custodial Services. The use of microfiber allows water to become the cleaning agent.

It can reduce up to 97 percent of hard-surface bacteria, fungi and viruses, according to the Academic Custodial Services website.

“The journey to (be) green started 10 years ago,” Smith said.

Green practices have no harm on the cleaner, client or environment, Smith said.

“We eliminated more than 60 (chemical) products,” he said.

They had harsh ingredients like bleach, ammonium, butyls and benzene. Chemicals such as these can cause health problems and birth defects, Smith said.

“Green cleaning is not just products but also processes,” said Don Bakkensen, manager of Building Services. “We are some of the national forerunners of green cleaning processes and products.”

After reducing the number of chemical products, the custodial services now uses three main cleaning products: a window cleaner, a neutral cleaner (mostly used for floors) and a disinfectant sanitizer, Smith said.

The custodial services has requirements for their cleaning products.

All their products are “green” certified,  meaning they do not contain toxic ingredients and are made with minimal and recycled packaging, according to the Academic Custodial Services website.

“We plan to remain at the forefront of this effort by continuing to investigate new methods, equipment, and products to use for our cleaning effort,” said Tim Wynn, director of Facilities Management.

Smith said the custodial services would also like to use a floor scrubber that uses only water and no chemical products at all. A machine ionizes the water allowing it to create positive and negative charges and when sprayed on a surface, it clings to the particles and lifts them. In only 45 seconds, the electrically charged water can be turned back into tap water, Smith said.

“This would save major chemical purchase money,” he said.

The technology is still being tested and it will be introduced in the next six months. Using only tap water would save Western money because the custodial services provides cleaning for 131 academic and state-supported facilities, according to their website.

“We believe that we have the ‘greenest’ cleaning methods among higher education institutions in the United States,” Wynn said.

Academic Custodial Services has been a green department since 2003 and a nationally recognized leader in the green cleaning movement since 2000.

In 2009, Western’s Academic Custodial Service received the Green Cleaning Award for Schools and Universities.