Spruce Industries Blog Page

Another MRSA Health Warning

March 9, 2009 – 2:41 am by Daniel Josephs
I've got more MRSA news and it isn't good.  A new study by the University of Miami found that MRSA, the life-threatening, drug-resistant form of staph bacteria, has now made its way from human beings into both seawater and the sand. The study performed in South Florida found that 3% of the water sampled contained MRSA.  This doesn't mean everyone should avoid going in the water or playing in the sand.  Most healthy people will not get an infection from contact with bacteria in seawater but it does mean precautions need to be taken.  If you have an open wound, you shouldn't go into the ocean or a swimming pool. Just another thing to worry about besides JAWS.

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Paper Towels Beat Dryers - Hands Down!

March 6, 2009 – 11:38 pm by Daniel Josephs
A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Westminster, London showed that drying one’s hands with paper towels results in a significant decrease in the amount of bacteria found on one’s hands.  Great news for paper towels, bad news for both warm traditional air dryers and the new high-speed jet air dryers. If you choose to use a regular air-dryer, then just know that you are: (a) Running the risk of increasing the amount of bacteria on your hands (b) Potentially contaminating other washroom users by spreading germs (c) Causing harm to the environment which could be avoided The study further stated that if you were presented with the choice of using hand dryers or not washing your hands, the better choice is to NOT wash your hands.   To me, this is simply incredible and I therefore feel compelled to share this quote from Keith Redway, a Senior Academic in the Department ...

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Green Legislation for New Jersey Schools

March 2, 2009 – 3:22 am by Daniel Josephs
Green Legislation is coming to New Jersey Schools. If you are involved with schools in New Jersey you will be affected. In 2007, Acting Governor Richard Codey signed an executive order directing all state agencies to purchase environmentally friendly cleaning products. However, legislative regulations have not been adopted to clearly define product specifications. The NJSSA (New Jersey Sanitary Supply Association) has recent taken the lead to make Green Cleaning Legislation in Schools a reality.  For information or if you would like to contribute please contact the NJSSA. New Jersey Sanitary Supply Association Phone: 973-283-1400 Website: http://www.njssa.net

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Missouri Schools Go Green

January 19, 2009 – 3:14 pm by Daniel Josephs
The Missouri State Board of Education formally approved the Missouri Green Cleaning Guidelines and Specifications for schools at a meeting conducted on January 15th 2009.  Although I commend Missouri for its' efforts in pushing through green school legislation, after reading their guidelines/specifications document, I am troubled by its' voluntary approach. On the one hand, the document is a comprehensive Green Cleaning guide, outlining everything from product certifications and best practices, to equipment and training. On the other hand, however, schools can volunteer to participate in this program, and Custodians can volunteer to purchase green cleaning product.  But what about the students and teachers? According to the document, the students and teachers do not have options to choose from. How can Green Cleaning Guidelines for a school NOT include options  for what students/teachers breathe in, learn in, teach in and live in for 6 hours of their day? In my opinion, Green Cleaning ...

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Happy Holidays

December 20, 2008 – 4:36 am by Daniel Josephs
Everyone at Spruce Industries wishes you a Happy and Health holidays and great New Year. Looking forward to hearing from everyone in '09

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Cleaning To Reduce Staph Infections

December 1, 2008 – 9:47 pm by Daniel Josephs
Over the recent weeks and months I have read article after article about how facilities weren't properly cleaned and how it lead to people getting injured or sick.  Today I came across an article that finally reported some good news.  Mohamed Mohamed, the director of Custodial Services at Texas' Frisco Independent School District, reports that staph infections have dropped to one-tenth of what they were last year because of changes in cleaning.  What were the changes in cleaning you asked?  He specifically cites the use of disinfectant wipes as a major improvement.  For example, they have been washing down the cafeteria tables after every period.  The chemical was then given the proper dwell time to be effective (usually 10 minutes - depending on the product).  This may sound like a simple improvement but this goes a long way to promoting a staph-free culture.  Some other areas that Mohamed is encouraging ...

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Men Are Cleaner Than Women

November 24, 2008 – 7:39 pm by Daniel Josephs
I am going to share some important news with you. For the purpose of full disclosure I will start by stating that I am a man and this report was not conducted by me! According to a recent research conducted by University of Colorado biochemistry Rob Knight, it was found that women have more bacteria on their hands when compared with men. Again, I state this report was not conducted by me! Something else that came as a surprise was the total volume of bacteria found on the hands. The research, which was conducted amongst 51 students, shows that there were around 4.742 different species of bacteria present on their hands. The report doesn’t specify why women have more bacteria but they do speculate that it might be dependent on the nature of hands. Men’s hands tend to be a bit more acidic. But ...

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The Mission Of Staying Healthy

November 10, 2008 – 10:36 pm by Daniel Josephs
Poor personal hygiene is something, which is often neglected by people without knowing that it may cause serious illness to them and this happens especially with those in the military. Why does it happen? There are various reasons to it; this includes close living quarters, limited supply of water, getting in touch with hazardous materials, to name a few factors. They serve the nation and it is our duty to serve them. Staying healthy is the mantra of every soldier. So how can we help? GOJO offers a wide range of products just for military people. They also provide a customized Skin Care Awareness Program. People in the military hospitals are exposed to infection as the sanitary conditions are poor. To avoid infection, PURELL and PROVON - the proven pair in skin care products, are highly recommended. They also offer various health conscious products that can be used in the ...

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Americo - The Recycle leader

October 30, 2008 – 2:05 pm by Daniel Josephs
Americo is a family owned business that has followed the environment friendly practices for a long time now. Being in business for more than forty years, Americo has made using environment friendly practices a policy much before they actually came to the forefront. Some of the efforts that Americo has put in place for its manufacturing facilities are: The facility itself operates under an EPA approved clean air permit. With continued investments (of millions of dollars) in the facility, Americo has reduced their energy consumption by 30% in a very short time. Americo has replaced their old HVAC systems with the new low energy High Seer rated systems resulting in reduced carbon footprints. Motors, in the manufacturing process, have been placed on variable frequency drives (VFD) resulting in energy efficiency and reducing consumption by more than 30%. Americo’s main facility in Georgia is getting a roof replacement with a highly reflective elastomeric coating that reduces ...

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Markets Crash - Survive With Green

September 17, 2008 – 3:29 am by Daniel Josephs
Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, soon to be AIG Insurance and Washington Mutual, the housing market, price of gas - there are a lot of things to worry about lately. Our economy is on the decline and costs are on the rise. How can we in the janitorial and sanitation market help curb these concerns and save some money? The answer is Green. By using Green products and incorporating Green procedures you can drastically cut down on waste and become more efficient. Bottom line is you will save money. How can we help? We can be your consultants. We can guide you in your transition to Green. We can help you choose the right products for the right job. We can walk through the correct procedures that will improve efficiency and decrease waste. Have any specific concerns about green or about how ...

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