Spruce Industries Blog Page

Two Pieces of Bizarre Information

January 30, 2010 – 4:31 pm by Daniel Josephs
I was just reading "The Week", a weekly magazine of world news and I came across two pieces of bizarre information: A Paid Tour of LA's Gang Turf and An Average Football Game is 11 Minutes of Football. That's right folks, tourists are paying $65.00 for a guided bus tour of Los Angeles' violence-filled gang turf.  Tour operators require customers to sign a waiver, acknowledging the risk of gunfire, before riding an unmarked bus in hopes of glimpsing real Crips, Bloods, and other gang members. And, all those hours that I have been glued to my couch on a Sunday afternoon watching Football, has actually been for only 11 minutes of actual football!  In the 174 minutes of an average football telecast, viewers see about 60 minutes of commercials, 75 minutes of players huddling or milling about between snaps, 17 minutes of replays - and just 11 minutes of actual football. After ...

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A Text For Help

January 20, 2010 – 11:31 pm by Daniel Josephs
I know that everyone has been following the tragedy that has taken place in Haiti, but I must relay that although its been over 7 days since the earth shook Haiti, I still can't pry my eyes away from the streaming images on CNN. And, after seeing that several people were found alive yesterday, despite the fact that they were buried under rubble for 7 days, there is only one word that comes to mind: Miracle. Even the medical experts who were recounting the incident on CNN this morning were dumbfounded as to how these people could survive for one week without food and water. They said, "It has been common knowledge to follow the rule of 4.  A human being can't survive 4 minutes without oxygen, 4 days without water and 40 days without food.  It is remarkable how these people survived over 7 days without water, let alone ...

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New Swine Flu Warning

August 6, 2009 – 12:54 am by Daniel Josephs
I know by posting this blog some people will think that I am just sounding the alarm to push inventory off the shelves into your hands - but it's not product I am worried about - it's the unwashed, germ-ridden, unclean, hands that concern me. Growing one's business versus being genuinely concerned about H1N1 is a fine line that manufacturers and distributors must walk. One wants to inspire intelligent action and knowledge, not incite fear to simply promote product. One wants to provide fact, and not theorize about fiction. It's the summer and everyone is relieved that the "Swine flu" has passed. People have read all they feel they need to read so why read and learn more? The answer to this question is: Read on to learn that H1N1 is not dead, is very much alive, and is stirring and growing in a way that many people don't know ...

Posted in Disinfectants, Health Warning, Sanitary Supplies | 1 Comment »

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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