The development of viable non-toxic alternatives to traditional cleaning chemicals has offered carpet cleaners a variety of choices. They can use them to promote their businesses as environmentally friendly; they can quietly use them; or they can continue to use traditional chemicals.

For carpet cleaners looking to grow their markets, selling environmentally responsible services while limiting their exposure to toxins makes sense.

Government-driven initiatives have eliminated some powerful toxins, offering some protection for all carpet-cleaning professionals.

There are still some butyls out there in some of the specialized cleaners and spotting agents, "but they're not routinely put in emulsifiers or pre-sprays," says Robert Irrgang, sales manager, Total Supply, Medord, NY.

Specifically, perchloroethylene or 1-1-1 trichlorethane solvents, once commonly found in cleaning products, have largely vanished. These are known animal carcinogens, suspected human carcinogens, or known to produce carcinogens when reacting with chemicals in groundwater.

One butyl still in use by carpet cleaners using "dry" extraction methods is butyoxy ethanol (See "What's in a name"), which is known under a variety of names including butyl cellosolve, butoxyethanl, and ethylene glycol butyl ether. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a limit of 5 parts per million for exposure to fumes from this substance and prohibits dermal contact; it can damage blood, the central nervous system, liver and kidney.

Many effective, readily marketable carpet pre-sprays also contain this chemical.

Canada's Environmental Choice labeling program specifically excludes products containing it; the US Green Seal proposed standard does not, nor do a variety of state and city "green" standards.

Irrgang notes the high temperatures produced by most truckmount extractors - up to 260 degrees Fahrenheit - are high enough for thorough cleaning with the mildest of chemical agents.

He says that quality green cleaning products really work. What's more, he says, they sell.

"The name sells them," he says of an environmentally safe carpet cleaning chemicals line produced by a truckmount systems maker. "The consumer sees the green label; the cleaner knows it's safe to handle."

Frank Kuse works in Mukilteo, WA, as national sales manager for truckmount manufacturer HydraMaster Corp. HydraMaster introduced a branded "green" carpet cleaning products line in the early 1990s.

"Sales have steadily risen, regardless of improvements and additions to the other carpet cleaning solutions line," says Kuse. "It's successful and it's effective. In fact, we guarantee these products."

Mindful that some cleaning products advertised as "green," "biodegradable" and/or "user-friendly" contain hazardous chemicals, Cleanfax checked the MSDS Safety Sheets for the nine HydraMaster "green" carpet cleaning products and found that they, in fact, contain no toxins.

Regardless of the industry's commitment - or lack of commitment - to environmentally safe cleaning products, Kuse says HydraMaster will continue to produce and support the "green" products line. No special training is required.

"We ask only that the cleaners follow IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration Certification) standards," he says.

HydraMaster is exceptional in not using butyl cellusolve in either its standard line or its "green" products line. Its president, Steve Brandt, concurs with Dianne Thiel, coordinator, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8, who tells Cleanfax, "The move to environmentally sustainable cleaning products is, for the most part, driven by government."

"Cleaners are more willing to pay a premium for a chemical that cuts their working time," Brandt says. "Very few will pay even a little more money for a chemical because it's non-toxic."

Most of the popular cleaning methods are harsh or crude, utilizing highly alkaline chemicals, aggressive enzymes or disinfectants - all of which have the potential to harm the user, Brandt notes. Green chemicals, he adds, sometimes seem to lose out in a comparison of effectiveness versus cost - although government studies contradict that statement (See below).

"We can eliminate some of the long-term unknowns (such as butyl cellusolve exposure)," he says, noting the cumulative effect of some toxins.

Max Labrooy, vice president, operations, Green Dolphin Applied Environmental Systems, a wall/ceiling cleaning products maker in Powell, TN, also talks of that effect.

"Many of these toxins have a cumulative effect," he says. "That means you never get rid of them - they just collect until you reach your threshold. Then, something inside you breaks."

An early success story

"We used to clean carpet by injecting soap into the machine and running soap and water through the extractor at the same time," says Sophia Wakefield, who, with Angele Ferre, formed SAFE Consulting (they also run a firm known as Harvest). The firm oversaw the transition from conventional cleaning chemicals and methods to "green" cleaning in 1991 at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

"Then we learned to pre-spray with cleaning solution and extract only with hot water," she says. In other words, they learned that specific cleaning problems required individual solutions.

"There are three basic problem areas in carpet - areas where greasy stuff and organic matter builds up, such as in restaurants, traffic lanes, and carpets where dogs or cats reside. And there are products to do these jobs," Wakefield says.

Shades of "Green"

Carpet cleaners should know that not all "green" products are alike. "We learned that there is a big quality difference on the green side," says Wakefield.

Some products purporting to be "green" aren't - and some "green" products work better than others.

Wakefield and Ferre started the process from the ground up, throwing out conventional products and experimenting with "kitchen" chemistry: Vinegars, citrus fruits, baking soda, etc. Then, in fall of 1991, they collected sample products from a variety of manufacturers and distributors.

Not surprisingly, many of the products came from small, obscure manufacturers serving niche markets, the cultural/creative community, and government purchasers. The low upside potential coupled with research and development costs and the high cost of raw materials is delaying the replacement of petrochemicals with their less toxic counterparts.

As an example of the difficulties faced by cleaning products manufacturers, Kling notes the distance between DSC's production facility in Muskegon, MI, and the Winter Haven, FL, headquarters of its d'limonene supplier, Florida Chemical Co., Inc. D'limonene is a bi-product extracted from citrus rind.

DSC offers a d'limonene acid rinse that, Kling notes, effectively neutralizes alkaline cleaning agents both green and traditional.

"We buy our solvents locally," says Kling. "Fortunately, there is a very good supplier in our area."

Do they work?

Minnesota is one of the handful of states leading the transition to "earth-friendly" cleaning. It offers a testing program, scoring cleaning products in safety/environmental integrity and performance categories. As an example of the effectiveness of green cleaning products, products formulated and distributed by home-stater (Laurie) Brown & Co. all received perfect scores of 90, with the exception of an industrial strength degreaser that scored an 89 for performance.

One of the most dramatic statements about the effectiveness of the new generation of green cleaning products came from one of the people spearheading their implementation in the national parks:

"When suppliers asked what cleaning chemicals we needed, we asked, `Well, what did we use last year?' We threw them all out," Wakefield recalls of the start of the Grand Teton experiment in 1991.

Still, resistance is more than a matter of economics:

"Most habits are hard to break," says Labrooy.

"Cleaning companies tend to be run by the demographic group most resistant to change," says Brown.

"Green cleaning products manufacturers must overcome the perception that the products don't work," says Brandt.