We know there are a lot of pandemic related acronyms, but the EPA’s Designed for Environment (DfE) program is one specifically for those with sustainability on the mind. Although many of the brands may lead the market in alternative cleaning chemicals, few of them lead in advertising spend. Arm & Hammer is one of the few you may actually see sporting the logo on TV Commercials, looking to build rapport with parents.

Despite the lack of awareness the EPA Designed for Environment Certified Product list is a very important tool to a clean AND safe environment in Hospitality, Foodservice, and beyond. Reading labels isn’t exactly the most popular process, but most are usually more than surprised, when someone shines a light on what goes into some of today’s products on our shelves. Cleaning and Disinfecting is no exception but seemingly one of the most overlooked areas. Perhaps because we feel its acceptable to use harmful chemicals when fighting harmful pathogens, the old fight fire with fire?

As an additional resource, to consumers and end-users, the EPA created the Safer Choice Program to identify products that use safer alternative chemicals without sacrificing efficiency. This list of only 2,000 products have been further tested to guarantee performance while utilizing ONLY Safer Choice qualified ingredients. The DfE Certification not only ensures environmental sustainability but safer use with children, pets, and in the workplace.

This is what the EPA has to say about the presence of the Designed for Environment Certification on products:

If you see the DfE logo on an EPA-authorized antimicrobial pesticide label, you can be assured that the product:

• is in the least-hazardous classes (i.e., III and IV) of EPA’s acute toxicity category hierarchy;
• is unlikely to have carcinogenic or endocrine disruptor properties;
• is unlikely to cause developmental, reproductive, mutagenic, or neurotoxicity issues;
• EPA has reviewed and accepted mixtures, including inert ingredients;
• does not require the use of Agency-mandated personal protective equipment;
• has no unresolved or unreasonable adverse effects reported;
• has no unresolved efficacy failures (associated with the Antimicrobial Testing Program or otherwise);
• has no unresolved compliance or enforcement actions associated with it; and
• has the identical formulation as the one identified in the DfE application approved by EPA.

Sometimes it is the little things that matter, and in this case that little thing can help in a huge way. With current cleaning practices being much higher than usual, we are putting more disinfecting products on surfaces exposed to children, people with allergies, and pets more often than ever. Many cleaning and disinfecting products require PPE, leave behind residue, or need to be thoroughly rinsed off before any food-contact.

In the hotel and foodservice environment among the hustle and bustle of everyday business, exposure to these products is almost guaranteed. The CDC reports that 1 out of 3 adults use disinfecting products in a harmful way. We certainly need better education on “best practices” but putting the right products in place is a very important part of the puzzle.

Pets and children (maybe some adults) tend to touch and/or lick the areas you may least expect, so making sure all surfaces use the safest products available should be the #1 priority of all Facility Managers. This makes sure that even if an area isn’t fully rinsed, meant for certain types of contact, or had the time to properly dry; you are mitigating the risk of possibly harmful transfer of chemicals to  your teams and patrons.

After all fighting fire with fire just sounds like a recipe for more damage, because it is…

If you are looking for products that help with Well Certification’s Preferred Cleaning Products criteria, or products that can help support your lead qualification, the EPA DfE list will help with that as well.

See a complete list of products on the EPA’s site here: EPA DfE Product Search

It looks like Apple is getting smarter with their product care directions, and trying to make sure their products last a bit longer. In a recent Support Documentation update Apple warns against using hydrogen peroxide or bleach based disinfectants on their products.  You also should NOT submerge your Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, display or peripheral…but we hope that is more obvious. You can find hydrogen peroxide in many popular products including Lysol.

Hydrogen peroxide can create stress cracks and other issues in hard and soft surfaces.

Hydrogen peroxide is a better alternative to “Quat” based disinfectants, but still presents issues in both hard and soft surfaces prevalent in many environments. Hydrogen peroxide can create issues in hard surfaces such as acrylic, causing stress cracks after some rigorous 24 hour testing compared to citrus-acid based wipes. You can see effects to soft materials where there can be some degradation and swelling under testing as well.

What does this mean in Hospitality and Foodservice?

When it comes to FF&E and OS&E you should take into consideration what your teams Housekeeping teams are using. Cleaning and disinfecting products should not cut down the lifespan of the equipment in your environment, or be possibly be harmful to your staff and patrons. In Hotel Gyms wipes were used heavily even pre-pandemic and replacement costs on hard and soft surfaces in this environment can be very high. Materials like acrylic are used through many interior designs within the Lobby and Guest Rooms, from area dividers to room number signage.  You start thinking about performance fabrics used in general areas or foodservice seating and the long term costs could get interesting.

If you work with a 90 minute turnover rate time across a restaurant open say 8 hours, that is about 11 parties seated. We would like to imagine, at the moment especially, that these seats are being cleaned after each party. Now depending on how corrosive to the material the cleaner may be, its no wonder there seems to be a shortage of unworn seats at lots of diners.

Save your property on “ghost costs” and make the right supply chain decisions.

Using the wrong products can create hidden maintenance costs, and in a business environment where every dollar counts, it matters. Making sure decision makers in Housekeeping and Procurement are aware of the environment and and health costs associated with common disinfectants should always be a priority.