Making sure things are sparkly and clean for our guests, tenants and customers is top priority for our Housekeeping Managers, Lucy and Nat – but squaring that with our Green ethics is harder. As corporate members of the Marine Conservation Society we have signed up to a commitment to remove all ocean harming chemicals from our business, Nat certainly has her work cut out…

It’s meant to be easy when we go shopping looking for the right cleaning products. We’re all trying our best to reduce our carbon footprint, to recycle, to buy products not tested on animals. While also trying to stay within budget and buy cleaning products that are effective, smell nice and easy to find. It’s simple. Isn’t it?

                It also means change; changing from the trusted bleach, or your standard supermarket brought product. There are so many cleaning products out there, it’s crazy trying to keep up. Each day new companies are bringing out more and more, killing 99.9% bacteria in every advert. You check the back of each label, reading the ingredients, and you’d get more sense out of talking to your cat. It’s rather tiresome.

                Our challenge at greenway is on an even grander scale now, with a team of cleaners, a portfolio of over forty properties to look after. Changeovers, weekly cleans, deep cleans, oven cleans the list is long and endless. There’s no magic cleaning product that can do everything. I really wish there was such a product it would mean not lugging a bag full of products as though I’m going camping.

                 It’s difficult finding the right ones, it’s trial and error. Trust me, nothing upsets cleaners more than telling them to use a cleaning product that is rubbish. They’d rather offer you their kidney. We’re a proud species, us cleaners. We have names for our hoovers, bags with endless products and we never throw away any fabric, heaven knows, that pillowcase is excellent for cleaning glass with. So is newspaper.

                Never put off from a good challenge. We went searching, searching for copper, and found gold. Vegan friendly, leaping bunny certified, refillable, recyclable and within budget. Life is fabulous. What’s this though? Do they contain micro plastics that are harmful to the sea?  Oh no!

                Let’s try this again. A few less items but we were back, surprising how something that has so little chemicals deliver fantastic results. There is no better feeling than cleaning, the before and the after. It’s pride, a cleaner’s pride is in their work.