LEED Cleaning Equipment Standards

 

Improve air quality, human health, building finishes, building systems, and the environment, while earning your facility one credit towards LEED certification.

Intent

Reduce the exposure of building occupants and maintenance personnel to potentially hazardous chemicals, biological, and particulate contaminants, which adversely affect air quality, human health, building finishes, building systems, and the environment, from powered cleaning equipment.

Requirement:

Implement a program for the use of powered cleaning equipment that reduces building contaminants and minimizes environmental impact.

The powered cleaning equipment program requires the following for all types of machines:

• Safeguards such as rollers, bumpers or other machine design elements that reduce impact damage to the facility (Example: radius edge rotomold tanks or shrouds)
• Designed to minimize vibration, noise, and user fatigue and reported in the user manual in accordance with ISO 5349-1 for arm vibrations and ISO 2631-1 for vibration to which the whole body is subjected and for sound pressure at operator’s ear ISO 11201
• Sealed batteries such as Gel-cell, AGM and Lithium-Ion are preferred except in applications, e.g. deep discharge, heavy load, where performance or battery life is reduced by the use of sealed batteries.
• Operate with a sound level of less than 70 db. We recommend standardizing your testing methodology in accordance with ISO 11201 for consistency and comparability.

Vacuum cleaners must be certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute’s “Seal of Approval” testing program

Carpet cleaners used for restorative and or deep cleaning must be certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute’s “Seal of Approval” testing program for deep cleaning extractors

Floor polishing and buffing machines

• Equipment used for polishing, burnishing or buffing (does not include equipment used in wet applications) is equipped with vacuums, guards and, or other devices for capturing fine particulates

• Propane powered floor polishing and buffing machines
  • Must use high efficiency, low-emissions engines with catalytic converters and mufflers that meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards
  • Propane powered floor polishing and buffing machines shall operate with a sound level less than 90 db in accordance with ISO 11201. We recommend standardizing your testing methodology in accordance with ISO 11201 for consistency and comparability.

Automated Floor Scrubbers

• Must be equipped with solution flow control mechanisms such as variable speed pumps, proportional valves or solenoids
  • On-board chemical metering

  • Alternatively, equipment using chemical free cleaning technologies that uses only tap water with no added cleaning products

    • Tennant's ec-H2O chemical-free cleaning technology meets this criteria.

Finally, always remember to keep a log for all cleaning equipment to document:

• Date of equipment purchase
• All repair and maintenance activities
• Vendor specification sheets for each type of equipment in use