Persuading businesses to ‘go green’ is hot on the agenda. Yet one Manchester-based company is already setting the standards in eco-friendly innovation.
An innovative new product will not only clean buildings, but also clean up the environment in the process.
The recently launched Masonry and Stone Cleaner, by Manchester-based eco-friendly cleaning product company Delphis Industries, is set to challenge the future of commercial cleaning.
The innovative super-strength stone cleaner and lime scale remover, created using 100% natural ingredients, recently reached the final of the Merseyside Innovation Awards.
Specially developed from natural, fruit-based materials and special compounds, the product is formulated using Micelle technology-a technique which has never been applied to the cleaning industry before.
The cleaner is set to challenge current products on the market which are often dangerous to use, harmful to the environment, and damaging to buildings.
Delphis sales and marketing manager, Julie Anders, explains:
“Cleaning products which are currently used on stonework are acid based which leave behind harmful residues and often damage the building or surface. They are also dangerous to the user, so protective clothing is needed.
“Our cleaner is made from all natural ingredients, which means there is no need for safety equipment.”
Delphis proved this recently when its team turned up to demonstrate the product to Liverpool Council in shorts and T-shirts.
“We wanted to show the council just how successful the product is on one of the stone lions outside St George’s Hall. We arrived in shorts and T-shirts, aimed with spray bottles, brushes and a bucket. They were shocked at the fact we needed no protective clothing and amazed at the results.
“The product seeps into the surface and actually continues to clean the stone long after it has been applied. As well as being competitively priced, it also saves businesses on health and safety costs,” said Julie.
The masonry and stone cleaner works on any stone, marble, granite, brick, concrete, porcelain and chrome and can be applied with a power washer,
spray jet or even a hand brush.
Julie said: “It can also be used on fragile monuments and surfaces without causing damage and eliminates the need for sand-blasting or the use of chemical or acid strips on buildings.”
And as a result, the product has attracted interest from the Royal Festival Hall in London which has sent samples of the cleaner to English Heritage.
The cleaning industry as a whole is set for a shake up when EU legislation comes into force in 2008. The European Biocidal Products Directive is designed to make uniform and control products claiming sanitizing or disinfectant properties throughout the EU.
This follows the introduction of the REACH agreement in October 2005. This legislation was applied to the industry to control allowable levels of bio-degradability in chemicals used in cleaning and janitorial maintenance products.
Delphis is the first cleaning company whose range is already compliant in both regulations.
“The new legislation which comes into force in 2008 is going to have a massive impact on the cleaning industry. The bulk of cleaning products are going to have to be changed. Products won’t be banned, but the raw materials which they are made from will be. If there is an eco-friendly alternative it must be used.”
“We are going to see a lot of empty shelf space in 2008, due to large manufacturers having to change products and packaging to comply with the new legislation. All packaging will have to have to carry hazard symbols. Our products won’t have to, as we are already compliant,” explains Julie.
Established in 2003 by John Holmes, Delphis Industries has spent the past three years researching and developing six core ecological product lines.
As well as its masonry cleaner, the range includes a scented air purifier, window and glass cleaner, industrial strength cleaner, multi-surface sanitizer and a degreaser. Delphis is also set to add two new products to the range - a graffiti and chewing gum remover.
Julia added : “People don’t actually realise how many chemicals are in the detergents they use from day to day. Many of these don’t actually remove the dirt, they just make the surface look cleaner. Some of our products actually kill life threatening bugs like MRSA and E-coli, but in a completely natural way.
“It’s about educating people that the cleaning products they are currently using can be detrimental to their health.”
Delphis Industires is currently on the verge of striking up an exclusive deal with a distributor in the Merseyside area.
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