Housing 21 is a leading not-for-profit provider of Retirement Living and Extra Care properties for older people of modest means. They operate in nearly 200 local authority areas, managing around 20,000 Retirement and Extra Care Living properties and providing over 38,000 hours of social care each week.
In late 2021, Housing 21 began looking for a new janitorial range that supported their strategic priorities around innovation and influence, and value for money, as well as their three guiding principles: 21, Better and Experience. They wanted an innovative new range of products that would help maintain a high level of cleanliness throughout their courts whilst helping them reduce their environmental impact.
Manufactured in the UK, BioHygiene’s naturally-derived cleaning range would help Housing 21 reduce transport by up to 65%, carbon emissions by up to 89% and single-use plastic by up to 69%. The low hazardous range would also contribute to the health and safety of Housing 21 employees, residents and visitors.
Housing 21 chose four courts to complete a two week trial; Priory Court, Saxon Court, Falkland Court and Merlin Court. A member of the BioHygiene team spent time at each site understanding their current cleaning practices, cleaning needs, and daily challenges. From this, BioHygiene presented a core product range that would take the courts away from traditional chemicals and achieve their sustainability goals.
BioHygiene identified four core products that would help Housing 21 move towards environmental cleaning:
The introduction of this core range would support Housing 21 with the following benefits:
The majority of traditional cleaning products get their technology from petrochemicals, which not only has a large carbon footprint but cause long-lasting damage to our aquatic ecosystem. BioHygiene formulates its products with sustainable, naturally-derived ingredients that are highly effective against bacteria whilst maintaining a favourable environmental profile.
Microbes, free enzymes and plant extracts get deep into surfaces to quickly clean, disinfect, descale and deodorise areas. The multi-purpose biotechnology provides long-lasting cleaning action, reducing the amount of product needed for each clean. Less product means fewer deliveries, leading to a decrease in CO2 emissions plus less plastic waste. PCR packaging and FSC cardboard come as standard, further reducing environmental pollution and helping Housing 21 minimise its impact on the planet.
Maintaining a high standard of cleanliness is crucial to Housing 21. Biotechnology helps trap, degrade and neutralise stale odours. Plant extracts bind to odour molecules to stop them from smelling, whilst specialist microbes produce enzymes that break down and feed on organic matter, eliminating the odour at its source.
Microbes can multiply and spread across surfaces rapidly, creating what’s known as a biofilm. This enables them to get deep into porous surfaces, such as carpets, and remove odours from areas where traditional cleaning products can’t reach. By removing the odour directly at the source, BioHygiene products can provide long-lasting odour control and better cleaning action.
Knowing products don’t harm employees, residents, and visitors is a top priority at Housing 21. Traditional chemicals often come with hazard warnings relating to skin irritation and eye damage. The natural ingredients in Biotech products mean they carry no hazard classifications when diluted, making them infinitely kinder to anyone visiting one of our care homes - a welcoming assurance for both Housing 21, its residents and their families.
The four courts began using the products in November 2021. Employees received full product training from a member of the BioHygiene team to ensure everyone was aware of the safe control and handling of products. The training consisted of 2 parts; an introduction to BioHygiene and their Biotechnology and a demo of each product. Employees also received a host of training resources, including product usage guides and access to an online portal with video guides and tests.
After the two week trial, a member of the BioHygiene team returned to the courts to gather feedback. The feedback was tremendous across all sites:
“The products smell really nice and give a really good clean throughout.”
“We were sceptical about using cold water, but the results speak for themselves.”
“The windows and glass have come up really well, I have used a lot of chemicals in my time, but this really works.”
“Residents and carers have noticed the change and have made comments on the nice smell.”
After such a successful trial, Saxon Court did not want to return to their previous cleaning range and asked to continue with BioHygiene products, forming part of an innovation hub where new products will be tried and tested.
All Housing 21 courts will receive a starter pack with the core product range in March 2022, along with access to bespoke video training. The training will make sure all Housing 21 employees are confident in the safe use and handling of products, as well as update them on the story of the growing partnership. All members will also receive access to the BioHygiene training platform for relevant tools and resources.