So often in the cleaning business chemicals are not stored properly and neither are the empty containers which conveniently leak, mix with rain water and tip over and soak into the ground surrounding the building and seep into the ground water causing environmental issues; you know like three legged frogs and such. Now mind you I am not an environmentalist, but I do know a thing or two about environmental pollution and lots about the cleaning industry and business, especially on the service sector side of things.

You see for years I ran a mobile pressure washing business, which we built up and franchised into 23 states. One thing I would always do is scout out the competition to see if they posed a threat to our franchisees and our forward progress in the market place. I would often visit their facilities and was usually taken aback at their lack of caring for the environment, plastic drums and steel barrels of containers left littered around the property with weeds growing between them.

I will tell you that the problem is about 60% of the operators out there and in all the sub sectors from the 49,000 car washes to the 55,000 small businesses doing pressure washing and the 150,000 doing janitorial businesses; this is a huge thing and a real problems. Imagine the cancer risks to the workers and employees, which is the biggest concern people talk about. Someday someone ought to figure out what to do and organize the abatement of noxious compounds and chemicals in the Cleaning Business to prevent all these mini-eco-disasters. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Currently Lance is retired at age 40 and is running an Online Think Tank Forum while traveling North America. Perhaps considering something extremely challenging to do that will exercise his mind and utilize all his experiences, observations and skills. Any ideas?