Here is the short answer. California gives office managers more information about cleaning products than almost any other state, and San Francisco offices can use it to choose low-odor, lower-emission products with confidence. Manufacturers must disclose ingredients online and on the label, including fragrance allergens above a low threshold, and state air rules cap the volatile organic compounds in common cleaners and air fresheners. The practical job for a manager is to ask for a written product list, check each product against its disclosure, keep the safety data sheets on site and set ventilation and air-freshener rules for the cleaning crew.

Product choice is easy to overlook when an office is comparing schedules and scopes, yet it shapes the air staff breathe every morning. Teams arranging building cleaning services in San Francisco can use California's disclosure and air-quality rules as a checklist, because most of the information they need is already required by law. This guide explains what each rule covers, what it does not, and how to turn it into a product policy for an office or a multi-tenant building.

1. Ingredient disclosure is the law in California

The Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017, Senate Bill 258, was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on October 15, 2017. It requires manufacturers of cleaning products sold in California to disclose the ingredients in those products. Before the law, buyers often saw only vague terms such as "surfactants" or "fragrance." Now an office manager can look up what is actually in a product before it is used in the building. That turns product choice from guesswork into a document check. It also gives tenants and building managers a shared reference when a question comes up, because everyone can look at the same published list instead of relying on memory or marketing claims.

2. Online first, then the label

The law took effect in two stages. Manufacturers had to post ingredient information online by January 1, 2020, and print it on product labels by January 1, 2021. Online disclosure must list every intentionally added ingredient, with its CAS number and what it does in the product. The label carries a shorter list, so the online page is the better source when a staff member reports a reaction. Asking the cleaning provider for a link to the online disclosure for each product is a simple, reasonable request.

3. Which products the law covers

The act covers air care products, automotive products other than paint, general cleaning products, and polish or floor maintenance products used primarily for janitorial, domestic or institutional cleaning. Hand soap and hand sanitizer are not covered, because they are regulated as cosmetics or drugs. Most disinfectants are registered as pesticides under federal law; they are exempt from the label requirement but still subject to online disclosure. For an office, that means nearly everything on a cleaning cart has a published ingredient list, even if the bottle itself shows little. Restroom hand soap needs a separate check. Offices that buy their own pantry and restroom supplies should apply the same review to those products, since staff do not distinguish between a product the crew brought and one the office stocked.

4. Fragrance allergens are no longer hidden

Fragrance was once the easiest place to hide an ingredient. Under SB 258, fragrance allergens on the European Union's list must be disclosed when present at 0.01 percent or more of the product. That matters for offices where staff report headaches or irritation from scented products. A manager can now compare two floor cleaners and see whether either contains listed fragrance allergens. Where someone has a known sensitivity, that comparison takes minutes rather than weeks of trial and error.

5. Hazard lists and Proposition 65 ingredients

The law also requires disclosure of ingredients that appear on 22 designated state, federal, Canadian and international hazard lists. Ingredients listed under California's Proposition 65 had to be disclosed starting January 1, 2023. Together, these rules let a buyer spot a product that contains a chemical of concern, even at levels where the product is legal to sell. They do not ban those products. They simply make the choice visible.

6. What a Proposition 65 warning means

Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, was approved by California voters in November 1986. Its list now includes roughly 900 chemicals and is updated at least once a year. Businesses with 10 or more employees must give a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly exposing people to a listed chemical. The state agency that runs the program notes that a warning does not mean a product violates safety or health standards. For a product policy, a warning is a reason to look for an alternative where one exists, not proof of danger.

7. State limits on volatile organic compounds

The California Air Resources Board regulates the volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, in consumer products sold in the state. Its limits are set by product category and form, measured as a percentage of the product's weight. Many common janitorial products have very low limits, which is one reason products sold in California tend to be lower-emission than those sold elsewhere. The table shows the current limits for several categories an office crew uses every week.

Product categoryFormVOC limit (percent by weight)General purpose cleanerNon-aerosol0.5%General purpose cleanerAerosol8%Glass cleanerNon-aerosol3%Glass cleanerAerosol10%Bathroom and tile cleanerNon-aerosol1%DisinfectantNon-aerosol1%DisinfectantAerosol70%Air freshener, liquid or pump sprayNon-aerosol18%

The gap between aerosol and non-aerosol limits is the most useful line in that table. Asking the crew to use trigger sprays or dilution systems rather than aerosol cans is one of the simplest ways to reduce emissions in an office.

8. Air fresheners face tighter limits

Air fresheners are the category most likely to cause complaints and the one the state is tightening most. Amendments approved in 2021 took effect on August 1, 2022, with new limits for aerosol air fresheners from January 1, 2023 and a tighter limit for manual aerosols on January 1, 2027. A separate exemption for fragrance content of up to 2 percent ends at the close of 2030. The direction is clear: scented sprays are being squeezed. Many offices skip that issue entirely by removing air fresheners from the scope and fixing odors at their source.

9. Keep safety data sheets on site

California's workplace hazard communication rule, Title 8 section 5194, requires employers to keep a safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical in the workplace and make it readily accessible to employees during each work shift. The rule exempts consumer products only where employee exposure is not significantly greater than a consumer's, which commercial concentrates usually exceed. For an office that hires a cleaning provider, the practical step is to ask for a binder or shared folder of safety data sheets for every product the crew stores or uses on site. Good building cleaning services in San Francisco provide this without being asked. It also gives the office manager a quick reference if a spill or exposure happens during the day.

10. The city's own purchasing list is a useful benchmark

San Francisco adopted its Environmentally Preferable Purchasing ordinance, Chapter 2 of the Environment Code, in 2005. It requires City departments to buy from approved lists of products where those lists exist, published through the SF Approved program. Private offices are not required to follow it. The list is public, though, and offers guides for businesses as well as large organizations. A manager who wants a quick benchmark can check whether the products in use, or close equivalents, appear on it.

11. Ozone-generating air cleaners are restricted

Some offices try to fix odors with portable air cleaners. Since 2010, every indoor air cleaning device sold in California must be certified to emit less than 0.050 parts per million of ozone, under a law passed in 2006. Ozone reacts with some fragrance and citrus or pine ingredients in cleaning products and can create other pollutants, according to state air-quality guidance. Any air cleaner placed in an office should carry state certification. The better fix for odor is still to find and remove the source.

12. Ventilation matters in a mild climate

The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that studies found levels of several organic compounds average 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outdoors in homes, and lists cleansers, disinfectants and air fresheners among the sources. California's air board advises ventilating during and for several hours after cleaning. San Francisco's mild marine climate, with cool, often foggy summers, means many buildings run with little cooling load for much of the year, so ventilation settings deserve a direct conversation with building engineering. Scheduling cleaning while fresh-air systems are running helps clear the air before staff arrive. The same guidance suggests limiting products with pine or citrus oils, using no more product than the label calls for and rinsing surfaces where directed. Those habits cost nothing and belong in the written scope, so that every crew member follows them on every visit rather than only when someone complains.

13. Turn the rules into a written product policy

The rules above are most useful when they become a one-page policy. It should list every product used on site, link each product to its online ingredient disclosure, note any fragrance allergens or Proposition 65 ingredients, confirm non-aerosol forms where possible, and state whether air fresheners are allowed at all. Any new product should be added only after the office has seen its disclosure. When reviewing building cleaning services in San Francisco, ask each provider to complete that policy before work begins.

California has already done most of the hard work for buyers: ingredients are disclosed, fragrance allergens are visible, and VOC limits are set by law. What remains is to use that information on purpose, through a written product list, accessible safety data sheets and sensible ventilation and air-freshener rules. Offices that treat product choice this way get building cleaning services in San Francisco that suit the people inside the building, not just the surfaces. Managers comparing janitorial companies in San Francisco can ask each one to show its product list and disclosure links before signing.

This article was contributed by American Janitorial Services San Francisco, a commercial cleaning company serving San Francisco.