Terms of Use

Last updated: 12 November 2024  |  Effective date: 1 January 2023  |  Governing law: Federal Republic of Germany

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website located at cleaninghouses.org (the "Platform"), including all content, features, and services made available through the Platform. The Platform is operated by CleaningHouses.org, Königsallee 52, 40212 Düsseldorf, Germany ("we," "us," or "CleaningHouses").

By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Platform.

1. Nature of the Platform

CleaningHouses.org is an independent, editorially autonomous information and analysis platform. The Platform publishes research-based articles, analyses, glossary content, reference materials, and interactive educational tools in the fields of indoor microbiology, urban sanitation chemistry, and built environment science.

No products or services are sold on this Platform. The Platform does not constitute a commercial marketplace, professional advisory service, or regulated health information service. Content is provided exclusively for general informational, analytical, and educational purposes.

2. Eligibility

The Platform is intended for users who are at least 16 years of age. By accessing the Platform, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement. If you are under 16, you must not use the Platform without verifiable parental or guardian consent.

3. Intellectual Property

All content published on the Platform — including but not limited to articles, analyses, research summaries, graphics, photographs, typography, layout, and interactive features — is the intellectual property of CleaningHouses.org or its licensed contributors and is protected by German and EU copyright law (Urhebergesetz, UrhG).

You are permitted to:

• Read and browse all Platform content for personal, non-commercial purposes
• Share links to individual articles or pages on social media or in professional communications
• Quote brief excerpts (up to 150 words) with clear attribution to CleaningHouses.org and a hyperlink to the original page, in accordance with §51 UrhG (quotation right)

You are not permitted to:

• Reproduce, republish, or redistribute complete articles or substantial portions of content without prior written consent
• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract content using automated tools without written permission
• Use Platform content for AI training datasets, model fine-tuning, or synthetic data generation without a separate licensing agreement
• Present CleaningHouses.org content as your own or remove attribution information
• Use Platform content for commercial purposes without a licensing agreement

For licensing enquiries, please contact [email protected].

4. No Professional Advice

The content on CleaningHouses.org is published for general informational and analytical purposes only. Nothing on the Platform constitutes professional advice of any kind, including but not limited to:

• Medical, clinical, or public health advice
• Legal or regulatory compliance advice
• Engineering, architectural, or technical consultation
• Health and safety risk assessment

No reader-Platform relationship creates a professional advisory relationship of any kind. For specific compliance, clinical, or technical questions, you should consult a qualified professional. See also our full Disclaimer.

5. Third-Party Links

The Platform may contain hyperlinks to external websites, academic publications, regulatory documents, and other third-party resources. These links are provided for informational convenience. CleaningHouses.org does not endorse, control, or assume responsibility for the content, accuracy, privacy practices, or availability of any third-party resource. Accessing linked resources is at your own risk.

6. Accuracy of Content

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that content published on the Platform is accurate, complete, and up to date at the time of publication. However, scientific understanding, regulatory requirements, and best-practice guidance in the fields we cover evolve continuously. We cannot guarantee the ongoing accuracy of all content and accept no liability for decisions made in reliance on outdated or incomplete information.

If you identify a factual error, please notify us at [email protected]. We issue corrections prominently and promptly when substantiated errors are identified.

7. Prohibited Conduct

When using the Platform, you must not:

• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Platform's infrastructure or administrative systems
• Introduce viruses, trojans, worms, or other harmful code
• Engage in systematic scraping or data extraction at a rate that disrupts normal Platform operations
• Use the Platform in any way that violates applicable German or EU law
• Impersonate CleaningHouses.org, its staff, or its contributors in any communication

8. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by German law, CleaningHouses.org shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to your access to or use of (or inability to access or use) the Platform or its content, including but not limited to reliance on any information provided on the Platform.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or death or personal injury caused by our negligence (§§ 521, 523, 524 BGB), or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable German law.

9. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding its conflict of laws rules and excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

For users who are consumers (Verbraucher within the meaning of § 13 BGB), mandatory consumer protection provisions of your country of residence remain applicable. The European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform is accessible at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. We are not obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration body and do not voluntarily participate in such proceedings.

10. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Modified Terms will be effective immediately upon publication on the Platform. The revision date shown at the top of this page will be updated accordingly. Continued use of the Platform after any modification constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to modified Terms, you must discontinue use of the Platform.

11. Contact

Questions regarding these Terms should be directed to:

CleaningHouses.org
Königsallee 52, 40212 Düsseldorf, Germany
Phone: +49 211 8745 3092
Email: [email protected]

See also: Privacy Policy · Cookie Policy · Disclaimer