Home Interior Tips Archives - Page 8 of 43

May 6, 2011July 7, 2023

How to choose a cleaning company

3 Things to Look For When Hiring an Office Cleaning Service

September 22nd, 2009 by www.microsreport.com

The sour economy has wreaked havoc on existing businesses, but it has also spawned a whole generation of brand new business owners. If you are just getting started, and you are ready to move into your new office space, it’s time to start thinking about which you should hire to keep it clean.

A clean working environment is important on three levels: it makes your space a pleasant place to work for employees and staff; it adds legitimacy to your enterprise in the eyes of your customers; it helps preserve the integrity of your furnishings and equipment. Here are three things to look for when hiring an office cleaning service.

1. Experience

There are plenty of fly-by-night janitorial services that may be cheaper, but they could just mean trouble over the long term. Choose an experienced cleaning service with an impeccable record that is also licensed, bonded, and insured.

2. Trained and Certified Staff

You want to be sure that the people who come to your office to do the cleaning have been thoroughly trained in how to work in an office environment safely. Make sure that the service you choose has a training and certification program.

3. Green Cleaning

The service’s methodology and cleaning products should be in line with todays green approach to cleaning. With a wide availability of natural and organic products on the market today, there is simply no excuse for the use of highly toxic chemicals when it comes to everyday cleaning. When your cleaning service uses green-friendly products, your employees and customers will never suffer from allergies and respiratory ailments caused by chemicals.

Follow these three guidelines, and your chances of having a positive experience with your cleaning service will be greatly enhanced.

April 25, 2011July 7, 2023

Sanitize vs Disinfection

Cleaning vs. Sanitizing vs. Disinfecting

There are three levels of cleaning surfaces; these levels are cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting. Cleaning a surface removes visible dust and debris. Cleaning does not remove microscopic organisms cleaning only clears away any visible elements such as dust or dirt. Sanitizing a surface makes that surface sanitary or free of visible dirt contaminants that could affect your health. Sanitizing is meant to reduce the occurrence and growth of bacteria, viruses and fungi. However, it is important to know that it is not meant to kill any of these microorganisms. The final level in the hierarchy is disinfecting. Disinfection is needed if the surface or instrument must be free and clear of all visible and microscopic organisms. Disinfecting a surface will “kill” the microscopic organisms as claimed on the label of a particular product.

Types of Disinfectants

There are thousands of disinfectants on the market and deciding which one to use may seem like a daunting task; however, there is a way to simplify this decision. All disinfectants can be classified into one of five groups based on the active ingredient used when manufacturing the product. 70% isopropyl alcohol is the standard active ingredient and it is widely available. The other active ingredients include phenolic, quaternary ammonium, sodium hypochlorite (or bleach) and peracetic acid. Each of these active ingredients has different levels of effectiveness as well as differences in what they actually kill. Be sure to carefully read the product label and any literature supplied by the manufacturer. It is very important to verify that the product you choose does, in fact, claim to “kill” the bacteria, virus or fungi you are attempting to eliminate. One level of effectiveness that is measured by OSHA is determining the disinfectant is effective against tuberculosis. If a disinfectant is proven effective ones.

Many studies so that phones are dirtier than toilets in most cases, phones are handled so frequently and often less attention is placed on the cleaning of your phone vs. your toilet seat.

April 25, 2011July 7, 2023

Blacklights and bathroom cleaning

If you want be sure your housekeeper is doing a through job when cleaning the washroom you can turn out the light and shine a black-light around the toilet. The black light bulbs use long wave, ultraviolet light to illuminate substances practically invisible under ordinary light. The uric acid in urine glows brightly under black-light and can identify a superficial cleaning of the toilet, toilet bowl, or area around the toilets including the walls and floor. uric acid is the final oxidation (breakdown) product of purine metabolism and is excreted in urine.

You can also use a black-light to find urine spots from cats or dogs that are hard to find and are the cause odor issues due to the fact you cant find the stains once they have dried etc. I have found this useful as my pets have aged and have had accidents during the day that I have not been aware of etc.

April 8, 2011July 7, 2023

Spring cleaning ideas

When spring cleaning or cleaning in general break down your tasks into small pieces. Start with one room or even a small section of one room. This way you can can see the progress and are not discouraged if distracted from the task. Start with cleaning just the washroom or one part of the washroom, like the mirror and sink. Seeing one part completely clean will encourage you to get back to the task of finishing if motivation is an issue. A quick tip for cleaning the washroom is to clean all the bright work first, mirrors, faucets, handles, shower heads etc. then tackle the heavy cleaning like sink, toilets, tub etc. finish with the floors.

March 28, 2011July 7, 2023

Running Shoes

I normally throw my running shoes in the washer with my towels, I stuff the laces in the shoes and then air dry in my laundry room (which warmer than anywhere else in my house). I know most don’t recommend this because they say it shortens the life of the shoes. However my theory is my quality of life if not my life itself will be shorter if I have hand wash my or my kids shoes. I even recently washed my sons Nike hi-tops in the wash with great success.

If you want to try by hand if you have the time or inclination use a soft brush and use some of the tips listed below:

Prepare a solution of water and a neutral cleaner (such as liquid dish-washing detergent or use laundry soap and water mixture).

Remove laces and inserts and rinse the shoes with water inside and out.

Use a soft brush and the cleaning solution to scrub every part of both shoes, including liners and insoles.

Remove scuff marks with a white nylon-backed scrub pad.

Rinse the shoes thoroughly with water.

Stuff the shoes with paper (not newspaper the ink will run and make a mess) to absorb excess water and to help the shoes keep their shape. Allow them to drip-dry.

Wash the laces in a load of laundry. Allow the inserts to air out, and apply baking soda to them if they’re smelly.

Replace the inserts and laces after the shoes dry completely.

Apply white cream shoe polish to white leather and black polish to black leather parts.

March 22, 2011July 7, 2023

Keeping clean and organized

The number one thing you can do to keep clean and organized is to have a spot for everything. My daughter is famous in our house for leaving her shoes in random locations, after millions of requests (hyperbole for effect) over a long period of time I bought a giant shoe shelf(5 feet tall) for the mud room. I have seen an improvement in the random shoes around the house. Invest the time to figure out the place for everything, shirts hanging in the closet, sock drawer, athletic clothes drawer etc. Its helps reduce the constant “Mom!!! wheres my _____________?”

I also invested in shallow tupperware containers to slide under the bed, so I can have more places to put stuff. Knowing where the cleaning stuff for example also helps. As my kids have gotten older I can just tell them to clean up the spill they created because they know the precise location for everything. I wonder how my mother managed because she did everything for me, I never had to lift a finger. I guess I went the opposite way, I must be very lazy because I try to have a system that lets my family figure it out. Hopefully in the long run it helps them run an efficient home so they can spend more time doing fun stuff in life.

March 22, 2011July 7, 2023

Walls…

Dirty walls??

Here are some quick tips for wall cleaning

This is the one thing where you do the opposite of what you normally would like to do when cleaning. Normally you clean from the top down when cleaning most things. Like dusting before vacuuming, or cleaning the lights and mirrors before cleaning the washroom counter.

When cleaning walls clean from the bottom to the top this prevents the drips and streaks on the dirty part of the wall which are harder to remove from dirty walls than freshly cleaned walls. Use a cleaning solution bucket and a clean water rinse bucket. What you use will depend on how dirty your wall is. If you are cleaning before painting using a strong cleaner like TSP (found in any hardware store). For less dirty walls use a general purpose cleaner mixed with water.

Invest in a professional wall mop from your location janitorial supply store, this will save time and back strain since it is a flat mop on the end of a broom stick. This allows covering more space quickly and using greater force or elbow grease while cleaning. In addition to not having to climb on ladders to reach the top.

March 4, 2011July 7, 2023

Colorfast Clothes??

How can I be sure a new article of clothing is colorfast and what is the test when using color safe bleach?

This is mostly common sense, but there are also some simple tests that take very little time to be sure your clothing is not damaged when washing or bleaching.

With a new article of clothing, especially on vibrant colors, always do this quick test before washing for the first time. Moisten an inside seam, and rub with a white cotton towel or a cotton ball. If any of the color transfers to the white cloth or ball, treat this article of clothing like dynamite. It has the potential to turn sports socks pink, make blue jeans purple, and other wise ruin perfectly good clothing.

Wash separately, according to the manufacturers label. One garment can be easily laundered in a sink to save energy, instead of running your washer with only one piece of clothing in it! Wash in cold water to prevent the dye from running out, and follow the label for drying. If the clothing cannot be placed in a dryer, wrap it up in an old terry towel, to remove as much moisture as possible, before laying flat to dry. Hanging a non-colorfast garment to dry, may leave dye run marks. For articles of clothing that can be placed in a dryer, the heat will usually set the color, making the piece colorfast, but to be certain, re-test before the next laundering.

As for bleaches, the two most common types are chlorine (whites) and oxygen (all-fabric) based. For either of these you will mix a small amount to use as a tester. For whites mix a tablespoon of chlorine bleach in a cup of water, for colors mix 1 teaspoon of all fabric bleach to a cup of water. Place a drop on an inside seam, or on a shirttail. Allow the drop to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, and check to see if the color has lightened. If it does not change color, it is safe to treat with that type of bleach. You can add the remaining test mixture into the wash water, but always be sure to follow the manufacturers directions for dilution rates.

The complete list of what all those laundry symbols stand for can be found at http://www.textileaffairs.com/lguide.htm

March 4, 2011July 7, 2023

Gum from clothes

A quick idea to remove gum from clothing items is to freeze the garment. And then gentle scrape off the gum when frozen. Less chance of damage using chemicals etc.

February 17, 2011

Sodium Bicarbonate and Lemon Juice or Vinegar

Baking soda also makes a great stain remover when used in tandem with other substances, such as lemon juice and vinegar. Simply mix the liquids with the powder until they become a paste, and apply to the surface using a scrub brush.

Category: Home Interior Tips