Dust your light bulbs? Throw the lint filter in the dishwasher? Clean like never beforeundefinedbut should have been doing all alongundefinedwith these surprising tips.

1. Brighten up the room with a quick wipe down.

Don’t forget about your light bulbs when spring cleaning. According to professional organizer and authorDonna Smallin Kuper, a dirty bulb emits 20 percent less light than a clean one. To get your light bulbs shining their brightest, wipe t hem down with a dampened microfiber cloth when turned off, Kuper says. 

2. Make glass shine by not using cleaner. 

Have smudges on your mirrors, windows or stainless steel appliances? Forget paper towels, as they will leave behind lint, streaks and a cloudy film. Instead, Kuper swears by using microfiber cloths and water. Just spritz and wipe. For best results, choose a microfiber cloth designed for glass. “It's a finer weave than larger microfiber cloths,” she explains. To clean the cloth afterward, toss in the washing machineundefinedsans fabric softenerundefinedand air dry. 

3. Keep carpet cleaner by moving in slow motion. 

Carpets and rugs often feel great when brand new, but if vacuuming incorrectly, they will “ugly out” before they wear out. “Don’t vacuum like you are driving a race car,” cautions Paul Iskyan, president of Rug Renovating, a rug and carpet cleaning company in New York City. Instead, use a vacuum with good suction and move in slow, repetitive, overlapping strokes. This will remove up to 85 percent of dust and allergens, while also making high-traffic patterns less noticeable. 

4. Give disinfectants time to do their job. 

When there is a germy mess to clean, most reach for the disinfectant. However, Scot Case, a sustainability expert for the independent safety certification company UL Environment, says disinfectants are only beneficial when used correctly. Spraying and wiping without giving the product time to kill germs actually does more harm than good. “By not following the packaging directions, you may be exposing germs to just a little of the product,” Case warns. “This means they could develop a resistance to the disinfectant. Over time, super bugs could emerge that are immune to the disinfectant.” 

5. Check what kind of microfiber you have before cleaning it.

Microfiber sofas are comfortable and easy to maintain, but not all microfiber cleans the same. According to home repair guru Bob Vila, there are four types of microfiber, each with its own cleaning instructions. Check the manufacturer’s tag to see which type you have. If there is a W, clean with a water-based solution. For tags marked with an S, clean only with a solvent-based cleaner. If the tag says S-W, you can use either a water-based or solvent-based formula. For those marked with an X, only use a vacuum cleaner. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and remember to test new products on a hidden part of the fabric first. 

6. De-gunk the oven with two pantry staples.

Forget the fumes of a traditional oven cleaner. To get your oven sparkling, sprinkle the base with baking soda, then spray with vinegar, says Leslie Reichert, a nationally recognized green cleaning expert and author of "The Joy of Green Cleaning." The mixture will bubble up and start removing burnt-on food. For tougher spots, scrub clean with a wet pumice stone. 

7. Pop your lint filter in the dishwasher.

Regardless of how often you clear your dryer’s lint filter, it could still be clogged with invisible dryer sheet residue that accumulates in the filter screen and restricts airflow. To check for this, Reichert recommendspouring a few tablespoons of water over the filter. If the water doesn't pass through the mesh, it’s clogged. 

To clean, pop the filter into the dishwasher for a cycle, as the soap and hot water will remove the residue. Another option is to lightly scrub the mesh with a toothbrush and soapy water. Perform the water test again to make sure it is good to go.

More at source: Today.com

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Pride and dignity are the hallmarks of any Marine Corps veteran, but for so many years, Ken Thomas had to rely on others’ help to get by.

Thomas was homeless, had been out of work for four or five years and lived for a time at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

So when the 59-year-old Vietnam veteran received his first paycheck in years through a unique Shelter House employment program, it meant more than just the ability to pay for a meal on his own.

“It’s a sense of pride, honor and dignity back,” Thomas said. “No more handouts undefined you’re actually contributing to your own welfare.”

Today, Thomas is one of eight crew members tasked daily with cleaning the University of Iowa Community Credit Union’s gleaming new financial center in North Liberty. Thomas works for Fresh Starts, a janitorial business run by Shelter House as part of an innovative employment and housing program for homeless people. It’s the first of its kind in Iowa.

More at source: Desmoines Register

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Nothing teaches as well as the voice of experience. So we asked established cleaning service owners to tell us what's contributed to their success and what they think causes some companies to fail. Here are their tips:

1. Never stop learning. The cleaning industry may not be the most glamorous or complex, but established business owners say there’s always something to learn. Technology advances affect the equipment you use, safety issues affect the chemicals you clean with, and there will always be ways you can enhance your organizational and managerial skills. Read industry publications, go to meetings and conventions, participate in trade organizations, and encourage your suppliers to keep you up to date.

2. Tap all your resources. A wide range of associations serves various aspects of the professional cleaning industry. These groups can help with operational, marketing and management issues. Many state and government agencies also offer support and information for small businesses.

3. Clean it like it’s your own. Regardless of what you’re cleaning and whether you’re doing traditional housecleaning, janitorial work, or providing a specialty cleaning service, clean like you’re cleaning your own home or office.

4. Develop systems. Systems provide a structure that allows you to work consistently and efficiently, and also let you create a company that will continue to run whether you’re there or not. Create systems for every function: cleaning, laundry, supervision, reporting, customer service, accounting and management.

5. Be careful! Though time is your most valuable commodity, don’t rush so much that you get careless. Customers will usually understand when accidents happen, but you’re better off if you don’t have to fall back on that. Also, the cost to repair or replace something--in out-of-pocket cash, time lost and damaged customer relations--is usually far more than the time you might save by working carelessly.

6. Don’t undersell yourself. When you’re starting out, you may be tempted to try to undercut the competition’s prices. A better strategy is to simply outperform them by providing quality work.

7. Take care of your employees. Your employees are critical to your success; after all, it’s the quality of their performance that determines whether your customers are satisfied. Look for ways to make them want to do their best. Train them well, don’t micromanage, and treat them with respect. Provide bonuses and incentives for top performance, and consider offering perks such as letting them use company equipment in their own homes.

8. Find a niche. Don’t try to be all things to all people; pick the market you can best serve, and focus on that. For example, if you choose to service smaller office buildings, you may not be able to provide quality work at a profitable price level to larger facilities. Excel in what you’re doing and build consistency in the services you provide. When you try to serve too many markets, you won’t be successful in any of them.

9. Develop your computer skills. You need to be as skilled with your computer as you are with a mop or buffer. The cleaning business may not be particularly high tech, but you don’t have time to do estimates, billing, payroll, inventory control and other record-keeping by hand.

More at source: Entrepreneur 

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INDIANAPOLIS undefined Spring has officially arrived and after such a crummy winter, part of your spring cleaning might be the carpet.

But there is something you need to know about hiring carpet cleaners before you call for help.

“Anybody with a pulse and a pickup truck can call themselves a carpet cleaner,” said Tom King, owner of Sani-Bright Carpet Cleaning in Indianapolis.

“In the state of Indiana, there’s no licensing for carpet cleaning. There’s no licensing nationally for carpet cleaning. There’s only the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), which is the national certification you can get.”

Just two days after April Fools Day, the California State Assembly passed House Resolution 29 to denounce outsourcing of government services to private contractors and pledging oppose all future “outsourcing of public services and assets.” Despite staunch opposition from the League of Cities and other local government agencies across the state, the bill was first read on the Assembly floor in the morning of April 3rd, substantially amended, and passed the very same day on a Democrat party-line vote. The California Assembly is now demanding that all janitors in the State of California be unionized.

The anti-Wal-Mart crusader leading the fight to unionize the company once threatened a non-union janitorial company with death threats, The Daily Caller has learned.

Dan Schlademan runs the United Food and Commercial Workers Union’s (UFCW) Making Change at Walmart group, which is fighting for pay hikes for Wal-Mart employees and to block the retail giant from opening new stores that could drive down wages in various regions. The Making Change at Walmart campaign is organizing employees at every stage of the Walmart supply chain, including logistics and warehouse workers.

Schlademan made the threat in a phone call to the president of Houston’s Professional Janitorial Services (PJS) while Schlademan was working for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Schlademan ran the SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign in Houston in 2006. The phone conversation was captured on tape.

PJS, which Schlademan threatened while working for SEIU, was recently subjected to federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) site visits on which SEIU representatives joined government OSHA inspectors. PJS, despite SEIU pressure, is still a nonunion company.

“Brent, I want you to understand something. I’m your one defender. Everyone else is saying ‘Let’s go kill PJS,’” Schlademan told PJS’ president in a phone call.

Schlademan later acknowledged his use of death threats in a March 13, 2008 oral videotaped deposition in a PJS defamation lawsuit against SEIU reviewed by The Daily Caller.

An opposing lawyer asked Schlademan if “there were folks at the union that wanted to hurt or harm PJS?”

The California Department of Labor has issued more than $336,000 in assessments against a San Diego County-based janitorial service that will eventually go to workers who were not paid proper wages, according to a statement from the agency.

The assessments were issued against California Office Maintenance Inc., which is based in Poway. The amount covers rest and meal breaks that workers didn’t get, overtime payments they weren’t paid and, in some cases, hiring a “husband and wife team” but paying them only one salary.

According to the company’s website, they have a variety of commercial clients that include retailers, offices, theaters and non-profit businesses.

More at source: Press Enterprise

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