An overwhelming musty stench of garbage, feces and chemicals greeted those who entered a three-bedroom home in Camarillo.

In the dark hallway past the living room and into the kitchen lay neatly stacked soggy plastic bags filled with garbage piled nearly 4 feet high. Some bags contained unopened tomato soup, canned cat food, mayonnaise and soda cans so old the liquid had rusted through and left a mark on the linoleum floor.

In one bedroom, the former resident, an 84-year-old woman, had carved out a tiny space to lay her head below cobwebs and piles of neatly stacked clothing that towered beside her bed.

Not the Sexiest Industry; but Perhaps a Fundamental Indicator in the Making…

No; cleaning an office building at night or cleaning a restaurant kitchen isn’t as fashionable as operating an  iPad, and laundering uniforms for large or small businesses isn’t as attractive as making an iPhone work; but cleaning and uniform supply are one of the fundamental tiers that high style economies are built on. Even a nifty gadget loses its engrossing appeal in a dirty restaurant or when the food-server has a heavily smudged rag with yesterday’s menu on it.

In fact, as industrial and commercial ‘cleaning’ revenues increase; there’s a reason; more productivity and as far as laundry goes, a business cleaning 20 smocks that orders 20 more and begins cleaning shows… growth. An indicator if you will…

More at source: Small Cap Network

The Morgan County Commission trimmed more than $100,000 from its maintenance budget for the coming fiscal year by contracting with a local company to clean the courthouse.

“We were able to save about $162,000 by contracting out the janitorial services,” Chairman Ray Long said. “We look to save in any way we can, so we found this to be a lot cheaper route.”

The commission approved a low bid of $83,100 from Ayers Cleaning Service for janitorial duties at the courthouse.

Initially, Maintenance Director Wayne Lindley will oversee the company’s cleaning of the courthouse, Long said.

Long said the county was paying about $245,000 for salaries and benefits for three janitorial employees and for cleaning supplies in the maintenance department.

More at source: Decatur Daily

Columbia Public Schools administrators are working to reorganize the district's custodial staff to create more efficiency.

The assistant director of facilities recently quit, creating an opportunity for the district to look at a different model for its top custodial staff. The new model will add three area supervisors in addition to having an assistant director. The area supervisors could field calls and questions from custodians undefined a job now done primarily by the assistant director, Deputy Superintendent Nick Boren explained to the board of education. At night, when the maintenance staff gets most of its work done at the schools, there is only one supervisor for employees to turn to, he said.

More at source: Columbia Tribunne

Sept. 10, 2012 -- Household cleaning products may contain toxic substances linked to health problems such as asthma allergic reactions, and cancer according to a new report by the Environmental Working Group.

The environmental group rated more than 2,000 household cleaners -- from laundry soaps and stain removers to bathroom cleaners and floor care products. Products are graded A to F based on the safety of the ingredients and how well the maker discloses those ingredients.

One industry trade group disputes the findings, though, saying the report doesn't make the grade.

More at source: Web MD

Find a GREEN Cleaning ( non-toxic ) cleaning service here

MANILA, Philippines - Ronald Gadayan, a janitor who returned a large sum of money he found at the airport, was given commendation by his bosses and colleagues in simple rites during a flag raising ceremony on Monday.
 
Gadayan, a contractual janitor who receives a daily wage of P400, was doing his duty as a glass cleaner at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 departure area  on September 3 when he found an abandoned black Burberry bag  underneath the chairs.
 
Gadayan did not hesitate to bring the bag to his superior. Both of them turned the bag over to the lost and found section of NAIA Terminal 2.
 
The bag, which contained more than P600,000, pieces of jewelry and personal documents, was returned to its owner, Francis Lloyd Chua.

More at source: ABC CBN News

McALLEN undefined After checking the windows for fingerprints, the janitor asked for paper.

Several years ago, Roel Recio had enrolled at South Texas College and attempted to transform his passion for art into a career. But Recio quickly dropped out, unable to juggle family undefined three daughters and his 12-year-old brother, who Recio adopted after their parents died undefined work and school.

Now 27, Recio had taken a job cleaning bathrooms, re-arranging furniture and performing other menial tasks at NIU Urban Living, the ultra-hip furniture store on North 10th Street.

More at source: Brownsville Herald

A janitorial company working in a Missoula nursing home has been cited with almost $60,000 worth of safety violations after exposing workers to multiple hazards, including failure to provide hepatitis B exposure prevention training to employees.

Healthcare Services Group Inc. was issued five citations Aug. 7 from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after inspections were opened in May at the Missoula Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Two “repeat” violations – for failing to make vaccinations for hepatitis B available and failing to provide training to employees on hazardous chemicals – carry $44,000 worth of fines. Healthcare Services was cited for similar violations in its Laurel facility and at a facility in Pueblo, Colo., in the past five years, an OSHA news release said.

The three other violations were classified as “serious,” and included not providing the correct training to prevent the spread of hepatitis B.

“Employers must protect workers who are occupationally exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials,” Jeff Funke said in the OSHA news release. Funke is the director of OSHA’s Billings-area office. “This employer placed workers’ health at risk by not offering them required bloodborne pathogens training.”

More at source: Missoulian

The DeSoto Board of Supervisors, with little debate but hearing a plea for janitorial workers who are losing their jobs to outsourcing, approved Tuesday a lean fiscal 2013 budget of $104.2 million in expenditures.

It's an 8 percent cut from this year's blueprint but still allows for increases in jail-operation costs and a 3 percent raise for county workers. The vote of the five-member governing board was 4-1, with supervisor Bill Russell of Walls casting the lone "no."

More at source: Commercial Appeal

Spills on your couch can be difficult to spot clean and many people go to using expensive and harsh chemical cleaners. Before you resort to that, try removing the spot using dish detergent that's been whipped by a hand mixer.

Household weblog Apartment Therapy recommends using a manual hand mixer to whip dish detergent into a froth, rubbing the froth into your upholstery with a rag, and rising the whipped detergent out with water.

More at source: Life Hacker