Washington, DC (WLTX) -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling some household cleaning supplies.

Mean Green® Super Strength Cleaner & Degreaser and Mean Green® Industrial Strength Cleaner & Degreaser are being recalled because they are mislabeled.

Officials say they're labeled "Does not contain Ammonia", but that is not true for some bottles and can pose a chemical hazard if mixed with other products.

The product was sold nationwide at Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Fred's, Walmart and small retailers from August 2014 to November 2014 for between $1 and $8.

The recalled cleaning products came in white plastic spray bottles and white or green plastic containers. The words "Mean Green Super Strength Cleaner & Degreaser" or "Mean Green Industrial Strength Cleaner & Degreaser" are on a label on the front and the UPC number is on the back. The recall involves products with date codes 4225, 4226, 4227, 4228, 4229 and 4230. The date code is printed on the back of the bottle near the QR code.

More at source:WLTX

Find a cleaning service here.

The historic clock atop City Hall stopped shortly after 6:30 a.m. Monday so crew members could get inside the tower and clamber outside to gussy up the late-19th-century landmark downtown.

The hands on the four-sided clock should be moving again by Friday. The four faces rival London’s Big Ben in diameter at more than 23 feet.

Along with time standing still these many days, the clock’s bells that chime throughout the week are silenced, and its lights are turned off.

Engineers chose roughly 6:30 for the hands to stop because that made them less obtrusive as cleaning progressed, said Hennepin County spokeswoman Carolyn Marinan. The Municipal Building Commission, a joint agency of the city and the county, runs the building.

More at source: Star Tribune

Find a cleaning service here.

Lorena Arita, a member of Tufts University’s custodial staff, comes to West Hall dormitory every morning and tries to ignore the threat of layoffs as she works to keep the building clean. Coming to Tufts in 1998, after the university had outsourced its custodial staff to DTZ, a property services company, she and her coworkers have experienced long work weeks and rising efficiency standards. Now, as Tufts seeks to renew its contract with DTZ, Tufts Labor Coalition (TLC), a student group that advocates for university employees, is stepping in to protest the possible cuts.

“Rumors began spreading from DTZ managers to janitors that there would be cuts to personnel sometime this year,” said TLC president, Tufts sophomore, Lior Appel-Kraut, “The administration hasn’t denied it. . . claiming that these cuts [may] need to be made to increase efficiency.”

More at source: USA Today

Find a janitorial service here.

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) -A group of window washers caught the eyes of many Wednesday morning while they were cleaning the exterior of the Capital One Tower during some heavy winds.

"This is the first time I've seen it," said onlooker Michelle Horak. "I posted on Facebook and said 'This is something new!' You know, I've never seen it here."

Workers with AAA National USA Building Services came in from Georgia to work on the building. Supervisor Richard Dominguez says the last time they were here was about 6 years ago. He says fortunately, the wind wasn't too bad and managed to sustain the weather with no safety issues. Though the workers were just doing their job, some people were still amazed.

"It's cold, I mean, anything can happen," said onlooker Shaydriana Rhodes, who took time to snap a picture of the workers on her phone. "The winds could be really strong, you know; you never know what can happen with mother nature."

Dominguez says he's been a part of the building services for 15 years and says it's always tough when the temperature drop

"It's real cold," he said as he overlooked his team of six workers. "Your hands get real real cold. I mean, it's hard but if you've been doing this for a long time I mean it's not hard to do. It's just like every other jobs."

The workers are based out of Georgia and are headed to Houston this weekend to continue their work there. He says compared to his past jobs, the weather in Lake Charles was a piece of a cake.

More at source: WAFB

Find a window cleaning service here. 

BERLIN undefined The elementary school was closed Tuesday after a quarter of the students were out sick with a stomach virus on Monday.

"Students became sick over the weekend, we just became aware of the number of students affected once they returned to school on Monday," according to Karen Molnar, director of pupil personnel for the Berlin-Boylston school district. "So far, only one of our teaching staff has been affected. We are working with the school nurses and the Department of Public Health and will be spending the day thoroughly disinfecting all surfaces to try to prevent any further spread of the virus."

Parents were notified by phone and email, with information on preventing further spread of the virus, Molnar said.

Berlin Memorial School Principal John Campbell sent a notice to parents Monday.

"We have a significant number of children who have been ill with a stomach virus over the past 72 hours and want to take steps to provide for a thorough cleaning of our school before students return on Wednesday," he wrote. "Our custodial staff will use Tuesday to disinfect surfaces that students commonly come into contact with, such as desks, chairs, hand rails, etc. These surfaces are routinely cleaned, but having the building empty will allow staff to do an extra thorough job. This time will also allow children a chance to recover more fully so that we can get back to work on Wednesday."

More at source: Telegram

Find a cleaning service here. 

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) - Lieutenant Joey Crosby, with the Myrtle Beach Police Department, said a portion of Highway 501 remains closed Saturday morning following the fire at Genco, Incorporated.

Highway 501 is closed between 3rd Avenue South and Canal Street.  Crosby says drivers coming into Myrtle Beach, on 501, will be redirected down 3rd Avenue South.  Drivers heading west on 501, from Kings Highway, are encouraged to use an alternate route, said Crosby.

Myrtle Beach firefighters say they received the call shortly before 2:00 a.m. Saturday.  Lieutenant Christian Sliker, with the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, said crews remain on the scene extinguishing hot spots.  He said the building suffered extensive fire, smoke, and water damage. 

More at source: WBTM

Find a janitorial service here.

Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke gets a lot of complaints against air duct businesses.
 
Hiring an air duct cleaner can be tricky, because typically customers don't know what it looks like inside the ducts.
 
So when it's all over, customers don't know if they got their money's worth.
 
John Varvel hired Indoor Air Solutions.
 
"We don't make a lot of money -- tight budget," Varvel said.
 
He put $900 down, then he changed his mind and asked for a refund.
 
"Extremely frustrating,” Varvel said. “We cannot afford to lose $900."
 
Around the same time, another customer said IAS did the work, but that a line started dripping and that he couldn't get the company to come back, that customer said in an email to Action 9.

More at source: WSOCTV

Find a cleaning service here. 

Lorena Arita, a member of Tufts University’s custodial staff, comes to West Hall dormitory every morning and tries to ignore the threat of layoffs as she works to keep the building clean. Coming to Tufts in 1998, after the university had outsourced its custodial staff to DTZ, a property services company, she and her coworkers have experienced long work weeks and rising efficiency standards. Now, as Tufts seeks to renew its contract with DTZ, Tufts Labor Coalition (TLC), a student group that advocates for university employees, is stepping in to protest the possible cuts.

“Rumors began spreading from DTZ managers to janitors that there would be cuts to personnel sometime this year,” said TLC president, Tufts sophomore, Lior Appel-Kraut, “The administration hasn’t denied it. . . claiming that these cuts [may] need to be made to increase efficiency.”

TLC planned escalating demonstrations to raise awareness around the potential cuts, which culminated in a 31-hour sit-in at the end of the semester in Ballou Hall, Tufts’ central administrative building.

More at source: USA Today

Find a janitorial service here. 

Law360, New York (January 05, 2015, 6:52 PM ET) -- Custodial company Coverall North America Inc. and a class of 166 franchisees have settled a long-running wage-and-hour suit a week before arguments were to begin in the First Circuit, announcing an end to a case in which a federal judge had ruled the janitorial franchisees were employees under Massachusetts law.

More at source: Law 360

Find a janitorial service here. 

 

1. Vacuum in both directions. If you don't, you're likely to miss small pieces of dirt and dust that get trapped under the fibers of your carpet. 

Looking for more vacuuming tips? Read about the seven most common vacuuming mistakes here.

2. Vodka can clean mildew and mold. Spray onto mold or mildew, wait ten minutes, and rinse clean to eliminate the problem.

Have an excess of vodka after the holidays? Here are 12 unexpected uses to clean your whole house.

3. Newspaper is not actually the best cleaner for glass. It can leave streaks and ink marks, so use rags or paper towels instead. 

We busted six more cleaning myths undefined read them here.

4. Replace your loofah! The fluffy cleaners are breeding grounds for all sorts of gross bacteria. Make sure to replace yours every few weeks.

Read more about the dirtiest places in your bathroom.

5. You can make your own all-purpose cleaner. Combine baking soda and water, and you'll never need to buy brand again. 

Want your cleaners to go completely homemade? Find more recipes here!

6. Reusable grocery bags are gross. (But only if you use them to carry meat!) Half of the bags tested carried disease-causing bacteria like E.coli. Ew!

What other secret spots in your kitchen are dirty? Find out here!

7. Clean... your house plants? Yes, really. Shine and dust their leaves to make sure they're living to their fullest potential. 

More at source: House Beautiful

Find a cleaning service near you.