General Article

Office Cleaning – Start a Side Business

Office cleaning in the evenings is a great way to pick up extra cash! It is a relatively easy job that can be done in the off hours when no one is in the office. There are plenty of smaller offices that would welcome the idea of having someone come in and clean their office for them at a decent rate.

Most large cleaning companies focus on big commercial buildings and don’t really want to be bothered with smaller offices. This is where the smart entrepreneur can step in and make some much needed extra cash. Office cleaning is a pretty simplistic process. It really only takes a couple of hours at most to clean smaller offices and the expectation is usually that you will clean the floors, empty the trash and wipe down some desks. It really is that simple.

Where to Find These Types Of Jobs

If you are in it for yourself, than place an ad in a local newspaper announcing your great new service. You can call around to other cleaning services to see what the going rate is for that type of service although it is probably prudent not to mention that you are thinking about starting your own cleaning service it may not be well received when you ask about rates.

Once you have your rates set you can do a couple of different things besides running an ad. You can put up flyers announcing your intentions or you can even hand deliver them to offices in your area. Drop in on some of the small local offices introduce yourself to the office manager and see if they are interested in your service. You can offer a discount to the first ten that sign up with you.

Some Tips

You should only take on the office cleaning jobs that you know you can schedule you do not want to take on too much work at first. You want to make sure that you can meet the demand, so schedule on the conservative side until you get to the point where you can potentially find someone to help you if you get to the point where you start to grow.

Be daring step out from the crowd do not be afraid to approach people and talk about your plan, one of the best ways to be successful is to network amongst people. You’d be surprised who you might wind up getting work from.

Make sure you do as you say you will. If you promise something – then be sure to follow through. Word of mouth is the small business person’s best friend.

Office cleaning in the evening hours can be a great way to make extra money and it may even turn into a full time venture!…

Carpet Cleaning and Tile Or Hardwood – Best Methods For Ensuring Effective Long-Term Cleanliness

Every office or commercial business has different needs for maintenance; especially floor maintenance. Floor tile or carpet cleaning is not the same from one area to the next. Different regions have to deal with specific problems. In the southern states sand, mud and pollen wreak havoc on carpet. On the West coast similar challenges exist due to the overall climate conditions. Pennsylvania and New England have additional condition with which to contend: salt, sand, water, mildew, pollen. The list is never ending.

The best solution for keep the carpet or tile clean is to contract with a professional carpet and floor cleaning company to perform deep cleans a few times per year. Depending upon the volume of traffic, the carpet and other floor surfaces may require more frequent attention. The alternatives can be surprising and quite expensive.

Normal dirt from day to day operations is expected. When sand and salt are thrown into the mix wear and tear on carpets and hard floor surfaces can cause the flooring to degrade very quickly. Salt and sand will act as scouring agents and will dull and etch tiles and hardwood floors. Carpets will be detrimentally affected as well. The sand and salt will sift down into the carpet and dull the color and texture and weaken the fabric.

With regards to tile and hardwood flooring, it is important to regularly maintain the wax finish coat or other type of protective sealant. Sand and other granulated materials can weaken and erode grout joints encouraging the joints to crack and crumble. Carpeting requires regular vacuuming. Surprisingly, vacuum beater bars can actually cause dirt and other contaminants to recede further down into the carpet fibers, which cause the carpet to fray.

The best way to combat the negative effects of these and other contaminants is for tile and hard floor surfaces to be stripped periodically. Stripping a floor requires specialized equipment to do it efficiently. After the floor finish has been stripped the stripping chemical must be removed and neutralized. Because of this labor intensive process, it does not make sense for most companies to service their own flooring.

Carpeting requires deep steam cleaning to remove embedded soil, pollen and other contaminants. Steam helps to relax the fibers of the carpet and loosen the embedded debris. Once this has been achieved it becomes easier to remove the dirt and restore the carpeting to a brighter and cleaner look.

In certain situations steam cleaning carpets or stripping a tile floor may not be a viable option. There are other methods to clean flooring. The professional carpet cleaning company will be able to recommend the best solution for the specific carpet and environment.…

Know More About Property Finance

Regarding property finance, there is some information that you can obtain from the web. Commit yourself to finding all specific details about property finance and you will.

With property finance, the first thing you need to avoid is the trouble of financial debt; to be able to do this, you need to create and finance a budget. A warehouse receipt as non-negotiable instrument can completely notify you that a certain moment in time, a certain amount and quality of merchandise were delivered into a warehouse. The competitive advantage of this is that it should discourage competition and create a barrier to entry.

Payday loans are unsecured loan that can help you last in between paydays. This type of loan has no collateral because it is a short term loan and does not involve a huge amount of money.

Foremarket is the trade between countries, each country’s currency and the time of investing in certain currencies. Trades between countries are usually completed with the help of a broker or a financial company.

If you borrowed money from an illegal or unlicensed payday lender and you need to pay the principal sum but you do not have the finances, you can get a written agreement with them stating how the loan will be settled. Make sure that when making payments for payday lenders, you are doing it through money order and not through prepaid cards.

Finding specific information about property finance may not be easy but if you search the web thoroughly, you will be able to acquire what you are looking for and this can be very helpful to you if you want to know more about property finances.…

Should Your Facility Contract-Out or Provide In-House Office Cleaning and Janitorial Services?

The bottom line of every efficient business should be how to maximize its profits in a manner that leads to the greatest potential future profitability. As a result, companies are always looking to alter their janitorial programs in such a way to minimize their expenses to boost their bottom line, while maintaining an acceptable level of cleanliness. The following article will help shed light on the dirty business of deciding whether to contract out the cleaning services, or to take care of them in-house.

Does the Bottom Line Always Make Cents?

There are many hundreds of factors to consider when weighing how a company ought to best handle its’ janitorial services. For the sake of simplicity and efficiency, we’ll examine the large factors that most businesses need to consider for their janitorial programs.

Managing Your Options

The first question to consider is: Which member of your business will manage the janitorial program? If you do not have somebody within your company that is both readily equipped to manage all of the janitorial services and personnel AND still perform all of their other duties, then your company will have to take on a considerable additional expense to provide In-House Management. Professional cleaning companies already have management in place to handle services, personnel and any emergency issues that may arise at a moments notice. While it may certainly be cheaper to employ your own entry-level staff, a few extra costs come associated with that; training costs, hiring/firing costs and the previously mentioned management costs. These added together could already result in a company having higher costs than hiring a specialized janitorial service.

Additional considerations come with purchasing the proper equipment and chemicals necessary to carryout the work. While janitorial companies do factor in some amount of equipment and chemical usage, it is often much lower since they purchase their items in larger quantities and can easily transfer it to another facility if necessary.

It’s None of Your Business

Often times companies go into business with the intent of selling certain goods or services as a means to generate sufficient revenue. What usually happens, however, is business owners and members of management end up spending large resources, staffing and time carrying out miscellaneous functions that are necessary to run the day-to-day activities of a business. This takes away from time and energy that could be spent growing your actual business. The companies that are most successful and are able to continue growing at rapid rates are generally those who focus all or most of their resources and energy on exactly what their business is supposed to do. An article from goes further into how a business should evaluate what other processes should be considered for outsourcing.

Do What you Know, and Let the Rest Go

The final test is to contact some local janitorial service companies and ask them about how they can help your business grow. Be specific on not …

Types of Mops and Buckets

Mops and buckets are the major essentials for floor and tile cleaning. There are innumerable types of mops and buckets available in the market these days to suit different types of requirements. Specializing in office cleaning supplies, There is lots of technologically advanced and cost effective commercial mops and mopping solutions. There two different types of mops: Dry mop or dust mop and wet mop. Dry mops are used to pick up dust from table tops, refrigerator tops and wooden and composition floors. The amount of dust and dirt that can be cleared with the help of these mops is quite surprising. Wet mops are used for floor and tiles cleaning using water and detergent. These mops are suitable for all floor types.

Apart from mops, there is a range of mop handles and handle holders available. There are baby mops available that help in cleaning the floor while the baby is crawling. The baby mops have fringes attached in front of the dress that automatically cleans the floor when the baby crawls. Complete range of mop and bucket make it perfect in office cleaning supplies.

The bucket and mop industry is now a competitive industry and high-end products of bucket and mop stands firm against stiff competition. Good quality cheap buckets are available on that serve all kinds of purposes. The market for Buckets, UK is growing and opening new scopes for suppliers and manufacturers.

There are small buckets and medium-sized ones available. The range of buckets include: plastic bucket, stainless steel, mop bucket, bucket with wringer, polypropylene bucket, heavy duty bucket with chrome handle and galvanized bucket. A plastic bucket is a cheap bucket, and it is quite common that we do not compromise on quality despite there being lots of cheap buckets available.

Customers buy cheap buckets because they are the only company which offers a wide range at economical prices. The buckets with wringer further facilitate cleaning. The buckets are available in various colors also. Floor cleaning cannot be imagined without a bucket and mop. A good quality bucket and mop can make cleaning fast and effective and therefore it forms an essential part of the office cleaning supplies. Due to their common usage, the manufacture of buckets and mops has a profound bearing on the environment and hence it is imperative that these should be eco-friendly hygiene products. Keeping in mind the global warming and other environmental issues, nowadays it is common place for people to buy eco friendly hygiene products for their daily cleaning use.…

Before you hire a water damage restoration service, you must understand the risks involved in the process. First, you must ensure that you are hiring a certified company. Check for certification from the IICRC. You should also ask the company whether they are insured and if they have a 24-hour emergency line. It is also essential to ask how satisfied their previous clients have been with their service. You can usually get this information through online review sites. However, if you’re not sure how to find a trustworthy company, you can also check online reviews.

IICRC certification

IICRC is an organization that recognizes professional work standards and provides ongoing education to restore damaged property.

IICRC training is comprehensive and focuses on water removal, moisture removal, and optimal use of equipment. Consumers value integrity, quality work, and professionalism in service providers, and they expect to get the same results from a company certified by IICRC. IICRC is committed to maintaining its standards and enhancing its members’ expertise and provides certification to water damage restoration companies that meet high industry standards. Certified companies adhere to IICRC standards for all aspects of their operations, including the training of technicians.

Cost of hiring a professional

Some homeowners may want to save money by hiring a restoration company and cleaning crew to help with their water damage restoration project. Others may wish to handle the job themselves, hiring dehumidifiers and other specialty materials. While some homeowners may be able to save money by repairing some damage themselves, it is generally a better idea to hire a professional to ensure the job is done correctly and without health risks. Here’s a breakdown of the cost of hiring a professional for water damage restoration:

First, a restoration contractor will assess the extent of water damage. Next, a restoration team will use moisture sensors to determine whether water has penetrated the walls or not. Next, they will evaluate the level of repair needed for the area. Finally, a restoration crew will remove any carpet, furniture, appliances, or electronics required. Once the rooms are clean and dry, the contractors will assess how much damage has been caused. You can expect to pay between $350 and $500 per hour for water damage restoration.

Health hazards

While water damage may not cause severe health risks to most people, it can be dangerous for occupants of a structure if it contains contaminated water. Excess moisture in a system can encourage the growth of harmful bacteria and mold. Additionally, exposure to water contaminated with mold can lead to respiratory problems, allergies, and chronic headaches. Therefore, water damage restoration must prioritize health, not property damage. For this reason, a professional cleanup company is necessary to prevent the spread of bacteria and mold.

In addition to health risks, water damage can cause mold and other harmful biological growth. This mold will take hold within 12 days and can affect people’s health in the home. These are not only unpleasant odors but can also cause respiratory …

How to Find a Great Cleaning Service for Your Business

Impressions are everything and having fresh and clean premises depends on getting really good cleaners to take care of it.

Unfortunately the satisfaction level with cleaning contractors is often low. To avoid continual problems you need to know what to look for before you engage a cleaning company.

Here are a few tips which may help you to find a really good commercial cleaners who will provide you with regular high quality service.

1 When you make a general inquiry, notice how you are dealt with on the phone.

Are the office staff professional and friendly. Ask a few questions

2. Inquire about other jobs the company is currently doing. Ask for written testimonials or contact numbers if they are available. If the cleaning business is reluctant to do this you may want to look elsewhere

3. Ask anyone in your business network if they currently use a cleaner and what they think of the service they are getting. If you go to business social meetings there may be a cleaning contractor amongst the group.

4.Make two or three appointments and request quotes. Look over the details of the tenders provided and then get back to the companies and ask them questions like how they supervise their staff and how they deal with complaints from clients.

5 Don’t base your final decision on price alone. A lot of cleaners will put in a low bid just to win a job. The result is that you will be constantly bombarded with complaints from your staff. Look for value and dependable service to get your premises looking good all the time.…

Educating Nancy

Recently our soon to be former Speaker of the House made the following statement:

“Giving $700 billion to the wealthiest people in America does add $700 billion dollars to the deficit. And the record and history shows and does not create jobs.” Putting aside for the moment that most third graders have better English skills, let’s examine this absolutely ridiculous statement. Mrs. Pelosi wants us to believe that extending the current tax rates for all Americans is GIVING them money. Since you can’t give something that isn’t yours, she is in effect making the case that the money belongs to the government in the first place.

I would like to take this opportunity to enlighten and educate Nancy Pelosi on this matter. I will use short words and easy analogies in the hope that she can grasp the concepts presented. The first thing that needs to be understood is that if I earn $100.00 it is MY $100.00, not yours Nancy. You didn’t drag yourself out of bed at 4:00 A.M. and earn it. I did. It is mine not yours. If my tax rates go down, you are not giving me anything, you are simply taking less of my hard earned money.

Now, let’s go on to our next lesson. The deficit. A deficit is the difference between what you take in and what you spend. Deficits are caused by OVER-SPENDING not under-taxing. To illustrate, let us assume that you owe $10,000 on your mortgage, $5,000 on your car and $1,000 on your credit card. Remember we are using small round numbers to keep this simple. It’s hard to think in trillions! These numbers add up to a total of $16,000. We will call this $16,000 your deficit. It is money that you owe. Now let’s assume that your salary is tax money being taken in. This should be simple for you to understand since your salary IS tax money being taken in. Now let’s further assume that your constituents suddenly buy a clue and vote you out of office at which point your salary stops and you are no longer taking in “tax money.” Does your deficit get larger? No, it does not. You still owe the same amounts on your house, car and credit card. Now let’s assume you use your credit card to buy Botox and you spend $1,000. You will now owe $10,000 on your mortgage, $5,000 on your car and $2,000 on your credit card for a total of $17,000. Did this additional spending make your deficit get larger? Yes, it did. Your $16,000 deficit is now $17,000. See how that worked? It looks like spending causes deficits. Unless you add to them by spending, they stay the same. Simply amazing.

Now, let’s move on to the subject of class warfare. This might have worked in 1917 Russia but it doesn’t fly here in America. Most of us do not begrudge the “rich” what they have. We assume that in most cases …

How to Clean the Office’s Fridge

Although you may hate cleaning the fridge, it is crucial to do it, whether it is at home or at the office. If you can’t bare the idea, talk to your commercial cleaning service and arrange that they clean your office’s fridge at least once a month, because a clean fridge maintains food fresh and safe for a longer period of time, and it becomes more energy efficient, saving you money.

Even if you are going to delegate the work, you should know how a fridge should be cleaned, because later you will have to check that the job was well done, thus, here we show you how to clean the office’s fridge properly:

-First, get what you need: 1) a basin with mild soap water, 2) a basin with mild bleach water, 3) sponges or pieces of cloth, and 4) Ziploc bags or other see-through storage containers.

-Unplug the fridge before you begin to clean it.

-Empty the freezer section, and take out the trays that can be removed. Wash the trays in the soapy water and later wet a piece of cloth or sponge in the bleach water and wipe every tray thoroughly. Put the trays to dry in the dish drainer or over paper towels.

-Change the soap water and with a piece of cloth or sponge, wipe the freezer’s interior. Then do the same but with the bleach water. If you have an odor problem, which is very common in offices’ fridges, mix two tablespoons of baking soda in one quart of warm water and wipe the inside of the freezer with it.

-Sort every product that was on the freezer and get rid of those that are not good anymore, if the products belong to your employees, they must be notified before throwing their food away. Ask you personnel to use see-through containers and to label them properly.

-Now, move to the rest of the fridge. Get fresh soapy and bleach waters and wash the pieces of cloth or sponges that you used to clean the freezer. Empty the fridge; take out the food as well as the racks and trays.

-Wash the trays, racks, and the inside of the fridge just as you did with the freezer. Do not forget to clean the grooves where the trays fit into, because these are areas where spills from juices and different foods collect, and remember also to clean the seals around the door.

-Sort the products that you are returning to the fridge and ask your employees to get rid of their leftovers or other items that are out of date. Clean bottles and plastic containers before replacing them in the fridge, and put an open box of baking soda inside to help control odors.

-After the interior of the fridge is impeccable, move to the exterior. Take some soapy water and clean the outside, especially the door handles; get the excess dirt off with the soapy water and then …

5 Simple Tips to Keep Your Office Clean

Whether you work from home or in an office, you surely spend a lot of time in front of your desk, which means you touch and grab things with your hands (like phones, keyboards, etc). By touching them, two things happen: if your hands are not clean, they’ll get those things dirty; and if those things are dirty, but your hands are clean, your hands will get dirty. We could say that when two things make contact, the dirtiest one gets the other one dirty. A good reason to keep your workplace clean. But how?

The most important tip any office cleaning guru can give you is to be aware of the consequences of not having a clean office. To put it simply, if we don’t take care of cleaning our work environment, we’ll become ill.

So, it goes beyond de-cluttering, removing stacks of papers, and organizing bills. Let’s take it step by step:

1.It’s all about habits. It’s so easy to get lazy and let things grow untidy. If needed, put a note on your desk or in your digital calendar to remind yourself that you must take 15 minutes to clean up your desk and put everything away. As time goes by, you’ll get used to cleaning your work environment without even thinking about it while you do it.

2.Try not to eat at your desk. I know this is a hard-to-follow rule. But in order to understand why eating at your desk is so unhealthy, think of it the other way around: would you take your desk and your PC and work in the kitchen? If this example doesn’t hit home, I suggest you turn over your keyboard and shake it, to see all the dirt and food remains that fall onto your desk like beautiful snowflakes.

3.Clean your desk at least once a week. After you tidy up your papers and stuff, this is the place that needs to be cleaned first. Use a soft cloth and any spray cleaner to wipe down your computer, monitor, keyboard, speakers, telephone, lamp, pencil holders, paper stackers, and anything else. Do not spray your cleaner directly onto the objects; simply spray your cloth and wipe them clean. Make sure your computer and monitor are turned off before cleaning.

4.Waste basket. We tend to think that throwing garbage in the trash can is enough to get rid of it. But our minds are playing a trick on us, because the trash can is inside our environment. It will become a place where bacteria grow unless we clean it regularly. For this purpose, you can use a cleaning spray too, but make sure you use a different wipe than the one you used for your desk.

5.The floor. If you have carpet, vacuum regularly. Tiled and other types of hard floor should be swept and mopped at least once a week. If you have a plastic chair roller over your carpet, be sure …