Carpet Spot Cleaning: Why You Should Use A Professional

The first pic below demonstrates the carpet damage that can be caused when an untrained individual tries to clean up carpet stains.

Problem – Wrong cleaning agents used, PH levels boosted using wrong products causing discoloration, burning of carpet fibres and/or colour loss.

Solution – Bring in a professional, like ServiceMaster Clean Residential’s trained technicians. We will identify the spot, determine the PH level, and use the appropriate cleaning agents and methods to get the stain out without causing damage.

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We found this at a strata; damage that cannot be
repaired, the carpet must be replaced. This could have been avoided if a
professional cleaner was brought in.

The next two pics are the before and after cleaning of a spot on site by one of our carpet cleaning technicians.

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Spot removed – no damage done to carpet fibers. The work of a professional.

Quick points to remember:

-There is no one product that can clean all spots and stains from carpet.

-Some cleaning agents contain chemicals that if used incorrectly can boost the PH level of the spill, causing damage to the carpet fibres, strip the color, or dissolve the materials.

-When a spill happens, blot to absorb as much as possible and seek guidance before attempting a do-it-yourself fix, or call in a professional to avoid costly damage.

Polygon: An Expert Developer’s Recommended Maintenance And Warranty Requirements

I had the opportunity recently to review Polygon’s official building envelope review submitted to a strata for which we provide maintenance services. It was a welcome chance to add this expert developer’s recommendations to our own, and share with you the insight obtained by reading their recommendations and why the items below should be addressed.

Here are direct quotes regarding what Polygon recommends in their literature to ensure buildings in Vancouver remain structurally sound through the use of programmed maintenance.

Exterior Walls

(relates to building facade cleaning service)

“The exterior cladding of a building is the first line of defense against water penetration. Any damage, deterioration, or organic residue build-up must be addressed immediately to prevent the build-up of moisture against the sheathing membrane behind… Strata should monitor and maintain exterior cladding as part of a regularly scheduled maintenance program.”

Important note: Potted Plants

“Potted plants and other items were located against the exterior building surface. Items stored against exterior siding must be removed to prevent debris and moisture build-up, and to limit access for insects that can damage the building envelope.”

Exhaust Vents

(relates to dryer and bathroom fan cleaning service)

“Clothes dryers, bathroom fans, and range hoods exhaust a significant amount of moisture laden air from a home. Vent covers and/or exhaust hoods should be visually examined and cleaned on a regular basis to ensure they are free and clear of lint and debris, and residents need to clean their dryer lint screens after each use. The strata should arrange for regular duct cleaning through a professional cleaning company. Also, there needs to be regular reviews of ducting and duct connections to vents, especially after duct cleaning, to ensure they are intact with no air leakage; and remember to inspect that damper flaps are operating properly to limit the entry of birds and insects.

These maintenance initiatives need to be incorporated into the strata’s maintenance program. A compromised ventilation system can be very costly to the owners. If the mechanically exhausted air becomes impeded due to clogged vents or debris filled ducting, condensation will form in the ducts resulting in water damage to the ceiling. A more common problem is the buildup of unacceptable humidity levels in a home. The most common non-warranty issue for residents during the cooler months of winter is condensation due to humidity. This is almost always due to either a compromised ventilation system due to lack of maintenance or residents failing to use their exhaust fans…”

I always welcome information from experts in our industry or related industries that help further the understanding of what should be done to maintain our homes.  By sharing this knowledge, everyone wins.

“After All The Leaves Have Fallen” Timing Your Gutter Cleaning Service

A lot of property managers ask us to schedule cleaning of gutters at their stratas ‘after all the leaves have fallen’. While this is an understandable request (logic dictates it should minimize risk of re-plugging and reclogging gutters), actually, this request is often an impossible one.

Why?

Trees lose their leaves at different times.

Oak trees hang on for a long time, all other deciduous trees are impacted by direct environmental factors, evergreen shed their needles slowly year round)

When it can be considered to have happened may be different for every neighborhood around the GVRD.

 Trees on a street in kitsilano will at a different rate than those in Burnaby, clusters may lose their leaves more slowly than solo standing trees, trees in the shade faster than those on the sunny side of the buildings, etc.

By the time that ALL the leaves have fallen, any standing water in your gutter system may be frozen, preventing gutters from being cleaned.

 In late December or January, all the leaves may have fallen off finally, but now are embedded in ice in the gutter trough.

Supply and Demand

If several hundred stratas all wait, then demand to be cleaned at the same time, a lot of frustrated stratas around going to be waiting in line to get their gutter cleaning done. Those stratas that have scheduled their cleaning in advance will get theirs done first.  If you want the exactly same thing as everyone else, at the same time as everyone else, how likely are you to get it without standing in line? With demand that suddenly high, there is a strain on supply.

So how do we address this?

We all want the same thing, after all: happy tenants, proper functioning of gutter systems, so more serious problems don’t develop due to malfunction, the fewest headaches possible dealing with this situation.

At ServiceMaster, we’ve approached the challenge a few different ways, and so far here’s what we’ve found works:

Early Season Cleaners

Stratas with few trees around them can be serviced early. And the ‘unwritten rule’ in our office has been: in exchange for easing the strain on the schedule by letting us do your strata’s gutter cleaning early, if there are problem areas later in the fall we’ll come back free of charge and deal with it.   We’re happy to discuss this and confirm it on a case by case basis.

If you only have a minimal amount of trees around your strata, it is a good idea to get the gutter cleaning done early. That way you can be sure the system is functioning before the heavy rain hits. Any strata we do early, we are good about going back at no extra charge to address any issues from leaves falling after the service. You’re doing everyone a favour, we appreciate the easing up on our schedule, so we’ll take care of it.

If your strata is surrounded by mostly coniferous (evergreen) trees, get your gutters cleaned thoroughly in the early fall season. These trees shed their needles year round. There will be needles in the gutters in the early fall. If you’re forced to wait, the problem will only be worse after heavy rain. So be an “Early Season Cleaner” – let us service the system in October, and then if it needs a little extra later in the fall, call us and we’ll take care of it.

Gutter Cleaning Programs

This is like insurance. We offer a ‘program care’ gutter cleaning service which for only a small amount more includes 3 or more spot cleans at your stratas to address new issues that arise after a cleaning.  Since we have introduced this offering, it has met with tremendous success for stratas.

If you get a complete gutter cleaning service done, and a month later there is a new issue, this does not mean that the job wasn’t done properly. Rain carrying debris of the roof, wind, newly fallen leaves; any of these things can cause new issues quickly. With the program care we’ll come back and spot clean at no extra charge.

So, with a program, you don’t need to worry that every leaf around the strata has fallen. If something comes up, we’ll deal with it. No hassle, no problem, and promptly – at any time for a full year after the initial cleaning. Your minor repairs are covered as well. You can eliminate the guess work and just rest assured the gutter system will be looked after.

Priority Booking

Customers who have an Annual Service Agreement or Annual Project Agreement for their gutter cleaning services go into the schedule first. They’ve agreed to get their cleaning done at the same price as last year, and we book them in the priorty time slots before  everyone else thinks to call and get their work scheduled.  Latecomers end up going to the back of the line due to necessity: supply and demand.  When every gutter cleaning company is the GVRD is swamped, calling up and asking for the work to be done tomorrow really isn’t realistic.  We take care of those customers as best we can. However, if you want to jump to the head of the line, get platinum quality service, and have peace of mind, the best gutter cleaning service in the city would come from having a gutter program on an annual service agreement.

In summary: No One Knows The Date That All The Leaves Will Have Fallen.  It doesn’t really exist.  If it did, I’d point to it on the calendar and not even think about gutters unitl the day before.  But let’s be honest: this is a best guess scenario.  Often times, freezing water standing in the gutters isn’t taken into consideration for that guess.  So working with us to provide the best service possible for your stratas can be a strategic game plan, rather than a guessing game.   We invite you to strategize with us, and to make use of the tools we offer while striving to give you the best service possible.

Annual Project Agreement

At ServiceMaster Clean Residential we are always trying to improve on everything we do.  One of our key objectives is to make it easy & simple for Residential Strata Managers to work with us.  A part of this is introducing tools like our “ANNUAL PROJECT AGREEMENT”, which lessens the work load of the property managers by saving them time, and allowing them to plan budgets.  Here’s how it can help you.

Every year we follow up on the annual project work (window cleaning, gutter cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, etc.) performed the previous year to re-schedule it for this year.  Some buildings we have strong relationships with and we simply send over a notice for posting and the price is the same as the previous year.  This process is simple, easy for everyone involved, and the basis of our “Annual Project Agreement”.

Other strata managers need to seek approval or gather new quotes each time. This process often causes delays on relatively low cost and routine cleaning services.  When the building  previously gathered and compared quotes they could see if our pricing was competitive and provide value.  With the conditions that the strata was happy with the service during the last year(s) and the price is the same, wouldn’t it be easier to simply be notified of when the service is and be provided notices for posting?

To that end we have introduced our “Annual Project Agreement” on our quote forms.  It gives the strata the peace of mind knowing that they will get the same great service for the next 3 years at the same price.  To cancel this agreement at any time with no penalties or hassle, they only need to send in 30 days written notice.

To sign up your buildings for an Annual Project Agreement you will see the option on each quote.  It will look like the sample below. If you would to have a building we currently service for you sign up for an “Annual Project Agreement” let us know and we will send over the quote with the annual project agreement option on it.  Just check the box and we will contact you with dates in advance of the service to arrange the annual cleaning.

The “ANNUAL PROJECT AGREEMENT” is different from our “ANNUAL SERVICE AGREEMENTS” (link to etips) in that it is for one service only, and our “Annual Service Agreements” are for our a bundle of 3 or more services which then saves the building 7 % on their cleaning services.

OPTIONAL ANNUAL PROJECT AGREEMENT    

Strata Corporation pre-approves ServiceMaster Clean to perform the service annually.   The quoted price will not be increased for the next (3) three years.   30 days written notice is requested for changes or to cancel by either party. Ensures Project is completed every year.  Advance notice provided prior to booking.

 

Dryer Vent Cover Replacement

This video shows how badly clogged a flat dryer vent cover can become, and demonstrates why a strata or home will benefit changing to the proper style vent cover for dryers.[wpvideo 4U1fBWVe]

Dryer Vent Cleaning – One Easy Change Can Fix A Lot Of Issues

Dryer Vents. They can be a fire hazard, they can cause water to leak into the ceiling creating thousands of dollars in damage; they can be a real maintenance issue. If one of your buildings is having repeated issues with their vents, our quick tip of the day may help solve the problem:

Look at the physical vent cover at the outside point of the dryer duct. What do you see? If the wrong type of vent cover is installed – change them. This can prevent a lot of issues developing over time.

We are finding that there is one style of a dryer vent that outperforms all other choices. When speaking to a local manufacturer, they told us builders often place orders for vents without acknowledging that the dryer vent cover ought to be different from other vents. So, we often find problems that occur when the wrong style of vent gets installed. These vents get clogged quite easily by a build-up of lint and ultimately cause a reduction or stoppage of airflow, which further damages the machine. This is when you’ll need to call a dryer vent cleaning service professional to handle it before the issue gets out of hand.

Why would a builder put on the wrong kind of vent? Ignorance. Cost savings (buying all the same style in bulk might save them money). A mix up with construction subtrades. The reason could be any or all of the above. Whatever the cause, we are seeing this issue a lot in the GVRD. Vent covers are put on backwards, the wrong style of cover is put on, etc.

As a business owner, periodically looking for dryer vent cleaning franchise opportunities could be a prudent choice that you would be contributing to your business space. So, what should you look for? What is the correct style?

The best dryer vent cover is one that has a simple flap. It opens when hot air forces it to when the dryer is turned on. When the dryer is off, those flaps close.

We’ll call this “Style A”.

The gaps between the flaps offer enough room for the air to carry lint out. These are the best type of vent cover to have.

“Style B”

Vent covers with flaps and plastic mesh over top are not properly designed to be used for dryer vents! Those that are marketed and sold as dryer vent covers are doing the public a disservice. The plastic mesh grid clogs up with lint, and then the flaps underneath cannot open. Also, the professional tooling used to clean dryer vents in the majority of cases cannot fit into the tiny holes of the grid.

We spoke to a local vent manufacturer. They explained that the dryer vent covers that they make have a flap but no plastic mesh grid. Those with grids can be used for bathroom fans and other purposes. They related when they sell vent covers for dryers, if they run out of the style that have flaps but no mesh, they cut the mesh off dryer vents that have both, turning vents of Style B, into Style A.

“Style C” pic.

Those vent covers with very thin gaps are not designed for dryer vents. They easily clog when the slightest amount of lint builds up behind them. We have replaced this type of cover with proper vent covers on several buildings and find this significantly improves the effectiveness of the dryer, of the cleaning services, and reduces issues in the building – which can save thousands in damages when you consider moisture build up in the ceiling or fires caused by these clogged airways.

The other issue with these thin vent covers is that they’re often put on backwards, forcing the lint filled air onto a window below. So, not only is the vent cover not doing its job properly, it is also making the windows dirtier.

Good air flow is the key component with dryer venting. Restricting the ability of air to flow out with a tiny mesh screen at the very end which easily clogs with lint: bad idea.

The proper dryer vent cover should work ideally in 99% of cases. The other styles cause issues almost all the time.

Here is a video of one of our technicians and what he found on a site. You’ll see him clip the screen off, allowing the bent to ‘breathe’, and function as it should in future.

[wpvideo 9y0gCvKf]

So if one of your stratas is struggling with dryer vent cleaning issues, take a look at what they have installed at the exit point of the dryer vent duct, and determine if that is a major contributing cause. If so, replace the dryer vent covers. You’ll save a lot of money in the long run.