Things to Know Before You Hire a Carpet Cleaning Business

Your home is your Castle. It's your refuge from the world and the most precious place to you and your family. You know this. You also know how important it is to maintain your home. And to do that, you need a reputable company that you can trust to keep your home clean.

Regularly tracked-in-dirt, and oily sticky soils, can build up, acting like a magnet, attracting more soil. These can actually dull the color of your fine carpeting. That's why regularly scheduled cleanings are to your advantage. The following are some ideas when choosing a good carpet cleaning company.

Reputation: A good name is built on a good reputation. When looking for a reputable company, you will want to seek those that others often use. Try asking family, friends, and neighbors who they use. Ask your Better Business Bureau to give you company names that consumers regularly use. The satisfied client will be a repeat client.

Don't be afraid to ask necessary questions, before an informed choice on a carpet cleaner. Find out the average cost of carpet cleaning in your area.

Remember, the cheapest price isn't necessarily going to give you the best or the proper cleaning for your home. You could be sacrificing a low price for a poor quality cleaning. And worse yet, it could cause harm to your carpeting investment, with wrong company using cheap cleaning products and inferior cleaning machines.

So don't be shy- Ask questions!

Experience: A good carpet cleaning company will have the necessary experience for all types of cleaning. Experienced carpet cleaners will have been thoroughly trained by an accredited program.

One widely used is with the IICRC, or Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration. Employees trained with them, are very knowledgeable, and can effectively clean some of the toughest cleaning challenges known.

Experience means knowing and using the best State-of-the-Art equipment available. Carpet manufacturers, such as Mowhawk, and Shaw, recommend cleaning carpets using the Hot Water 180 degree Extraction System.

This system is regularly referred to as Steam Cleaning. Another good question to ask about is the type of cleaning products they use. Are they toxic, chemical based, or are they non-toxic, bio-degradeable?

Are they safe to be used around humans and pets? How well do your cleaning agents work?

There are several companies that regularly use safe, non-toxic cleaners, such as a fine company called Bio-Kleen. Their cleaners use natural grapefruit, citrus, and Valencia Orange extracts, for their cleaning power. They are very effective cleaning products, and are used for a wide range of projects, with an added bonus of a pleasant deodorizing scent.

Dependability: A dependable company will show up at your home, on the appointed day and time you have requested. It is always good to know you can count on them. Your technician(s) should be friendly, courteous, and answer any questions you have. After carefully measuring all areas to be cleaned, per your instructions, you should be given a written estimate for your approval. A good company will always give your estimate to you in writing before cleaning for you.

Always get a written estimate, before your cleaning begins, if at all possible. Before your actual cleaning, is a great time to discuss all your options. Such as, what can be done to remove stubborn spots, stains, or even the possibility of adding Scotch Guard to protect your cleaned carpet . They will use the best equipment possible, the most effective cleaning products available, and put their training towards giving your home an excellent cleaning.

Any company that advertises a "Special Low Price" or several areas for one low price, is probably setting the potential client up for a "Bait and Switch."

Customers have unfortunately fallen prey to such scams. They advertise one price, and pressure customers to take advantage of the great deal, then hit them with an exorbitant amount when the job is completed. And the job is most likely done poorly.

A good carpet company will always insure their employees. You may be surprised at how many companies do Not, as it can be costly. But a dependable company will cover your technician, and doing so, you, as well.

Your carpet cleaning company should also guarantee the work done for you. You should be reasonably satisfied. Of course, stubborn stains, and problem areas previously discussed with your technician, and the nature of the spot or stain, may cause it to be more of a permanent situation, in some cases.

Overall, a job done well is a job done right. Reputation, Experience, Dependability -All integral parts of any good business. A good practice that leaves their clients with a TLC...Thorough, Lasting, Clean...Home.

Employing a Singapore Maid - What You Should Know

Most of us have probably already heard of the practice of Singaporean households of employing a Singapore maid. If you are living in Singapore, you should understand why you need one. You should also know what it will take before you can start employing a Singapore maid.

Reasons for Having a Maid

It is not uncommon for American households not to employ stay-in maids. The circumstances however may be a little different when it comes to Singaporean households.

In Singapore however, the culture and the standard of living will require a little more of your time and effort. Employing a Singapore maid will help ensure that you can focus well on your work and not lose even more energy on house work.

Agencies

Some employers go through the steps of employing a Singapore maid by themselves. It would save you a lot of trouble though if you contact a reputable agency. Licensed agencies have more experience in screening and providing qualified maid candidates.

You would therefore be assured of employing a Singapore maid who is truly qualified and experienced. Aside from this, agencies usually handle all the hassles and details related to insurance, bonds, work permits, travel details and medical check ups.

Where You Can Get a Maid

Employing a Singapore maid from any country is not entirely a valid option. You would have to hire a maid from one of the countries approved by the Ministry of Manpower. The approved countries are Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. A licensed maid agency will only be allowed to screen maids from these countries.

Salary and Expenses

There are several factors that will determine how much you need to pay your domestic helper. These factors include your personal contract with your maid, the maid's work experience, duties to be performed, presence of children and the elderly and your home size. Employing a Singapore maid can cost you from $200-$500 a month. Although you have some freedom in agreeing how much you should pay your maid, some agencies have suggestions and guidelines for determining payment.

Aside from salaries, employing a Singapore maid would also mean that you would have to pay for several other required fees. Among the expenses that you would have to pay are the levy, security bond or insurance, initial medical check up fees, maid medical expenses and maid airfare. Agencies may have to charge fees of up to $900 to cover everything. Depending on your agreement with your maid, you might also have to pay for leave expenses once a year.

Cleaning Kitchen Things - 5 Top Tips

Everybody is worried about food poisoning these days. It started with the salmonella threat, so people stopped eating raw eggs. Then there was a warning about eating rice from the night before that had not been thoroughly reheated, because it could cause campylobacter. That was followed by mad cow disease, which was followed by scrapies and the blue tongue, now it' chicken flu and swine flu. When will it all stop?

The answer is probably that it will not, so all you can do is make sure that your kitchen is scrupiously clean. That means, pots, pans, work surfaces, your fridge and your pets. One day we will all be so clean that something really small will get the lot of us. Anyway, cleanliness is next to Godliness, so they say. With that in mind, I offer you five top tips for keeping things clean in the kitchen.

Oven Ready: the oven is a notoriously difficult place to clean, which is why it is often ignored, which is why it is often a breeding ground for germs and cockroaches, especially if it is not used often, as they are not these days, because the microwave has taken over. So, mix a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with a pint of boiling water and set aside in a screw-top jar, after it has finished frothing over. Then clean your oven. Sorry, not with the bicarb mixture. When it is clean, warm it up and paint the oven with your mixture. Seal the jar and keep. After a month or two, easily wash the bicarb skin off and repaint. It is a home-made Teflon coating really.

What A Waste: the waste disposal unit also provides enough food for generations of cockroaches, especially as the grease of weeks builds up. You can usually clean and clear it without tipping dangerous chemicals into the environment, by tipping a pint of ice cubes through it while it is working. No water, only ice.

Economies Of Scale: if you live in a hard water area, you will know about the problem of things that use a lot of water furring up. It is not too bad having to buy a new kettle, but a dish washer of washing machine is a different matter. You can keep all these items and yourself in perfect running order with Vitamin C. It can be bought quite cheap in a pharmacy or health food store. Put a handful in each of the larger machines and run a normal cycle. You can put a dessert spoonful in the kettle regularly and drink it or if it is really bad, discard it. Take a teaspoonful for yourself.

The Japanese Solution: if you have a heavily stained saucepan, cover the stain with Saki and bring it almost to the boil. Amazingly, when you tip the Saki out, the pan will be as clean as new.

Put Out To Grass: if an oven or casserole dish of the glass or Pyrex type gets badly burned, do not despair and do not throw it away. Instead, lay it open end down on the lawn over night. In the morning, you will be able to wipe it clean very easily.