Saving water indoors

• Think you might have a leak? Check by reading your water meter before and after a 2-hour period when water hasn’t been run in your home. If the reading isn’t exactly the same, you’ve got a leak.
• If you’ve got a well-water system and the pump comes on when no one is using water, you have a leak.
• Find out if the toilet is leaking by putting a few drops of food coloring into the toilet tank. If the color leaks into the bowl, replace the flapper.
• Get those dripping faucets repaired. Usually it’s a simple matter of replacing worn washers. Check all the washers in the house and replace them all at once.
• Replace “sticky” toilet handles.
• Make sure the flapper ball in the tank seats correctly.
• Don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket or ashtray. Avoid unnecessary flushing.
• Install faucet aerators to slow the flow of water.
• Rinse vegetables over a large bowl and reuse what would have gone down the drain to water plants.
• Keep drinking water in the refrigerator to avoid letting water run until it gets cool enough to drink.
• Defrost foods in the microwave instead of under running water.
• Insulate water heater and water pipes. (65% of the water you use is hot water.)

Saving water in the bathroom

• Don’t let the water run continuously when you are shaving, brushing your teeth, etc.
• Replace two-handle systems with single-lever faucets.
• Shower instead of bathe.
• Install low-flow showerheads that reduce water use up to half but still give a great feeling shower.
• Get a showerhead with a “shower off” button to conserve water while you lather up.
• Take shorter showers. Five-minute showers per day for a four-member family use about 28,000 gallons of water per year.

Saving water in cleaning

• Older standard washing machines use up to 50 gallons of water per load, Newer models use only 11-30 gallons.
• Don’t wash half loads, and if you do, adjust the water level.
• Presoaking prevents having to re-wash heavily soiled clothes.
• Soak dirty dishes instead of rinsing each dish separately.
• If you’re washing dishes in a double sink, wash them all at once and rinse them all at once.
• Replace an old, water-inefficient dishwasher. You can save 10 to 20 gallons of water per wash cycle.
• Select the water-saving cycle on your dishwasher.

Saving water outdoors

• Landscape with plants that need less water.
• Don’t overwater. Buy a gauge to measure the rain your lawn gets.
• Water lawns during the time of day when temperature and wind speed are lowest to reduce evaporation.
• Put a timer on your sprinklers so you don’t forget to turn them off.
• Over-fertilization increases your lawn’s need for watering. Don’t over feed.
• Use a soaker hose instead of a sprinkler system to better target the water to your plants.
• Mulch plants well to retain moisture.
• Make sure your sprinkler system isn’t watering the sidewalk, driveway or street.
• Set your lawnmower blades to 3 inches or higher to encourage you lawn to grow deeper roots and hold moisture better.
• Use water-saving filters in your pool.

hot water steam and extract carpet wand

Lets face it, doing things at your house instead of hiring someone to do it saves money, is done on your schedule, and gives you a sense of accomplishment.  I understand, I bought a house a few years ago that was 60 years original and had to gut most of the rooms to remodel them because there was not a right angle to be found.

However, even with that said, there are some things that I would not bother even trying to do.  Carpet installation, electric, and anything involving the health of my family.  Carpet cleaning does involve the health of your family.  Properly cleaning carpet in your house can reduce allergens, germs, and bacteria left behind from our shoes, pets and children.  Here are some facts:

1. The virus that causes the stomache virus can live on your carpets for up to 1 month.
2. Microbiologists say point out that the air blown from a running vacuum cleaner is one of the highest places of household germs.
3. According to Jack Brown in his book entitled Dont touch that doorknob! Each year several pounds of soil can build up in and on your carpets.
4. Due to Microbial Adhesion many germs automatically will adhere to food when dropped.  NO 5 SECOND RULE!
5. Bed Bugs live in carpet fibers and can crawl 100 feet to get a blood meal from you while you are sleeping.
6. A person sheds 1.5 million skin flakes and hour.
7. America is the only country in the world that pushes wall to wall carpeting.  Other countries do not like it because of the germs accumulated.
8. Most carpet manufacturers recommend a yearly hot water steam and extract cleaning as a contingent in your carpets warranty.

So do you see why it is important to make sure carpets are cleaned properly?  We use a truck mount hot water steam and extract cleaning system which gives the highest level of extraction possible.  Give us a call for a free estimate!

What to Do:

• Damage from water and bacteria growth can begin within hours.  Call for professional help.
• Remove as much water as possible by mopping and blotting.
• Remove wet area rugs or other floor coverings not permanently attached.  Do not attempt to start removing your wall-to-wall carpet.
• Lift draperies off the floor, loop through a coat hanger and place the hanger on a drapery rod.
• Wipe furniture, prop up wet furniture cushions for even drying and place aluminum foil under furniture legs.
• Move photos, paintings and art objects to a safe dry location.
• Do not remove books from shelves.  Rather pack them tightly to prevent warping of pages until a restoration professional can begin this specialized drying.
• Open drawers, closet and cabinet doors to enhance drying.

What not to do:

• Do not enter a room with standing water untill electricity has been turned off.
• Do not use a regular household vacuum to remove water.
• Do not lift tacked-down carpet without professional help.
• Do not use electrical appliances while on wet carpet or flooring.
• Do not disturb visible mold.

Most important is to contact ServiceMaster of Cherry Hill to come and mitigate the water.  Mold can begin growing within 48-72 hours.

• Fast action is required to prevent further damage.  Call a restoration professional to remove damage caused by vandals.
• Make a list of all damage and take pictures.
• Use a shop vacuum to remove glass particles from carpet and upholstery.
• Remove any debris from carpet or walls.  Scrape or blot carpets and furniture – never rub.
• Wash any egg or other residues from the building exterior using water.

What not to do:

• Do not use household clean products on fabrics, upholstery, or carpet.
• Do not attempt to remove chemical stains, including ink or paint.
• Do not operate damaged electrical appliances.

Call ServiceMaster Clean at 856-751-1577 for more information or to schedule an appointment to have your home cleaned as a result of vandalism.

The Clean Machine Jr. and Race car set up for the registration table.

If you are a claims professional or a vendor that works in insurance related work,  then more than likely you know that the South Jersey Claims golf outing just passed.  As usual, a record number of golfers showed up for the outing and it really was a great day.

If you’ve ever golfed with me you will know that I call it “Digging Holes” and there is a reason for it.

  However, we all had a great time and are all ready looking forward to another year. 

This was our sponsored hole on the course.

What stood out at the event and was the talk on everyone’s lips was the involvement of ServiceMaster.  We had our Clean Machine Jr. show up with a ServiceMaster Clean race car.  When you pull into the parking lot, the first thing that you see is the large trailer and race car set up for the registration area.  This created a nice covered registration area and allowed for the people working the event to stay out of the elements in the event that it rained.  Also if you had the pleasure of passing Blue course Hole 1 you would notice the ServiceMaster tent there as well.  We had Red Bull come this year and they handed out free Red Bull.  We also took names to raffle off a golf club from Warrior Golf. 

These were the Red Bull Ladies and Lou Nemeth handing out free Red Bull to all the golfers.

While many people referred to this outing as the “ServiceMaster Clean” golf outing, all of the credit for the outing must go to Armand Bucci, Barb Johnson and the rest of the SJC golf outing volunteers that work had to plan such a fun event.  ServiceMaster Clean will continue for the future to do whatever we can to help them make the event fun and a success.

This is Jimmy Scian learning to use the carpet wand.

Every year take your child to work day is a lot of fun here at ServiceMaster of Cherry Hill.  This year, however, took the cake. 

We had the kids learning the ins and outs of the business.  Everything from carpet cleaning, water damage mitigation, smoke damage mitigation, and mold cleaning.  they learned about the most advanced techniques and equipment that we use for detecting and cleaning water damages.  For example, they learned about the use of and science behind an infrared camera.

Rather than climb the mountain, that is the internet, to find a good carpet cleaning company; utilize this first so you can determine what company is the best option for your money.  The first thing you must consider is the method.  There is a handful of carpet cleaning styles out there.  Allow me to start by giving a comparison view of the different styles and whether or not they are beneficial. 

First, there is the “Dry-cleaning” method.  This is when a cleaning technician utilizes an absorbent powder.  This powder is sprinkled on your rugs and it absorbs dirt and other soil while it sits on your rugs for about fifteen minutes.  After it sits, the cleaning technician will simply vacuum the powder up lifting soil from the carpet.  While there is no drying time necessary, this should be done as regular maintenance and not as your yearly carpet cleaning.

Another type of cleaning is known as “Bonnet Cleaning.”   Beware any company that refers to this as a dry cleaning method.  Water is used in bonnet cleaning.  The machine itself acts very similar to a floor buffer.  The cleaning technician will apply a cleaning solution and follow that up the oscillating machine which is meant to pull up debris.  One of the biggest carpet manufacturers warns against this cleaning method due to the fact that the machine could damage carpet fibers.

There are companies that utilize a “carbonated cleaning solution.”  While the solution itself might work, the machine used is the same as a bonnet and in turn does not provide a deep cleaning and can damage carpet fibers.

Lastly the most popular method and the one that all carpet manufacturers recommend is the “Hot water steam and extract.”  This method is the only method classified as deep cleaning.  Beware the company that tries to upsell you on deep cleaning due to the fact that it should already be done.  Carpet technicians will apply a shampoo or cleaning solution to the carpets and using water that is two hundred – two hundred and fifty degrees the carpet wand steams the carpets and then immediately extracts the water in the same process.  Many companies that do this utilize a truck mounted extractor which will give a deep cleaning unmatched by other cleaning styles.

ServiceMaster of Cherry Hill has been utilizing the hot water steam and extract method for over 30 years and has been serving Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester County.  They have recently added a new carpet technician that is already getting great customer reviews and have found new cleaning solutions including the ServiceMaster Go Green cleaning solution to clean homes and remove spots and stains and be safe for the environment.

For those of whom that are scheduled, keep an eye out, I will either email or call you as we get closer if there are any changes or for other details regarding spa day.  I am really looking forward to this year and am excited to have you joining us!!!