Monday, November 26, 2007

Quick toilet cleaning tips!

I only have a few minutes but wanted to share a quick tip. Before starting to clean your toilet; make sure to pour a bucket of water in it first! This will make the water level drop so it is easier to clean. It will prevent water from splashing and diluting your cleanser of choice.
For cleaning toilets, I really like a mixture of Baking Soda, Borax and Clove Oil. Sometimes I use other oils depending on my client's aromatherapy requests. Smells great and works great too! Of course for the outside of the toilet I use a natural disinfectant.
When cleaning for someone else it also adds a little extra flare if you make the toilet paper into a triangle on the end :) This also helps if you are cleaning with 2 people so the other person can immediately see the bathroom has already been sanitized.
And as always if you don't have time to clean your toilets; you can check out my Premium Cleaning Services in Frederick, MD website. I do admit right now we do have a waiting list however. I highly recommend Kidwell Kleaning as well.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Top 10 Hazardous Household Chemicals

I just copied this from the consumer law page. I really like it and just had to share


TOP "10" HAZARDOUS HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS

By Richard Alexander


AIR FRESHENERS: Most air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve deadening agent. Known toxic chemicals found in an air freshener: Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Phenol: When phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives. Can cause cold sweats,convulsions, circulatory collapse, coma and even death.

AMMONIA: It is a very volatile chemical, it is very damaging to your eyes, respiratory tract and skin.

BLEACH: It is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. WARNING: never mix bleach with ammonia it may cause fumes which can be DEADLY.

CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY SHAMPOO: Most formulas are designed to over power the stain itself, they accomplish the task but not without using highly toxic substances. Some include: Perchlorethylene: Known carcinogen damages liver, kidney and nervous system damage. Ammonium Hydroxide: Corrosive, extremely irritable to eyes, skin and respiratory passages.

DISHWASHER DETERGENTS: Most products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentrated.# 1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers.

DRAIN CLEANER: Most drain cleaners contain lye, hydrochloric acid or trichloroethane. Lye: Caustic, burns skin and eyes, if ingested will damage esophagus and stomach. Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant, damages kidneys, liver and digestive tract. Trichloroethane: Eye and skin irritant, nervous system depressant; damages liver and kidneys.

FURNITURE POLISH: Petroleum Distillates: Highly flammable, can cause skin and lung cancer. Phenol: (see Air fresheners, Phenol.) Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbed through the skin, extremely toxic.

MOLD AND MILDEW CLEANERS: Chemicals contained are: Sodium hypochlorite: Corrosive, irritates or burns skin and eyes, causes fluid in the lungs which can lead to coma or death. Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Irritant to eyes, nose, throat, and skin. May cause nausea, headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, memory loss and shortness of breath.

OVEN CLEANER: Sodium Hydroxide (Lye): Caustic, strong irritant, burns to both skin and eyes. Inhibits reflexes, will cause severe tissue damage if swallowed.

ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANERS: may contain: Triclosan: Absorption through the skin can be tied to liver damage.

LAUNDRY ROOM PRODUCTS: Sodium or calcium hypocrite: Highly corrosive, irritates or burns skin, eyes or respiratory tract. Linear alkylate sulfonate: Absorbed through the skin. Known liver damaging agent. Sodium Tripolyphosphate: Irritates skin and mucous membranes, causes vomiting. Easily absorbed through the skin from clothes.

TOILET BOWL CLEANERS: Hydrochloric acid: Highly corrosive, irritant to both skin and eyes. Damages kidneys and liver. Hypochlorite Bleach: Corrosive, irritates or burns eyes, skin and respiratory tract. May cause pulmonary edema, vomiting or coma if ingested. Contact with other chemicals may cause chlorine fumes which may be fatal.


Of course most of my clients know I do not stock most of these. The few chemicals I do stock are rarely used, and only when I am desperate for quick results.

And of course if you are looking for Natural House Cleaning in Frederick, MD feel free to contact me.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Bye Bye Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner!

Have you purchased one of those fancy scrubbing bubbles "automatic" shower cleaners?
I have to admit when they came out I was just dying to get one myself. Now quite some time later; and having seen the effects of the chemicals on the average shower, I highly recommend ditching this gadget.
From what I have seen this product only leaves a filmy build up on the walls. This build up seems to be much tougher to remove than your average soap scum.
So my personal solution.... refill it with an eviromentally friendly, non-toxic solution. My favorite; mix vinegar with water and add some tea tree oil. Personally, I like 1:1 vinegar water ratio. For someone who can't handle the smell of the vinegar; I'm sure more water would work fine as well. The vinegar and tee tree oil will both prevent the nightmarish build up of mildew and disinfect. And this solution will not leave a filmy white build up like th1e intended refill. For instructions how to refill the container check out this site . OR an easier way.... pop a hole in the top and just pour in the mixture. Use a wine cork to close afterwards. Though I imagine this way there would be a little mildew on the cork.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

McDonalds budget gets you McDonalds food.

Every now and then I encounter a client looking for a deal. These people will try to negotiate our set rate for services. When you go to the doctor, gym, or lawyer, do you negotiate the rates? I would assume not.
A set rate is a set rate. Yes there are trunk-slammers out there who will give bargain rates for their back-breaking labor. I am not one of them.
I pay my taxes, insurance, bonding and take care of all the other overhead involved with running a small business. I am honest, dependable and a hard worker. I do a lot of research on the materials and products in my client's homes to avoid the damage I have seen other companies do to homes. An untrained "housekeeper" can enter with whatever they feel is fit and do irreparable damage in a matter of minutes. And they don't have insurance to pay for their error. That is why I charge what I do. My rates are lower than most of the other cleaning companies here in Frederick so it amazes me when people try to negotiate for something even lower.

If you go out to eat on a McDonald's budget you will get McDonald's quality food.
Same concept is easily applied to house cleaning. You get what you pay for and I strongly urge everyone out there not to seek the bottom of the barrel prices. Your home and possessions are valuable and you shouldn't take the risk of letting in a novice just to save a few dollars.
Just my opinion and a little bit of a vent.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Looking for a cheap cleaning? Think twice!

I thought this was well written and just had to share. It is very important to make sure you hire a housekeeper with insurance, bonding and the proper license.
Like me of course! House Cleaning in Frederick and I am not the only one.... check out Kidwell's Kleaning for another great legit Frederick house cleaning service.


WHAT THE HECK IS A “TRUNK-SLAMMER”???

In years past, you would often overhear conversations in places like beauty salons, community clubhouses, cocktail parties and fancy restaurants that would start something like this…

“Wow, I just found the best housecleaner and…they are really cheap!”

This conversation was usually one of the ladies (or gentlemen) boasting about the cleaning person they had just hired to clean their home and this home was usually located in a high-income neighborhood because, after all, years ago only the wealthy could afford hired helpers in the home.

Well…times have changed…kind of…

The days of only the wealthy using hired help inside the home are gone! It’s not that the wealthier don’t use housecleaners any longer, it’s the fact that today’s average homeowners (especially the two income earner households) are seeking outside help with home maintenance because of time constraints, lack of energy to clean after putting in a 40+ hour workweek, etc. The market for independent cleaning contractors has skyrocketed over the past 10-15 years!

Along with this “boom” in demand has come the “boom” in independent contractors who are working without occupational licenses, insurances and may well lack the experience needed to “safely” clean the many varied surfaces that exist in today’s homes.

The industry refers to them as…Trunk Slammers.

When a homeowner (especially those homes where both parents are working full time just to cover expenses) goes looking for help with home maintenance, “price” is always a huge part of the decision on just who will be hired and…there’s nothing wrong with that…provided the potential consumer “knows what they are paying for” and…”the possible liabilities they are exposing themselves to” when selecting a cleaning service provider based solely on price.

What liabilities?

When hiring an unlicensed worker who is working for “under the table” wages that are not going to be reported to the IRS as income, you (technically) become that worker’s employer and (technically) you become responsible for income, Medicare, social security and unemployment taxes at the Federal level and, depending on the state you live in, may be responsible (technically) for some of the above…again…at the state level.

When hiring an unlicensed worker who is working for “under the table” wages that are not going to be reported to the IRS as income, you (most certainly) will be paying for that worker’s retirement also. Not today but when they retire and realize that they have little or nothing in their Social Security retirement account to live on , they will go on any one of a number of public assistance programs that your hard earned tax dollars (remember them…there the one’s you worked for and paid taxes on years ago…) will be paying for.

When hiring an uninsured worker, you become responsible (technically) for any medical expenses for “your employee” should “your employee” become injured while working in your home. In most states, you “should be” paying workman’s compensation insurance for “your employee”.

When hiring an uninsured worker, you will assume all liabilities for damage, breakage or theft of anything in your home. This may not sound like much of a liability on your part but…remember we mentioned, “experienced” earlier? Inexperienced people can, and do literally thousands of dollars worth of damage to the many new surfaces in today’s homes. Things like marble, granite, hardwood flooring, fiberglass tubs…. and the list goes on and on and on.

Oh, one other thing…you are breaking the law by hiring these individuals. Unwittingly (or maybe knowingly) you have become “complicit” in tax evasion, operating (in most municipalities/states) an unlicensed business and, in some states, operating a business without adequate liability insurance or workman’s compensation insurance. Claiming ignorance of your cleaner’s business status will not help. You as the purchaser of services are responsible to investigate the legal status of “any” outside contractor who performs “any” services on your home and you should never be afraid to ask for documentation from those service providers. (Remember the old “Caveat-emptor” phrase…it’s true!)

“Yeah”…you’re saying…”I know all this stuff already and anyway, no one ever gets caught for this kind of stuff!”

I say…”Oh Yeah”…a little research on the subject (your Due-Diligence) will quickly reveal that people, often unsuspecting people, are being caught and fined everyday of the week on just these circumstances. Check with the IRS if you don’t believe me.

The whole matter becomes an especially “different” kettle of fish if your worker/employee is also an undocumented alien but…that’s for another letter.

Makes you wonder…is that $20/$30 difference in rates really worth the risk(s)?

Your money…your decision.

D. Crichton
Co-Founder, International Cleaners Association
www.internationalclnrs.com