Cleaning in the USA
Economy
It’s not good news. Things are continuing to tighten as companies look for additional ways to reduce costs. This means more layoffs, smaller purchases, and less advertising. As this happens marginal businesses fail, struggling businesses sell and strong businesses merge with one another. I don’t see any end in sight at this time. It wouldn’t surprise me if it takes another 3 to 5 years before we see a true pick up of the economy in the U.S.A. The only way I see us finding a way out of this mess is for businesses to find more efficiencies in the way we operate, provide services and produce products. It’s not going to be pretty, fast or easy.
Mold Remediation
A hot topic these days is mold. Asbestos and lead are pretty much old news so all the unemployed litigation lawyers are looking for a new fat cow to milk and mold seems to be it for now. You can expect to hear a lot more about the hazards of mold in all types of facilities, especially homes, apartments, schools and day care centers. This should mean more work for those who have been trained in this specialty service area. Here’s a few links you might want to visit:
www.cal-iaq.org/mold0107.htm
Provides information on mold in the home and what to do about it. This is a good document for the homeowner.
www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/toc.html
At the bottom of the page is a link to download the entire document as a pdf file or you can search around the document and download the individual pages you want.
www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/epi/moldrpt1.html
A good document on mold, it is widely referred to regarding mold remediation and cleaning.
www.cal-iaq.org/iaqsheet.htm
A list of many good mold, water damage and IAQ documents and sites.
www.zep.com
Provides information and cleaning chemicals that can be used for home and commercial cleaning.
www.moldgoddess.com
An interesting and informative site for those faced with mold problems and clean up in the home.
Windows at the Luxor Hotel
In early August I was in Las Vegas, NV conducting a NISH Seminar for 30 attendees from around the country. At 110 degrees everyday, I didn’t spend much time outside. But once the seminar was over, I made arrangements to visit the Engineering department at the Luxor Hotel to see how they clean the windows on a building that is shaped like a pyramid. One thing lead to another and pretty soon I’m climbing ladder after ladder on my way to the tip of the pyramid where 38 lasers light the night sky. This proved to be quite a challenge as at the top it was at least 150 degrees and there was no shade. In fact the last few rungs of the steel ladder were so hot that I could barely hold on and I thought my skin might blister from the heat.
The windows are cleaned monthly by BEE Incorporated of Las Vegas. The owner of the company developed the system which uses deionized water and a customized 20 ft micro-fiber dust mop and frame that is pulled up and down on cables on the outside the building. It takes a crew of two about a week to clean all 27,500 panels of glass on the building.
Inspector Symposium
In August I had an opportunity to sit through most of a five day Senior Carpet Inspector Course presented by Academy 2000 and instructed by Jim Gray, John Carter and Sherman Duffy. They had about 8 serious students who were studying from dawn to dusk and beyond in an effort to learn as much as they could about carpet inspections. The program was highly technical in nature and gave a good overview of all lab and onsite testing methods and how to write reports for both mills and consumers. We also toured Royalty Carpet Mills in Irvine, CA which was very impressive, most mills are dirty and dingy, I was surprised and impressed to find Royalty’s operation well lit, efficient, modern and clean.
Carpet and Hard Floor inspections are a growing area of opportunity for those who want to go a step beyond doing the work and are willing to invest in their education and skills. For more information visit: www.iicrc.org or call 360-693-5675
Publishing Politics
Recently I was asked by an industry trade publication to write an article about what’s new in floor care. I researched the subject and found that one company (www.Multi-Clean.com) is using ultra-violet light to cure floor finish. And the topical coating, once cured needs no stripping, burnishing or refinishing. That’s pretty new, innovative and a real money saver for end users. In fact, it could actually revolutionize the way all types of floor coverings are maintained in the future.
Imagine my surprise when the editor tells me he can’t use the article because it mentions the company by name. So I say, no problem, I can rewrite it and remove any reference to the company by name. And again the article is rejected, this time because, there is only one company at this time that offers this process. Seems the editor was afraid some of the magazine’s advertisers might object because they don’t have a similar product on the market.
Where did I get the idea that a magazine is in the business of providing information to it’s readers that would enable them to do a better job and be more competitive in the market place. Or to recognize a company for investing in and developing a process and product that is innovative, cutting edge and ahead of the competition. I should have known better.
