Air Ducts - When Should I have Them Cleaned?

5/24/2022 (Permalink)

We often get called by residential customers about having their air ducts cleaned. The discussion usually involves the following questions:  First, when should I get my air ducts cleaned?  Second, how often should I get my air ducts cleaned?

The answer to these questions of course is “it depends”. What is the reason you are looking to have your air ducts cleaned?  There are several reasons we typically hear: general maintenance, post-construction cleaning, a fire occurred, or we think there is mold. 

General maintenance is the most frequent answer, and is goes something like, “This hasn’t ever been done since I lived here.” Or “This hasn’t been done in years.”  Unless there is loose dirt and other soils actively coming out of your vents, most likely it does not need to be cleaned.  Anything that is up there is adhering to the ducting and will continue to do so.

The next most common situation is doing this for post construction cleaning.  In this case, there may be some loose dirt or drywall dust where it maybe advantageous to have them cleaned.  However, when major construction is being done in a home, it is always a good idea to turn off the HVAC system and close vents if possible to prevent particulate from getting into the ducting.  Ideally, you don’t have this issue to deal with when the project is complete.

When a fire occurs, the soot and smoke can be very pervasive and get everywhere.  An air duct cleaning for moderate to light smoke might do the job of removing loose particles and odor.  For heavy fires it is often recommended to replace the ducting altogether.

Mold is another situation when it can be a clean or replace situation.  An HVAC repair company should first be called to determine what is causing mold in the system.  Sometimes we have seen it as simple as all other vents are closed with only one vent open.  Other items to consider, how much of the ducting is affected by mold or is it just one or two grills?  Antimicrobial can be used to kill existing growth.  The key is to figure out the cause so a conducive environment for mold does not exist going forward.  It is often a good to place an air scrubber to help clean the air as a precaution.

In conclusion, more times than not it is not necessary to have your air ducts cleaned.  As for how often, it is usually just under special situations or if you actively seen particles coming out of the ducting.

Let's Keep 2022 Clean!

1/7/2022 (Permalink)

It's a great day when you get the carpets cleaned!

Baby or toddler spill something on the carpet? Dog track mud through the house? Has it been a long time since the last good cleaning? Is the carpet looking dull or stained? To see if it's dull, move the chair or couch a bit to see if there is a color difference. For whatever reason the carpet got dirty, it’s time to get it clean!

Aim to clean the high-traffic areas every three to six months. Other areas could be stretched out twelve to eighteen months. To ensure you get the best clean, hire a professional to clean them about twice a year. It helps to maintain and extend the life of the carpet and by using a hot water extraction, it serves to sanitize it too. It's always a good feeling when you get down in the floor for a TV picnic or playing with the kiddos. 

To schedule an appointment, give SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe a call at 478-452-8000.

Spring/Summer Cleaning Checklist

5/13/2021 (Permalink)

It's never too late to get a jump start on that DEEP cleaning!

It’s the perfect time to capitalize on that fresh feeling and give your whole house a much-needed spring clean. Sure, the idea sounds nice, but what are you actually supposed to clean during “spring cleaning”? It sounds like you need a spring cleaning checklist. Well, look no further. Around here, we take a 5-rooms-in-5-days approach.

In this article, we’ll give you checklists for every room type in your house:

1) bathroom
2) kitchen
3) bedrooms
4) kid areas and
5) living spaces

Monday’s Spring Clean Checklist: clean your bathroom

• Disinfect doorknobs and light switches. Tip: check the labels of sprays and wipes to make sure they’re approved disinfectant by the EPA and to understand exactly how to use them to take advantage of their disinfecting power.
• Organize cabinets and drawers. Take the time to sort through all your makeup and meds and throw away anything that’s expired.
• Scrub your shower, bathtub, and sink, paying close attention to any mold or mildew buildup. 
• Wash your shower curtain and bathmat. Make sure to read the care instructions so you don’t end up ruining them.
• Give the toilet a much needed deep clean. Don’t forget near the floor and around the hinges where dirt and grime can buildup.

Tuesday’s Spring Clean Checklist: clean your kitchen

• Clean the stovetop with soap and water. If it’s still worse for the wear, break out the trusty Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get rid of caked-on-food bits fast.
• Clean your oven. Most ovens have a cleaning cycle, so this step is mostly hands-off.
• Clean your microwave. 
• Clean and descale your coffee maker. Your taste buds will appreciate the extra effort.
• Clean out your fridge and freezer. Now’s the time to throw away the freezer-burned frozen fruit you bought a year ago when you decided to be healthy, but never used. Once you’ve gotten rid of all expired food, make sure to wipe down all the shelves with soapy water.

• Degrease cabinets and walls. If you cook with oil, chances are, you’ve got little grease spatters everywhere. Enter: Dawn, an amazing grease-fighting soap. Get a cloth wet with soap water and scrub away.
• Move your stove and fridge away from the wall and sweep and mop behind them. Try not to be too horrified by what you find.
• Empty out and organize your pantry. Throw away expired items and put everything else back neatly where you can see it.
• Empty the toast tray in your toaster.
• Disinfect cabinet handles, light switches, sinks, and countertops.
• Sanitize your sink. The sink can harbor all sorts of bacteria, so it’s important not to skip this step.

Wednesday’s Spring Clean Checklist: clean your bedrooms

• Sort, launder and organize your clothes. This is the perfect time to get rid of clothes that don’t fit anymore or items that you just don’t like. Are you feeling lighter already?
• Wash your bedding and pillows. Yes, you can wash your pillows. Just make sure to read the care and cleaning directions.
• Rotate your mattress. It’ll extend the life of your mattress and help out your back.
• Shampoo any rugs or carpets. A big undertaking, but well worth it. SERVPRO can help in this department!

Thursday’s Spring Clean Checklist: clean your living spaces

• Move furniture to vacuum and mop underneath. Pro tip: bribe a housemate to help you so your back isn’t sore the next morning.
• Vacuum couches, chairs, and curtains. This one’s especially for all you pet owners. 
• Dust in all the places you normally overlook like shelves, the ceiling fan, lampshades, etc. A Swiffer duster makes this easier because it traps and locks dust rather than spreading it around the room.
• Wash cushion and throw pillow covers, just be sure to read the care instructions first. If you can’t wash them use a product like Febreze Fabric to clean way odors and leave a fresh scent.
• Disinfect remotes and other high-touch items and areas like doorknobs, and light switches.
• Shampoo rugs or carpets.

Bonus: if you’re living a kid-free life, celebrate because you’re done a day early.

• Move furniture and vacuum underneath it. You know the drill.
• Use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get rid of those crayon marks that have accumulated over the last year
• Sanitize plastic toys. Truth be told, this should probably be done more than once a year.
• Wash soft toys that can’t be sprayed down.
• Donate the toys your kids have outgrown. Less clutter for you and another kid gets to enjoy a new-to-them toy.
• Organize toys and play areas and enjoy the brief moments of calm and order before your kids come back to play.

Protecting Yourself & Others From COVID-19

1/7/2021 (Permalink)

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise throughout the country, it is more important now than ever to take precautions to keep you and your loved ones safe. Make sure you follow the CDC guidelines to ensure you are being as safe as possible. That means wash your hands often – especially when you are preparing food, after you use the restroom, after leaving a public place, and before touching your face or mask. Make sure you are avoiding close contact and wearing a mask when around others. If possible, try to maintain 6 feet (or two arms’ length) between yourself and anyone who does not live in your household. Following these guidelines will help keep you and others as safe as possible.

If you come in contact with someone that contracts COVID-19, begin a quarantine period and monitor yourself for symptoms. SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe follows a three-step process for confirmed COVID cleaning. First, we clean all surfaces 7' and down. Second, we use our EPA registered disinfectant to mist throughout the entire cleaning area. We use an electrostatic sprayer to apply our disinfectant. The fogger gives the solution an electrostatic charge, allowing it to wrap conductive surfaces with an effective and even coverage. Last, our crew will do a final wipe down, and ensure no residue is left behind. SERVPRO tailors the cleaning scope to match the needs at hand. Each job can vary depending on if it's a confirmed case or preventative cleaning and the space that needs to be cleaned and disinfected.

Call the cleaning specialists at SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe County for all your cleaning needs at (478) 452-8000.

Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned – a defensive cleaning program

5/18/2020 (Permalink)

Our defensive cleaning program gives your business a way forward by providing your employees and customers ongoing safety and assuredness.

Let us help you get back to business

As our communities re-open, we’re all moving back toward a new kind of normal. The expectations of visitors, customers, and employees who come into our establishments have evolved, and staying safe and well is a top concern. The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed what it means to be clean, and we’ve developed a program to help your business meet the new higher standard of clean that is now expected.

Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned is a defensive cleaning program we’re offering to businesses and commercial locations to address the current COVID-19 pandemic. This proactive viral pathogen cleaning program goes well beyond janitorial or carpet cleaning. By choosing Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned, you, your employees, your customers, and your community can rest assured that you’ve selected a higher cleaning standard – you are Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned.

Extensive training and specialized products

As the #1 choice in cleanup and restoration*, we stand on more than 50 years of experience and expertise to help your business become Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned.  Beyond fire & water, SERVPRO professionals are trained and experienced in biohazard decontamination and chemical spills – always adhering to the cleaning and decontamination standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local authorities. 

From formulating and creating our proprietary cleaning products, like SERVPROXIDE, at our headquarters in Gallatin, TN, to taking the utmost care while disinfecting, we will ensure you and your business are set up to inspire consumer confidence as the economy continues to reopen.

3 C’s – Consult, Clean, and Certify

When the stakes are this high, you want a partner who has developed an industry leading, proprietary training program, cleaning solutions, and remediation processes over decades. We’ve cleaned up some of the most challenging biohazards imaginable. Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned reflects our unique experiences and capabilities. The program is grounded with our unique 3 C’s: Consult, Clean, and Certify.

• Consult – Every business is different, which is why you’ll be assigned a Cleaning Protocol Consultant who understands your business and will create a cleaning program to meet your specific needs. This program will be developed based on your business type, size of space, amount of high frequency touchpoints, foot traffic and congestion points.
• Clean – Based on your specific business needs, your location will undergo a thorough, deep clean, using exclusive cleaning products, according to protocols set forth by the CDC. Our employees have years of experience, and we will go beyond the scope of work that regular janitorial staff perform. Cleanup procedures generally include cleaning of porous and non-porous surfaces, disinfecting of non-porous surfaces, cleaning and disinfecting of equipment, tools, and/or supplies used for cleanup process, and disposal of hazardous materials.  In the event of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 event, we will be there cleaning within 24 hours to ensure you get back to business as quickly as possible. 
• Certify - Once your business location has been Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned, you will gain access to proprietary signage, digital emblems, and other collateral that communicates that you’ve selected a higher standard of clean available to help protect your employees and customers. And because we add the day, month, and year to that proprietary stamp of clean, your guests will know that not only did you choose Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned, but that your location is being cleaned regularly at this standard.

Call today for a Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned consultation

We’re Here to Help – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – until life is back to normal in the communities we all call home.

Call SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe today at 478-452-8000 for your Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned consultation.

* #1 Choice in cleanup & restoration based Commercial Attitude & Usage Tracking study. Polling 816 commercial business decision makers on first choice for future needs related to cleanup & restoration work. Study conducted by C&R Research: October 2019

Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned means professionally trained SERVPRO franchises perform the requested cleaning, sanitizing and disinfection services according to proprietary SERVPRO protocols and recognized industry and CDC standards with EPA approved cleaning products to deliver a SERVPRO certified cleaning experience.  Each SERVPRO franchise is independently owned and operated.

SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe offers carpet cleaning recommendations! Check them out!

1/7/2020 (Permalink)

Call the professionals anytime for a quick carpet refresher!

SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe recommends commercial building owners who have carpeted areas or rugs to have them cleaned at least once a year. SERVPRO professionals are specialists in assisting commercial building owners with cleaning as well as water and fire restoration.

The value of properly cleaning and maintaining carpets:
 
1) Prolongs the life of the carpet fiber. Regular carpet cleaning using the extraction method can increase the life of carpets significantly, protecting your floor-covering investment.

2) Protects indoor air quality. Carpets trap airborne pollutants; however, eventually those pollutants must be removed in order to protect the carpet and maintain indoor air quality.

3) Makes carpets easier to maintain. Most carpet soiling is made up of dry soils; when carpets are kept thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis, most dry soils can be removed with regular vacuuming.

4) Removes spots and stains. As with other soils, spots and stains can attract more soiling. Removing them promptly protects carpeting from damage.

5) Prevents buildup of allergens and bacteria. Moist soiling of carpets can result in the buildup of several unhealthy contaminants.

6) Enhances the appearance of any room. Clean, well-maintained carpets speak volumes about the overall cleanliness of a home or facility.

7) Improves worker morale. Workers feel better about their work environment when it is clean. This includes the carpeting.

8) Makes carpeting look and feel clean and fresh.

9) Removes dust mites and bedbugs that may have found a home in carpets.

10) Maintains the carpet’s warranty. Most carpet warranties require that carpets be cleaned using the extraction method within a specific amount of time, usually every 12 to 18 months.

For more information call SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe at 478-452-8000.

To see or not to see, that is the question!

9/23/2016 (Permalink)

When it comes to dirt, it often masks itself in very inconspicuous ways, making it very hard to see when things are getting tainted.  Most commercial carpets come in a blended pattern or knit making it difficult to see even the heaviest of stain.  Although you're not able to see the traffic areas, they're there, screaming for you to clean them.  Lying between your shoe sole and the carpet is a melting pot of germs, bacteria, mold spores, pollution and chemicals.  All of these are naked to the human eye, but out of sight doesn't mean out of mind.  In fact, the air you breath inside your home and office is filled with this contamination, so it's imperative to your health and the health of those around you that you have your carpets cleaned on a regular basis.  

The following list is courtesy of Carlo Ruggiero, a social blogger and “green” aficionado.

“Here are the top 5 potential health issues associated with not cleaning your carpets.

1. Damp carpets can cause asthma.

The Kuopio Regional Institute of Occupational Health conducted a recent study which conclusively found that damp carpets increased the incidences of asthma in an environment where people were constantly exposed to the carpet. Organisms known as volatile organic compounds and microbial growth were found able to flourish in an unclean, damp carpet, and the results were increased cases of bronchial asthma, one of the deepest forms of the disease.

2. Dirty carpets house dust mites.

Dirty carpets are well known to be a breeding ground for dust mites, in the same way that dirty hair is a breeding ground for lice. Dust mites feed off of the same fungi, bacteria, and human skin cells that naturally filter into a carpet and stay if the carpet is not cleaned on a regular basis. Studies have also shown that most people are allergic to dust mites, and as they die, their carcasses are inhaled by humans who come into contact with the dirty carpet. Inhalation of the dead bodies has been known to cause rashes, and eye and nose irritation.

3. Dirty carpets house mould.

Mold has not been proven to link to asthmatic attacks, but this does not mean that mold does not cause humans great discomfort if left unattended. Bacteria and allergens which live on the mold can build up on uncared-for carpeting, and when ingested, can cause allergies to surface via the respiratory system. Worse problems can arise if the body succumbs to the bacteria which live on the mold spores, which it is especially prone to do if already weakened by another disease. If you are experiencing cold-like symptoms more often than normal, it is most likely time to get your carpet cleaned.

4. Athlete’s foot.

As before mentioned, dirty carpets house an incredible number of parasitic organisms which, if ingested into the respiratory system, can cause a number of health issues. The dust, fungi, and other organisms are kicked back into the air by movement on the carpet. However, another risk arises even if the movement on the carpet is not violent enough to move the organisms into the air, they can still cause athlete’s foot by entering the body through tiny cuts in the foot.

5. Mycotoxins.

More serious health issues can arise if the body is exposed to too many mycotoxins, which dirty carpets are an attractive environment for. Buildings are a source of mycotoxins and people living or working in areas with mold increase their chances of adverse health effects. These can range from stomach infections to fatality, depending on the initial health of the exposed person, or over time, as the mycotoxins wear down the body’s defenses. For example, Stachybotrys chartarum contains a higher number of mycotoxins than other molds grown in the indoor environment and has been associated with allergies and respiratory inflammation.”

SERVPRO recommends a seasonal cleaning, and we can guarantee a cleaner, healthier environment to work and play.  Our highly trained professionals use a hot water extraction thus eliminating any unwanted germs and funk that's been tracked in on your floors.  We service all types of carpets and even clean hard floor surfaces as well!  

If you've not scheduled a carpet cleaning lately, give us a call and let us help.  Make the environment around you a healthy one!