11 Questions You Should Ask When Hiring a Cleaning Service

When hiring a cleaning service, you want to select the best match for your family. Here are some questions to ask that help you get the perfect choice.

1. Are you licensed bonded and insured, and do you perform background checks, reference checks and drug screening? Who is in your home is generally the most important question that consumers have. Official checks and verification are how professional companies can ensure you have trustworthy people in your home. 
2. Do you hire employees or subcontractors? This question is about who is in control of your job. If a company hires employees they are legally allowed to train, insure, pay payroll taxes and provide care and control over the job. If they hire sub-contractors, it is the sub-contractor themselves who must provide the insurance, they should not receive training from the company, and they are really independent business owners. If a company hires sub-contractors then you should ask a lot more questions about liability, insurance, qualifications and payroll taxes.
3. What are your most common complaints and how do you solve them? Customer satisfaction with a cleaning service is about understanding and meeting customer expectations, communication, and a complete understanding of the customer’s needs. Learning ahead of time where things could go array can help avoid misunderstandings in your home service.
4. Can you work within my budget? Everyone loves having their house cleaned from corner to corner, but that may not always be in your budget. Find out what the cleaning company can do with your budget.
5. How reliable is your company? You are busy, and you don’t have time to wait around for umpteen changes in time from your cleaning company. Ask your cleaning company how they measure their reliability, and do they have a good track record.
6. Do you have expertise in cleaning stains and unusual cleaning problems? It does not take much expertise to run a broom across the floor, but to maintain a home in tip top shape you are going to need occasionally to handle the odd stain on your carpet, in your grout or on your granite, etc. 
7. Do you belong to a trade association or have you received any specialized training? True experts spend time and resources staying up on the most effective procedures, standards and technology for an efficient cleaning.
8. What kinds of tools and supplies do you use? Green cleaning, microfiber, traditional products, commercial grade… learn what your company plans to use.
9. How do you guarantee your work? Not only ask the company if they guarantee their work, but how they do it. Is there a lot of red tape? Do people need to redeem the guarantee often?
10. Do you offer special projects if I need it? Is the company available to do a detail of the interior and exterior surfaces of the kitchen? How about hands and knees polishing of your dining room and dining room furniture? How about giving a good clean to your RV or boat? It is important to know that your cleaning company is available for all of your needs.
11. Can you come out to give me a free in-home estimate? I know you are busy and may be considering skipping this step, but an in-home estimate is your opportunity to really see who will project managing your service. See whether they seem experienced, flexible, good communication, a good leader and someone you can work with for a long term relationship. No matter how frequently you are using a cleaning service, the process of finding and vetting a good service takes time, and you would rather only do it once.

After Fire Damage Homeowners Need Odor Removal

After Fire Damage Homeowners Need Odor Removal.

Contact ServiceMaster Restore on 316-413-5750 or Visit us at smbybest.com and let us get to work making things right again.

Where there’s fire, there’s smoke. Any homeowner who has experienced a fire knows the truth of that old statement. Smoke inhalation kills most victims of house fires. Even if the occupants escape, the lingering odor of smoke can traumatize even the most stout-hearted homeowner.

One reason that odors linger long after the fire is extinguished is that smoke is comprised of particles. Those particles land on every surface, and in every crevice in the home. They are very fine and difficult to detect, and even more difficult to remove. In most cases, you need expert help with special neutralizers and methods of odor removal to eliminate the long-term effects of a fire.

Odor Removal Doesn’t Happen By Itself

Many people try at first to eliminate odors and finally realize that the job can be accomplished more quickly and thoroughly by a trained professional. At United Water Restoration, our technicians use special neutralizing products, hot thermal fog, unsmoke, ozone and odor counteractants.

These methods and tools are not widely available to the general public - and moreover, the longer the time that passes before the odor is attacked, the more damage can occur.

There are some things the homeowner can do: Thoroughly wash floors, kitchen cupboards and floors that aren’t carpeted. Vacuum carpets, using a machine with a HEPA high-efficiency filter to trap smoke particles inside the vacuum. Remove and wash light fixtures. Remove all curtains, draperies and window shades for cleaning or dry-cleaning. Turn a large fan to blow fresh air into the home, working your way through the house, room by room.

If all this seems like too much for a busy homeowner to handle, call ServiceMaster Restore. We do all this and more to help restore your home to its original condition.

Smoke discolors surfaces such as plastic, fiberglass, and eventually, metal. Wood and vinyl will also need to be replaced.

Ash and soot are easily distributed and are a major cause of odor. Allowing this residue to remain for days permits it to creep into impenetrable places such as between floor boards and behind drywall.

So a difficult job becomes more difficult. The disaster restoration and odor removal will go much more quickly and be less expensive if it is tackled immediately.

After the clean-up process is underway, the homeowner will notice an immediate reduction in odor. For months later, pulling a piece of clothing out of winter storage, for instance, can release traumatic memories triggered by the smell of smoke. There is no better way to restore a homeowner’s peace of mind than to tackle odors at their source, as soon as possible after the fire.

Cleaning up after a fire is a job left to those who specialize in this type of work. General cleaning is not enough— indeed, it may make the situation worse. A homeowner has gone through enough turmoil with a fire in the house.  

Call 316-413-5750 or Visit us at smbybest.com and let us get to work making things right again.

Commercial Window Cleaning Services in Wichita

Commercial Window Cleaning: 316.413.5738
 

Hiring commercial window cleaning services helps in achieving the cleanliness required in an office or a home. This is because cleaning windows can be tedious and dangerous at times as the glass can break causing injuries. In addition, doing it yourself may not provide the desired results as it is difficult to reach some parts of the windows especially in the windows of a building that can be categorized among the skyscrapers. Engaging a professional window cleaner to handle the job for you brings about various advantages that make the services worth investing in. 

Here are some of the benefits;

Prolonged life span of windows

Regular cleaning of the windows by professionals helps in prolonging their life span. Window glasses can be damaged by hard minerals brought about by airborne pollutants and hard rain on dirt coated glasses. This can be eliminated by clearing the contaminants that may cause serious damage to the glasses through thorough cleaning. For this purpose, a commercial cleaning company with good reputation is highly recommended.

Best results

Commercial window cleaning services provides best results compared to do it yourself cleaning process. This is because they have the right tools required for window cleaning hence no need of using improvised materials that may leave flaps on the glass. In addition, a company has equipments that help in reaching the windows on heights that otherwise would be inaccessible. This eliminates the dangers that an ordinary cleaner is exposed to when trying to access the windows on tall buildings.

Convenient

Contracting a commercial cleaning company to clean the window glasses is the best option as it is time saving. The process of cleaning windows is time consuming and this might be hectic for homeowners with tight daily schedules. In this case, a licensed cleaning service provider can be hired to clean the windows even without the presence of the home owners. Also, they complete the job quickly as they have the required cleaning solutions and equipments. This helps in saving time while providing a clean environment.

Minimal damages

During the window cleaning process, many damages are reported. This is because expertise is wanting in an ordinary window cleaner. This is why ordering for the services of a commercial cleaning company is highly recommended as the team always put safety of the windows and other properties first. In addition, the team has vast experience in handling different types of glasses hence preventing unnecessary damages while ensuring quality window cleaning services.

Looking for a reliable commercial cleaning company? Call us today at 316.413.5738 for quality and cost effective Commercial window cleaning services!

Immediate Mold Removal in Wichita, ServiceMaster Will Control Spread and Further Damage

It’s not unusual for our 24/7 hotline to receive calls from people who are shocked to find mold in their homes. Questions arise from customers such as, “We keep our home so clean, how could there be mold? Do we need mold remediation services?” or “We dried out our premises thoroughly after a flood so why do we have mold?”,  and other concerns. The good thing about these callers is that they realize that mold treatment for their Wichita, KS property and elsewhere is not something that can wait, but rather immediate attention is needed.

Then there are the folks that don’t call because they choose the home-made mold treatment. In this situation, they think they can clean up mold with a solution of bleach and water and that this will provide a long lasting, permanent remedy to their mold problem.

Bleach may work for fabrics and material or even tiles and glass but, unfortunately, bleach doesn’t penetrate porous materials such as wood and drywall. It may kill fungus sitting on top but, because it cannot penetrate the wood or drywall, it does not reach the roots buried in the material. Additionally, the water does soak in and may feed more moisture for the mold to grow.

Most people underestimate how a busted water pipe or leaky roof can damage and soak attics, ceilings, crawlspaces and drywall, warp kitchen cabinets, ruin carpet and draperies, and initiate mold growth. The type of fungi causing these effects is dangerous not only to home structures but also to health.

The spores are too small to be seen by the naked eye, they grow and spread rapidly and they don’t go away with routine use of household cleaners. Long-term exposure to black mold can result in respiratory problems and disease. To learn more about mold and mold removal services click here.

Contact ServiceMaster Restore if you require emergency home mold treatment in Wichita, Kansas. 

Call us now at 316.413.5750.

Dry cleaning or steam cleaning, which one’s the best?

Happiness arrives with a good carpet that stays clean in your house, however to ensure the health of the carpet remains good you need to take care of it. There are two methods which you can adopt to clean your carpet – dry carpet cleaning and steam carpet cleaning. Both of these techniques are beneficial for your carpet but one tops the other.

People are not well-versed with the right methods and struggle to understand the difference between the two. Many are under the impression that dry carpet cleaning involves use of chemicals which may harm their carpet. But this is not true as the only way to clean your carpet without chemical compounds is by vacuuming it.

Dry carpet cleaning also known as Very Low moisture cleaning and  is a popular way to clean the carpet. This technique allows the carpet to dry sooner than any other method. Commercial cleaning solvents are the key detergents that break the binding of the soil present in the carpet before the dry carpet cleaning method is applied. People living in big houses, take advantage by dry cleaning the carpet as it is less time consuming.

On the other hand, steam cleaning your carpet is best so far as it removes stains, dust mites and molds. Many individuals and companies avail steam cleaning for their carpet because it is effective and also increases the life of the carpet. Steam cleaning uses hot water and a powerful vacuum extraction method to clean and maintain its durability.

Another advantage of steam cleaning is that it emits a good fragrance after the cleaning is done  People suffering from allergies and asthma usually use steam cleaning for their carpet as it is environmentally friendly and removes dust particles with ease.

Now that you have understood which treatment is best for your carpet, you can avail a reliable carpet cleaning service provider that can do your carpet good.

The ServiceMaster Cleaning team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. For more information, visit www.smbybest.com or call 316.413.5776

How to Keep Your Home Sparkling This Christmas

It’s hard to believe that spring is only a few days away. I hope you’re as excited as I am for sunny skies, spring fashion, and fresh, seasonal produce. And then there’s spring cleaning… I know I might be the only one who actually gets excited at the thought of scrubbing and dusting. But even if you’re not as obsessed with organization as I am, spring cleaning doesn’t have to be scary.

One of the biggest tips I’ve learned as a lifelong neat freak is that if you keep up with routine chores on a regular basis, things will never get out of hand. So to make things easy, I decided to put together a simple cleaning chart designed to keep you accountable on a daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal basis. If you can spend just a few minutes each day tidying up, you will never have to clean like crazy just before guests come over or when you’ve finally reached your limit.



A few more tips…

• If it’s been a while since you’ve done a deep cleaning, it might be worth paying a professional to come in once just to get you started. After that, you can take over and just maintain the level of cleanliness you started with.

• If you have pets, babies, or dust allergies, you will want to clean a little more frequently than what is listed in the chart.

• If it feels like you’re doing laundry too often, splurge on another set of sheets, towels, or socks.

• If it helps motivate you to actually check things off, frame this list and then use a dry erase marker to check things off on the glass.

I hope this post helps you to keep your space spick-and-span.

Do you have any spring cleaning tips of your own?

The ServiceMaster Cleaning team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. For more information, visit www.smbybest.com or call 316.413.5776

Happy cleaning! :)

It’s Not all about Cleaning!

Your website, at heart, is an advertisement for your business. Big advertisers have known for a long time that one of the best ways to sell a product is to associate it with things that are more appealing.
As an example, beer companies don’t advertise beer, they sell ‘Good Times’ or ‘Sex Appeal’.

Occasionally, they’ll throw in a line about the product, but the majority of advertisements are dominated by images of fun parties or romantic encounters.

As a cleaning company your target demographic is probably slightly different than a beer company’s, so maybe avoid images of raucous frat parties. For some insight into the kinds of things we do want to advertise, let’s take a look at a great example from ServiceMaster Clean:

As a cleaning company, your target demographic should be home and business owners. This means they’re likely older and more mature than a beer commercial demographic. The images above are perfect for a cleaning company.

So just what are they advertising? Definitely not cleaning services. A perfect family life, fitness, mature romance (not just beefcakes or girls in bikinis!), and ‘Me-Time’ for people with a busy work life.

In the end only you know best what appeals to your Clients, so consider what they would want, and sell it to them!