Leather Cleaning | 3 Step Process to Clean Leather

Leather furniture has a beauty to it and must be cared for to retain its natural look. Your sofa, clothing, chairs or even your interior of your car that have leather should be cleaned regularly to maintain that new look. There are many cleaning products available for cleaning leather and cleaning it isn’t very difficult. Ignoring proper care of your leather products can result in aging and worse cracking. Spending a little time cleaning and protecting your leather products can result in great long term savings.

Cleaning your leather is a three step process. Much like caring for your hair you should clean it first and then condition it. The final step is applying a protector that will help minimize any potential damage. The three step process of cleaning leather is simple and will keep your leather looking its best. Leather needs care for it to look its best as sunlight, dirt, oils and other debris can easily damage it. There are many cleaning chemicals to choose from in kit packages and the following is the three step process to keeping your leather looking its best.

1. Cleaning | There are many cleaning chemicals available to clean leather. Leather Master manufactures many leather cleaning chemicals that work well. Make sure when cleaning your leather that no greasy feeling is left. Follow the cleaning chemical directions, though using a small amount of the chemical on a damp cleaning rag will work well. Always test in a hidden area on the leather to assure it doesn’t fade it.

2. Condition | Leather should occasionally have a conditioner applied every six months at minimum. Leather conditioner replenishes the natural moisture and oil that is removed from leather during cleaning, sunlight, dry air and other elements. It will provide a natural lubrication to keep your leather from tearing or damaging.

3. Protector | Protector is a must cleaning chemical application to leather. Protector will help your leather against staining, cracking and unnecessary aging. This cleaning solution protects against spills, rain/water damage, dirt and other soils.

Indoor Dust | 8 Ways to Reduce Dust inside your Office or Home

Dust in a home or an office is impossible to eliminate. Dust comes from so many area’s that it is virtually impossible to eliminate regardless of how often you clean and what cleaning products you use. Over 80% of dust comes from our own skin and fabrics throughout your home or building. Your clothing, shoes, bedding, chairs, curtains and so many other daily items are capturing and releasing in the air fibers of dust.

Household dust travels from outside to inside your home or office easily and no cleaning supplies can stop it completely. Dust enters your home from open doors, windows, shoes and many other ways. Dust can contain tiny amounts of human skin, plant pollens, animal hairs and many other elements. Dust is so lite that it can settle on any surface and move back into the air very easily. Dust is extremely unhealthy for people with respiratory problems, small children and the elderly. With all of this said, dust can at least be controlled and limited by the following 8 steps:

1) Vacuum Cleaners | Regular office or household vacuuming is crucial to controlling indoor dust. Use a good lightweight vacuum cleaner that has a good filtration system. A commercial vacuum cleaner can have more power to vacuum deep in the fibers of a carpet. Vacuuming should be done often and definitely near doorways daily.

2) Carpet Cleaning extractor | Carpets capture a ton of indoor dust and need to be cleaned often. A commercial carpet extractor or good residential carpet cleaner should be used at least twice a year on all carpets. Vacuuming is great for carpets, though nothing removes more dust that is trapped in the carpet fibers than a good carpet extractor.

3) Dusting | Dusting your house or office should be done weekly. Use a good microfiber cleaning cloth or cleaning rags and wipe each surface with a cleaning chemical of choice. Microfiber towels capture more dust than does a regular terry cloth towel. Microfiber rags also limit the amount of cleaning chemicals that are needed when cleaning.

4) Cleaning Blinds & Curtains monthly | Blinds and curtains by windows capture a lot of dust. Use a canister vacuum cleaner to vacuum your curtains often. Most vacuum cleaners have a vacuum accessory tool for dusting, like a dusting brush. For blinds use a good feather duster that captures the dust verse moving it back into the air. Ostrich feather dusters are the best for this.

5) Bedding | Your bedding should be washed weekly as your bed captures more dust than anything in your home due to your skin cells. Vacuum your mattress monthly with a good canister vacuum that preferably has a vacuum bag option. Use the vacuum cleaners upholstery tool for this and make sure to vacuum top, sides and the bottom.

6) Filters | Change your furnace filters often, at least quarterly. The number one cause by far of furnace problems is dust. Changing the filter is better for your furnace and health. Also remember to change your vacuum filter often.

7) Furniture Care | Cushions on chairs should be vacuumed and cleaned often. Dust is attracted to your furniture and use a good canister vacuum cleaner to vacuum your cushions often. Leather furniture should be wiped with a leather cleanermonthly.

8) Air Purifier | Consider purchasing a good air purifier. An air purifier can greatly reduce the amount of dust indoors and also cleans the air you breathe. Austin Air Purifiers and Blue Air are some of the best purifiers available. There are several other manufactures, though do your research before making a purchase.

Regular Cleaning Greatly Improves Indoor Air Quality

Cleaning your home or facility on a regular basis greatly improves the indoor air quality. The air inside our homes and offices is said to be much worse than the air we breathe outside. Indoor air pollution can be from our cleaning products we use, cooking, dust, leaking faucets, heating systems, outdoor pollutants that get trapped inside and much more. Many of today’s newer buildings are so air tight that not enough fresh outdoor air is brought in to circulate the indoor air. Regular cleaning of your facility can greatly improve the indoor air.

Vacuuming your facility with a good commercial vacuum can be one of the most significant ways of improving the indoor air. Regular vacuuming with a good upright vacuum cleaner can capture much of the dust that is generated inside our building. Vacuuming the entryway mats each day can have a significant impact on reducing the amount of dust in the building. A good backpack vacuum will make vacuuming a facility easy and will greatly help get into tight areas easily. Choose a commercial vacuum that has good filtration and lightweight vacuums are also easier to use.

Dusting of walls and ceilings in your facility is important to do before vacuuming on a regular cycle. High dusters can help remove cobwebs and debris that are breading grounds for bacteria. Have a good ostrich feather duster to dust pictures on walls and work throughout the room from top to bottom. Dusting your facility on a weekly basis can have great benefits and vacuuming afterwards with a good Hepa Filtrated Vacuum will greatly help indoor air quality.

Buildings should also have their floors cleaned professionally on a regular basis. Carpet actually is great for improving indoor air quality as it captures soils, though the carpets should be cleaned with the best carpet extractor on a regular basis. A heated carpet extractor is good as the heat will extract soils stuck deep in the carpets. Having a good carpet cleaning chemical can also greatly help in extracting soils deep in the carpet and there are also many carpet protector chemicals available. Consider using a good carpet pre-spray chemical with a sprayer in high traffic areas for best carpet care. A professional commercial carpet extractor should be used minimally twice a year in commercial buildings.

Indoor pollution can greatly impact those inside buildings both short term and years later. There are many professional steps that should be taken, though regular scheduled cleaning will greatly help improve indoor air. Dusting, vacuuming and professional carpet cleaning will help reduce indoor pollutants and make for a much healthier workplace or home!

Commercial Vacuum Cleaner | Finding the Best Vacuum for your Business

There are several features to consider when deciding on the best commercial vacuum cleaner for your business. There are dozens of quality manufacturers that each build several different vacuum cleaners to choose from. Cleaning companies depend on good vacuums and it is one of the most expensive cleaning products that they’ll purchase.

To decide on the best commercial vacuum for your budget you’ll want to examine the following features!

1) Bagged Vacuum or Bagless Vacuum | Deciding on a bagged or bagless vacuum is an important feature to determine before finding the best commercial vacuum for your business. The advantage of bagless vacuums is that you’ll never have to purchase vacuum bags, saving your business money on this extra cleaning products expense. Bagged vacuums are much better for indoor air quality concerns as the vacuum will trap in the dirt. Bagged vacuum cleaners expenses can be lowered by looking for generic vacuum bag choices.

2) Vacuum Cleaning Path Size | Commercial vacuum cleaners can range from 10 inches wide to as large as 30 inches in cleaning path size. When vacuuming primarily larger rooms like conference rooms or hotels, a wide-area vacuum might be preferred like a 24-30 inch cleaning path. For vacuuming hallways in buildings a vacuum path of 14-18 inches long will save a tremendous amount of time. For cleaning in homes and offices with several desks the best commercial vacuum cleaner would be a vacuum width size of 12 inches.

3) Vacuum Parts | There are many great commercial vacuum cleaners, though you’ll want to assure that access to vacuum parts is readily available. There are vacuum accessories that are commonly replaced by commercial cleaning companies and if you can’t easily access these vacuum parts you might want to consider another commercial vacuum manufacturer. Hoover vacuums, Oreck Vacuums, Sanitaire Vacuums and ProTeam Vacuums are great commercial manufacturers whose vacuum parts are easily found.

4) Vacuum Weight | There are many vacuum cleaners that are great performers, though can weigh too much for some users. There are great lightweight vacuum cleaners like the Oreck XL2000 that weighs only 8 pounds and even the Hoover C1404 that weighs only 9 pounds. Janitorial companies swear by the ProTeam 15xp, though the weight is double the previous mentioned ones and might be too heavy to carry if transporting.

In conclusion, with so many vacuum cleaner options you can make your choice easier with considering the features mentioned above.

5 Cleaning Products You Must Have

Cleaning your home or business is certainly not the funniest thing to do with someone’s spare time, though having the right cleaning products can certainly make it much easier. There are so many cleaning supplies and cleaning products on the market that choosing the best can be difficult. There are some key essential cleaning products that everyone should have that will help reduce the time you spend cleaning. The following are:

5 cleaning products everyone should have to make the job of cleaning easier!

1. Vacuum Cleaner: There are so many vacuum cleaners to choose from. When picking a vacuum try to have both a good upright vacuum cleaner and a canister vacuum cleaner. There are many vacuums available with tools on-board, though nothing will make the job of cleaning easier than having a good lightweight canister vacuum. The Hoover Portapower Canister Vacuum is a low cost vacuum that will last you a long time. You can vacuum hard surfaces, upholstery, corners easily and high areas like air conditioning returns or fans. Choose a good upright lightweight vacuum like the Oreck XL2000. You can easily vacuum from carpeted to hard floor surfaces and the vacuum is so light it makes vacuuming a breeze.

2. Chemicals: Having the right cleaning chemicals can also reduce the time you spend cleaning. Consider a good multi-surface and multi-purpose cleaning chemical that can clean many areas in one solution. Simple Green makes great cleaning chemicals that clean well, protect the environment and reduces the amount of different bottles you’ll need when cleaning by having just one solution. Simple Green has Glass Cleaner, Bathroom Cleaner and a great All-Purpose Cleaner.

3. Floor Mop: Always vacuum before mopping your floors to reduce the additional time you’d spend picking up the debris your mop can push around. Find a good mop that is strong enough to handle scrubbing and wide enough to help reduce time spent mopping. Moving from a 10 inch cleaning path to an 18 or greater size mop like the Bona Mops can help cut back on time spent mopping. When mopping always mop by starting forward and pulling the mop back towards your body to bring any dirt picked up back, verse pushing it forward over cleaned floors.

4. Cleaning Supplies: Make sure when cleaning that you have all your cleaning supplies available. Have a toothbrush to clean around faucets and in difficultcorners, a non-abrasive sponge, a cleaning pad like a 3M Dobie that scours but won’t scratch, a pumice stone for bad areas like toilets and have several good cleaning cloths. Microfiber rags clean better and reduce that amount of chemicals needed to clean with.

5. Cleaning tote or bucket: Having a good cleaning bucket or even better yet a cleaning tote to carry all your supplies in greatly reduces the back and forth of getting necessary cleaning products. A nice cleaning tote allows you to place everything together and will really make cleaning much easier than taking item by item out from under the sink or area you store your cleaning supplies.

In summary, having the right cleaning supplies and cleaning products can greatly reduce the needed time to clean and make cleaning much easier!