ICS Cleaning Specialist articles from November 2007

ICS Cleaning Specialist archives from November 2007

A lyin' in winter: hmm. Too much of a stretch? Perhaps: Peter O'Toole is nowhere to be seen. But you'll never know how far you can go unless you try. After all, "One day I'm going to give that a shot," only plays so many times; at some point, the bills come due.(Editorial Comment)(Editorial)
November 1, 2007... If history is any judge--and if I haven't been lied to by almost every cleaning pro I've ever met--you've got a couple of pretty solid weeks coming up. Turkeys everywhere are running for their lives, while mothers-in-law of all shapes and sizes...

Defining a normal fungal ecology.(IEQ Q&A)
November 1, 2007... Q: what is a "normal fungal ecology"? A: "Normal fungal ecology" is a term that was arrived at by consensus while developing the First Edition of the IICRC S520 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation. It was...

Things to know about crime & trauma scene cleanup.
November 1, 2007... Years ago, few cleaning or restoration personnel thought much about getting blood on themselves. Aside from the repulsive nature of blood, the very thought of it being the carrier of deadly and debilitating diseases was far from our minds. This...

The entrepreneur as systems thinker: getting down to basics.
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There is a unique quality that makes world-class entrepreneurs different than simply owners of businesses. They are Systems Thinkers. Systems Thinking is holistic thinking. It puts the pragmatic and the idealistic,...

Looking into electric heat: it seems as though every article written about drying lately is about the science of drying. Drying with heat is a topic that has polarized the industry. Restorers have taken their stands on both sides of the issue. Some claim it is the best way to dry, others claim it is not for them.(The Gadget Man)
November 1, 2007... One thing everyone will agree on is that heating equipment requires a fairly large investment. To this end, heat has been traditionally viewed as a drying system intended only for large restorers. The need for smaller heating units has recently...

Anti-allergen cleaning--part 2: let's continue on our journey to discover how to generate $400,000 in sales using one truck with a helper, working Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, by adding anti-allergen cleaning and treatment services to your offerings.(Putting The Pieces Together)
November 1, 2007... What I'm going to show you does work, but it takes time and commitment. In addition, you definitely want to do all of the other conventional marketing for your anti-allergen services, such as listing the services on your van, adding it to your...

Butler introduces Maximum Liquid Enzyme.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Maximum Liquid Enzyme from The Butler Corp. is "a maximum performance formulation in an easy to use liquid that instantly dilutes with water. Recommended for use on all types of carpet including colorfast,...

Jon-Don partners up for new product line.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... Jon-Don has partnered with Planet Guard to introduce a new line of products that "go green and beyond," the company said. PG Natural Green TLC, PG Carpet Cleaner and Rinse and PG Degreaser/Cleaner are formulated with the environment in...

BLUEline Equipment Co. introduces the COBALT Truckmount.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BLUEline Equipment Co. announces the release of the COBALT with minimal back pressure (MBP) heat exchange design. The COBALT is designed for single wand operations and is "ideal for residential and light commercial...

Decontamination system easily deployed.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Phocatox Technologies introduces the BIOSWEEP 700 Series high performance decontamination system. This powerful portable unit combines the latest in airborne and surface contamination destruction technology. ...

Dri-Eaz offers a new solution: the EnviroBoss 6000.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... The second product from the Dri-Eaz EnviroBoss product line, the EB6000 is a new unit that gives restoration contractors full control of jobs in any climate--even tropical environments. "Because climate can significantly impact drying...

Portable hot-water spotter deep cleans carpets.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Hot Rod/Hot Spotter, manufactured by Aztec Products, Inc., provides the most powerful vacuum in the industry with 102 inches of vacuum lift. Being "the most innovative spotter available," the Hot Rod/Hot Spotter...

Feeling lonely? Get a Scrub Buddy.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Scrub Buddy combines a powerful, convenient scrub action with a one-touch, on-board dispensing system designed for applying environmentally preferred cleaning products by EnvirOx, LLC. Use it on both floors and...

New program provides a marketing Edge.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... ShowMe Marketing Solutions introduces "ShowMe an Edge: A Mastery Program for Marketing to Plumbers." This program is a comprehensive two-disk set that covers the full spectrum of marketing to plumbers. The easy-to-understand, full-color...

Scot's TUFF takes a shot.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OxyShot! Oxygen Booster from Scot's TUFF can be added to any carpet shampoo or extraction cleaning system at any temperature "for brighter and more vivid carpets," the company said. The liquid technology "is...

HydraMaster introduces MaxAir Tank Technology.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Not just another vacuum tank," says HydraMaster of their new MaxAir Recovery & Separation system. To be used with the company's CDS, Maxx and Boxxer truckmount models, the system includes at least eight improvements...

Dri-Eaz goes wireless with GE Protimeter.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dri-Eaz has teamed up with GE Protimeter to offer a wireless option for remote sensing. The HygroTrac system monitors and documents moisture levels on all sizes of jobs while "ensuring consistent and accurate data."...

Butler introduces new deodorizer.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... Butler's Maximum Orchard Fresh Deodorizer is "an effective concentration to remove most odors caused by the prolonged exposure to moisture in carpet and upholstery, urine, mildew, vomit, decaying foods and common household odors," the company...

Delmhorst navigates through moisture.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... Delmhorst Instrument Co. introduces the Navigator Series moisture meters. The Navigator and Navigator Pro were designed from the ground up for restoration professionals. Navigator Series moisture meters integrate pin mode, pin-less scan...

Century 400 introduces new carpet extractor.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Century 400 introduces the new 7-gallon self-contained extractor. This 15-inch walk-behind extractor offers brush settings that easily adjust to eight different cleaning positions. Other features include a powerful...

Calendar of industry events: conventions & trade shows.(Conference news)(Calendar)
November 1, 2007... NOV. 12-13 Morantz "Firesonics" Seminar Las Vegas. Call (702) 891-9997 JAN. 15-18, 2008 DKI Insights Conference 2008 Tampa, FL. Call (800) 567-8047 MARCH 7-10, 2008 NADCA 19th Annual Meeting & Exposition San...

Safety King seals the deal.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Grill Mask from Safety King is a lightweight film that sticks to registers, "the perfect solution for sealing grills," the company said. Each roll is 300 feet by 8 inches, and is perforated every 4 inches for...

New blowers provide "quieter operation and reduced vibration".(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new line of tri-lobe rotary air blowers, redesigned to incorporate the latest technology for reduced noise and vibration, has been introduced by Dresser Roots. The ROOTS RAM-X blowers have an exclusive WHISPAIR...

New hose design flexes its muscles.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... Flexaust introduces a new liquid suction and pumping hose that features a dual web-cap design that is "extremely flexible for easy coiling," the company said. Flexaust Tiger Tail liquid suction and pumping hose is a crush-resistant,...

John's takes control.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] John's Custom Machine controls your diverter with their new Auto Diverter Control. The electrical control box mounts on a truckmount and controls the POD and your exhaust diverter. The POD has an aluminum...

Announcing the "killer" cleaner.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] KaiBosh is a new concentrated, EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant from Kaivac for use with No-Touch Cleaning systems as well as conventional cleaning methods. Known as the "killer" cleaner, KaiBosh is...

Spotting solutions develops stain removal kit.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... Spotting Solutions has developed a complete Stain Removal Kit for professional carpet cleaners to offer to their customers. "Carpet cleaners love the program and that their customers can select only the stain removers that fit their...

Woody-Vac provides dust-free sanding.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... Meyer's Wood-Vac is a dust collection system that uses a positive displacement blower with a high-efficiency cyclone separator and high-capacity cartridge filter. The Woody-Vac utilizes a positive displacement blower to maintain a constant...

Butler introduces new deodorizer.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... Butler's Maximum Orchard Fresh Deodorizer is "an effective concentration to remove most odors caused by the prolonged exposure to moisture in carpet and upholstery, urine, mildew, vomit, decaying foods and common household odors," the company...

BLUEline enhances truckmount lineup.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... BLUEline Equipment Co. has taken its exclusive heat exchange technology and patented flow control and applied it to the ThermalWave II Vortec and ThermalWave II HP Vortec. This state-of-the-art heat exchange and heat transfer system generates...

Wet/Dry Vacs strive to improve worker performance.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tornado introduces the P15 (molded polyethylene) and S15 (stainless steel) wet/dry vacuum cleaners, designed for tackling these challenges quickly and efficiently. The P15 and S15 have swivel hose connectors...

EnvirOx introduces Green Seal-certified [H.sub.2][Orange.sub.2] concentrate 116.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... EnvirOx introduces Green Seal-certified H2Orange2 Concentrate 116 General Purpose Cleaner-Degreaser-Deodorizer. One product with two dilutions will clean, degrease, and remove offensive odors on 95 percent of a facility's surfaces, replacing an...

KS International, Inc. adds to innovative surface protection.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Clean&Safe Pro from KS International provides leak-proof, skid-resistant protection that is easy to broom clean or vacuum, the company said. "The unique design of Clean&Safe Pro provides absorbent, reusable...

Thermal Protector saves vacuum motor from overheating.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... To guard against unexpected motor meltdowns, ProTeam has installed a Thermal Protector device in all their vacuums manufactured after September 15th, 2007. When a ProTeam vacuum motor begins to overheat due to a hose obstruction or if an...

Make every call count.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... According to Purdue University's Center for Customer Driven Quality, the No. 1 driver of customer satisfaction and willingness to purchase is first call resolution. Perceptionist is an overflow, after hours, and weekend scheduling center....

Multi-surface cleaning from U.S. Products.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] U.S. Products introduces the Agitator 16, a totally new self-contained, walk-behind carpet extractor that cleans not only carpets but, with an optional hard-floor squeegee/brush, hard-surface floors too. Cutting...

FLIR Systems, Inc launches new IR camera series.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FLIR Systems has announced the launch of its new "middle market" T-Series infrared cameras. The new series delivers "razor-sharp thermal images, thanks to 76,800 pixels and FLIR's exclusive Advanced Signal Processing...

The Green Scrub.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... One way to "Green" floor care is to minimize refinishing cycles. To do this, cleaning professionals should deep scrub floors, "eliminating the use of powerful strippers," according to Enviro-Solutions. ES 91 is an "effective green floor...

Genie APS: more than just three wishes.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Betco's Genie APS is "the most compact and versatile battery automatic scrubber available, " the company said. Designed to go anywhere a mop and bucket can go, the Genie brings the benefits of automatic scrubbing to...

Karcher introduces line of self-contained mobile wash packages.(Products: Tools & Equipment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Karcher has introduced a new line of self-contained trailer or mobile wash packages designed for portable pressure-washing operations. The two packages--the TRK-3500 with a single axle and the TRK-6000 with...

The value of formal training: whether you are starting a new business or adding new technicians to an established company, formal training is an absolute must. Sure, it is possible to pick up the basics and "get by" without going to formal training, but sometimes this technique can prove awkward and expensive.(Building a Profitable Business)
November 1, 2007... Any proper training program should include both formal classroom style training and a strong dose of on the job practical training. My goal here is to outline some of the value and benefits of the formal part of the training program. ...

Solution control: the versatile towel: floor maintenance is the act of maintaining a floor surface utilizing various cleaning methods to remove soil. Dry particulates are easily removed with sweeping, dust mopping, micro fiber cloth systems and vacuuming, but as the soil becomes more difficult, so too does the cleaning methodology.(Hard Floor Maintenance Opportunities)
November 1, 2007... Wet services will be incorporated to remove these soils. Damp, wet and aggressive mopping will remove light, moderate and heavy soiling, while embedded and encapsulated soil can be effectively removed by machine scrubbing or stripping the...

Are you truly "over the hump"?(To Your Success)
November 1, 2007... "A little bit of success is a dangerous thing."--Anonymous Ah yes, success, that elusive concept. Just like that tantalizing carrot dangling on a string in front of the balky donkey, it is always there... but just out of reach. Even more...

Connections speakers hit the right notes.
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The couple entered the elevator, turned and leaned back against the railing. The man glanced over, smiled and shook his head. "7 a.m.'s too early for breakfast anywhere, but especially in Las Vegas," he said. ...

The six reasons people clean: a big mistake cleaners make is not realizing that people clean for more reasons than "appearance." And even if you realize it, you probably aren't using that knowledge to your full advantage.(Marketing Strategies That Work)
November 1, 2007... Understanding the emotional reasons people clean, rather than just the physical reasons, and using them in your sales and marketing can get you higher prices, set you apart from other cleaners and make you a lot of money. In your...

AIHA comments on asbestos ban.(Industry News & Information)
November 1, 2007... The American Industrial Hygiene Association sent a letter to the U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in response to S. 742, the "Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007," a bill that would prohibit the importing, manufacturing, processing, or...

JanSan's latest "Blockbuster".(Industry News & Information)
November 1, 2007... Kaivac has added more than 15 videos to its Web site for visitors to learn from and enjoy. "Seeing is indeed believing as you watch how a variety of everyday cleaning tasks-from restroom and kitchen cleaning to hallway and classroom...

Advantage Marketing, Dri-Eaz aid Purdue University in developing disaster restoration specialty.(Industry News & Information)
November 1, 2007... Dri-Eaz has partnered with Bob Bonwell of Advantage Marketing to drive the creation of a new educational program for restoration contractors at Purdue University. At the Restorative Drying Symposium in Las Vegas, Dri-Eaz President Bill Bruders...

Spotting Solutions improves Coffee and Tea Stain Remover.(Industry News & Information)
November 1, 2007... Spotting Solutions has improved the formula of their Coffee and Tea Stain Remover. "We improved the formula based on what we call 'The Starbucks Effect,'" says sales manager Lou Shepherd. "When you wanted coffee ten, fifteen years ago, you went...

Restoration Cleaners breaks into list of "fastest growing private companies in America".(Industry News & Information)
November 1, 2007... INC Magazine has named Houston-based Restoration Cleaners number No. 685 in its first annual list of the top 5000 fastest growing private companies in America. Along with ranking No. 685, Restoration Cleaners also tops the list of the top...

Carpet and Rug Institute's seal of approval goes "green".(Industry News & Information)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... In a continuing expansion of its Seal of Approval carpet cleaning testing and certification program, the Carpet and Rug Institute today announced two "green" additions: higher performing vacuum cleaners for indoor air quality (IAQ) and green...

Windswept Environmental Group acquires RestoreNet.(Industry News & Information)
November 1, 2007... Windswept Environmental Group, Inc. announces the acquisition of RestoreNet, a Connecticut-based disaster recovery solutions company that works with clients on a pre-loss basis to achieve cost-effective solutions in the event of a loss....

CIRI selects venue for 2008 Cleaning Science Symposium.(Industry News & Information)
November 1, 2007... The Cleaning Industry Research Institute will hold its 2008 Cleaning Science Symposium "inside the Beltway" at the Marriott Conference Center at the University of Maryland, 12 miles from downtown Washington DC. The theme for the 2008 Symposium,...

Wichern now working with the Xtreme Team.(Industry News & Information)(Mark Wichern appointed at Kurt Bolden )(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Kurt Bolden recently announces that Mark Wichern has joined the company, working in the Xtreme Team division. Wichern brings years of experience in water damage mitigation, marketing, company management and development with him, according...

HydraMaster owner's manuals available on disk: HydraMaster.(Product & Literature Guide)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Recently HydraMaster announced that they will be converting all Owners' Manuals to digital format with interactive PDF[R] files on CD. "Our end users are tech-savvy and the market is changing; we want to be able to...

The COBALT[R] truckmount--the best choice for residential and light commercial jobs: Blueline Equipment Co.(Product & Literature Guide)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BLUEline Equipment Company introduces the COBALT[R] with a patented heat transfer/ Minimal Back Pressure (MBP) heat exchange design. The COBALT offers superior performance while safeguarding the engine and other...

Multi-surface machine: Rotovac.(Product & Literature Guide)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rotovac's Rotovac 360 cleaning machine, which works with any portable or truckmount extractor, has two heads that clean carpet and tile. The Carpet head has 3 spray jets and 3 smooth-glide vacuum slots, while the...

Carpet repair techniques: today more than ever, consumers lead very busy lives. Free time is hard to come by. Customers do not want to be inconvenienced by calling several contractors for carpet maintenance and repairs. Consumers look to companies that are well diversified and educated in both the cleaning and repairing of carpet.(For The Professional Textile Cleaner)
November 1, 2007... The professional textile cleaning company can capitalize in today's marketplace by making life easier and more manageable for the customer by caring for all their textile-related cleaning and repair needs. Set a goal for your cleaning company...

Industry update 2007: the industry, the IICRC and you! Recently, I attended a national franchise convention that featured a well-known consultant from Dalton, Ga., as the keynote speaker.(IICRC President's Corner)
November 1, 2007... His mission was to inform the attendees of trends in the carpet manufacturing industry that will eventually impact their business. I listened attentively to Lew Migliore as he attempted to predict trends that will impact the cleaning industry...