Posts Tagged ‘domestic cleaning in accrington’
Written by HomeMaid on 04 May 2010
A report caught my eye on the Science Daily website sometime back and I had intended to put together something on the subject of how smells influence our state of minds. Its little late, but here it is. Smells and scents have been used by supermarkets for years. Think how that fresh, in store baked bread makes you feel, you just want to buy some bread don’t you? Then you feel hungry and voila, you buy more! Well its now been proven that smells can make us more considerate and generous!
Clean Smells Promote Kindness
Is it because teenage boys live in smelly bedrooms, with the windows, doors and curtains closed that makes them grumpy and communicate in words of one syllable or less?! Well there could be some truth in that, Brigham Young University professor, Katie Liljentquist, led a study that found that clean scents lead to more ethical behaviour. Liljenquist said with a smile. “Could be that getting our kids to clean up their rooms might help them clean up their acts, too.”, although she gave no advice as to how we might get them to clean up anything.
In the trials, a citrus scent was used to create a fresh smell, whilst another room was left “normal”. The results were quite remarkable; both groups were given a quantity of money from a “mystery partner” They had to decide how much of it to either keep or return to their partners who had trusted them to divide it fairly. Subjects in clean-scented rooms were less likely to exploit the trust of their partners, returning a significantly higher share of the money.
Clean Smells Make You Charitable
A second test was set up where subjects were asked if they were willing to donate to a fictitious charity and those questioned in the citrus scented room were three times more likely to volunteer or donate!
Cleanliness & Morality
The report concluded that were are subconsciously influenced and that morality and cleanliness can go hand-in-hand, the spaces we live and work in, influence how we behave. Clean and fresh smelling rooms make us more generous and honest.
Further studies are being conducted into how cleanliness influences how react to people and organisations. Time for that spring clean!
Read the full Science Daily Article here
Tags: domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, house cleaning
Posted in House Cleaning News | 2 Comments »
Written by HomeMaid on 16 April 2010
The headline reflects the most commonly asked question when someone calls us to discuss our service – ” how much an hour do you charge?”. Of course that would seem the most logical but then did you stop to think about what it is your buying? Have you considered the safety of your home, your family and who might have to foot the bill in the event of an accident?
Choosing A Cleaning Service
There are dozens of cleaning “companies” to choose from, search the web, pick up the local paper or ask a friend, there is no shortage of potential cleaning services. However would you know the implications of each service and how that might affect you, your family and your home?
Individuals As Cleaners
This can be the best solution for many, if you have a neighbour or friend who you get along with can help you out and it will always be cheaper than any company. However if you dont know them personally it can be a real minefield of problems.
Insurance; Are You Protected?
Let me explain, whilst any registered company is legally required to have a minimum of Public Liability Insurance, however there is no such requirement for individuals and that’s just the start of the potential problems.
Your home insurance generally doesnt for accidents to employees, e.g. Mrs Bloggs, your cleaner falls downstairs and breaks her leg. Who is she going to pursue for compensation? It might concern you to know, that its you who will be sued and without insurance and legal protection, could be a financial disaster for your family.
Fidelity Bonding Explained
What happens if your cleaner is dishonest? Most companies and almost certainly no individuals will have the correct insurance cover to protect you. You need to ask if they have something called “Fidelity Bonding”, which is a specialist insurance for cleaning companies and the like. It protects you against misuse of phones, identity theft and so on. The number of companies with this added protection are surprisingly few. Just be sure to ask your prospective cleaner if they have this, or you might have a bigger bill than you ever imagined.
You, The Employer
If you employ an individual you then become the employer and responsible for filing details with HMRC, holiday pay, sick pay, health and safety amongst other things. Its around now you might be thinking that £11 an hour isn’t cheap any more?
Cleaning Products, The Hidden Costs
Most cleaning companies will include all the products used in their price, whereas individuals and most cleaning agencies provide the manpower and you provide the products. Its a massive hidden cost that most forget to factor in to their decision. Here at HomeMaid we buy in bulk from specialist suppliers and its vastly cheaper than buying from a supermarket. Still think £11 an hour is good value?
The Added Value
We at HomeMaid pride ourselves on going the extra mile both with the service but also the investment in technology; we routinely use HEPA-Flo filtered vacuums, a real boon for 25% of the population of allergy sufferers, but for those non-sufferers the knowledge that your home is hygienically cleaner. The comprehensive use of micro-fibre cloths helps reduce both the visible and invisible dirt (bacteria) and all of this, is part of the HomeMaid service.
The Price Per Hour
The hourly rate is only of interest when you compare the value and what you get for every pound spent. We’re not the cheapest but that was never the intention, there is always someone prepared to cut corners and cut the price. When you understand the hidden costs it makes hiring at £11 an hour not only quite expensive, but your are taking huge risks with your home and family. Failing to notify HMRC that you have employed someone is serious, whilst being uninsured in the event of an accident or dishonesty could be catastrophic for you.
We prefer the principals of quality, peace of mind for our clients and a loyal, happy band of customers. We are neither the cheapest, not the most expensive, but we are the most focused on customer satisfaction.
You can get a FREE HomeMaid Home Cleaning quote now!
Tags: cleaning companies, cleaning quotes, cleaning rates, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning quote, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, domestic services, HomeMaid, house cleaning, house cleaning price, house cleaning quote
Posted in General News, HomeMaid | 8 Comments »
Written by HomeMaid on 09 April 2010
we’re out and about delivering leaflets in different locations across the BB post code area. If you’re not already a client of ours, you could save yourself ££’s when switching from your current provider! Dont just put up with average, inconsistent cleaning, treat yourself to a trouble free service with Homemaid.
Guaranteed Excellence
We often find that people assume all cleaning companies are the same. Well they’re not! Not by a long way; we hear lots of horror stories of cleaners “tickling” instead of really cleaning, cleaners turning up with their kids even helping themselves to your cleaning products! The list is endless and people become worn down by this and just “accept” thats how it is or simply give up trying; a client of ours for over two years now, tried SIX companies before being recommended to try our service. The fact that two years on, we still provide a cleaning service for them, should speak volumes – in fact just take the time to look through our testimonials, the list grows all the time!
FREE Quotes
If you get one of our special offer leaflets through your door, you have just TEN days to register for the discounted offer, so dont delay, apply for your free quote immediately!
Get Your FREE Home Cleaning Quote
Tags: domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, free domestic cleaning quotes
Posted in House Cleaning News | 1 Comment »
Written by HomeMaid on 05 March 2010
Micro Fibre Cloths: Easier Faster Cleaning
I thinks its fair to say we’d all like the cleaning to easier and quicker to do, so we can get with something more fun!
As a professional cleaning company we’re always looking for ways to be more efficient and either maintain the standards or improve them. In June 2008 we trialled a commercial grade microfibre cloth having seen something on TV – probably on the shopping channel! Anyway, most things we test really don’t live up to the promise or expectation and usually end up in the recycling or gathering dust in my shed!
Micro Fibre – Miracle Cloth
Put aside your cynicism for a second, because I can tell you these things really do work! They are quicker than normal “stockinette” type cloths in practice and require little or no cleaning product. The only downside is that good ones are a bit pricey (£4 40cm X 40cm) compared to your 10 for £1.50 type cloths.
But You’re Worth It
Invest in them as we have done, you’ll clean faster and more hygienically too, somethings are a good investment!
The Science….
Microfibre textiles were designed to allow cleaning on a microscopic scale, as long ago as the 1950’s, although it was a well kept secret used during and after the second world war to clean sensitive instruments and rid them of not only dust particles but bacteria too. Thus, according to tests, using microfiber materials to clean a surface leads to reducing the number of bacteria by 99% whereas a conventional cleaning material reduces this number only by 33%.
You simply have to have some of these in your cleaning kit and when we get the store online later this year, you can buy direct from the professionals!
Tags: domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, house cleaning products, House Cleaning Tips, hygienic house cleaning, micro fibre, microfibre
Posted in Domestic Service Updates, House Cleaning Tips | Comments Off
Written by HomeMaid on 07 April 2009
Why Sanitise a Mattress?
A normal household mattress used frequently will build up a food reservoir for dust mites. This food reservoir is the skin you shed as a natural process every day. As you spend around 6-9 hours each day in bed, its seems obvious you will shed a good proportion of the 1.5 grams a day you lose, in your bed. Now consider that the majority of dust in a bedroom is….literally a part of you….its your skin! Ever wonder why your bedroom seems to get dustier faster than anywhere else? Now you have your answer.
Add to this the fact that you lose around .5l of fluid each night, through your natural breathing process and through perspiration. You now have a the perfect dust mite breeding ground.
A regular six month mattress sanitisation keeps the house dust mite at bay and it doesnt need to cost the earth.
Read more about how to deal with dust mites and allergies such as asthma, rhinitis, hay fever and eczema in our allergy section….
Tags: allergy, asthma, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, dust mites, eczema, hay fever, house dust mite, mattress cleaning, mattress sanitisation, rhinitis
Posted in HomeMaid | Comments Off
Written by HomeMaid on 14 October 2008
We have always been open to adopting new products or methods to improve our cleaning service. So when a supplier rang offering a speedy solution to our dusting problem, I was all ears.
I was quickly sold on the possibility of speeding up dusting and improving the quality, by virtue of the fact that a featrher duster is much more versatile than the “lambswool flick sticks” we were currently using. After all, if I could show you how to halve your dusting time at home, wouldnt you be interested?
Faster Dusting
A couple of dusters were trialled initially and I have to say all who used them were very impressed. They did indeed speed up the dusting of ornaments and other delicate items. They worked on blinds too – a real boon for us. The items trialled were “commercial” versions and came with two metre extending poles to reach those areas above the staircase and high into the corners of every room.
Urban Myths About Feather Dusters
In parallel I’d do some research on the web and found some negative info on forums, claims of oils in the feathers marking and quills scratching things. so a few phone calls later I’d eliminated the “oil” theory as “urban myth” – and a simple test is to take your duster and rub it along a clean mirror, if the feathers had any kind of oil on them, it would smear and cause the filaments to cling as you moved across the glass surface. So thats one myth squashed.
The next wasn’t quite such a formality, however I could see that broken quills can have a sharp edge, but in our trials you had to be pretty brutal to snap quills, and even then unless you were rubbing on tissue paper, no real possibility of scrathing anything. I also found that a number of museums and gallerys use feather dusters to keep their displays dust free and sparkling – I couldn’t get an official comment from anyone about their use, but we know they use them!
HomeMaid Upgrades To Ostrich Feather Dusters
Whilst the majority of us dont own valuable art, isnt it reassuring to know that your home will be dusted as delicately and thoroughly as…well, perhaps the mona lisa herself?
In September 08 HomeMaid replaced all of its inferior lambswool dusters with genuine Ostrich Feather ones and despite them being much more expensive, we’ve included this as part of the service. Make sure your cleaning company uses them, or perhaps its time to switch to one that does!
Tags: domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, dusting, eco house cleaning, home cleaning tips, house cleaning products, ostrich feather dusters
Posted in Domestic Service Updates | Comments Off
Written by HomeMaid on 05 September 2008
The Downside of Cylinder Vacuums
We have always found that a cylinder vacuum cleaner is far more effective than an upright vacuum cleaner for HomeMaid’s purposes, being generally lighter and more maneuverable than an upright. However, one of the downsides is the actual floor brush itself, its generally just a flat inactive “slider” design which requires a lot of physical effort to make it work. Our cleaners found that for things like long hair, pet hair and threads the standard brush just didnt pick up even though the suction was still 100%. We needed something that didn’t need “Popeye” arms to make it work well!
Improved Carpet Cleaning Power
We found an alternative brush, the ‘Airo Brush’ that is widely advertised at being able to achieve the high standards that HomeMaid require.
The Airo Brush is described as ‘an exceptional floor nozzle developed to provide quick and efficient carpet care. It grooms the whole carpet and will allow power brush results where uprights can rarely go.’
Excellent Performance
We had excellent results for the Airo Brush in trials, fast, effective and easy to use, much improved performance and most importantly, improvements noticed by our customers! It picked up human hair and pet hair easily without losing any suction, whilst cotton thread etc just disappeared. The staff in the trials reported cleaning faster and easier over large areas. It was much less effort to use with a huge improvement in cleaning power. Perfect!
Insist on Airo Brushes
The Airo Brush by Numatic is a terrific product that will extend the capabilities of HomeMaids vacuum cleaners, and certainly closes the performance gap between cylinders and a good upright when it comes to vacuuming carpets. It’s a durable and well-engineered addition to HomeMaid’s toolkit, which gives outstanding results.
A truly high performance brush, make sure your cleaning service includes these in their kit list!
Tags: airo brush, cylinder vacuums, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic services, house cleaning products, numatic
Posted in Domestic Service Updates | Comments Off
Written by HomeMaid on 29 March 2008
HEPA-Flo Filters
The scientists say that HEPA filters, by definition, remove at least 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3
micrometers (µm) in diameter, who are we to argue! Infact we have been so impressed by the claims and information’ printed about these filters that we just had to trial them ourselves.
What is HEPA anyway?
HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air, and a true HEPA filter is widely regarded as the ultimate filter.
There are many types of air filters, but any filter that is labeled “HEPA” has a very specific rating. The HEPA standard states that a HEPA air filter must trap 99.97% of all airborne contaminants that are 0.3 microns.
This means that for every 10,000 air particles that are 0.3 microns, the HEPA filter will only allow 3 of them to pass through. Pretty effective filtration, you’d have to agree!
Healthier Homes
In a nutshell, our homes and offices are teeming with microscopic contaminants that are making us sick. This is especially true of modern airtight buildings with insufficient ventilation. A HEPA filter can help to improve the indoor environment by removing these contaminants before we breathe them in. This is vitally important – our lungs absorb gases and solvents and they pass into our bloodstream. When sufficient amounts accumulate in our bodies we can become sick with serious allergies and allergic reactions (hay fever & asthma for instance).
Unless airborne particles are removed from the air with a HEPA filter we will breathe them in. Our bodies are built to withstand a certain amount of these particles but not the levels that are increasingly found in indoor environments. (did you know the air indoors can be FIVE times more polluted than outdoor air?)
HEPA-Flo Filters Help Asthma & Hay Fever
HEPA vacuum cleaners are ideal for allergy sufferers because they contain microscopic allergen particles which are otherwise disbursed back into the air with traditional vacuum cleaners.
HomeMaid now routinely use HEPA-Flo filtered vacuums on all our service cleans; cleaning is about more than you can physically see; so even if you don’t suffer from dust mite allergies, hayfever or asthma, you can be assured that HomeMaid are not recirculating your dust, dust mites and other allergens: nor are we recirculating dust mites or dirt from any previous cleans.
Insist on HEPA-Flo Filters
You should insist on HEPA filters from your cleaning service and trade in any non HEPA vacuums you have for a full HEPA one; it can make your home cleaner and healthier.
Tags: allergy, asthma, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, dust mite, dust mite allergy, eczema, hepa flo filters, house cleaning, House Cleaning Tips, rhinitis
Posted in Domestic Service Updates | 2 Comments »
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