earth concerns cleaning

behind the clean

May 9, 2012
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Questions & Answers

Cleaning service

Q: Do you send in a team or one person?
A: Earth Concerns sends one person into your home. Teams of two or more compound set up and set down time that you end up paying for. As well, when evaluations of work are made, we know who to address. However, clients may request more than one staff for the clean and pay the cleaning rate per staff.

Q: Does the person change every clean?
A: The office works to maintain consistency of staff due to benefits of familiarity for both client and staff. Schedule changes and necessary staff time off does occur. The office will inform you of any change as well as prepare staff for the job. When staff take vacation or need time off for appointments or sick days, we will contact you to inform you of any changes.

Q: What about staff turnover?
A: Turnover does happen. Over the years, Earth Concerns has focused on a positive work environment to limit turnover and we are getting results. There are particular times of year that are prone to more turnover than others -the beginning of spring, fall and throughout July and August. You will be informed of any change of staff ahead of time.


Cost of clean

Q: Can I book a slot of time instead of a the standard clean?
A: Yes. You can have a Time Cap set along with a priority list. But be aware that our minimum is 2.5 hours. Minimums are set to compensate staff for travel time between jobs. If you are an apartment and you schedule your clean on the same day as another apartment in your building, the office may consider a 2 hour minimum.

Q: Can I get a better price if I use the service weekly or biweekly?
A: Yes. Weekly and biweekly clients can sign a one year contract to reduce their hourly rate. Conditions apply.

Q: Do you have specials?
A: Yes. We have startup specials for your first clean. After your first clean, you can call and ask us if we have any specials available in the week ahead.

Q: What if I want the service every three weeks?
A: It is a difficult task to schedule staff every three weeks since all staff have a biweekly rotating schedule. You can book, weekly, biweekly, every four weeks (our version of monthly) or occasionally.


Evaluation & feedback

Q: How do I give feedback on the clean?
A: The office will follow up your first clean with a feedback call or email. However you are welcome to provide feedback to the office by phone or email at any time. For simple directions you’d like to pass on to staff, you may communicate with staff directly or with a note. Feedback that goes through the office, can be added to the job-note for your home.

Q: But will I be happy with the service?
A: You will determine whether our service meets your needs. You can always tweak the clean according to your preferences. Feedback helps us understand you as a client. Although all clients expect a thorough cleaning, some have preference for more time taken for details and others prefer a faster clean that hits key areas. Sometimes client preferences change with life changes over the years.

Q: What if I have negative feedback?
A: Our office is open to your feedback in order to address areas that  need improvement. If staff cleaning show a blind spot, we can address the area of concern with staff. If your concerns are greater than one item missed or done poorly, we will offer to send in another staff to correct the problem for you.

April 20, 2012
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Spring Cleaning Tip For Regular Clients

Regular Clients should never have to pay the full rate to get their spring cleaning done. Call the office on Thursday or Friday and ask if we have any open bookings the next week that are on special. Our schedule goes out on Wednesdays and we often mark any openings we want to fill on special. Your regular staff may not have an opening so you have to consider access options for another staff cleaning.

 

 

 

 If you are a new client looking for a 2012 Spring Special, click here.

 

 

April 13, 2012
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Spring Blog Special April 2012

Cherry blossoms in High Park

Book your first clean with Earth Concerns Cleaning in April 2012 and we will give you 10% off your first clean. Ask for our Spring Blog Special.

This special cannot be used in conjunction with other special offers.

 

If you are a regular client looking for a special, click here.

 

 

March 28, 2012
by admin
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A Dog Tale by Nanajan (a client perspective)

Frankie 2011

This is what I do when there is a clean scheduled and/or occurring.

I keep my very sweet and friendly, 11+ yr. old, blind 8.2 lb mini-poo, Frankie in his crate when I am not home or am going out.

During cleaning times when I am present, he stays in one of his many beds, my chairs, couches, or my beds and is in the same room with me.  But mostly he is on my lap–even when I am on the computer.

In warm weather he is often in the back yard with me. Often I schedule a walk during a cleaning.

My dog has never bitten, is small, doesn’t shed, or chew, is so-called non-allergic, obeys verbal commands, responds to treats. He was trained in basic obedience, fly-ball, and agility which he participated in until he was 5.

Frankie at Jeff Healey Park

My 3 granddaughters 1/6/8 and grandson 2 all love him and he obeys the 2 older girls. If the baby annoys him by grabbing or just not leaving him alone, he walks away or goes into his crate. He does like to “steal” things but doesn’t chew them up.  And he will dig into any bag or purse left accessible—especially if he thinks there is food which he will definitely eat if he finds.

So a cleaner must be certain there is especially no toxic substances like chocolate, grapes, raisins etc. available for him to steal. He will jump up on furniture to find edibles. So it is best if bags etc. are hung up with coats on the coat hooks. (And wastebaskets are out of reach or closed.)

He often needs help with stairs or getting up and down off furniture now that he is blind and older and may cry until I carry him.

Every dog has their little problems and mine does too but with care and consideration and responsible ownership, they can be safe (as well as the cleaner!).  The cleaner should ask if they are not sure what to do around the dog. Most dogs welcome familiar people but are afraid of vacuums and may be unpredictable around them. Frankie will hide,

but some dogs will attack the vac or bark etc. Best to know the dog and what to do!

copyright 2012 by Nanajan

March 28, 2012
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Wagging our Dog Tales

I wanted to write a dog blog out of consideration for our cleaning clients with dogs. So I asked clients for input and comment. There are many issues to consider when cleaning around dogs from staff safety and comfort to the safety and comfort of the dog. Our staff safety manual has a full two pages on dogs: how to greet dogs and issues that can come up around dogs. We also have a section on cats and perhaps I will do cat tales as well.

I am very excited to publish an actual piece written by a client (Nanajan). And I hope it may inspire other clients to add comment or to send in their own tales. We won’t use anything without permission. You can also send us pictures and we will use them with your permission.

We are using pseudonyms for our clients as I believe it is a security issue to publish which company does your cleaning. Of extreme importance: if anyone phones you and says they are from Earth Concerns Cleaning and you  have never heard their name before. Tell them you will call back and call our office number to ensure that person is from Earth Concerns. We always give our clients the full name of staff cleaning their home.

March 14, 2012
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A Passion For Wood Part 3

In part 3, our finale, we finally get to the issue of product. But first I make mention of my solution to the rolling office chair:

A BAMBOO MAT UNDER MY OFFICE CHAIR

I discovered the bamboo mat to go under my office chair. The best part is the wood blends into my wood floors and is not the eyesore the old plastic mats were. With a felt back, my wood floors are well protected underneath.

Nature Clean Wood Spray

PRODUCT

Some wood manufacturers will suggest vinegar & water, some will say no to vinegar and then advice you use their product. Vinegar diluted in water is not going to harm your wood. The amount of vinegar going into a pail of water renders vinegar close to the pH of water – neutral. All Purpose Soap is also neutral: pH 8 and with water closer to 7. With soap products, very little product is used in order to avoid soap-sud marks and soap residue on floors. This is why some prefer vinegar. Some wood grains and finishes do not do well with any amount of water drying on the surface; mop stokes show or dullness results. The Nature Clean Wood Spray can be used to leave a stroke free shine. Simply spray and dust mop.

Be aware of floor cleaners that look like they are for wood but the small print says” don’t use on wood”. Ecover and Nature Clean both have floor cleaners with a pH of10 which are great on tile and linoleum but are not made for wood. These products will not destroy your wood in one clean but use over time will slowly erode your finish.

CONCLUSION

The upkeep of wood floors may make you long for the days of carpet. Indeed the best way to care for wood floors is to cover them in carpet. Then the carpet headaches begin –headaches being literal for some. If you bought a new condo, you can sell it before that drop of water reaches the wood floors.

For those of us with a passion for wood, caring for wood is worth it. Nothing in the home comes without maintenance and upkeep. Whatever you love, you have to live with.

March 7, 2012
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A Passion For Wood: Part 2

In part 2 we explore a range of  tips coming from our hands on experience in the home as well as those  passed onto us from our experienced client base.

ADHESIVE FELT PADS

A Morris Chair

I once surveyed a house where every furniture unit slid smoothly away from the wall for a no excuses complete clean. Every unit had adhesive felt pads underneath. This approach is not possible for tall units or units stacked with delicate and breakable items. But it is a great solution for dining room chairs, tables, certain couches, mid level bookshelves, armchairs etc… If the client had not shown me or the staff, we would never have known these units moved easily. So after adhering felt to the underside, inform your cleaner or company which units move this way.

The downside of felt pads is that on dining room and kitchen chairs where they experience a lot of movement, they need a regular wipe to get rid of dust and hair that can collect on the felt.

AREA RUGS AND CARPETING

In high traffic areas, rugs and carpeting make sense: a runner down the hall, in the entrance, under the dining room table or wherever feet rest and fidget.

The Dust Bunnies

The Dust Bunnies

Remember why wood became so popular. Dust, mold, adhesive glues, all affect air quality. The thought of all that dirt trapped in the fibres. Then there’s the plastic underlay with its’ own off gassing. However an underlay is important to stop the dirt from grinding against wood floors beneath, not to mention prevent trip hazards. I remember a client installed hypoallergenic carpets and I had to inform them I could not clean because the glues used gave me flu symptoms and rendered me incapable of working. They refused to believe it was their carpet but I can assure you that no one catches the flu biweekly Thursdays at 1 PM.

Small rugs and carpet need cleaning on top and beneath so they will lengthen your cleaning times. If mopping underneath is required, that’s additional time. Loose rugs are difficult to vacuum and shaking out does not always do enough. Consider loose rugs that are washable in a washing machine.

Short pile and weave carpeting can be cleaned by a vacuum without a beater brush. Carpets with long pile need a beater brush attachment in order to be cleaned properly. Match your carpet with your vacuum or your vacuum to your carpet. There are even beater brush options for central vacuums but if you can stick to low pile, your clean time is shortened with less vacuum attachment changes.

THE MOVING OFFICE CHAIR

I just moved my office from one room to another. My old plastic anti-static mat left a tell- tale mark on my wood floors. I thought it was meant to protect my wood. Now my office chair is on my new wood floors upstairs and I have yet to work out a solution.

In PART 3 I discover a solution for my office chair and finally get to issue of product.

 

February 28, 2012
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A Passion For Wood: Part 1

 

If you have owned wood floors for any length of time, you have learnt that wear and tear happens with time no matter what you do. You may have looked at your friends’ wood floors and thought yours would never look like that but you were a new owner of wood back then. The mere act of walking on wood will rough out a patch of worn finish. You can watch in horror as your toddler discovers the beauty of the sound of wood blocks on your wood floor. Then there are all the items that will drop, bounce, skim over your finely finished or not so finished floors. Cringe at the sound of your teenager scraping their chair in and out of the dining room table. See that nick in the floor, a finely etched memory of your passionate decision to move that bookcase from here to there. It was only a second of carelessness that you will never forget. The dog’s nails clip clopping over your wood is a reminder to call the groomer. Your mother-in-law refuses to take off her high heels. The cleaner uses too much water. The cleaner uses too little water. You wonder if the cleaner lifts the chairs up properly when she moves them to clean under. The floors that came with the condo scratch if you look at them long enough. The manufacturer actually had the nerve to tell you that a drop of water will make the wood buckle in an instant.

WATER OR NO WATER

Although we now have the nifty new Wood Sprays that we can used on wood with a micro-fibre mop instead of wetting the floor, it is cheap floors and finishes that created a demand for a product that doesn’t wet the floor. I have stood in a warehouse with salesmen telling me I never have to fully mop my wood floors again with this new product. These salesmen looked like they had never mopped a floor in their life. As much as I love the spray used with the micro-fiber mop, I know there are limits to the amount of dirt it will pick up. Even if you don’t have kids or a dog you will want a full mop on occasion. However, with this product you can rotate between the Wood Spray and a full mop. It is still important that the full mop be damp not wet – meaning the water is wrung out of the mop as much as possible. Some clients hate the end result of a full mop and request a wood spray to finish the floors to a shine. The beauty of the micro-fibre mop is you can buy multiple mop-heads so the same mop performs the dry and damp mop. And your mop-head is cleaned between cleanings in the washing machine making it the cleanest mop-head around.

 

GO TO PART 2 for more tips for wood floors.

January 31, 2012
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January Contest Winner

Congratulations and thanks to our client, Danielle M. , for referring new clients to us in the month of November and becoming our January contest winner . Danielle has won a free clean this February.

December 29, 2011
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November Contest Winner

Congratulations to Pat R. on Carlaw Street: our November contest winner. He won a free clean in December.

January 31st is our next draw: clients who referred new clients to us in the month of November will be entered in the draw.