CLEANING Q & A | PRECISEWEBSITE

ask-yor-question-on-our-facebook-page.jp

" IF YOU HAVE 'CLEANING' QUESTIONS...WE HAVE ANSWERS"

Whether you are trying to remove a tough stain from your carpet, eliminate pet odors, or need to know how to disinfect your bathroom; we are here to help. Whatever your cleaning questions are, we will provide answers and information with the best of our knowledge and experience to help you get the job done right. So, check back often for new Q & A posts!

Do YOU have a cleaning question?

Send us your question(s) here:

Q: "How often should I replace my mophead"?

A: Your mop head can hold more than eight million bacteria per 100 square centimeters. That’s bacteria that can be transferred to your floor. Improper handling, cleaning, and delayed replacement of mops make them not only inefficient, but major contributors to the spread of potentially harmful bacteria.

We recommend mop heads be replaced after 15 to 20 washings for cotton mops and slightly longer for microfiber mop heads. Higher frequency of use largely affect these numbers.

It's important to recognize the signs of wear. Generally, your mop heads need to be replaced when:

Mop head parts are falling off when cleaning floors or when washing your mop heads.
When parts are discolored. This typically means that the mop heads have reached their expiration point.
When the fibers are worn or disfigured. This is especially true for microfiber wet and dust mop heads.

Proper cleaning and maintenance will prolong the life of your mop heads. Here are some tips:

Clean your mop head thoroughly in warm water to remove any leftover chemicals. This helps to reduce chances of cross contamination.
Don't twist the mop head when it's in the mop wringer. This prevents loosening of the strands.
Soak the mop head in hot water for up to 10 minutes after you are finished mopping, and then rinse.
Never leave a mop in dirty mop water overnight. This can create a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, and mildew, and it can weaken mop fibers.
The proper way to store and dry mops is to hang them with the head up after to prevent mold formation.
Machine wash applicable mop heads on a regular basis, as this will help prevent them from breaking down. It is not recommended to wash cut end mops because they can get tangled.
Bleach should not be used on microfiber wet mops since it can break down the fibers. Use a mild disinfectant instead.

*MOP HEAD TIP: Use a different color mop head for each specific area you are cleaning. This is recommended for prevention of cross-contamination.

For example...

RED: Use in areas with a high risk of cross-contamination and spread of infection. Restrooms, medical facilities, etc...
WHITE: Use in bathrooms.
GREEN: Use in areas where food is handled and prepared.
BLUE: Use in common and lower risk areas.

We carry and stock a large variety of mop heads and handles for your convenience.

Q: "What's the difference between cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing"?

A: *Cleaning removes visible debris, dirt and dust. *Sanitizing a surface makes it sanitary or free of dirt contaminants that could affect your health, and reduces the occurrence and growth of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. *Disinfecting a surface will ‘kill’ the microscopic organisms.

When you sanitize, you are killing/reducing the number of bacteria present by 99.9 percent, but doing nothing about viruses and fungus. Sanitizing is better than cleaning alone, but the reduction of pathogen populations on environmental surfaces is exponentially better when you disinfect. The minimum level of effectiveness in a modern-day disinfectant is 100 percent kill of an organism. Sanitizing only reduces the number of organisms but does nothing about virus and fungus.

*Another important difference between sanitize and disinfect is sanitizing happens immediately after cleaning. For disinfecting to occur, you must allow the disinfectant to remain wet for a minimum of 10 minutes to take effect.

We carry and stock many sanitizing and disinfectant products for your convenience.

Q & A - TOILET CLEANING - WITH TEXT-BORD

Q: "How do I clean and remove stains inside my toilet bowl"?

A: The SUPER BOWL is the biggest sports event of the year!… but let’s talk about another kind of ’super bowl’ … the TOILET BOWL. Something we all have to use every day...but also have to clean. This can produce a dreaded and tedious task, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

First, let’s discuss those un-sightly toilet bowl stains. Because you first want to remove those prior to a thorough cleaning of your toilet. You have guests coming to your home and you want your toilet to be clean, but more importantly, you want it to look clean. Toilet bowl stains alter that appearance tremendously. Hard water produces toilet bowl stains. How water becomes hard is by picking up mineral deposits from soft rocks such as limestone and chalk, which produces Limescale (or calcium carbonate). Blue colored toilet deodorizers can also leave behind stains in your bowl and tanks.

Here’s what we suggest you use to clean and rid your toilet bowl of those ugly stains:

What we recommend:

First and foremost...wearing a heavy-duty rubber or thick nitrile cleaning glove.
Use a Pumice (while wet) stone, or our PUMIE SCOURING STICK. BUT these should only be used INSIDE the bowl and not on porcelain surfaces of the outside of your toilet as they can result in scratching. Pumice works wonders in removing those tough bowl stains with just a little scrubbing.
Cling bowl cleaner. These are great for reaching the inside upper crack (no pun intended here...hee-hee) of the bowl.
Neutral DISINFECTANTS. These provide effective cleaning, deodorizing, and disinfection. We recommend a phosphate-free formulation for environmental purposes.
For tanks, we recommend non-colored tablets with bleach.

*Order you should clean:

1st: Clean the bowl.

2nd: Clean starting from the top of your toilet at the tank area, including the handle; and work your way down and clean everything but the seat.

3rd: Clean the seat top and bottom.

*Sound silly? The reason for this is it reduces spreading of germs. If you clean the outer bowl and toilet seat and then clean the bowl, whatever comes out of that bowl can splash and spread to the seat and other areas of the toilet. ALSO, use a separate cleaning cloth for both the toilet bowl-rim and the outer toilet. Cross contamination can also happen when cleaning around a toilet, followed by cleaning the restroom countertop with the same cloth.

What we DON’T recommend:

Bleach combined with toilet-bowl cleaners OR Ammonia, as this can release toxic gases, AND CAN BE HARMFUL OR FATAL! Although bleach has antibacterial and antifungal properties, when combined with urine (contains ammonia), it can actually result in producing an odor.
Blue tablets... which can result in staining your bowl and tank.
Cleaning toilet seats with harsh cleaners that contain certain chemicals that can damage the surface. This of course depends on what material the toilet seat is made of. Plastic toilet seats are made from a type of thermoplastic called polystyrene. The less expensive and more common type of toilet seat is made from a blend of wood and plastic.

We carry and stock many toilet cleaning products and supplies for your convenience.

Q: "How do I remove pet stains and odors"?

A: We LOVE our pets…but what we DON’T love is the odor they produce, and stains they leave behind on our carpet and flooring. Pet odor and stains are sometimes difficult to get rid of, and require more effort than a standard cleaning.

What we recommend:

The first step is to CLEAN…thoroughly! Don’t just surface clean…DEEP clean. Scrub and mop hard surface floors. Vacuum not only your carpet and area rugs, but furniture too. Even the furniture your pet does not occupy. Baking soda is very effective in neutralizing trapped odors. Sprinkle baking soda on carpets, rugs, and upholstered surfaces. Let it sit for a short period of time and then vacuum again. Pet fur & dander attaches to many surfaces…even window coverings. The proteins found in a pet's dander, skin flakes, saliva and urine can cause an allergic reaction or aggravate asthma symptoms in some people. Also, pet hair or fur can collect pollen, mold spores and other outdoor allergens.
Thoroughly clean affected areas where your pet has soiled. We recommend *PET Stain-Off! An Enzymatic pet stain and odor remover for carpet, upholstery, and hard surfaces.

* Recommended Basic Method:

Saturate stained area with Pet Stain-Off and allow to penetrate surface.

Pour 2 oz. of warm water (not hot) onto stain to activate product.

Place a warm damp towel over the problem area to increase product performance. Allow Pet Stain-Off to soak until the stain disappears. This could take up to 24 hours to completely digest the stain.

If your own carpet and floor cleaning efforts are unsuccessful, we recommend hiring a professional. We offer this service using our van mounted units that provide the ‘steam cleaning’ hot water extraction method.

For odor control, you need to neutralize the odor instead of using common air fresheners that only mask odors and provide a temporary solution. After every deep cleaning and stain-odor removal is completed, we recommend odor control foggers.

*To purchase Pet Stain-Off or any of the many products we carry such as foggers and Enzymatic products, call us, shope online, or come by our store in Carrollton, GA.

**Call us to schedule a carpet cleaning service or free estimate.

Q & A - CARPET CLEANING 101 - BORDER.jpg

Q: "What is the best way to clean my dirty carpet"?

A:Carpets are GREAT for providing comfort, insulation, and adding to the appearance of your home. What’s NOT so great is keeping them clean. They attract dirt, odors, pet hair and dander, allergens, and of course things that produce those unsightly stains.

Carpet is made from synthetic and natural fibers:

Nylon is the most popular. It has great durability. Some are stain-resistant treated.
Acrylic is often used as an inexpensive alternative to wool.
Wool is the only natural fiber made into carpets. It’s durable and stain-resistant.
Olefin has good stain, moisture, mold & mildew resistance. Great choice for basements!
Polyester has a great look and appearance and a good choice for average traffic areas.

We recommend hiring a professional to clean your carpets (and area rugs) that use the hot water extraction method (Precise Janitorial Supplies & Services have 30+ years of experience in professional carpet cleaning & maintenance). During this process, a cleaning solution is applied to loosen and break up soil. Then hot water is sprayed onto the carpet to extract it and flush the fibers clean and to remove soil and stains. We have steam cleaners and extractors available for rental or purchase but doing the job yourself might not be the best idea as these cleaners can soak the carpet, leave detergent residue, and lead to mold without proper ventilation for drying. Professional cleaning follows a process that prevents leaving detergent residue behind and removes as much water as possible and ensure the carpet dries quickly.

*However, if you prefer the 'do-it-yourself' option, we will provide you with the right cleaning products and instructions to help you do the job right.

"What is the difference between hot water extraction and steam cleaning"?

Steam cleaning uses actual steam and requires heating water to a high enough temperature to convert it from liquid to gas. Applying straight steam to carpets isn’t overly effective because there’s no rinsing of the fibers. So it may help kill germs and reduce allergens, but may not be completely effective in removing stains and soil.
Hot water extraction requires water hot enough to clean thoroughly, but not hot enough that it converts to steam. There’s usually visible steam during hot water extraction cleaning, but it’s just very hot water and not pure steam.

Hot water extraction is the better choice for cleaning carpet. We offer the professional hot water extraction method with our Sapphire Scientific's 870SS Truck Mount unit. It provides single or dual wand use for cleaning carpet or hard surfaces with consistently high heat from Sapphire's innovative triple Heat Well heat exchange system. It’s liquid-cooled industrial engine is fully EPA-compliant.

*To purchase carpet cleaning, stain treatment, or odor control products, come by our 9,000 sq. ft. store in Carrollton, GA, or you may order over the phone.
**Call us to schedule a free estimate or professional carpet cleaning service appt.

Q: "How do I clean and shine my hardwood floor"?

A: There are various types of flooring, as we all are familiar with. Each requires a different cleaning and floor care technique. Hardwood may be 'hard'...but not 'hard' to maintain, if you do it the right way.

What we recommend:

TO CLEAN HARDWOOD:

When we professionally clean a hardwood floor, we use our product called Neutral PH7. If you choose to buy the same type of product from another retailer, it’s basically a ‘neutral’ cleaner, which means the PH is low. If you use a high PH cleaner, it’s acidic, and is not something you should use on hardwood as it can cause damage and remove the finish.

To thoroughly clean a hardwood floor, we recommend a professional.

*We also recommend our WOOD KLEEN Hardwood Floor Cleaner.

TO SHINE HARDWOOD:

The only thing a hardwood floor should have to produce a ‘shine’ is the polyurethane.

There are two types: oil & water-based. The oil is the best.

*NOTE: to remove polyurethane completely, sanding is required. A professional is recommended to do this process, which thoroughly cleans and removes build up. Our technique to achieve the SHINE is to simply REMOVE the buildup…of which results in the shine remaining from the polyurethane. To bring out that shine AFTER cleaning, we use our professional buffer machines.

What we DON'T recommend:

Steam Cleaning - It might be good for carpet, but not hardwood. This process removes the finish over time.
Murphy’s Oil Soap - The oil will give you a shine, but build up over time will require a professional to remove it. It also traps dirt in the long run.
Mop-N-Glo - It will produce a temporary shine, but also produces buildup.

The BEFORE & AFTER PHOTO here shows a floor we did that had 7 years of Mop-N-Glo build up. As you can see...the results were quite dramatic.

*To purchase Neutral PH7, or any of the many floor cleaning and maintenance products we carry, call us, or come by our store in Carrollton, GA.

**Call us to schedule a floor cleaning service or free estimate.

Q: "How do I clean tile and grout"?

A: Ceramic tile is the most common tile. It's durable, affordable, easy to install, and comes in hundreds of styles that are compatible with most interiors. So that's the first tile we will feature on "how to clean":

CERAMIC TILE:

Thoroughly sweep and dust mop floor surface.

Apply Tile & Grout Restorer.

Scrub surface thoroughly with light bristle scrub brush.

Use wet & dry vacuum to remove, rinse with clean water, and repeat process.

*There are numerous other varieties of tiles such as glass, granite, mosaic, stone, & cement, just to name a few. There are different cleaning techniques for different tiles.

We can help you with any tile cleaning questions you have.

Contact us through the form at the top of this page, or feel free to call us or come in our store, and we will be happy to answer your questions and assist you with the right cleaning products and supplies you will need.

We would like to highlight the process on cleaning VCT tile. VCT stands for Vinyl Composition Tile, which is commonly used in high foot traffic areas and light industrial or commercial areas but is also found in residential areas such as garages, kitchens, and basements.

VCT TILE:

Apply RED HOT STRIPPER (1 gal. to 4 gal. COLD water) with cotton mop, and thoroughly covering floor area.

Use a low-speed scrubber (with black pad) over entire floor area.

Using a razor scraper, scrape edges of floor to remove/loosen dirt.

Use a Doodlebug™ (black) pad and scrub the hard-to-reach areas.

(We also have the Doodlebug™ Pad Holder)

*May have to scrape or re-strip wax spots.

Mop floor twice with a Rayon Mop, using clean hot water.

Thoroughly dry.

Wax floor with Rayon mop, using floor finish of your choice.

**25% wax requires four (4) applied coats.

***While we can assist you with this information on the Do-it-yourself method, we recommend you hire a professional for this type of tile cleaning and maintenance.

**Call us to schedule a floor cleaning service or free estimate.

Supplies & Services

CELEBRATING 13 YEARS
IN BUSINESS!
*EST. 2011

FREE ESTIMATES!

SPRING CLEANING TIME IS HERE!
VISIT OUR STORE for ALL YOUR CLEANING NEEDS
or SCHEDULE a CARPET CLEANING!