How to Clean Your Toilet Bowl in Your House
an article about a household chore
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/578319/how_to_clean_your_toilet_bowl_in_your.html

Mold is a Big Consumers of Homes

Have you ever been in a home or office and it had a light musty smell? What you smelled is a combination of molds. There are more then 10,000 different species of molds. Molds are part of our natural environment. You might say that molds are natures little housekeepers. There are four growth requirements that mold spores needs to exist: moisture, temperature, oxygen and food source. Molds live anywhere that has a moist atmosphere. They feed on dead decaying matter such as wallpaper, carpets, paint, wood, fabrics and bathroom showers. They are big consumers of homes.

It is true that molds are part of our environment indoors and outdoors. The best way to control mold is to keep your home dry. Household plumbing should be checked once mold spores begin growing. Bathrooms with showers are the culprits in mold’s growth. De-Humidifiers keep rooms dry so mold spores cannot grow. http://www.theyhaveit.com/servlet/Detail?affiliate_no=2

How do they grow?
Molds are formed by long chains of cells which create spores which root themselves and begin reproducing. In fact one square foot of moldy drywall is a community of over 300 million mold spores. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually.

Since mold cannot make their own carbohydrates like plants do, they have to eat foods containing carbon; also, complex nitrogen compounds, and many elements, e.g., phosphorus, sulfur and manganese. They release enzymes to digest cellulose, protein, and fats. Molds can grow on virtually any substrate, including jet fuel, paint, rubber, textiles, electrical equipment, glass and stainless steel. Sometimes, as in the case of glass and steel, the nourishment offered by the substrate is only the dirt and grease on its surface. http://www.theyhaveit.com/servlet/Detail?affiliate_no=2

Can mold cause health problems?
Mold spores have the potential to cause health problems. There was a health situation in Austin, Texas. A 72 acre estate with a beautiful home was quarantined. The family had many health problems from asthma to losing their memory. The problem was household mold. The mold is called Stachybotrys which is a lethal mold. It is part of a family of molds called Mycotoxins which becomes airborne and breathing can be a health problem. Mold produces allergens that cause allergic reactions. Inhaling or touching mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Allergic responses include hay fever type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes and skin rash. For more detailed information consult a health professional.

The Hurricane Katrina disaster flooded the City of New Orleans and caused a combination of pollutants and mold growth, both of which may cause future health problems. Though the ground is dry the soil can be permeated with toxins. Re-building the city may have some health consequences. Research on mold and health effects is ongoing.
© Kevin Hensey
Kevin@theyhaveit.com
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biodegradable, ecological, environment-friendly, environmental, environmentally-safe

“DANGER OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION IN OUR HOMES AND OFFICES”

Many times we are not aware of the air impurities that linger in our homes and offices. The question is how dangerous is the indoor air we breathe?

In the last several years, the Environmental Protection Agency has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. Other research indicates that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. Thus, for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors.

Good ventilation is important. There are signs that can indicate your home may not have enough ventilation: moisture condensation on windows or walls, smelly or stuffy air, dirty central heating and air cooling equipment, and areas where books, shoes, or other items become moldy. To detect odors in your home, step outside for a few minutes, and then upon reentering your home, note whether odors are noticeable.

There are 5 main pollutants active in your home or office that you should be aware of, and do something about. They are: mildew, cooking odors, pets, tobacco smoke and heating and air conditioning filter vents. Let’s look at each active air pollutants, its source, and its remedy.

Mildew is a big contributor in indoor air pollution. Mildew spores will grow anywhere there is moisture. You will find it in carpets, upholstery, a damp wall and bathroom. Mildews release disease-causing toxins. As it grows it spreads bacteria, which become airborne that causes health problems, such as allergies.

Cooking odors, are a combination of steam, oils and smoke. It is easy for these odors to travel around the house, and cling to walls and furniture. Soon the odors will age.
It can be a buffet for insects, like cockroaches. The cooking odors can be diminished by proper ventilation and clean oven air filters.

Pet odors are the most offensive odors in a house. Dogs rubbing their backs on the carpet, or sleeping near or on a sofa will leave their body oils and dander. Male cats marking their territory with pungent urine scent. These pet odors are hidden deep in your carpet and upholstery that will attract fleas, dust mites and lice, and creates a health hazard. Health experts claim that many health problems that children have come from playing on dirty carpets. It can cause allergies and rashes.
To remedy this problem, have your carpets vacuumed at least 3 times a week. For deep cleaning of your carpet, have a professional carpet cleaner do the job. Your carpet will be fresh and clean, which will reduce many health problems.

Tobacco smoke is one of the unhealthy indoor air pollutes in homes and offices. The smoker is inhaling a complex mixture of over 4,000 compounds, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer. Tobacco smoke lingers on for days. It has the nature to cling on fabrics and walls. I have seen darkened walls at homes and apartments of people who smoked. The unhealthy fact is that nicotine and carbon monoxide are present in the sticky oily residue tobacco leaves behind on fabrics and walls.

Heating and air conditioning filters, are culprits, which cause unhealthy indoor air pollution in homes and offices.
Mechanical ventilation systems in large buildings are designed and operated not only to heat and cool the air, but also to draw in and circulate outdoor air. Inadequate ventilation can occur if the air supply is blocked in such a way that outdoor air does not actually reach the breathing zone of building occupants. Improperly located air intake vents can also bring in air contaminated with automobile and truck exhaust, fumes from dumpstors, or air vented from restrooms. These air vents can also become a breeder for bacteria, mold and mildew. These toxins are airborne making it unhealthy in working and living environments.

To insure your safety and those around you, invest in a good air cleaner. Air cleaners with a HEPA filter removes 99.9% of tobacco smoke, pollens, bacteria, harmful fibers, allergens and pollutants. There are many types and sizes of air cleaners on the market, ranging from relatively inexpensive tabletop models to sophisticated and expensive whole-house systems.
Indoor air pollution can be reduced, and make your home or office a healthy environment for your family and co -workers.

Kevin Hensey has been in the cleaning and maintenance field for over 30 years. He has educated a variety of businesses regarding cleaning safety. kevin@theyhaveit.com

What Lives and Grows in your Carpet, and How to Eliminate It

Imagine for a moment that you are standing on your carpet and suddenly you shrink to the size of a pinhead. Can you imagine what you will see? A dense jungle of synthetic twisted fiber that looks like twisted trees. Sticking out of each twisted tree is dust and dirt. As you blaze a trail through the synthetic jungle, you notice that this jungle is alive with small insects, parasites and mildew spores, feasting on the synthetic pile dirt. Dust mites are at home in this synthetic jungle, eating dust, grime, rotted fibers and pet dander. Fleas attaching themselves to the fiber trees, waiting for their host to lie down so they can jump on and bite the animal’s flesh. (There are many varieties of fleas. Though they are wingless bloodsucking insects, they use their legs to leap on their warm-blooded victim.)As you travel through the synthetic jungle, you smell a pungent odor that is becoming stronger as you approach an area. It is the odor of pet urine.

Pet urine can saturate a small area of the carpet. Urine percolates down into the carpet and into the padding. Urine has salts and oils that never dry. It can be detected months later, especially on warm days. The best way to eliminate urine is using enzymes with disinfectants. The enzymes digest the urine the disinfectants sanitize the area. Soon you come upon a rotting swamp of mildew spores, slowly decomposing the synthetic base of your carpet. The spores are creating toxins that are light enough to become airborne, causing allergies. As you walk around the perimeter of this mildew swamp, you realize how fast mildew grows and multiplies. These spores are fast breeders, creating a community of toxic germs. They thrive on moisture. Microscopic spores are always floating in the air. When something dies mildew spores lands on it and consumes it and recycle its organic materials.

As you journey farther into the synthetic jungle, you step on something sticky. It’s the smell of chocolate. Soon you notice much of the fiber trees are dark brown with this chocolate. To the distance you see a cockroach feasting on the stale chocolate mess. Wait a minute, you don’t have cockroaches, or do you? These little pests can hitchhike to your home via the food market, or visiting a friend on the other side of town.
They enjoy a warm, dark place with much food at hand, so they are busy all the time in the dark, but hide when the lights are on. To cut down on their breeding cycle, sprinkle boric acid in the carpet and trashcans. Boric acid suffocates and dehydrates pests.
As you leave the sticky mess, you soon find a clearing and sit down on a grain of salt to rest. But soon you are noticed by a band of hungry lice making their way toward you! POOF!!! You are back to normal size.
This fictional story gives you a perspective on what the microscopic world is like in a carpet. The cleanest carpet can attract dirt, parasites and mildew. The best way to keep these intruders from living in your carpet is to regularly vacuum your carpets, preferably three times per week for heavily used areas. In addition, have your carpet professional cleaned to remove what vaccuming cannot. This will eliminate odors, mildew and parasites from your carpet and rugs. Having a clean carpet is a healthy home.

© Kevin Hensey
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Green Companies doing good

I would just like to say we are a proud distributor for many green companies.  The one I would like to mention today is SC Johnson.  They have sourcing nearly 40 percent of its global electricity from renewable energy, giving nearly $170 million in philanthropic contributions over the past 10 years, and having removed more than 61,000,000 pounds of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) from the environmental footprint of the company’s products since 2001.  Some of the products they have changed are Windex,  Scrubbing Bubbles, Raid, and Pledge.  There are others as well.  It is becoming so important that we support those that are leading the way in making a change and realizing our impacts.  One squirt at a time.

Why Not Just Use Bleach?

Chlorine bleach has been used as a general germicide for many years. In fact, some state health departments still recommend it as a sanitizer and disinfectant. Chlorine bleach is also much cheaper per gallon than hospital-grade disinfectant cleaners. With all this going for it, why doesn’t everyone use it?

Here are some facts you should consider before adding bleach to your arsenal of maintenance products:

Chlorine is a strong oxidizing agent. In recent tests, chlorine bleach was exposed to samples of commercial-grade copper, cold rolled steel, and aluminum. The copper samples dis-colored in three hours and showed green corrosion in 24 hours. Aluminum showed signs of corrosion within 24 hours, and on the surface of cold rolled steel rust formed within 30 minutes.

Some grades of stainless steel also can be damaged from the use of products containing chlorine. A process known as “hydrogen embrittlement” may occur as the chlorine bleach attacks the stainless steel,trapping hydrogen gas in the pores of the metal. Over time, the hydrogen can be released, resulting in weakened metal. It is especially damaging to welded joints.

The American Concrete Institute also cautions that sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) will slowly disintegrate concrete and portland-based mortars or grout.
Finally, many floorcare product manufacturers will not stand be-hind the performance of their floor polishes if they are maintained with chlorine bleach.

Worker Safety – Chlorine is a strong irritant to human tissue. Violent reactions also can occur when chlorine bleach is mixed with amines. The reaction of chlorine and bowl cleaners containing hydrochloric acid can release deadly chlorine gas. Every housekeeper’s nightmare is a vision of the “new guy” keeled over, head first into a toilet bowl, after adding a little bleach to help the acid bowl cleaner brighten a little better.

Shelf Life – In just a short shipping and storage time an industrial concentration of 12 percent can fall to 7 to 10 per-cent. Efficacy – Chlorine bleach works best in a slightly acid to neutral pH range. Alkaline soils must be removed prior to using the bleach to prevent the chlorine from losing effectiveness. In other words, the surface must be clean if the chlorine (hypochlorite) is to have any significant effect. The only way you can be assured of killing organisms you want to control is to experiment with different ages/concentrations of the product and test the surfaces after use.

Cleaning Ability – Com-pared to modern disinfectant cleaners, chlorine bleach does not compare in cleaning ability. If you are trying to clean and control germs simultaneously, consider one of the newer form-ula disinfectant detergents. With dilution rates as low as 1:256, proven efficacy, longer shelf life, and a less-corrosive nature, you might find the new disinfectant detergents are much better bargains than chlorine bleach.
© Kevin Hensey
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