The Cleaning Services Group News

Regular Domestic Cleaning Service Now Available In Birmingham

We are happy to announce that we can now provide a regular cleaning service to all domestic customers within the Birmingham area. This is a much in demand service all over the UK and Birmingham follows Bournemouth as the only two localities where we can provide this service. Hopefully in time we can roll out this service to other places also.

As part of our domestic services within Birmingham we can offer an ironing service and a dry cleaning service also.

Polishing Granite Floors

Of all the natural stones that you can choose for flooring granite is by far the hardest material and the most hardwearing. It is also resistant to staining and acid and alkaline chemicals. This is the reason it is the kitchen worktop of choice and the flooring material of choice.

Despite its hardness it is still capable of being scratched by quartz. Quartz is sand like material which makes up the biggest proportion of dirt brought into a building on the underside of footwear. Traffic going over this then moves the small particles of sand over the surface of the granite causing minute scratches. The scratching effect on granite will be much less than that on marble for instance but non-the-less it still scratches. This effect can be minimized by the correct maintenance programme. A typical maintenance programme for granite flooring would be to dust mop the floor each day to remove these particles of dirt and once or twice a week depending upon traffic wash the floor with stone soap. This reseals the floor and enhances the colour. This is then wet vacuumed up and the floor then washed with pure water which is also wet vacuumed up. This wet vacuuming prevents the possibility of water staining.

At frequent intervals which depends upon the number of people walking over the floor the granite should be treated with a crystallising chemical and then buffed using a high speed buffer. The intervals between these treatments could be as short as one week in a very busy commercial environment but in a domestic setting where shoes are probably not worn it could be a yearly event. This process helps to remove the majority of these small invisible scratches and brings back the shine. The next process should be carried out every 2 - 5 years in the home and every 6 months in commercial buildings. In this process a more abrasive chemical is used along with a slow buffer fitted with steel wool pads. This takes much longer but the effect is to remove all scratches and restore the granite floor to its almost mirror like, brilliant shiny surface.

Following this excellent maintenance programme will ensure that the granite floor retains its mirror like srface for a lifetime with the minimum of expenditure.

If however there is no good and correct floor maintenance programme in place then the scratching will build up eventually producing a very dull surface. If this was a marble or limestone floor then this would happen much faster. However if it was a neglected marble floor then by using different grades of diamond pads the marble could be restored relatively easily if not cheaply! The same process can be applied to neglected granite however because of its hardness it takes much longer, uses more diamonds and is therefore a very very costly procedure. On top of which the results cannot be guaranteed. This regrinding of the granite can sometimes result in quite significant colour changes which of course can upset the customer!

The use of diamond grinders which on limestone or marble might take 20 minutes to achieve a shine on granite will probably take 3 - 4 hours and use up 3 -4 times as many diamonds in order to achieve a mediocre shine. Consequently it should be evident why it is a very costly procedure.

In the processing plants marble is ground for about 40 minutes to achieve the high gloss effect. Granite on the other hand will be ground for several hours to achieve the same effect. There is no way that once the granite is in place this process can be replicated.

Consequently if you have a granite floor and it dulls and somebody offers to restore the shine by re-grinding it do not bother. You will end up with a floor that may be shiny but has probably changed colour and it will have cost you a small fortune. Take care of it from the outset and you will never be in this position.

How To Deep Clean Your Bathroom Effectively And Easily

Every household has at least one bathroom and or shower room. These are used every day and sometimes many times during the course of a day. All members of the family use them and very few will clean up after themselves consequently they can very quickly become horror zones. This is often the area that nobody likes to clean but should be cleared and cleaned on a regular basis. How regular depends on how many individuals are in the household if there are many then it should be done every day. as this is a task we hate doing this clearing and cleaning is often superficial. As a result all bathrooms should be deep cleaned also on a regular basis, say at least once per month but it can be more frequent again depending upon how frequently it is used and by whom.

We all make judgments about people, restaurants, hotels and other facilities based on the appearance of their bathrooms, facilities or showers, consequently when people arrive at our house or apartment we want our bathrooms to be bright, shiny and above all immaculately clean. If deep cleaning of this is performed frequently and regularly then the build up of mould, limescale and general grime can be prevented which makes the cleaning quicker and easier each time it is performed.

You will of course have your normal cleaning routine and areas that are cleaned on a normal basis this you will continue to adhere to but below you will find additional information which will assist you in this deep cleaning process. They are in addition to your normal cleaning and do not supplant it.

Lime scale can build up over time, particularly in hard water areas, and can make bathrooms look dirty and run-down. Using a general bathroom cleaning solution is not usually enough to shift these deposits; instead an acid de-scaling solution is called for. Professional products are the best at doing this quickly and effectively but more and more products are coming into the domestic market that really are quite good.

If you get any condensation within your bathroom which is a normal part of using it then you can be guaranteed that the limescale will have coated every single surface even where you cannot see it. It will not just be in those high build up areas like taps and shower screens where it is eminently visible, it will be everywhere. Therefore using your dedicated product which is probably in a spray bottle spray all the surfaces making them thoroughly wet and then leave for a minute or two before wiping off with a clean dry cloth. Where the limescale has built up to become highly visible such as around the base of the taps then it is a good idea to get an old toothbrush to use as a scrubber. Where there has been considerable build up then your product no matter how good will not be able to remove it. In this situation you require something such as a flat headed screwdriver which you can use to carefully chip off the limescale. When doing this be very careful not to scratch the ceramic or metal surface. You may have to use this method in the toilet bowl if you have a visible ring. Ensure that on the metal surfaces the product is rinsed off as it can strip the chrome from chrome plated fittings and will easily damage brass fittings. It is wise not to use these strong products on any brass, gold plated or cast iron fittings.

One area that we all suffer from over the course of time is the grout lines between the tiles, both on the floor and the walls. If cleaning has not been consistent and thorough over time dirt builds up along these grout lines especially if the cleaning consists of a simple wiping motion as you actually wipe small amounts of dirt into these lines. Over time this builds up until you have very visibly dirty grout. This discoloured grout is then virtually impossible to clean no matter how hard you scrub away at it. The dirt has penetrated the grout. You could use a touch up paint pen specifically designed for grout which will completely transform the appearance of the walls and bring them back to new. The alternative is to bleach the dirt if your original grout was white. Use undiluted bleach and work it into the grout lines using a toothbrush. Leave in place for 5 - 10 minutes depending upon the extent of the discolouring and then rinse off with plenty of water. You should of course wear protective gloves and glasses during this process as it is very harmful to skin and eyes.

The third problem suffered by bathrooms is that of mould build up especially on the grout or sealant lines. You can go down the supermarket and find a number of products which will do the job of removing the mould very effectively. However the majority are bleach based so to save money you can make up your own mildew remover. Simply dilute the bleach using 3 parts of hot water to one part bleach and use an empty washed spray bottle. Then spray copious quantities onto the affected areas leave for about 20 minutes before washing off. It may be necessary to scrub some areas in which case use your handy toothbrush once again. To prevent the return of the mildew ensure that those troublesome areas are always wiped completely dry after using the bathroom.

A bleach solution can also be used to freshen up discoloured plastic shower curtains; just lay them in the bath, spray the solution on, leave for a few minutes and rinse off. Alternatively you can run some water into the bath add some bleach, agitate to thoroughly mix in the bleach and then immerse your shower curtain in this. Again leave for 5 - 10 minutes and then remove not forgetting to rinse them thoroughly before re-hanging them.

It is not advisable to use anything other than soft cloths for this cleaning, nothing with abrasive qualities should be used otherwise you can end up scratching surfaces which are made of meta, glass, acrylics, or plastic. Also if your bathroom contains, marble limestone or granite under no circumstance should you carry out any of the above procedures. If you have a problem in a bathroom composed of natural stone then you would be best advised to call in the specialists.

End of Tenancy Cleaning and Its Costs

This is an article comparing two prices for end of tenancy cleans and how they compare for our actual prices on such cleans go to end of tenancy cleans in services.

You have been quoted two prices for your end of tenancy
cleaning of your two bedded apartment. One is £155 and the other is £75.
Wanting to save money and keep your costs as low as possible you go with the
company that is charging £75. This is only natural and very understandable.
However when it comes time for the clean you discover that one cleaner turns up
on your doorstep having arrived on the bus. Therefore they have no equipment,
cleaning materials or cleaning chemicals and ask you were the cleaning stuff
is?

That is they have arrived expecting you to supply all the
necessary equipment, materials and chemicals for them to carry out the clean.
However you have already moved out so nothing is left. Result is that the
cleaner cannot clean and goes away. You are left with an uncleaned property
that is going to be handed back in the next four hours! The consequence of this
is that £250 is removed from your deposit or possibly more to cover the agency
employing cleaners to clean your vacated property. How much could this cost
you? The cleaning company will charge the agency its £155 but they also want
the oven cleaned and the carpets cleaned which will add another £150 to the
bill. The agency will then charge an administrative fee for arranging this
somewhere in the region of £75. You now have a cleaning bill of £380! In
hindsight it was not the wisest of decisions to go with the cheap cleaning
company after all.

Consider how the cleaning companies arrive at their pricing
structure.

The cheap one first.

The company have estimated that it will take two hours for
their cleaner to clean your flat. They will pay the cleaner £20 for the clean
and they have another two cleans to get through on that day! They have no other
costs as they do not pay the cleaner for the travelling time or the cost of the
travel. They have no equipment, material or chemical costs. So profit from this
job would be £55 to the cleaning company.

What about the more expensive company?

Well they would send out two cleaners in transport and they
would be paid from the time they set out until completion of the work. This
company has estimated cleaning time of four hours for the two cleaners. With
travel costs estimated at £10 including wages, and actual on site wages of £80,
insurance costs of £5, equipment costs of £1, materials £4* and chemicals at
£5. Behind the immediate on site costs there are the background costs such as
the administrative and managerial costs which we can estimate at £25 per clean.
This gives a total cost to the company of £130 realising a profit of £25 which
is not an unreasonable amount.

*Just in case you are thinking how can a few cloths cost £4?
The actual cost of each cloth is about 45p. However on a clean such as this it
is not unusual to use about 60 cloths. So this £4 represents a small percentage
of the original cost plus the laundry costs after the clean.

Now even if your booked clean did actually take place do you
think one cleaner in two hours would clean as effectively as two in four hours?
What would be the chances of the agency picking up on something which had not
been cleaned very well and using that as an excuse to withhold a part of your
deposit?

So next time when you are getting quotes for your end of
tenancy cleaning before you say my word that is expensive! think a little
about what you are getting for your money. You are getting an assurance that
the clean will be carried out on time and the cleanliness of the property will
not be a reason for you not getting your deposit back.

New Weblog Location

We have moved our weblog from its present location to a new URL which can be found here at http://www.wesparkle.co.uk/wordpress.

New Localities for our Cleaning Services Added

New Locations Added For Our Cleaning Services

Today we have set up cleaning opportunities for potential customers in Reading, Slough and High Wycombe. In these three areas all of our services will now be available, that is such cleaning as office cleaning, domestic one off cleans, industrial cleans, deep kitchen cleaning for commercial kitchens, ventilation duct cleaning, and builders cleans. Visit our various Services pages to see the full extent of our cleaning capabilities.

TCSG about to Celebrate its Second Birthday

On the 1st March 2010 TCSGroup will be celebrating its second birthday. Having formed at the beginning of the latest recession and succeeded in moving forwards throughout these difficult times we are now looking forwards to capitalising on any growth that does take place in the UK economy over the next year.

New Updates to website

Over the past week our website has been updated to include more of our services and more of our locations in which we offer our cleaning services

New Website Launched

The Cleaning Services Group launched its new website today. Over the next few weeks you should see it expand rapidly as our various cleaning services that we can provide are explained