Archive for July, 2009

Getting your bathroom sparkling can be easy, as long as you’re sure that your grout is perfect. While cleaning tile can be a big pain, it’s also a big investment into the overall beauty of your bathroom. Without regular cleaning and care, your grout and tile can become plagued by mold, soap scum, mildew, and other nasty grime. Make sure that your bathroom stays as clean as can be by using this easy guide to cleaning grout from CleaningProductsWorld.com:

First off, take a look at the kind of stain you have. Most simple stains can be powered through with simple household items like vinegar or baking soda. Just mix up one part vinegar and one part water, or make a baking soda paste, and use it with a stiff brush in a circular motion to clean up those easy stains. Rinse to reveal beautiful tile.

However, if you’ve found that your stains need a little big more elbow grease to cut through, use some of the tough household cleaners from CleaningProductsWorld.com. Products like Lysol, Mr. Clean, or Clorox can work through tougher grease, as long as you continue to use a stiff brush. If you have access to a steamer, you may want to try that first to loosen up some of the dirt.

If you find that your stains are just too tough, then it’s time to move up to the industrial cleaners. Products like oxygen bleach powder, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine bleach, or commercial grout cleaner that’s pH balanced can all work to cut through even the most frustrating of grout stains. Just be sure that these products don’t erode over time.

Besides keeping in mind these easy tips, always remember to rinse the grout first to remove loose dirt, wear safety gloves and glasses when working with harsh chemicals, never mix cleaning products, and never use bleach on colored grouts.

C Fold Paper Towels are a type of parallel fold towel that create six panels with two parallel folds in a spiral fold configuration (Read – they fold inward!) This fold is also commonly used for bi-fold, tri-panel brochures and letter folds.

To allow the panels to nest inside each other properly, the folded in end panel is usually 1/32″ to 1/8″ narrower than the other panels.  C-Fold paper towels are extremely common in commercial and public restrooms as well as quick service restaurants and cafeterias.

Features/Benefits of C-Fold Hand Towels
•    Dispenses a large, fully-opened, absorbent towel, one at a time
•    Unique fold allows towel to be pulled without touching dispenser, reducing risk of cross contamination
•    Interfold design cannot be loaded incorrectly to prevent mis-feeds and reduce maintenance time
•    Optimum stacking ability

Looking for a great C-Fold Hand Towel?  Try Windsoft C Fold Paper Towels – they’re environmentally conscious, made from recycled paper, and yet are still thick, strong, soft AND absorbent.  What more could you ask for in a paper towel?

When we find something we love, we love to share. So, in the spirit of good health & promoting good hygiene, Cleaning Products World is giving away free Sample of Purell Wipes.
And unlike other samples that are “free” after you spend $50 and pay a $15 shipping fee,  this one’s on us.  There’s no catch – no purchase necessary and no shipping charges.

Why we love Purell Individually Wrapped Sanitizing Wipes:

Small enough to carry anywhere, powerful enough to kill 99.99% of germs
They’re only 8×6”, but don’t let the their size fool you.  Purell Hand Wipes pack a powerful punch! Throw a few in your wallet, purse, or even place them in your restroom/entryway in a small bowl for you customers/employees. Trust me – they’ll greatly appreciate it!

Simply fill in your shipping information here and receive your sample with-in 2 days!

**UPDATE: As of September 28, 2009, this promotion has now ended.  Please be sure to check CleaningProductsWorld.com for new promotions and giveaways.**

These days, recycling is everywhere. Recycled bags. Recycled toilet paper. You name a product, I bet you can find a version made from recycled goods. However, a lot of people are still forgetting the first step in the recycled process – to recycle items! Its not that they are deliberately not recycling, they just forget how much we actually can recycle. Below is a perfect example of this situation:

This past weekend I took a trip to my hometown in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. While I moved away years ago, my parents are kind enough to keep my childhood bedroom & bathroom intact so I’ll always have a familiar place to stay. My younger brother was feeling especially generous and cleaned my bathroom for me (clean by a 16-year old boy’s standards of course). What surprised me was not his gracious efforts, but the items he had tossed away, instead of recycling. I come from a long line of recycling addicts, so when he said he never realized some of these basic items, such as toilet paper cores, can be recycled, I was shocked.

To prevent further disasters, I put together a rough list of bathroom items that are safe to recycle:
- Toilet Paper cores
- Tissue boxes
- Soap Boxes
- Medicine Boxes
- Shampoo Bottles
- Mouthwash Bottles
- Contact Lens Solution
- Bottle with a “Neck” or “Screw-top”
- Shaving Cream cans
- Deodorant
- Air Fresheners
- Hairspray
- Other Aerosol cans

I think I’ve started a pretty solid list here, but if there are additional items you have questions about, please don’t ever hesitate to email me here. Whether its cleaning or recycling questions, I’m always happy to help.

Summertime is a great time to get your home back in to tip top shape, especially with back to school season just on the horizon. Before the craziness starts, and before you get too busy to tackle your cleaning projects, try using these 12 tips for a neater cleaner home. Not only will they save you time and money, but they’ll also leave a great impression on your home. After all, who wouldn’t want to clean less? Let these tips help you cut down on your cleaning tasks:

1. After every meal, make it a point to wipe down your appliances and counter tops. Also give the floor a quick sweep. This prevents difficult, messy spills that you may have missed from hardening and becoming even more impossible to clean. Plus it’ll make food prep safer, not to mention more pleasant.
2. Vacuum high traffic areas near your doors daily. It’ll save your carpet and reduce allergens.
3. Pick up your bedroom before you go to bed. That way in the morning, you’ll only have the bed to make.
4. Use an automatic shower cleaner to refresh your shower after every use.
5. Every season, go through your closets and get rid of junk, clothing, or other objects that just cause clutter.
6. Pour a package of lemonade Kool-Aid into the dishwasher detergent area. Run the cycle through to clear out stains and leave it smelling great.
7. Take your shoes off at the door for cleaner carpets and less need to vacuum.
8. Reduce your dish load by washing dishes right after you use them.
9. Refresh your fabrics using a spray or by burning candles in various rooms of your home.
10. Install coat hooks on the backs of your closet doors to hold belts, bags, or jackets.
11. If you see a spot, wipe it up. Don’t wait till you’re ready to clean it.
12. Shop smarter. Overstocking shelves with clothing, food, or cleaning products can leave you feeling cramped. Buy when you need it.

According to the US Department of Energy, Americans waste $3 million (or 2,700 terra-watt hours) of energy every year. To help put this number in perspective, the amount of energy we waste every year in the US could provide energy to the entire continent of Africa – for five straight years.

While this number seems appalling, during these tough economic times it’s important to realize we can Go Green and $ave Green by making small, effortless changes to our daily routines. Going green doesn’t mean we need to invest thousands of dollars in SmartCars, or replace every appliance with an energy efficient one. While these big-ticket items are clearly groundbreaking advancements in the green movement, the reality of the situation is these solutions may not be in many of our budgets and SmartCars may not be the most ideal method of transportation for our families of four.

The beauty of this situation lies in the fact our green savings return at a much higher rate than our ailing stock market portfolios. For example, we need to invest around $43,000 in the stock market in order to realize a traditional industry standard return of $3,000, or 7%, in one year. However in the green market, a mere $20 can return up to $3,000 in a year! For all the non-financial experts in the room, that’s a 15,000% return. It’s as if we purchased a $20 share of GE today, and then sold it for $3,000 a year from now.

To make sure this $3,000 gets safely kept in our bank accounts, there a few simple steps we can take to Go Green and Save Green in our consumption, home, and driving habits.

Improvements to Consumption Habits

• Buy a stainless steel bottle & fill it with your coffee or water needs for the day. You’ll help reduce the 3.3 million plastic bottles the US goes through in an hour and save almost fourteen hundred dollars a year.
• Start making transactions online – You’ll save on stamps, paper, & envelopes.And, many companies offer financial incentives if you enroll in their paperless statements, such as Citizen’s Bank Green Sense program.
• Invest in green bags – At a dollar apiece, they are much sturdier than their paper or plastic alternatives and will help reduce the 12 million barrels of oil and 14 Million trees a year that go into their production.

Improvements to Home Habits

• Unplug household appliances and electronic items not in use. If an electric item, such as a cell phone charger, does not have an on/off switch, it’s consuming almost as much electricity as if it were actually charging our phones. Other appliances, such toasters, TVs, or coffee makers, still suck up energy in their off mode, so try purchasing a surge protector and connecting these items to it. This will reduce your energy bill by 40%!
• Turn your water heater down from the standard 140 to 120 degrees. Since water isn’t dispersed at this temperature, you won’ feel the difference.
• The next time your traditional light bulb burns out, replace it with a CFL. While these bulbs are pricier, they last up to 10x longer and use 75% less electricity.

Improvements to Driving Habits

• When driving, rapid acceleration and braking causes a 23% decrease in fuel efficiency.
• Obeying the speed limit of 65 mph – you’ll see your gas mileage improve 10 -15%.
• Keep your tires fully inflated and make sure your gas cap clicks three times after fueling to avoid gas evaporation.
• Combined, these four easy steps will save you $540/year in fuel costs.

Overall, the best way to Go Green and $ave Green is through small changes to our daily habits. We don’t need to take drastic measures such as building wind farms in our backyards or resorting to candlelight in our homes. All we need to do is slightly tweak the tasks we already perform. During his famous inaugural address in 1961, President John F. Kennedy wisely stated:

“All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.”

We all know we can’t eliminate those 2,700-terawatt hours of wasted energy overnight, but let us apply JFK’s head-on approach, and let us begin.

Laundry is one of those household chores that can really leave you feeling stressed. But by taking a few of these tips to the laundry room with you, you can be sure that your laundry experience is quick, easy, and hassle-free.

1. Want to preserve your darks? When you wash them for the first time, use cold water and add some salt. This will help set the color. Repeat as needed to brighten.

2. Dry Clean Only clothing can sometimes be cleaned just as well when you hand wash them in cold water with a very mild soap, like Woolite.

3. To clean and freshen your washing machine, run it through a normal cycle using hot water and a bottle of vinegar. This should rid your machine of film and scum.

4. To prevent fading, wash and dry your clothing inside out.

5. Always, always, always empty your lint trap!

6. To keep clothes from tangling while washing, close the zippers, button your buttons, and tie your strings before washing.

7. Have a wine, coffee, or fruit stain on your favorite shirt? Use club soda or moist salt soaked in milk to draw it out before washing.

8. When drying, separate your clothes and dry similar types of clothes together. This should cut down on dry times.

9. To make your clothes last, be sure to follow the care directions listed on the labels.

10. Never overload your washer. Your clothes will never get clean and you risk breaking the machine entirely.

Here at Cleaning Products World, our love for cleaning products comes second only to our love for our pets.  Our animals are a big part of the Cleaning Products World family (the company president’s sheltie, Angel, makes frequent visits to the office!) and we couldn’t be prouder of our precious companions.  However, any pet owner knows that caring for a dog, cat, or any other animal means dealing with odors at some point.  The 3 easy steps below will help save you time & effort, will leave your house smelling fresh & clean, and will give more time to enjoy with your pet!

1.    Use A Blacklight to Find Problem Areas
The first step in tackling pet odors is finding the lingering odors already present.  Use a blacklight to easily locate these areas.

2.    Treat problem areas ONLY with an odor neutralizer & cool water
If you first use other chemicals on the affected area, the neutralizer won’t be effective because it will have to work against the other chemicals first instead of spill.  We like Renuzit’s Odor Neutralizer the best.

3.    Place an Automatic Air Freshener Dispenser in areas your pet frequents the most
Everyone’s pet has that special spot he or she can frequently be found relaxing in.  These places are then the most likely to constantly carry a pet odor, so put an air freshener dispenser nearby. Yankee Candle’s version works great and is a safe way to constantly keep your house smelly fresh, without being overbearing.

Hats off to RockResorts, (a subsidiary of Vail Resorts), for implementing a new 10- point-program which redefines what it means to have green hotel rooms.  I find that while most hotels these days are claiming efforts in the “Going Green” movement, often times their efforts are refuted by performing more energy-wasting  activities to be able to list inclusion in the movement.  What a better way than to implement a set of standards with sound, exponential effects that must be followed in every room, every time?

Here are their initial efforts:

1. Terry (towel) and linen reuse program

2. In-room recycling program for newspaper, beverage cans, glass and plastic bottles

3. Energy efficient lighting & electronics

4. Use of low flow water conserving fixtures

5. Custom formulated all natural, essential oil based amenities

6. Use of environmentally preferable and safer Eco-friendly cleaning products. Green Seal and EPA Design for the Environment certified

7. Conversion to low or no VOC paints and finishes

8. Reusable and renewable jute newspaper bag

9. Entirely smoke-free facilities

10. Voluntary guest donation program National Forest Foundation (Colorado RockResorts) or similar non-profit organization for RockResorts outside of Colorado

Looks like they’ve hit on all the key “green”  fronts.  Nice work RockResorts!

Remember, whenever you are in need of green and environmentally friendly cleaning products, be sure to visit the Eco Friendly Section of CleaningProductsWorld.Com

On Saturday, families around the nation will gather together to celebrate Independence Day with picnics, barbecues, and of course, fireworks. If you’re planning on hosting a soirée of your own in your backyard, be sure that you’re prepared with all of the serving and party supplies you need. No matter what the size of your crowd, it’s still just as important to be prepared. At CleaningProductsWorld, we’re here to help. Here are some of the essentials you should have on your party planning checklist:

Paper Plates

Be sure that there are plenty of plates to serve up Mom’s baked beans and Dad’s famous burgers by stocking up on the party essentials from Chinet. Choose from different sizes to take your guests through the entire meal.

Plastic Cups

Serve up your lemonade, cocktails, and sodas in versatile plastic cups from CleaningProductsWorld.com. Just be sure that you have enough straws and drink umbrellas on hand!

Plastic Cutlery

Finally, make certain that your guests can enjoy their meals to the fullest by giving them some plastic cutlery to butter rolls, scoop up potato salad, and dig into that yummy pie you baked.