Today is an exciting day for us; our first J1 students arrived last night. We are concerned about the possibility of travel disruptions due to the ash cloud from the volcano in Iceland. Truthfully it’s been a little stressful for us. It’s a definite sign of the impending summer season when our first foreign students arrived, that and the indescribably good weather that we have been having as of late. They say April showers bring may flowers, this year though the early flowers have already passed and the cherry trees are already blooming. To put it one way this year’s April and May so far blows away last years June. In other news work has been progressing on the new Dunkin Donuts that will be next to our offices. Let’s just say the contractors are annoying everyone else in the building, it seems like we are cleaning up after them every afternoon after they leave, weather its Dunkin Donuts cups that they’ve thrown out into the parking lot or smoking in the buildings bathrooms.
In the last month we have been gearing up and doing a number of spring cleanings for our customers. The condition of the houses varies a great deal. Some have had mice over the winter, others have flourishing populations of spiders and still others seem almost clean. The biggest determining factor as to the condition of house is if it was properly closed up the previous fall.
A basic example is the refrigerators. If they have been cleaned, propped open and turned off, they are easy to clean. If they were not propped open, they will full of mildew. Even worse than not propping the refrigerator open is if it has been turned off with food still inside, lets just say the results are not pleasent and if there was meat in the fridge, it is considered hazardous waste. We are not equipped or insured to handle this type of waste.
Another interesting tidbit: did you know that mice LOVE soap!? As well as grains and cereals! We have seen instances where the mice have actually chewed through vanity doors to get to the soap. Our suggestion in the fall is to either dispose of any bar soap or grains, or at least put them in zip-loc bags. This way the mice can’t smell the soap.
If the water has been properly drained in the fall and properly turned on the spring, there are less moisture problems (translation: less mold problems) in the house. Draining the water from a house also makes the toilets much easier to clean because cape cod water has a tendency to stain. Its much safer to leave the house for the winter if it has been drained because you don’t have to worry about the pipes freezing.
One of the easiest ways to have a smooth spring cleaning is to have The Furies go in to take care of the house in the fall. Also have a reputable person or company drain the house and turn it back on in the spring. And if you do have a history of mice, be sure to have a pest control service check your house regularly. Additionally, you could hire us to go an check your house on a regular basis to look out for any problems.
Hope your spring is going smoothly!
Lately we have been testing new vacuums to replace our existing fleet. We use only Miele vacuums because they have a great filtration system and are very capable vacuums overall. Generally they update their product line every couple of years. As a result the vacuum models that we have are no longer available so we have to test a number of new vacuums and see which ones work best for us and for our customers. The latest model that we are testing is the Miele Olympus. It is a “compact” canister vacuum with a large capacity super filtration bag. Having a large bag is a big plus for us because it will reduce the amount of money that we spend on vacuum bags and also allows the vacuum to be run longer between bag changes. The Olympus is also a little smaller and lighter than our current vacuums, which will make it easier on our crews. However, the vacuum has two design features that we don’t like. One is that the Miele’s tools are stored via a clip-on unit on the exterior of the hose that can be dislodged with a good bump rather than in an interior storage as in their older models. This increases the risk of some of the tools being lost and they are not inexpensive to replace. Also, for some reason, Miele shortened the vacuum’s wand by about 6 inches, which puts a lot more strain on the back, especially for taller people. I have no idea why they decided to shorten the wands other than to cut their production costs. It seems unusual for this company to not consider the ergonomics of using their otherwise amazing vacuum cleaners.
At the Furies we are constantly on the lookout for new products that may help us in our cleanings. Often times the we are testing products that we developed for a different industry. The latest item that we’ve picked up is extend-able painters pole that we find works extremely well for reaching cobwebs. It reaches higher than our standard extendable poles yet collapses down to the same size which is great because it means that we have to use our long poles which barely fit inside our vesicles a lot less. The painting pole is also a little faster for our crews to use because they are quicker to adjust and we hope that they end but being a little more durable as well. They will be perfect for all of our spring cleanings which are usually pretty cobwebby.
