Spring Cleaning in Lincoln – March 2021

There are those mythical few who love cleaning—at least that’s what we hear. Probably the vast majority of us, however, love having a clean house or business, though given the option, wouldn’t choose to volunteer a weekend to climb ladders, squeegee windows or dust fans, torture our backs to scrub or wax our bathtubs, or push around a rental carpet cleaner that really isn’t doing any deep-cleaning at all. Given that your home and business are your biggest investments, it’s positively crucial that you protect those investments by performing deep spring-cleaning tasks that prevent dirt and grime buildup, protect your flooring and other surfaces from damage or dulling, and ensure that you avoid mold and reduce other allergens that could harm your family or employees.

The good news is that you don’t have to do it all yourself. Lincoln is home to some of the best cleaning-related companies around, and these professionals will get it right the first time. They’ll help your homes or businesses look—and function—like new, which is uplifting for your family and/or employees, your business, your home, and your vehicles. The importance of spring cleaning has increased exponentially since COVID’s arrival, too, and we talked to professionals in the Lincoln area who can ensure that your home and place of business are clean and safe for all who enter!

Spring cleaning is a good time to get rid of any critters that have worked their ways into your home or business, for sure. We recommend considering Arrow Pest Control, which provides customized services for both commercial and residential needs. They have served Lincoln and the surrounding communities for 20 years, fulfilling insect and rodent removal needs. By choosing Arrow Pest Control, you can rest easy knowing that their employees are highly trained and handpicked for the job. Through the years, they’ve seen it all, and they’ll quickly resolve any pest-control issues you’re experiencing.

Arrow Pest Control is known for their compassionate team. They understand how disruptive critter infestations are to your business and your life. No matter the size of the project, they’ll work with you to eliminate the insects from your business to keep you safe and comfortable. When you work with these pest-control experts, you’ll receive personalized service from their compassionate team. They’ll help you prevent property damage from pests, including termites, and ensure that your business is safe.

Carpet Cleaning 101

When it comes to cleaning floors, many people tend to just do dusting and wait far too long to clean their carpets. Top Spot Cleaning & Solutions Too (topspotcleaning.com) is a facility maintenance company that started out as a professional floor and carpet-care cleaning service and has long been known for their quality carpet and floor-care products and services.

“My carpet-cleaning 101 is that when you can tell that your carpets are dirty, you’ve waited too long and begun to harm fibers,” said Top Spot Owner Doug Neill. “People who take proper care of carpets won’t ever truly see whether they’re dirty. We clean some monthly, and it’s shocking how soiled they are even though it doesn’t look like it. If you’ve installed new carpet in the last year, you HAVE to get it professionally cleaned, usually within 12-18 months to keep your warranty. Even if carpets don’t LOOK dirty, you can lose your warranty. If you can’t prove to the manufacture that you had a professional steam cleaning within the warranty period, then if you have a problem, they’re not going to honor it. Floors and tile and grout in your home or business are much the same. They might look clean, but if you compare them to sections of the tile that don’t get as much use, you’ll quickly see that they are not.”

Top Spot really diversified in 2020 to meet the needs of the time. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they rolled out a highly affordable chlorine dioxide (CLO2) and SIMIX disinfecting package to help businesses achieve full-scale, environmentally safe sanitizing and decontaminating. SIMIX is a high-pH sanitizing product used to remove the top layers of biofilm. A surface with a high pH continues to fight microbes and viruses. They also provide fogging or gassing services with CO2 to disinfect high-touch surfaces and, with gassing, decontaminate the entire air-handling system for any business that feels their space may have been compromised by COVID-19.

For Your Health

During winter in Nebraska, people keep the windows and doors in their homes closed to keep out the wind and frigid temperatures, but doing so also causes dust to settle and leave the air stagnant. Though opening the windows might seem like a simple solution, it also lets in more dust and allergens, and the poor air quality in your home can cause respiratory-health problems and allergy flare-ups. That’s why it’s so crucial to have your air ducts cleaned to improve indoor air quality. Cleaning your own air ducts can be time-consuming and difficult, though, which is why we recommend hiring your local Lincoln experts for duct cleaning. It’s also a crucial time to ready your air conditioning for the summer season, and John Henry’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning (jhlincoln.com) is a fabulous choice to get the job done right.

“Spring is the best time to start thinking about summer,” said Owner Lindsey Reinke. “We highly recommend prescheduling a cleaning on your cooling system to make sure you’re ready for the hot summer days! We can also schedule a duct cleaning for you year-round and add a duct-work sanitization treatment along with the cleaning to ensuring you’re breathing the best air possible. You can conveniently schedule online, or call or text us at (402) 435-5555, and you can also join our HVAC Membership Club, and we will text you to remind you to schedule.”

John Henry’s can clean your cooling system to make sure you’re ready for the inevitable heat outside, either through a one-time cleaning, or by getting you signed up for the Membership Club so that you can receive regular cleanings. You’ll receive special pricing and discounts by signing up, too. Their cleanings can get your indoor air quality up to par before the allergens kick into high gear for spring and summer. John Henry’s will make sure your cooling system is up and running at peak efficiency to make sure you’re prepared for the hot Nebraska days ahead. With the hyper-awareness about health in our minds more than ever during the pandemic, it’s a fantastic way to help protect your family.

“COVID hasn’t stopped people from needing heating, cooling, or plumbing,” Lindsey said. “It has only made people more aware of their health. We can install indoor air quality products to make sure the air you breathe in your home is safe for you and your family!”

In order to prevent getting stuck in the incoming heat, regular maintenance of your air-conditioning unit is essential. Regular maintenance will extend the life of your unit and save you money and trouble in the long run. It’s easy to forget, however, to contact your local professionals to perform the necessary maintenance, as time seems to flow quickly as the weather warms. The John Henry’s membership program takes care of this problem and makes maintenance easy in the spring and all year long!

Friendly, Green Cleaning

After the winter weather uses its powers of muck and mire on your home or business, springtime is the perfect time to schedule a deep cleaning, inside and out. ServiceMaster Professional Building Maintenance (PBM) (servicemaster.com) offers expert deep cleaning of entire offices, as well as standalone services like carpet cleaning and hard-floor refinishing.

“Spring is a great time to clean carpets, detail dust, clean walls, and the like—the things that tend to build up over the year if they aren’t kept up through the winter,” said ServiceMaster Owner Jon Paolini. “While contaminants can enter your home or business through the air, they can also be carried in on shoes, animals, and even simple human contact. ServiceMaster has an intensive janitorial service available for local businesses, so you can improve the health and safety of your office and your employees.”

In light of pandemic concerns, many businesses are adding sanitizing to their spring-cleaning tasks, in addition to tile and grout cleaning. Getting those tile floors machine-cleaned regularly makes the process less time-intensive and creates a better cleaning outcome, including a return of the overall beauty of the tile and grout. ServiceMaster can make it shine like you’ve never seen before—and they use products that won’t compromise the air quality in your home or business, protecting all who enter.

“We always try to avoid heavy-duty cleaning supplies that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs),” Jon said. “It’s much better to use eco-friendly, green cleaners. Green cleaners release a significantly lower amount of chemicals and fumes into the air. While you may enjoy the clean scent of lemon, most scented traditional chemical cleaning products cause indoor air pollution which can cause long-term health effects if people are over-exposed to them. Our natural cleaners degrade over time without causing harmful side effects or additional pollution.”

Jon offers a final piece of advice for all spring cleaners out there: “Some advice I’d give those go-getter spring cleaners out there would be to not forget about the high contact areas you use every day—for example, cell phones, door knobs, keyboards, etc. Even though you use them more than some of the dustier areas of your space, that doesn’t mean that they’re clean.”

If the winter season brought weather inside your home or business, consider contacting 1-800 WATER DAMAGE (1800waterdamage.com) (formerly Delta Restoration) for help. As one of the rising stars of the $210 billion restoration industry, with more than 100 locations nationwide, they are an industry leader in property restoration. Their team is fully vetted, certified, and insured for your safety, and they’ll return your property to its original condition, while restoring what truly matters—the health and safety of your family and employees.

Protecting Your Vehicles

Your vehicles might not be at the top of your spring-cleaning list, but if not, add them to it, as deep cleaning is also essential to extending the life of both the interior and exterior of them, as well as their resale values. It’s never more important to care for your car than at the close of winter, after road salts, including treatments with liquid calcium chloride and sand, plus the moisture from Nebraska storms, can cause your car to rust, which can spread across your entire vehicle over time. We recommend putting locally owned JetSplash (jetsplash.com) in charge the spring cleaning of your vehicles to keep them shiny and protected after the winter months.

“You don’t want to leave salt or brine on your car too long, because it will damage the clear coat that is protecting your car, and eventually the paint, causing rust,” said JetSplash Sales Manager Kendra McDonald. “We prep and hand-dry every vehicle, so we’ll get the salt and snow off of your car first, then hand dry at the end to prevent freezing. We also have JetGloss, which will help restore your clear coat and protect your vehicle from future salt damage.”

When you stop into JetSplash, you’ll quickly learn why they’re Lincoln’s premier spot for a spotless car wash. With four wash options—ranging from $9 to $20—they’ve got something for everyone. Plus, all washes come with free access to vacuums, air to blow water and grime out of nooks and crannies, and mat cleaners! If you go the membership route, you can choose a plan and pay an annual or monthly rate and get your car washed as many times as you want. You’ll also enjoy membership perks, including half-off upgrades, and their members-only After Care Bucket and express lane.

Your business, home, and vehicles are likely your biggest investments, so it’s crucial that you take care of them to protect them. Spring cleaning is essential for ensuring that your investments are not only good-looking but also safe and comfortable. We recommend contacting these professionals to help you get the job done right the first time!