cleansafeservices.co.uk

Fire & Flood Restoration

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 10:40:20 +0000

After a catastrophic accident of fire or flood, there is a window of opporunity for cleanup and recovery of your prized possessions to pristine conditions. Moving fast is critial.

Fire

In addition to the damage caused by the actual heat & flames of a fire, fires usually contain hundreds of noxious chemicals which can saturate the items within the structure as well as the structure itself.

This smell is unpleasant for anyone of course, but is especially unbearable for anyone who has recently experienced a fire because it will often immediately trigger a powerful recollection of the tragedy.

That is why it is important to remove all of the odor-causing particles from clothing and other fabric items retrieved from a smoke and fire damaged building. An important way in which fabric restoration specialists differ from retail cleaners is that while the latter will charge for any attempts at cleaning – whether successful or not – certain restoration specialists will only charge for their services if they are successful in restoring the items to their pre-loss condition or better.

Here are 5 tips for cleaning up after the unthinkable.

1) The sad fact is that after a fire some items or building components will simply not be salvageable. You must get rid of these badly burned or charred items by throwing them away, and permitting demolishment of the portions of the home that are beyond repair, which will also help the psychological healing process from such a trauma.

2) Fabric items, such as curtains or furniture upholstery should be vacuumed with an extremely strong suction mechanism. Choose carefully, as certain types of vacuum cleaner (e.g. those with a beater bar) will only compound the problem. forcing soot and the smell of smoke into the fabric even further.

3) Odors on wooden or drywall surfaces can be sealed in by quickly repainting.

4) Hard surfaces, such as tile, glass or metal do not tend to absorb odours long term. They can be wiped free of residue (soot & grime) with paper towels and spray cleansers.

5) Porous building materials within the house (e.g. brick, masonry, drywall) should be sprayed with a specialised de-greasing cleanser. You can use a chemical sponge (available from local hardware stores) to wipe such surfaces.

Flood damage

In addition to the obvious harm caused to dry clean only garments and textiles by immersion (prolonged or short) even fabric items that are intended for machine washing can be damaged by the effects of a flood.

Damage can include colors becoming faded or otherwise altered within a particular article of clothing, dye transfer (bleeding) between articles, and the distortion of fabric that causes it to become rough and/or twisted.

The key to successful restoration after a flood is that the situation be responded to and dealt with immediately. The longer items are left submerged, the greater the likelihood that the damage will render the items non-restorable.

Some tips to help you with your restoration :

As soon as possible, remove as much excess water as you can by mopping the area or using a wet/dry vacuum.
Wipe as much excess water from wood furniture as you can and remove tabletop lamps and other items from the furniture.
Place plastic or aluminum foil under any wooden furniture legs to prevent further damage e.g. discoloration.
If the flood damage is on an upstairs floor, punch tiny holes in the ceiling undeneath to relieve trapped water (making sure you have a container for collection underneath).
Immediately turn off all electrical appliances in any flooded area, at the fusebox in case of wall socket water damage.
If you possess it, turn your air conditioning on for maximum drying in the summer and open the windows in the winter to release trapped air.
Remove any artwork and paintings from the walls if affected, or simply to remove from the cleanup area.
Remove any rugs from the affected area and hang up to dry outside.
Long term, you should also be on the lookout for growth of mould, mildew, unpleasant odours.

Biochemistry Based Molecular Cleaning

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:22:17 +0000

CleanSafe is working in partnership with Southend NHS Trust and a leading international diagnostics equipment company to implement Molecular Cleaning concepts in real world. We understand that the first prerequisite for any decontamination procedure is adequate pre-cleaning of the device or surface to be decontaminated. Organic material including blood and soil may inactivate chemical disinfectants and protect microorganisms from the decontamination process. We are able to de-contaminate laboratories following DNA fragment/amplicon contamination.

Biochemistry based Molecular Cleaning has the potential to restore contaminated environments inexpensively yet effectively, but a lack of information about the factors controlling the growth and metabolism of microorganisms in polluted environments often limits its implementation. However, in recent years rapid advances in the understanding of bioremediation have been made. We now have the ability to culture microorganisms that are important in bioremediation and can evaluate their physiology using a combination of genome-enabled experimental and modelling techniques.

CleanSafe have decontaminated a wide variety of pharmaceutical and healthcare laboratories using Molecular cleaning technology. This advanced method has many advantages over more traditional methods including low toxicity, excellent materials compatibility – even with sensitive electronics – and comprehensive biological efficacy. We also provide detailed report and decontamination certificates.

For more information on Molecular cleaning and to discuss your requirements please contact our office.

Tips for removing graffiti

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:20:37 +0000

The term graffiti comes from the Greek word graphein, which means, “to write.” You’ve probably seen graffiti somewhere in your area. It’s the words, colors, and shapes drawn or scratched on buildings, overpasses, train cars, desks, and other surfaces. It’s done without permission and it’s against the law.

If your property has been a victim of Graffiti, you have to know that removing Graffiti could be a very difficult task. Hiring a professional is probably your best bet but if you want to try something like pressure washing on your own first, here are some tips:

Cleaning porous surfaces: Concrete, Stone, Brick, and Stucco
Being porous, “pores” tend to catch and hold dirt and Graffiti, they are the most difficult to remove graffiti from. Pressure washing is a fairly reliable way to get these kinds of walls clean, however, it is not always effective. If it is not effective, it may be necessary to hire a professional such as CleanSafe to remove the Graffiti.

Before you attempt to remove Graffiti using pressure wash, here is a quick checklist that will help make Graffiti removal safe and successful.

Make sure you know your work-site well.
Notice where runoffs from your property go, and know where your drain inlets go–unlike the sanitary sewer system that flows to the city’s waste water treatment plants, runoff that enters our storm sewer system drains directly into area creeks and rivers.
Avoid harmful, toxic chemicals–especially methylene chloride.
Absolutely no waste water containing any chemicals should be allowed to run off into the storm drains.
Take time to cover outdoor electrical fixtures and receptacles with plastic bags and plastic tape. Be sure they are watertight.
Use skin protection and eye goggles for the pressure washer.
Apply a chemical remover to the Graffiti. Local hardware and paint stores carry citrus-based, biodegradable removers—usually the thicker the better.
Be patient…use a stiff brush to agitate vandalized area.
Position yourself approximately three feet from prepared surface, start washing with very low pressure.
Work from top to bottom. Use back-and-forth overlapping strokes. Experiment–find the right distance and range to achieve best cleaning results.

Hiring a Professional Contractor
If scope of cleaning is much larger than what you can handle, hire a professional contractor to do the job. Before you hire a contractor, ask some basic questions such as:

Ask your contractor what the best method of removal would be that would return your surface to its natural state.
Ask your contractor how they plan to prevent the pollutants (i.e., dirty water, chemicals, etc.) from entering the storm drains.
Ask if contract includes a provision requiring that the contractor comply with all environmental regulations.

Crime Scene Cleaning Experts

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:18:23 +0000

A crime scene is a very different cleaning environment than other commercial and residential cleaning jobs. Most people tend to believe that crime scene cleaning is something that any cleaning company can do. But in reality, it is a very different story. It takes special skills and years of experience to do the job properly and efficiently. A crime scene or accident cleaning job requires coordination with local law enforcement authorities and knowing how to manage a crime scene that might still be under investigation.

At CleanSafe, we offer fast response and professional advice. In domestic property and public places, CleanSafe supports local authorities and the private sector dealing with the aftermath of crime and accidents. We clean up death scenes, like homicides and other tragic accidents. We also handle other traumatic and tragic scene cleaning jobs such as suicides, accidental deaths, meth labs and body fluid cleanup.

CleanSafe can also handle all your cleanup needs after an accident or trauma. We take care of everything for you. For example, body fluids are cleaned and removed. The accident site is thoroughly cleansed using the latest anti-viral and anti-bacterial cleaning chemicals. We also perform steam cleaning and carpet cleaning to remove blood or other fluids.

Safe disposal of removed waste is supported with Waste Transfer Notes and CleanSafe deal with all legal requirements – you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Remember, people tend to think that police take care of the cleanup after an accident or crime. That’s not true. If your property ends up being a crime scene or accident scene, it is your responsibility to clean it up or hire a professional cleaning company such as CleanSafe to do the job.

Sanitation & Waste Removal

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:16:22 +0000

Sanitation

Lets start at the begining. What is sanitation? Simply put, Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes.

These hazards can vary widely, but all fall into the categories of physical, biological (& microbiological) and finally chemical, all of which can be agents of disease.

The kinds of wastes that can cause health problems also naturaly vary, but can consist of

Human and Animal feces
Solid wastes
Domestic wastewater (sewage / greywater)
Industrial and agricultural wastes.

Hygienic means of prevention can be by using

1 – Engineering solutions (e.g. sewage and wastewater treatment),

2 – Simple technologies (e.g. septic tanks & latrines),

3 – Personal hygiene practices (e.g. handwashing with soap).

Waste Management

Waste Management can also fall under a wide variety of topics

1 – Landfill

Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying the waste, often in abandoned or unused quarries & mining voids, in doing so restoring the environment to it’s original aesthetic. Properly designed and well-managed landfill can be a reasonably inexpensive and hygenic method of disposing of waste materials.

2 – Incineration

Incineration is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to high temperature combustion to convert them into residue and gaseous products that dispers into the atmosphere. It remains a controversial method of waste disposal, due to issues such as emission of gaseous pollutants.

Incineration is carried out both on a small scale by individuals and on a much larger scale by industry. Solid, liquid and gaseous waste can be disposed of using this technique, aswell as some types of hazardous waste materials (such as biological medical waste).

3 – Recycling

Recycling is of course the collection and reuse of waste materials such as beverage & food tins & containers. The materials from these items is then reprocessed into new products.

The most recycled products include aluminum (beverage cans), copper (from old wiring), steel (from food, aerosol cans, old steel furnishings or equipment), and glass (from bottles and jars). To a lesser extent, newspapers and cardboard can be recycled for further paper use.

4 – Biological reprocessing

This covers non hazardous organic waste materials, such as food scraps, paper & plant material. The biological composting and digestion processes can be used to decompose these types of organic matter.

The result can be used as mulch / compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. In a newer development to the process, waste gas from the process (such as methane) is also captured and used for generating electricity and heat.