What’s even better than finding spare change in the washing machine? Saving a substantial amount of cash just by altering your laundry habits. Did you know that pressing the cold/cold button instead of the hot/warm button on your washing machine has the same environmental impact as driving 9 miles in a car? It doesn’t seem like much, but multiply that number by 392 (the average number of loads done in each household per year), and it comes out to a pretty substantial impact.
Washing every load on the hot/warm cycle (gas water heater) for a year is equivalent to driving 1288 miles in a car. With an electric water heater, that number jumps to 3595 miles, or 182 gallons of gasoline. When using only cold water, only 8 gallons of gasoline are burned, equivalent to 164 miles of driving.
That being said, did you know that 85-90% of energy is used to heat the water in your washing machine? Only 10-15% of energy is actually used to run the machine. By lowering the temperature you are able to save a huge amount in your energy consumption costs. Sounds great right? But will your clothes be just as clean? Unless you’re dealing with something like baby diapers or heavy soils, cold water is more than sufficient to do handle everyday laundry.
Another way to save is by reading detergent labels. Most people are not sure how much detergent is recommended, and end up using the “glug glug” method. Using the right amount of detergent is not only good for your wallet, but also for your washing machine, and the environment. We also carry a variety of high efficiency laundry chemicals. If you’d like to know how much you can save by switching, just give us a call. We’d be more than happy to help.
We’ll tell you where you’re able cut back without having a negative impact on your business
Building owners and facility managers are trying to slash spending – and carpet cleaning is no exception. Vacuuming, interim maintenance, and extractions are being performed less often, or skipped completely in an effort to save money. If you cut back on everything completely, more soil will build up and cause damage to the carpet fibers.
On the other hand, too much cleaning can also be harmful to your carpets. If you are using harsh chemicals, sometimes residue left behind on carpeting will attract even more dirt. Not to mention the process may wear your carpets out faster than they would under normal circumstances. However, there are ways to cut back on your maintenance without having a negative impact.
The one area where you shouldn’t cut back is vacuuming. Vacuuming provides a first line of defense to maintain your carpets cleanliness. Plus, frequent vacuuming can help to prolong more costly deep cleaning methods. High traffic areas should be done once per day, while other areas can be done every other day. You should also invest in a good quality vacuum cleaner. A piece of equipment with a HEPA filtration system is essential so you don’t re-introduce dirt and dust into other areas of the building. A good matting program is also important so that you can avoid tracking in dirt and debris, and prolong the life of your floor finish.
When cleaning, try to focus on high traffic areas, and entranceways. This prevents soils from being spread to other areas of the building and will reduce cleaning efforts. To ensure that your carpets don’t wear out before their time, don’t wait for your carpets to start looking dirty before cleaning. Chances are, by that time the damage has already been done. If a spot develops on the carpet, tend to it immediately before the soil becomes embedded in the carpet fibers.
