Faulty equipment can cause injury, damage to customer property and even fires. Regularly inspecting your equipment will help you to prevent accidents, as it allows you to fix issues that may otherwise have gone undetected. If you keep consistent records of your checks, you can also prove that you did your due diligence if anything does go wrong. Many businesses put stickers on each item that include the date of their last inspection and the due date for their next one.
Ensuring that you and your staff are highly trained improves your ability to avoid mistakes. As well as carpet cleaning itself, your training should include hazard management and safety, making sure that everyone in your team is part of keeping the work environment safe. Training should be repeated at regular intervals. NCCA members get access to exclusive and discounted training.
Carrying out a risk assessment for each kind of job you do will help you to spot potential accidents before they happen. Your risk assessment should identify hazards, assess their severity, and then list safety procedures to prevent problems. Risk assessments should be regularly reviewed and updated, allowing you to improve your hazard prevention.
Even if an accident is caused by a misunderstanding of the law, you are likely to be liable. It's important that you research the law around liability, and if you have employees, you should have knowledge of labour laws. Staying compliant with the law is vital to avoiding legal disputes, and you can only do this if you understand it.
A subtle difference in the wording of your contract could make all the difference to the outcome of a case. Whether your contract is between you and a customer or you and an employee, the terms should be clear and enforceable. Bringing in a solicitor to check that your contracts are airtight is a strong way to protect your business from liability.
Public liability insurance is vital for any cleaning business. If anything does go wrong, your insurer will help you to manage the cost. However, you should still take steps to avoid accidents, as repeated claims could cause your insurance costs to rise. Insurance is a minimum requirement for membership of many organisations, including the NCCA.
Becoming a member of the National Carpet Cleaners Association helps you to keep improving your business. Our members gain access to training, forums and mediation services to assist with carrying out best practice. Membership also grants you a place in our carpet cleaner directory, increasing your visibility to new customers.
After the chaos of having kids home all summer, your house is probably in need of some attention. Back-to-school season is the perfect time for a deep clean, ready for the new year ahead. Here are our deep cleaning tips to start your academic year off right.
As kids progress through school years, they grow out of clothes and toys. A fresh year is the perfect time for sorting out old uniforms, neglected toys and out-of-date medication. This will make room for their upcoming development and new interests, but it will also make it much easier for you to deep-clean your home.
Children are particularly vulnerable to allergies, and dust can give them nasty symptoms. If you dust regularly, you probably don't notice much dust around your home. However, most households have a few places that get forgotten. Our next deep cleaning tip is to double check picture frames, light fixtures, ceiling fans and under furniture for any dust hotspots.
An overlooked deep cleaning tip is cleaning appliances. Your kettle, your coffee machine and your ice machine don't need descaling often, which is why lots of people forget to do it at all. One of the best deep cleaning tips is to get into the habit of including descaling in your deep cleaning routine, making sure that your drinks are suitable for the upcoming busy mornings before school.
After a summer away from homework, your study could probably do with reorganising. File away last year's school work, throw away dried-up pens, and sort out desk drawers. Focusing on this area creates a clean learning environment for tackling the fresh challenges of the new school year.
Curtains, cushion covers and rugs collect grime throughout the year, and should be cleaned regularly. Make sure you read the directions on each item - some may be suitable for machine washing, while others may need to be hand-washed. You should also make sure that you have a place suitable for drying soft furnishings after cleaning them, and this is likely to be the last point in the year when washing can be dried outside.
Deep cleaning your carpet gets rid of built-up dirt that vacuuming can't reach. This is especially important if you have babies and toddlers, who spend a lot of time on the floor, or pets, who shed dander this time of year. One deep cleaning tip is to hire a professional carpet cleaner for expertly cleaned flooring, whether your carpet is in great condition or has a few stains you would rather hide.
A professional cleaner can take care of your deep cleaning for you, saving you time and energy. Every cleaner in the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) directory is insured and specially trained in carpet cleaning. We have cleaners located all over the UK.
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Nowadays, almost everyone has a smartphone. It's common for people to book suppliers and services using their phone, so it's important that your system is compatible with mobile devices. Here are our top tips for making sure that your booking system is mobile-friendly.
There are many companies who specialise in creating online booking systems. Using one of these minimises the amount of work required to set up your booking system. As experts in booking systems, many of these companies have built-in mobile-compatible versions.
Customers are more likely to abandon a potential booking if they come up against any issues or don't understand your system. Make sure you use concise language and use clear buttons for navigation. Any options (such as services and add-ons) should be explained clearly so that customers know what they are selecting. Simplicity will also ensure that your system loads quickly, keeping customers engaged.
With such a wide variety of devices available, your website should be usable across many different screen sizes. This includes small smartphone screens, but also bigger tablet screens. Remember that people will be tapping on buttons with their fingers, so fields should be large enough to avoid accidental selections. A key phrase to look out for is ‘responsive design’ as these templates will auto-adjust to make sure that the system is readable for smaller devices, but not comically large on tablets.
The only way to be absolutely certain that your booking system works on mobile is to try it out. Follow the whole process as if you were a customer - start from your homepage, and make sure you can easily make a booking. You should test out multiple different scenarios, putting yourself in the shoes of as many types of customers as possible.
By using an online booking system, you can also automate other aspects of the booking process. For example, you could send customers an appointment reminder via text or email, helping them to prepare their home or business for your arrival. You can include reminders of any important information, such as keeping pets away or moving furniture elsewhere.
Once you have your booking system set up, you should ensure that it's easy to get to. Ideally, every page on your website should have at least one link to the booking system. You should also make sure that these links are both visible and usable via mobile. For example, many sidebars do not show up correctly on mobile, which means you'll need to include these links elsewhere in the page.
For more tips and tricks for your carpet business, join the National Carpet Cleaners Association. Membership grants you access to forums, training and a mediation service, helping to support your business’s growth. Our members also appear in our directory, allowing new customers to find you easily.
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When a disaster happens, it can be tempting to rely on a quick internet search for advice. However, DIY carpet cleaning is often fraught with risks. Read on to find out how DIY carpet cleaning measures up to a professional clean, and when you should call in the experts.
Many DIY carpet cleaning methods online are untested and unreliable. You may find yourself using a method that is at best ineffective, but at worst, makes the problem worse and damages your carpet. Choosing an accredited cleaner gives you peace of mind that your problem will be handled in a way that benefits your carpet.
Many online methods encourage you to leave concoctions soaking overnight to cleanse your stains. However, most stains are much easier to clean if you act quickly. Wasting time on an unreliable DIY carpet cleaning method can make you miss out on the Ideal window for tackling a stain. It also takes time out of your busy life to carry out a method that may not even work.
Many at-home cleaning methods are designed to be cheap. However, using an inexpensive household item is only cost-effective if it actually works. Risking an unreliable method may result in wasting money and resources, and then still require a professional cleaner’s help. Skipping straight to a professional cleaner avoids unnecessary expenses.
DIY carpet cleaning methods often require you to manually scrub, brush or work product into your carpet. This can be a lot of physical labour, especially if you are cleaning an entire room. Professional cleaners have their own industrial equipment, making it much less effort for them and even less effort for you.
One of the worst fates for a carpet is water damage. Not only can it disrupt the integrity of the carpet, but it also leads to mould and terrible smells. Using an amateur DIY carpet cleaning method that saturates your carpet, or using liquid and then not drying it correctly, can be fatal for your carpet. Professional cleaners are experienced in assessing how much moisture to use, and have a variety of low-moisture cleaning methods in their arsenals.
If your carpet is still within its warranty period, you should be careful how you clean it. DIY carpet cleaning techniques may void your warranty, making you miss out on that protection. Hiring a professional carpet cleaner ensures that your carpet is cleaned properly, and you don't miss out on your warranty benefits. A quality carpet cleaner will also be insured, providing an extra layer of safety.
Hiring a professional carpet cleaner ensures that your time, effort and resources are used efficiently. For a reliable carpet cleaner, search the National Carpet Cleaners Association directory of accredited cleaners. Our insured cleaners can be found all over the UK, and are trained in tackling a wide range of carpet and upholstery.
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You might associate seasonal allergies with warmer months, but many people experience them in autumn. Symptoms can range from mild to seriously disruptive, so it's important not to ignore the signs. Here are a few autumnal allergens to look out for, along with our top tips for managing allergens in your home.
As the weather cools and moisture builds up inside your home, mould spores multiply faster. This leads to mould growth, which can cause poor health in everyone, not just people with allergies. If left unchecked, the problem will increase faster and faster. Even outside the home, you may come across mould in woodlands and rotting leaves.
You probably have dust mites living in your home year-round, but they thrive the most in autumn and winter. Many people are allergic to the proteins in their droppings - if someone says they have a dust allergy, they probably mean they are allergic to dust mites. These microscopic creatures consume tiny skin flakes, so they love to live in bedsheets and carpets.
We usually associate pollen release with spring, but different plants produce pollen at different stages of the year. Weed pollen is at its highest in the autumn, so people with this kind of hay fever will suffer the most during autumn. Ragweed is the most common pollen to be allergic to in autumn, but nettles, dock weeds and sorrel are among the host of autumn pollen allergens.
People with pet allergies are allergic to them year-round, but symptoms may be lessened in warmer months by having windows open. As the weather gets colder and households shut windows more, people with allergies are constantly breathing in a cocktail of autumn allergens, including pet dander.
These symptoms can all be consequences of unmanaged seasonal allergies:
These tips will help you minimise the amount of allergens found in your home and prevent a reaction from occurring. For more help managing the symptoms, remember to always consult with a medical professional.
Regularly deep cleaning your carpets and upholstery prevents allergens from building up in your home. Breathe easy this autumn and use a National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) accredited cleaner. All of our accredited cleaners meet the highest standards of training, experience and insurance you deserve and can be found in our directory.
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One of the many benefits of hiring a professional carpet cleaner is an increase in your carpet's lifespan. A well-cared-for carpet can last for a long time, but this upkeep must be carried out correctly. Read on to find out how a professional cleaner could increase carpet lifespan.
Stains ruin the appearance of carpet. A carpet cleaner has training and experience in tackling a wide variety of stains on any kind of carpet. Removing stains is important at home, but in a business setting, it's a must. This keeps your carpet looking pretty for longer, reduces the risk of permanent discolouration and therefore increases the lifespan of your carpet.
The feel of a fresh carpet disappears over time. This impacts their appearance, too, leaving them looking matted and shabby. Professional carpet cleaners have techniques to breathe life back into deflated carpet fibres, giving you that new-carpet feel without the hassle of buying a new carpet.
Dirt embedded deep in your carpet impacts its integrity. The longer debris is left, the deeper it travels and the more it disrupts the structure of your carpet. A professional clean reduces the likelihood of damage to the backing of your carpet, helping to prevent shedding and increasing carpet lifespan.
As carpets are often made of absorbent materials, odours can be sucked deep into your carpet. These odours are often caused by bacteria, which can lead to nasty symptoms in anyone who comes into contact with your carpet. A professional deep clean removes these stubborn smells, improving both your home environment and the health of your household, without the need to replace your carpet.
Mould spores bury deep into your carpet, then grow over time. Incorrect cleaning can lead to mouldy carpets, or even mould on the floor below. Hiring a professional cleaner ensures that any mould is treated, not fed. This regular upkeep increases your carpet lifespan, as once mould grows, it can have dire health consequences and be very difficult to clean.
We've all been tempted to tackle a problem ourselves rather than calling an expert. However, unsuccessful DIY methods could be the last nail in the coffin of a dirty carpet. Whether it's through incorrect advice online or misuse of a cleaning machine, there's an endless list of potential problems you could cause by attempting to clean your carpet yourself. Hiring a professional carpet cleaner gives you the peace of mind that your carpet maladies will be fixed, not worsened - no matter how confident a DIYer you are!
To help your carpet live a longer life, hire a professional cleaner. For an accredited carpet cleaner, search the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) directory. Our members are located all over the UK, and meet our high standards in training and insurance.
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