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Five Ways to Freshen Your Business for Spring

Spring is in the air! It’s also on the floors, surfaces, walls, and exterior of your business in the form of mud, pollen, and germs spread from seasonal allergies. After a long, stuffy winter, it’s time to freshen up your business inside and out to provide employees and customers with a clean atmosphere. System4 offers several special services aside from routine janitorial cleaning that are guaranteed to make your space look and feel much better for the remainder of the year.
System4 has an experienced team of window washers in East TN and an experienced team of window washers in Huntsville, AL. All manner of grime, pollen, and dust builds up on windows during the winter and early spring months. Having the windows of your business professionally cleaned inside and out will allow more Spring sunlight into your business, which will make your space feel brighter and cleaner. Do you have windows on higher floors that are difficult to reach? No problem. Our window washing teams have all the equipment necessary to get the job done.
When thinking about spring cleaning, don’t forget to include the exterior of your business. One of the most effective ways to clean the outside of a building is with power washing. System4 offers power washing in East TN and power washing in Huntsville, AL. Power washing utilizes high-pressure water and sometimes soap to blast away built up grime from sidewalks, parking lots, vehicles, and walls. There are three different kinds of power washing services, Pressure, Power, and Soft washing, and more information on these services can be found in a previous blog post.
Another highly effective way to freshen up your business for spring is to hire professional painters to paint the interior and/or exterior of your business. Luckily, System4 offers experienced teams of commercial painters in East TN and commercial painters in Huntsville, AL. The walls of a business are often overlooked because they don’t get as dirty as something like the floors. However, after years of being bumped against and touched, the paint can become scratched, chipped, stained, and dingy. A fresh coat of paint makes a space feel new, and our team of experts make the experience quick, easy, and mess-free. System4 also offers exterior painting and parking lot painting.
To make your business feel completely clean and germ-free this spring, we recommend scheduling one of our sanitation services in East TN or sanitation services in Huntsville, AL. Using top-of-the-line electrostatic sprayers and environmentally-friendly chemicals, our experts can completely sanitize all surfaces, handles, switches, furniture, appliances, and bathrooms in your business. The sanitation services not only kill bacteria, but form a protective coating to surfaces to ensure they remain germ-free for several weeks. We recommend scheduling sanitation services several times throughout the year to ensure your employees and customers stay healthy.
Scheduling a deep clean service with System4 is another way to make your business feel extra clean for Spring. During our deep clean services, our team gets into the nitty-gritty of your spaces and reaches places not usually touched by routine janitorial cleaning. These services most frequently take place in restrooms in which our teams do things like scrub tile floors and walls with a machine, clean all partitions and toilets top-to-bottom, and make sure every crevice and corner is free of dirt and grime. Deep clean services are also useful anywhere else in your business, like kitchens, cubicle areas, and lobbies. If you have recently completed a renovation or a construction project, our teams also have experience completing deep clean services after those kinds of projects.
Spring cleaning should be done at your place of work as well as your home. System4 is a one-stop-shop for everything you need to freshen up your business. Simply fill out the form on our “Contact” page, give us a call, or send us an email to set up a free quote for any of our services.
 

Cleaning the Outside of Your Facility: Pressure, Power, and Soft Washing

While there may be several ways to clean the exterior of a building, the most practical method is with the use of a pressure washer. What many business owners and facility managers may not know is that there are three types of pressure washing, each with their own respective benefits. This short guide will highlight the advantages and differences between pressure washing, power washing, and soft washing.

Pressure washing is the most well-known and most common. Professionals use a high-pressure nozzle and cool water to scrub built-up grime and dirt from walkways and building exteriors. While highly effective, pressure washing can be dangerous for both people and some surfaces due to the extreme pressure being used. Buildings covered in softer materials, detail work, and fixtures may be susceptible to damage if the proper precautions are not taken.

Power washing is very similar to pressure washing with the exception that power washing utilizes hot water to further break down dirty services. This method is most commonly used on surfaces like concrete and hard stone used in walkway, parking lot, and driveway construction. A heavier duty machine is often necessary for power washing compared to ordinary pressure washing.

The third and final method of cleaning the exterior of a facility is soft washing. While its name alone may make it sound less effective than pressure or power washing, soft washing is in fact highly effective due to its use of cleaning solutions opposed to just water. Less pressure is used in soft washing to protect more delicate surfaces, but this is compensated by the cleaning solution used to clean and disinfect walls and outdoor fixtures. This method should be considered especially if a facility has soft materials such as siding, wood, or stone with detail work.

The outside of your building will inevitably get dirty every season due to weather, pollen, ice, and airborne pollution. Since the exterior of your building is the first thing anyone sees when they visit, utilizing one of the pressure washing methods, or a combination of them, is recommended to keep your building looking the best that it can year-round. Keeping the outside of your business looking clean is just as important as keeping the inside clean.

Season's Cleanings: Winterize Your Business With System4

December is here, which means the official start of winter is following close behind. Besides the cold and ice, winter poses unique concerns for the cleanliness and integrity of your business’ facility. There are several wintry threats that can be preemptively avoided through services offered by System4.

One important concern every year when the temperature begins to drop is the emergence of cold and flu season. With the added threat of COVID-19 in the mix, it’s never been more important for the workplace to be clean and sanitized. To minimize employee sick days and maximize productivity this winter, we recommend scheduling routine sanitation services to eliminate harmful bacteria and germs in your business. Our team of professionals use state-of-the-art electrostatic sprayers and industry-leading sanitation chemicals to completely cover and protect all touchable surfaces.

Your business is also at an increased risk of pests in the winter who are seeking to escape the cold outside for the comfortable temperatures within your facility. Mice, spiders, cockroaches, and even larger critters like raccoons may try to get inside if proper measures are not taken to prevent them from entering. System4 offers a range of pest control services to combat the encroachment of any unwanted guests, although having reliable, routine cleaning is one of the best ways to prevent infestations. Our professionals ensure no food crumbs or debris are available for pests on countertops and floors, and taking out the trash also discourages them from making your business their winter abode.

For all maintenance, HVAC repairs, and facility winterization, System4 is backed by a wide network of handymen and technical experts that can handle any problem your facility might face, inside and out. The functionality of your HVAC system is especially important as winter approaches, and we recommend scheduling a routine evaluation of its efficiency.

Since business can sometimes be a bit slower in the winter months for many establishments, the colder months are a great time to consider scheduling special services that require time and space. Stripping and waxing, carpet cleaning, and tile scrubbing are all excellent candidates for services best completed when things aren’t too busy. For a free quote on those or any of our other services, simply reach out to us to schedule a free consultation and quote. This winter, you focus on your business while we focus on keeping your facility clean, functional, and healthy.

At System4, we’re capable of more than standard janitorial services. As a complete facility management company, we can take care of anything your location needs inside and out. We’re backed by an expansive network of experienced and reliable professionals ready to tackle any problems or preventative measures needed at your business. From handyman work to painting your parking lot, we offer an abundance of special services in addition to our regular cleaning services. Here is a list of some of our more common special services.

• Carpet Cleaning: After years, or sometimes only months, of foot traffic, spills, and tracked-in dirt, vacuuming alone will not be able to clean most of the filth carpet collects. During a carpet cleaning service, our experts use top-of-the-line machines to thoroughly wash and rinse your carpets with high concentrations of stain-removing chemicals. For fresh and spotless carpets, we recommend two carpet cleaning services a year.

• Stripping & Waxing: Though stripping and waxing can be done on several types of floors, the most common is VCT, which is extremely vulnerable to permanent damage without the proper amount of wax. During a strip and wax service, the floors are first stripped of any old, worn wax and scrubbed clean afterwards. Then, our team will expertly apply several layers of wax to leave your floors with a mirror-like finish. We recommend scheduling at least two stripping & waxing services a year to make sure the wax does not wear down too far, though businesses with high foot traffic may benefit from regular buffing services between full stripping services.

• Power Washing: Built-up pollen, dirt, algae, and bird droppings can leave the outside of your business looking rundown and unwelcoming. Power washing uses high-pressure water jets to clean sidewalks, parking lots, and the outside of buildings and leave them looking better than ever. Spring is typically the best time to schedule a power washing service, though it can be done anytime of the year to wash away built-up filth.

• Machine Scrubbing: Machine scrubbing is a special service in which an industrial-grade machine scrubber is deployed to execute an especially deep clean on floors and walls. This is especially helpful in bathrooms with tile floors and walls where dirt and grime builds up in the grout between the tiles, which the machine scrubber takes care of with ease. Machine scrubbing services should be completed at least once a year in order to keep bathrooms and floors as clean as possible.

• Window Washing: Regardless of the size of your facility or the number of windows it has, our window washing team is prepared to clean them all inside and out. Window washing ensures that ample natural light is illuminating the inside of your business and we recommend at least getting the outside of your windows washed twice a year.

• Sanitation Services: With the increased threat of COVID-19 during cold and flu season, the probability of employee sick days has never been higher. Sanitation services ensure your facility is as healthy as possible through the use of electrostatic sprayers and highly-effective green chemicals. All the surfaces in your business are sprayed and protected for months to ensure no harmful germs and bacteria are being spread. Though sanitation services are most needed every few weeks during cold and flu season, they can be scheduled year-round.

   

Whether you are already a customer of our janitorial services or you are new to System4, do not hesitate to contact us if you think your facility is in need of any of these services. One of our associates will promptly come visit your facility in order to provide you with a free, personalized quote.

Stripping & Waxing: What You Need to Know

If the VCT (vinyl composition tile) floors at a business have noticeable scratches or dirt that won’t come up after repeated mopping, then it’s likely time to schedule a stripping and waxing service. Stripping and waxing is a process that should be routinely completed on VCT, laminate, and hardwood floors. It leaves dull, dirty, and scratched floors looking brand-new, shiny, and clean. Not only does it leave floors looking significantly better, but it also protects them from sustaining permanent damage. This short guide will inform you what to know about stripping and waxing

While several different floor types need this process, VCT is usually the most common and affordable floor type for a business. VCT is a porous, soft material that will easily become scratched and dirty if not properly preserved, and this is why it needs wax to protect it.

There are several signs that VCT floors need to be stripped and waxed, and some can be identified just by looking at them. If the VCT looks dull, then the previous wax has worn off. Deep scratches in the wax, usually from chairs being pulled out from beneath tables or similar wear, are easily visible because they’re likely to collect dirt and grime. Another way to tell if it’s time for a stripping and waxing service is by running your fingernail over the seams between the VCT tiles. If you can feel the edge between them, there’s not enough wax.

Stripping and waxing VCT floors is as much of an art as it is a science, and it takes a good amount of experience and knowledge to do it right. First, the floor is cleaned thoroughly before stripping solution is then applied to remove any remaining wax. Once all the stripping solution is removed, our team of floor experts will seal the floor with a chemical that fills all pores within the VCT. Finally, three to five layers of wax are applied to the floor and buffed to give it a mirror-like finish. Each layer of wax will need time to dry before the next layer can be applied, and once the floor is done it will need to dry for at least 24 hours before it can be walked on.

Since the wax on a VCT floor will inevitably be worn off from foot traffic and furniture, we recommend scheduling a strip and wax service at least twice a year. Consistently having this process done will ensure your floors are looking the best they can at all times and it will save you money by eliminating the need to tear up and replace the floors every few years. Taking care of the floors also means that they will not need to be stripped every time– our team of experts would simply need to buff them and apply one or two new layers of wax to restore them to their optimal shine.

Stripping and waxing pricing is determined by square-footage and the amount of wax that needs to be removed and reapplied. System4 offers flexible scheduling, experienced teams of floor experts, and a free consultation to determine if it’s time for a service at your business. Don’t wait until your floors are permanently damaged—schedule a stripping and waxing service today.

Sanitation Services: Stay Healthy, Stay Open

Every year, the cold and flu season becomes difficult for any business. With the added risk of COVID-19, the chances of an employee or customer bringing sickness into the workplace are higher than ever. Employees catching something infectious means more call-in-sick days, less productivity, a high likelihood of the sickness spreading, and even the possibility of some businesses closing their doors for a period of time. The last thing any business owner wants to see is employees falling ill and valuable time being squandered every year for something that can be prevented.

Fortunately, System4 can offer a solution to help significantly reduce the chances of your business succumbing to the annual wave of infections and diseases. We offer specialized sanitation services that will actively fight harmful bacteria on surfaces for weeks at a time, ensuring employees and customers are constantly protected. Sanitation service is quick, thorough, and can be scheduled on short notice around your business’ schedule.

During a sanitation service, our team of experts spray any and all surfaces in your business. They use state-of-the-art electrostatic sprayers to evenly cover surfaces and hard-to-reach areas that customers and employees consistently touch. Consider how many times a day furniture and fixtures such as tables, chairs, countertops, workstations, door handles, light switches, toilets, and sinks are touched within your business. Our experts will ensure all these surfaces are fully sanitized so harmful germs and bacteria do not get transferred between touches.

In addition to electrostatic sprayers, our sanitation experts utilize industry-leading sanitation chemicals to disinfect surfaces. The disinfectants are also green and lab-tested, ensuring they have no harmful odors or components that would affect employees, customers, or animals. These chemicals actively work to destroy harmful bacteria long after they have been applied. However, the effective time window in which the chemicals disinfect at their full strength is variable depending on how often the surface is touched or wiped.

This cold and flu season, don’t wait until employees and customers start getting sick before you schedule a sanitation service with System4. We will work with you to evaluate your needs, provide a fair quote, and draft a plan to keep your business sanitized and healthy all season long. We recommend scheduling a sanitation service every few weeks, and we are happy to provide benefits for scheduling multiple services with us.

Carpet Cleaning: Consider the Logistics

When entering a carpet cleaning job, what’s the first thing that crosses your mind? How many serious stains are there? How do I get them up? Where’s my water source? Where will I be disposing of my dirty water?

These are valid concerns, but I’ve found that one of the biggest obstacles ends up being small, tedious moments of managing one’s machine.

When initially inspecting a building for future cleaning, I take into consideration the layout of the premise. Are there stairs? Are there lots of corners and crannies? Are there cubicles or other office furniture I’ll need to work around? Are there wide-open spaces or narrow halls?

Next, I consider what machine to use. Many cleaners acquire one machine and use it for every job, but I’ve found it so much easier to have multiple-sized carpet cleaners on hand. For a premise with many corners and crannies, a lighter, thinner surface machine is easier to maneuver around as a larger machine suits wider spaces better.

One must also consider the pros and cons, a larger machine holds more water and requires fewer refill stops. But if you are constantly maneuvering around obstructions at a slow pace you may be wasting more time than the alternative of using a smaller machine.

Weight is also a major issue. If the premise has many stairs then carrying a large machine up and down may end up being more work than the job is worth.

In my experience cleaning carpets, I have learned that minimizing small annoyances is key to efficient cleaning. In doing so you can save yourself precious time while still providing your customer an excellent service.