Carpet cleaner gets off cheap

In 2009, there were dozens of reported cases of carpet cleaners illegally dumping dirty water on streets and in storm drains. The last was in Baltimore where a man pled guilty to illegally discharging a pollutant into streams. He was observed by a citizen who photographed the act with a cell phone. The polluter was fined $142.50 plus court costs by the State and was placed on probation for six months.

Other states have not been so lenient. A few years ago the State of Connecticut fined a cleaning firm $50,000.00 for a similar offense. Cases in Arizona and Colorado reported fines that ranged in the tens of thousands of dollars. Sadly, bad publicity is the real damage done to the image of our industry when one of these scofflaws is caught and prosecuted.

Illegal dumping and bait and switch advertising are two vile practices that dominate our industry. Trade publications and associations, regardless of advertising sponsors, should make a concerted effort to expose and eliminate these dastardly practices.

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Christmas present from J&J

J & J Industries has published a new carpet maintenance manual just in time for Christmas. Bane-Clene is prominently mentioned and is recommended to the customers of this premier carpet manufacturer. Our history with J & J goes back to 1983, when Jim Keener spoke at our convention and announced that they would endorse our system.

Jim was also the first to arrange a tour of the J & J plant in Dalton where I had the privilege of meeting Tom Jones, one of the founders of the company. After meeting Mr. Jones, some of his top management people and many of the production staff, it was easy to understand the integrity and honesty of J & J Industries. Product pride permeated the entire company.

We're very proud of our relationship with J & J Industries and on behalf of the entire staff at Bane-Clene and its thousands of system owners around the world; Thank you ! You have my word that we will continue to provide the best service possible to your customers and to work with pride on your fine products.

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Merry Christmas

Have a joyous and happy Christmas. While we celebrate the birthday of Jesus and enjoy this blessed day, let's not forget to pray for those brave members of our armed forces who are in harm's way. May God bless them and keep them safe.

Your job and life can be better

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, speaking to Bane-Clene owners, prescribed a plan for making hard work easy. He said, "First of all, do not get the idea that you are Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders. The world will go on even without you. Tell yourself that you like your job, and mean what you say. Your work will become a pleasure without drudgery.

"Plan your work and then work your plan. Lack of a plan produces that 'I'm swamped' feeling. Don't try to do everything at once. Get a healthy mental attitude. The difficulty of your job depends on how you think about it. Think that it's hard, and you will make it hard. Become more proficient. Knowledge is power.

"Practice being relaxed. Don't press or strain. Discipline yourself not to put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Don't drag yesterday's burdens along with you. At the start of every day, thank God you have a job and then give that job all you've got and then some."

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"Green" movement

There's a lot of talk about going "green" lately. Bane-Clene has always practiced conservation, environmental and otherwise, so the "green" movement is not new to us. Here are just a few of the facts that make us the "greenest" system in the cleaning industry. But we're also the "greenest" when it comes to the "BIG GREEN." "Green" as in money!

* We use less water which means less chemical which means more profit.
* No dirty water is pumped on customers' property or into storm sewers.
* We use cheap, dependable electricity instead of expensive fossil fuels.
* Truck engine does not run during the cleaning operation. Saves fuel.
* No odors exhausted inside to permeate furnishings and delay drying.
* Safest and purest chemicals approved by leading carpet manufacturers.
* We don't use Butyl Cellosolve or 1,1,1 Trichloroethane.
* Lowest industry dilution ratio means more profit and less residue.
* No danger of scalding if a hose breaks, explosion or fire from fuel.
* No dangerous carbon monoxide to endanger employees &customers.
* Cleanest, quietest, safest, most economical system in the industry.

Now that's "green!" "Green" as in profit!

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

Going bananas #3

A banana is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. Bananas might be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time!

The expression "going bananas" is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Bananas contain three natural sugars sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy and can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent illnesses and conditions such as:

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

Work smart

Working twelve hours a day on the truck does not ensure a profit. It only guarantees that you will be tired. Some small companies fail to make a profit because they lack basic business skills. Work on these areas to improve your profit potential.

• Trucks should be clean and professionally lettered. A blank truck doesn't advertise.
• Technicians must be clean and in uniform with a photo ID badge and insignia showing their training and association membership.
• Plan your advertising budget a year in advance and stick with it. Don't dilute your ad program with other so-called "opportunities" that come along after you lay out your original ad plan.
• Mail a postage paid report card to customers to show them that you care.
• Mail brochures to customers every few months to offer other services and to remind them when it's time to clean again.
• The best marketing plan is worthless if you don't answer your phone.
• The cost of a vehicle has increased 300% since 1978, yet many are charging '78 prices.
• Operate a high quality service and you will lose a customer only if your quality slips.
• Plan ahead for supply purchases in enough volume to allow a discount and free shipping.

Learn how to work smarter, not harder and to increase your profit margin. The "Course to Success" at Bane-Clene Institute will help you do that and much more. Take a break and spend three days with us. You'll be glad you did!

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

Carpet & ice melt & cold, cold weather

Calcium chloride is used in place of sodium chloride (salt) when the temperatures are extremely low and when salt no longer performs. Calcium chloride is hygroscopic (draws moisture) and turns to calcium hydroxide (lime) when you try to clean with an alkaline detergent. The white powder from calcium chloride will quickly track through a building and, since it is hygroscopic (draws moisture & stays moist), it causes severe soiling. Quick removal is important!

If the carpet is dry, thoroughly vacuum first. If wet, absorb or extract. Perform a Brown Out® flush: Add water and 4 – 6 ounces of Brown Out® per gallon to your base unit (no detergent) and go over the carpet just as if you were cleaning. If the carpet is soiled, you should, of course, do your normal cleaning first.

If you do not have a base unit, apply Brown Out® at normal concentration (8 ounces per gallon) and work it in. Then flush with water. These procedures can also be followed for removing normal salt ice melt and also for an overflowed water softener unit.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

What a bargain

Does anybody remember the reason given for establishing the Department of Energy (DOE) during the Carter Administration? It followed the first gasoline shortage since WWII, and everybody in Washington seemed to think it was a good idea. The DOE was born on August 4, 1977, with the goal of reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Thirty-two years later we're even more dependent on foreign oil than we were in 1978 and DOE now has 16,000 full-time federal employees and about 100,000 contract employees. The budget for running this little department is $24.2 billion (that's BILLION with a B) a year and that is sure to keep going up. Bloated bureaucracy is killing our economy and this is a classic example.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

Suggestions for making a profit

Commercial and residential furniture cleaning can build customer relations by providing a service that many carpet cleaning firms do not offer. Profit margins can be improved, especially if upholstery is serviced during slow times or at the same time carpet is being cleaned. By offering both wet and dry service, there is very little upholstery that can't be safely cleaned.

Cleaning furniture is easy and pays well. Large commercial contracts can be the result of cleaning carpet and furniture in the homes of the executives of large firms. Mailing carpet and furniture cleaning brochures (see catalog) to both commercial and residential prospects will stimulate this very profitable business.

DuPont Teflon® Advanced or Sta-Clene® Formula 940 Protector* applied after cleaning will add substantially to the consumer satisfaction level by ensuring that the upholstery will look better and stay cleaner longer than an unprotected piece. If you're at the customer's location cleaning carpet, the traveling costs and other overhead expenses are already covered, so the additional business is almost all profit.

* Bane Clene's service company includes Sta Clene® Formula 940 Protector as a standard part of its furniture cleaning procedure.

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"Remember Pearl Harbor"

"Remember Pearl Harbor" was the battle cry of WWII. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Sunday, December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy......" But not many are alive today who remember that fateful Sunday morning when the dastardly sneak attack took place on our Pacific Fleet in Hawaii. Those who were alive, will never forget it.

"Remember the Alamo" and "Remember the Maine" are also slogans that would never be forgotten, but now they are relegated to the pages of tattered history books that are routinely ignored by many teachers. September 11, 2001 is the date of another gutless, cowardly attack that in a few generations will be just a faded memory. Fortunately, the USS New York will help keep the memory of 9/11 jogged for quite a while.

Thank God for the brave troops who protect our freedom and for the first responders who protect us in this land of plenty. With all of our problems, the United States of America is one of the few places on earth that people still want to come to, legally or illegally.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

Winning in tough times

Tough times have hit our industry along with many others. Well known cleaning machines, chemical products as well as suppliers have gone the way of national chain stores and disappeared from the scene. The latest casualty is Maintenance Supplies Magazine.

But good service is still winning and those who are not doing it right are losing. Thousands of restaurants fail every year, most a result of bad service. Department stores at one time were the essence of good service. Today with their central check outs, they're not much better than a big box store. The epitome of bad service is bureaucratic government. With the advent of automated voice mail, just try talking to anyone at any level in government.

An example of good service winning is in the building trades. Building materials used to be hauled to a job site and dumped in a big pile for construction people to sort and move. Today, specially equipped boom trucks hoist roofing, lumber, drywall and other material to the appropriate areas. It should be no surprise that construction people buy from those who give them good service and prompt delivery.

Carpet and furniture cleaners need to be alert to ways to better serve their customers, beginning with answering the telephone. Cleaning is only a part of being successful in the service industry. Come to Bane-Clene Institute and learn from people who are really in the service business and have been since 1962. The school is open to anyone in the industry as space permits.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.

Uncommon carpet ailments

With nearly 48 years in the cleaning business, I've probably seen everything that can happen to a carpet. In 1972, I investigated a problem with an acoustical wall for Indiana University. A beige carpet on the wall in a lecture hall had dark spots about four inches high and two inches wide, equally spaced and a few inches apart. It looked as if the entire wall had large, dark measles. When the wall was cleaned the spots returned in just a few weeks.

A very porous cinder block used in the construction of the partitions proved to be the culprit. The room breathed through this porous block and the carpet acted as a filter retaining all of the air borne debris. The core of the block, which were stacked in neat rows, acted like little chimneys carrying the air to the opening above the drop-ceiling. The tops of the cores were sealed to prevent the air flow and the problem was solved.

©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.