Maintaining Wood Floor Coverings
Unprotected wood floor coverings have an inherent sensitivity to moisture. All wood floors have a component know as cellulose, which acts like a sponge and absorbs moisture. A raw wood floor without...
View ArticleA Closer Look at Ceramic/Clay Tile
Ceramic flooring has been around for thousands of years, as evidenced by the many archeological dig sites around the world. It is one of the most durable of all flooring materials used today.
View ArticleType and Cross: Rx for Wood Floors
For the last decade, new flooring sales have demonstrated that carpet sales are on the decline, while hard surface flooring is on the rise.
View ArticleThe Evolution of Floor Finish: It's Not Just Wax Anymore
Floor polishes have changed significantly over the decades, and as they've changed, so too has the floor maintenance industry.
View ArticleA Concrete Approach to Cleaning Concrete
“Really, you can get that clean?” my customer asked skeptically as I explained my ability to clean his garage floor. Yes,” I answered, “I think you’ll be amazed with what I can do.”
View ArticleThe Power of Participation
At the Connections Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas this year, a colleague presented me with a book to thank me for helping him with an event earlier in the year.
View ArticleThe Fragrance of Floor Maintenance
Recently, while performing an audit for one of my clients, I was confronted with a vile odor emanating from a janitor closet that was so over powering I could smell it from good distance away.
View ArticleWood Flooring: Low Maintenance Doesn't Mean No Maintenance
The popularity of wood flooring has grown considerably in the last decade.
View ArticleThe Difference Between Price and Cost
When I speak to realtors or referral sources or prospects, I always emphasize the difference between price and cost. Your clients need to know there is a huge difference and they ought to know what the...
View ArticleThe Costs of Stripping and Refinishing VCT Floors
Vinyl composition tile, or VCT, is by far the most common resilient floor covering that the floor maintenance technician is exposed to.
View ArticleIt's Not What You Know, It's...
Have you ever heard the phrase “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know?” Over the past 27 years in this industry, I have learned that all of business is about relationships. But what if it wasn’t...
View ArticleTile and Grout: The Importance of Routine Maintenance
“I’ve only had this tile six months now and it looks horrible!” If you have been in the floor maintenance industry for any amount of time at all, you have heard this comment.
View ArticlePreserving Wooden Floors Can Be As Easy As 1, 2, 3
There is a common misconception regarding hard flooring in general, but it’s particularly applicable to the wood flooring category and classifications.
View ArticleWhat Really Constitutes a Floor Maintenance Expert?
Often times I am introduced as an expert of floor maintenance and to this day I cringe every time I hear it.
View ArticleTalking Add-Ons: Which Are Right for Your Carpet Cleaning Business?
In this ever-competitive world, we’re all looking for ways to stay ahead of our competition and, ideally, increase profits in the meantime.
View ArticleDiversification: Pressure Washing
Welcome to the first entry of a new feature here in ICS Cleaning Specialist, where we’ll examine services that you can add to your cleaning and/or restoration business to further diversify yourself...
View ArticleAnnouncing the League of Hard Flooring Professionals
The League of Hard Flooring Professionals is a non-profit corporation created to provide a centralized source of nationally-recognized experts in the hard floor industry for federal, state and...
View ArticleCleaning, Preserving and Protecting Hardwood Floors: An Ace-in-the-Hole Add-On
You can make more per hour preserving hardwood floors than you can cleaning carpet.
View ArticleMaintaining Grout Surfaces
Grout is a mortar that is used to fill the empty spaces between ceramic and stone tiles.
View ArticlePolishing Concrete: Finding the Right Equipment for Your Job
Polishing concrete is an increasingly requested procedure, and as with any other new add-on, there are many elements that must be considered before simply jumping into the business.
View ArticleHigh-Pressure Extraction Tools – Are They in Your Cleaning Arsenal?
Floor maintenance technician? Carpet cleaner? Pressurized hard surface extraction tools cover both vocations.
View ArticleHow Do You Diversify? A Look at Some Highly-Effective Add-Ons
Haugland Bros. Carpet and Wood Care (Naperville, IL) can do two things for your deck: protect your investment in wood and transform an ugly, dirty deck into a neighborhood masterpiece.
View ArticleDiversification: Are You in the “Yes” Business?
Every time you can say “yes” to a customer’s requests for additional services, you increase your profit potential and reinforce a relationship that virtually guarantees repeat business, because you...
View ArticleJust Ask Jess: How Can I Tell the Difference Between a Man-Made Ceramic Floor...
There are several quick tests you can perform to determine the type of hard flooring material you have.
View ArticleUnderstanding Flexible Floor Care Equipment
Whether you’re a startup company looking to get into the floor maintenance business or a well-established company looking to expand your offerings, the cost of floor maintenance equipment can be...
View ArticleThe Nitty Gritty of Tile and Grout Cleaning
With the right equipment and chemical, tile and grout cleaning can be very effective and profitable.
View ArticleKnowledge is Power: Hard Floor Maintenance Career Development
Although I had worked with the floor crew of a local school for summer work my sophomore year of high school, my first real encounter with floor training came in boot camp.
View ArticleEfflorescence 101: Identifying, Cleaning and Preventing the Substance
Tile often requires regular sweeping, vacuuming and damp mopping to maintain a like-new appearance.
View ArticleDiversify or Die! If it’s on the Floor, Can You Service it?
Have you noticed there isn’t as much carpet in homes today as there used to be? The home I owned in the mid 1980’s had 100% of the floor covered in carpet – yes, even the kitchen and bathrooms!
View ArticleThe Future of Hard Floor Maintenance
Learning how to perform floor maintenance services is not something that is acquired by osmosis or through a good night’s sleep.
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