It鈥檚 no secret things are chaotic right now. With the U.S. at a near standstill鈥攕chools, offices, stores, etc. all shuttered for weeks鈥攊n an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 (Wuhan coronavirus), it can be hard to see any positives in all the chaos.

While some industry companies have seen an uptick in jobs, especially those who also offer janitorial or biohazard cleanup services, most report a significant downturn in work, with fewer and fewer new job requests and cancellations (even from contracted commercial clients).

Some in the industry, however, are marketing clean-up services for the virus and seeing a good return. Still others argue that not enough is known about the nature of the virus to market clean-up services and that doing so opens businesses up for problems down the road.

Whatever your place is in all this coronavirus mess, Cleanfax, together with our parent association, 天美传媒, is doing its best to keep you informed on the issue relevant to our industry. Look for news updates on the virus at www.cleanfax.com, and stay up to date on cleaning techniques and training (from the ) as new information arises with the 天美传媒 coronavirus resource page at .

If things are a little slow, consider using the time to research new products and techniques and catch up on articles from Cleanfax. Our archive of issues if available any time online at .

This month鈥檚 issue focuses on different kinds of chaos and ways to better manage it. In Chuck Violand鈥檚 timely 鈥�When Helicopters Crash: Preparing for Crisis in Business,” he discusses the need to be prepared for sudden catastrophes in business, whatever they might be. While there is no way to prevent chaos from descending on a business, we can be ready to deal with what gets thrown at us.

Anyone who runs their own online marketing campaigns knows how quickly things can spiral out of control. Sonny Ahuja looks at ways to manage your online advertising and avoid the mess.

Lisa Wagner explores the problems with viscose fiber, which continues to grow in popularity despite the chaos it has created for cleaners, consumers, and its producers. (I get more calls about viscose than probably anything else!)

Lastly, the Cleanfax staff looks at how to get involved in fire and smoke restoration鈥攁nd whether to at all鈥攊n an interview with restoration industry expert Patrick Moffett.

I hope you all stay safe in this chaos鈥攁nd stay profitable, too.

The post Handling the Chaos appeared first on Cleanfax.

Installed wool and viscose blend carpeting. [Click to view larger]

This makes it great for cleaning up messes; however, it is a horrible choice for a floorcovering or fabric exposed to any kind of daily foot traffic, moisture, oils, spills, pet accidents, or dust.

Viscose belongs to a category of fibers that professional cleaners are seeing much more of these days鈥攔egenerated cellulose fibers. These fibers are made of wood and plant pulp which is heavily chemically processed to give it a soft, glossy finish.

It is artificial silk; however, it is rarely sold under the name 鈥渇ake silk.鈥� Instead regenerated cellulose fibers are sold under many names: viscose, rayon, manmade silk, art silk, bamboo silk, banana silk, cactus silk, Silkette, Luxcelle, Lyocel, and Tencel. This is why many consumers believe they have actually invested in real silk rather than in what is essentially a 鈥減aper,鈥� disposable fiber.

If you have not seen many of these fibers yet, you will. This fiber, which has been the most problematic in the rug cleaning world for the past few years, is heavily moving into both furniture fabrics and installed wall-to-wall carpeting.

There are many problems with the care and durability of these fibers, but the biggest problem is that they are often sold as 鈥渓uxury鈥� fibers at luxury prices, and consumers are not being informed about the realities of this product.

Sometimes this lack of information is intentional, with sellers trying to push a sale through at maximum profit, but sometimes the lack of information is due to the manufacturers of these fibers misleading distributors about their products and product performance. That misinformation is then passed on to the consumers.

Viscose blend sofa looks dirty after only one month of use in the home. [Click to view larger]

This lack of consumer education is an opportunity for professional cleaners to become the one resource that consumers can trust for guidance on their rugs, furniture, and carpet choices. Cleaners are not being paid a commission on the sale, and they have the firsthand experience of cleaning all types of fibers, so what better person to get that reliable feedback from?

The lies being told about viscose to consumers

With thousands of readers visiting my Rug Chick blog weekly, I have a steady stream of questions and problems concerning all regenerated cellulose fibers. It is the top topic from rug shoppers, rug owners having problems, and professional cleaners.

Let鈥檚 look at some of the lies and half-truths being told to consumers about these fibers for their furniture and floorcoverings:

Viscose fibers shed and break. [Click to view larger]

鈥淚t is a luxury fiber.鈥�

It is true that there is no fiber that quite has the look, feel, and texture of a regenerated cellulose fiber rug鈥� when it is brand new.

The challenge is these rugs are like a fresh snowfall. They will show each and every step you take for as long as you choose to walk on it. They require constant grooming, which is problematic because the fibers tend to pull, sprout, and lose their sheen with even a little soiling or foot traffic friction.

Within a short period of time these fibers lose color, shine, and texture. With spills or clean-up attempts in the home, the results are often disastrous.

鈥淟uxury鈥� implies quality. High prices imply longevity.

Hand-knotted wool rugs can last a century or longer with proper care. Viscose rugs will give owners a year or two before they start thinking about finding the replacement. Consumers are purchasing a high-priced disposable rug, yet many are not being told that the life of their new rug is going to be so short.

In-home spill clean-up on viscose can be disastrous.

鈥淚t is easy to maintain.鈥�

I recently had a rug shopper share with me her experience of having a retailer explain how 鈥渆asy鈥� a bamboo silk rug would be to maintain in the dining room. I explained that this would be the worst choice for her dining room or any room with regular use.

Viscose and all regenerated cellulose fibers have no ability to hide soil. They gray with even light dust in traffic areas, and they yellow with even mild moisture from spills. At-home attempts to clean up spills and repeated vacuuming in traffic areas tend to make these areas look even worse.

Viscose loses color, sheen, and texture. [Click to view larger]

It is not uncommon to see viscose rugs in for cleaning several times a year鈥攏ot because the household is dirty but because the rug looks dirty faster than any other fiber.

One of the challenges for professional cleaners with this fiber is that ideally it should be dry cleaned with low-moisture or solvent cleaning methods to minimize texture change. However, 鈥渨et鈥� problems need to be cleaned with 鈥渨et鈥� methods. Large spills, water damage, pet accidents, and heavy, ground-in soil all require more than surface cleaning to get better results and remove the contaminants.

With the introduction of viscose into fabrics on furniture, this problem becomes even worse because all the areas that accumulate body oils and hand oils darken, and the friction points along the arms fray and break. This makes cleaning viscose fabric perhaps one of the most difficult areas in our industry.

If a client, despite all of the information, chooses a viscose rug for her home, then I strongly recommend a fiber protector be applied on day one just to give the rug a fighting chance to last a bit longer under normal use. Even folding these rugs up to ship them can cause permanent crease, crush, and texture damage.

鈥淚t is eco-friendly.鈥�

When rug shoppers share that the salesperson has told them that viscose is an eco-friendly choice and they want to know if it鈥檚 true, I tell them this depends on how they define 鈥渆co-friendly.鈥�

If they are concerned about items breaking down and being biodegradable in landfills, then, yes. Considering these products begin to break down immediately upon use and do not last, they are not long for this world. Remember that these are essentially paper-based, so they burn easily, and they also mildew when exposed to moisture.

Viscose areas left damp too long easily mildew.

If the eco-friendly focus is on the production side, then the answer is 鈥渘o.鈥� In his book, Fake Silk, Dr. Paul David Blanc demonstrates with heartbreaking, scientific detail that viscose rayon production is one of the most toxic production processes in our history. Both land and workers have been destroyed by the consumer desire for fake silk.

It is difficult to read the book and ever look at the viscose rayon industry the same.

The making of viscose rayon fabric is banned in the U.S., so the disease and death caused by the main chemical used in its production (carbon disulfide) occurs in India, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The making of disposable fibers is often dependent on a workforce that these countries also view, unfortunately, as disposable. In this regard, viscose is far from an 鈥渆co-friendly鈥� fiber.

Lycell rugs are cleaner production, but also are subject to color and sheen loss in use. [Click to view larger]

These fibers have a higher purchase price and perform better in clothing longevity, but they do still have a tendency to lose color and texture just as their toxic fiber relatives do.

Another question for those seeking out a choice that is 鈥渆co-friendly鈥� is whether a rug that requires much more frequent cleaning is considered good for the planet.

For professional cleaners, viscose rugs are some of our most frequent visitors. If customers are concerned about making an ecologically conscious choice, it is worth considering which is truly more sustainable: a biodegradable viscose rug that might need to be cleaned two or three times each year and replaced every few years or a wool, hand-knotted rug that might need a full wash every two or three years and will last decades.

鈥淚t is what the consumers want.鈥�

What I hear from retailers and designers is that viscose is what consumers want, so that is why they are selling it.

I have also heard more than once from designers that their client has plenty of money, so they don鈥檛 care if a rug is disposable.

Yet, when I have had discussions with consumers who have put down tens of thousands of dollars in deposits for furniture and rugs, who then discovered the realities of these fibers in regular household use, I find that they always make another choice.

Even a water spill can create a problem on a viscose rug. [Click to view larger]

What professional cleaners can do

People expect their 鈥渓uxury鈥� product to clean up luxuriously. However, even the most skilled professional cleaners are only able to do so much with what is the worst-performing fiber in homes today.

You cannot expertly polish IKEA particle board furniture and make it into beautiful mahogany wood. Likewise, no professional cleaner is going to be able to make fake silk into a rug or sofa that was worth the price paid for it.

However, professional cleaners do have two opportunities when dealing with viscose: First, of course, is to become technically skilled at viscose care to help owners of these items keep their purchases looking as good as they can for as long as they can. Second, and more important, is to become your customers鈥� trusted resource for their next purchases, because no one ever buys viscose for their floor or furniture a second time.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist, and an owner of Blatchford鈥檚 Rug Cleaning in San Diego, California. For rug course and training details, visit .

The post The Battle Against Viscose appeared first on Cleanfax.

鈥淭hese pictures show an Asian restaurant carpet that we cleaned in our town. We utilized a mix of chemicals and different presprays to achieve this result, using a CRB and my Hydramaster 575. We finished up with a good rinse with Chemspec Formula 90. I did not expect the results we achieved, but we couldn鈥檛 be happier with how it turned out. The customers were so surprised by the results that they paid me $50 extra.鈥�

For an opportunity to win a gift card worth $250, send your images and a brief 100-word description on how you obtained your results to Amanda Hosey, managing editor, at amandah@issa.com, or submit via Facebook Messenger at . Contest rules available by request.

听

[infobox title=’DID YOU KNOW’][/infobox]

Carpet cleaners often apply more preconditioner to upholstery than necessary because they鈥檙e used to preconditioning carpet, and if you apply more preconditioner than you can rinse from the fabric, post-cleaning protective treatments might not bond.

Read more at www.cleanfax.com/fabric-protection/cleaning-residues.

The post Restaurant Carpet Restored [Photo Contest] appeared first on Cleanfax.

Many restoration companies are looking to add more services to increase profitability. One of these services is fire and smoke restoration. Cleanfax recently interviewed industry and smoke restoration trainer and consultant Patrick Moffett to gather information business owners and managers must consider before getting into this specialized service.

Q: Virtually all restoration companies offer removal services, but few offer fire and smoke restoration. Why is that?

A: Insurance company statistics show that for losses related to either water or fire, more than 90% of those covered claims come from water damage; whereas, less than 10% comes from fire damage. This calculation, I believe, is for heat damage from building fires, not for losses related to wildfires.

Q: What are the top-of-mind considerations and concerns you would share with someone thinking about getting into fire and smoke restoration work? What do owners and managers need to know about going to market, business decisions, staffing, and training?

A: Fire-damage restoration is more dangerous than other types of jobs; workers are exposed to toxic substances and need to work in unsafe structures. When it comes to professional fire-damage restoration, state regulations may require that a licensed general contractor complete building stabilization, roof wrap, board-up services, containment, hazardous-chemical removal, and demolition through reconstruction, including hiring subtrades.

Proper training must come before marketing. Consider taking the Odor Control Technician and Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration Technician courses, as well as courses from the Restoration Industry Association and the Indoor Air Quality Association. Together, these courses provide up-to-date information about fire-damage restoration services, chemicals, and equipment.

Beyond this training, look into additional in contents, which focus on the affected clothing, linens, upholstery, appliances, kitchenware, antiques, musical instruments, works of art, and collectibles. Relevant topics include contents inventory, contents processing (such as the triage of salvageable and unsalvageable total loss items), contents cleaning and deodorization, and contents storage.

Familiarize yourself with the necessary software. Learn how to use a photo document system to document the structure and contents from both a 2D and 3D perspective. Having a thorough understanding of the documentation and billing processes of your claims-estimating software is also important. I find that restorers often leave 5% or more of the justifiable billable items on the table, which means they are leaving behind 5% or more potential profit.

When you鈥檙e ready to market your services, be aware that your marketing methods will depend on geography, demographics, and other details, such as if the community has a volunteer fire department. A well-seasoned restorer will be an active member of state and local fire department associations and other organizations, including those for building management, building engineers, apartments, fire sprinkler systems, and independent adjusters. A restorer may also benefit from offering cleanup and deodorization services for firefighter turnout gear, hiring local firefighters in their off-hours, and supporting firefighter community activities.

Q: How profitable can fire and smoke restoration be for companies?

A: Based on profit margins alone, water-damage restoration is more profitable than fire and smoke restoration. Equipment rental for drying a structure has a higher percentage of profit compared with the time, labor, and material costs required for a fire loss. That said, more services are needed to restore fire-damaged structures than are needed to restore water-damaged structures, and the opportunity to provide a greater number of services can increase profit.

Q: What high-level tips or advice do you have for inspecting a fire and smoke restoration job before doing the work?

A: Restorers can easily extend themselves financially in a fire loss, but they can prevent this by establishing several contracts. One contract should cover immediate needs: building stabilization, board-up services, securing the property with lockboxes, and removing, cleaning, deodorizing, and returning essential items such as clothing, computers, and documents to the insured at a temporary location. A second contract should relate to structure and contents inventory and, when required, packout, cleaning, and storage. Another contract is needed for demolition of the damage, general cleanup, and deodorization. A final contract should be drawn up for reconstruction.

Restorers should remember that it鈥檚 the property owner who is the insured, and therefore, signs the contract with the them. This means that the restorer is obligated to fulfill the terms and conditions in the contract with the building owner, not a third party, such as the adjuster. That said, it is prudent to keep the adjuster in the loop and provide him or her with all the relevant documents, including work procedures, schedules for building repair, and an estimate of when the restorer will get the insured back into the home or business.

Q: As an industry trainer and consultant, what other advice would you offer anyone either new to or experienced in fire and smoke restoration?

A: Make sure to hire a good contract attorney. Have two or three environmental professionals who will respond day or night to requests to test for asbestos, lead paint, and other contaminates. Have safety specialists and an engineer on your roster who can write a scope of work to protect employees from safety hazards when they鈥檙e working in unsafe buildings. For medium and large losses, have an auditor monitor work procedures, including employee and temp timecards and material invoices.

Documentation is key; use your photo documenting software to record the loss before starting the work, at different phases during the work, and after complete mitigation but before reconstruction and repair. Also, have the customer and adjuster sign off on the completion of each phase of work and when there are scope of work changes that will change the billing.

Patrick Moffett has more than 35 years of experience in the restoration industry and is an environmental and industrial hygienist, general contractor, technical writer, lecturer, and instructor specializing in the assessment and oversight of property damage remediation and the environmental clearance of property losses.

The post Fire and Smoke Restoration appeared first on Cleanfax.

Xactimate codes: CLN DODRM, CLN DODRME, and CLN DODRMEM

For more information, visit .

View all the companies featured in the Restoration Showcase.

The post April 2020 Restoration Showcase: Vaportek appeared first on Cleanfax.

All Butler Systems are built to our customers鈥� selections. They are hand assembled, installed, and tested at our factory by skilled technicians with decades of experience. No other truckmount offers more Standard Equipment and Optional Features or is simpler to operate, easier to service and maintain, more reliable, quieter, or longer lasting. No other truckmount is backed by a 10-Year Warranty and a Buy-Back Guarantee or demands a higher resale value!

For more information, visit .

View all the companies featured in the Restoration Showcase.

The post April 2020 Restoration Showcase: Butler System appeared first on Cleanfax.

We invite a conversation about your accomplishments and your goals. Service Team of Professionals offers restoration鈥� done right the first time.

For more information, visit .

View all the companies featured in the Restoration Showcase.

The post April 2020 Restoration Showcase: Service Team of Professionals appeared first on Cleanfax.

No longer back-breaking work, the process can be completed 15 times faster than the traditional drill and vacuum. What would normally take a technician an hour, they can now do in 5 minutes! In less than an hour of use, the Aerator has paid for itself!

Use Xactimate code: WTR WALLH.

For more information, visit .

View all the companies featured in the Restoration Showcase.

The post April 2020 Restoration Showcase: Restoration Tools appeared first on Cleanfax.

DryTAG is a Bluetooth beacon with built-in accelerometer which tracks the last-known location of equipment even when turned off.

AirMAX BLE is the safest and most technologically advanced airmover in its class. With the preinstalled DryTAG, this innovative equipment鈥檚 usage, serial number, model, and other asset information is automatically populated in the DryLINK app.

For more information, visit .

View all the companies featured in the Restoration Showcase.

The post April 2020 Restoration Showcase: Phoenix appeared first on Cleanfax.

The product prevents mold and mildew growth. It kills 99.9% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Trichphyton mentagrophytes, Aspergillus niger, Influenza A H1N1 [2009 H1N1], Respiratory Syncytial Virus [RSV], and Human Coronavirus [Strain 229E].

For more information, visit .

View all the companies featured in the Restoration Showcase.

The post April 2020 Restoration Showcase: MOLD ARMOR appeared first on Cleanfax.