Cleaning Advert Cleared of Claims it Was Being Sexist
May 21, 2009 Posted by Katie in : Cleaning News, News , add a commentThe Oven Pride advert that claimed cleaning was “so easy, even a man can do it” was not sexist, the advertising watchdog has said.
The oven cleaning ad was the cause of 673 complaints, saying the advert was offensive because it suggested men were stupid and lazy.
But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the majority of viewers would see the advert as light-hearted.
The advert included a voice-over suggesting the process was “so easy, even a man can do it”.
As well as complaints that the advert was sexist towards men, some viewers also thought it was demeaning to women.
Viewers complained that the advert suggested cleaning was generally a woman’s job. But manufacturer HomePride said the advert was not intended to cause offence but was trying to raise awareness of the product by using “tongue-in-cheek humour”.
The ASA agreed with the company and failed to uphold the complaints, they said:
“We noted that the ad used mild humour to refer to traditional gender stereotypes but considered that the overall impression was such that it did not portray either gender in a way that stigmatised, humiliated or undermined them by using harmful stereotypes.”
“We noted some might consider the humour in the ad in poor taste but concluded that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.”
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A Clean Office Boosts Worker’s Productivity
May 18, 2009 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning Advice, Cleaning News, Cleaning Tips, News, Office Cleaning, Total Clean Services , add a commentIt has been proved many times over that a clean and well organised office helps boost your employee’s productivity. Maintaining a clean office should be left to a professional office cleaning company, but to get the office really clean the cleaners require access to the surfaces, this requires a clutter-free office which is not always easy, but there are a few things that can be done to maintain a clean, clutter free and organised workplace on a daily basis.
Here at Total Clean Office Cleaning Services, our professional office cleaners created a list of ideas for employees to maintain an efficient, clean and well organised office.
1 – Send all Unwanted Paper to the Recycle Bin
Once a week, organise a paper recycle day. First find or buy a big bin to dump all the unwanted paper and start the paper-hunting spree, get everybody to eliminate all the unwanted paper from their drawers, cabinets and files.
Nominate a person to go through the office’s main files and cabinets and get rid of all unnecessary or duplicate paper work. Collect newspapers, junk mail and outdated documents and send them to recycle bin.
You will be amazed how much paper can be accumulated in just one week.
2 – Incite all workers to keep their desks clean and well organised at all times, put files away at the end of the day, a well organised work place is a productive workplace. It also gives a good impression to clients or perspective clients.
3 – Organise a rubbish recycling system and encourage everyone to use it, put different bins for different types of re-cycling, e.g.: Plastic, Aluminium, Organic, etc. At the end of the week or at the end of each day, depending on the size of your office, have a rota or nominate one person to take the recyclable material to the local neighbourhood recycle centre.
4 – Ensure the offices and common areas have a Deep Clean at least once a year and that can be left to the professionals; carpet cleaning, washrooms, janitorial supplies and floor treatment services require specialist cleaning tools and chemicals, so employ a professional office cleaning company to manage and make sure cleaning is undertaken thoroughly, with knowledgeable, competent staff.
There are many office cleaning companies to choose from but not all offer rigorous quality control, health and safety, full training for their employees and operate an environmental policy so you know your company is doing all it can to reduce its carbon foot print.
Here at Total Clean Office Cleaning Services, we offer all of the above with the peace of mind that you are provided with the best office cleaning services in London and surrounding areas.
MP’s Charge Pool Cleaning to Expenses!
May 12, 2009 Posted by Katie in : Cleaning News, News , add a commentIt has been widely publicised that senior Tory MPs have been using their taxpayer-funded expenses to pay for unnecessary maintenance on their country estates.
The MP’s have been putting things like cleaning of swimming pools and gardening on the expenses, which has understandably caused outrage to taxpayers.
Former Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg even claimed more than £2,000 for clearing his moat, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Chairman of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Michael Spicer also spent £5,650 of taxpayers’ money having his garden cleaned and maintained.
A new opinion poll shows both Labour and the Tories have dropped four points since the expenses revelations began.
It is quite obviously disgraceful behaviour for such government figures to use taxpayers money for cleaning of pools and general maintenance of their homes.
But the question is, would anyone do it, given the opportunity??
Lemons!! The All Purpose Natural Cleaner
May 6, 2009 Posted by Katie in : Cleaning Advice, Cleaning Tips, News , add a commentLemons are a great natural and cheap choice of cleaning product! Here are some ways you can use them to freshen up your household:
- Lemon peels are fantastic for getting rid of odours. Just stuff small pieces of peel down the drain, run some water, turn on your disposal, and let it run for a few minutes and wait for that lovely lemon scent.
- If you would like to polish up your copper pots you can clean the spots off with lemon juice. Cut a lemon in half and dip it in salt. Rub the fixtures with the lemon, then rinse thoroughly.
- If you have got messy in the microwave and food has splattered everywhere, boil lemon juice inside of it. The food will wipe away easily.
- To remove odours from your cutting boards, rub a lemon across them. It will deodorise and disinfect the boards.
- To freshen up the air in a room, mix some lemon juice and baking soda on a small dish and let it sit.
- You can add lemon juice to the dishwasher for cleaner and shinier dishes. If your dishwasher is smelly, pour 1/4 cup of lemon juice into the soap dispenser and run the washer without dishes. It will deodorise and disinfect your dishwasher.
- Squeeze lemon juice onto a stain on your countertop, let it sit for a few minutes, and then use the lemon to scrub the stain.
And if you don’t fancy cleaning with them, lemons are great in food and for your hair. Their uses really are endless!!
Special Vacuum Cleaners Brought in to Get Rid of Cigarette ends
April 29, 2009 Posted by Katie in : Cleaning News, News, environment , add a commentScotland city centre streets have been riddled with cigarette ends since the smoking ban was introduced.
So council chiefs have brought in a new specialist vacuum cleaner to sweep fag ends up more effectively.
The ‘Green Machines’ cost around £12,000 each and are produced by Applied Sweepers, which has supplied the street vacuums to more than 30 countries worldwide.
Francis Galashan said his firm received a “noticeable increase” in orders from countries and cities shortly after they introduced smoking bans.
He added: ‘We’ve supplied the machines from Broadway to Buckingham Palace, where we have royal assent from the Queen to clean up outside the palace.’
‘In America they can be found from San Francisco to Times Square. We even had the voice of actor Tony Randall installed in one of our machines telling people to ‘Keep New York Tidy’.’
Environment leader Robert Aldridge said that there are no plans to introduce voices to Edinburgh machines yet, but suggested a few candidates.
He said: ‘I think the voice of James Bond would be particularly effective. These new machines and barrow beats will allow us to target litter hot-spots.’
‘Improvements will include a designated overnight street cleaning team in the city centre, the extra vacuum cleaning units and additional staff employed on ‘barrow beats’ in litter hot-spots.’
The city council allocates approximately £10 million per year for litter collection, litter bin emptying, street washing and other cleaning.
Councillor Aldridge added: ‘The most recent independent CIMS scores show that the city is still getting cleaner and cleaner but there will always be problem areas that we need to focus on.’
‘In the city centre there is a problem with cigarette litter.’
London Street Cleaners turned Undercover Agents
April 23, 2009 Posted by Administrator in : News , add a commentStreet Cleaners in the London borough of Harrow North West London have been given radios to help fight crime; they now join a network of shops, pubs and cafes that help the police.
The area already has 100 walkie-talkies in use; with these special radios, street cleaners will be able to contact the police if they spot anything unusual while going about their daily business.
The idea of including street cleaners in these neighbourhood watch program came from Harrow town centre team chief Sergeant Mike Windeatt, who believes they will be of great help especially in the early hours of the day when normally street cleaners start their shifts.
The Sergeant said:
“Working closely with the Harrow street cleaners has real benefits for us. They start their shifts just after dawn and see things that may be extremely valuable to police. We are issuing these radios to the supervisors and asking them to use them to report to us if, for example, they come across any suspicious packages, or any discarded property that might have been stolen, if they come across a crime scene or even if they see someone acting suspiciously.”
The radios are linked to the CCTV control room to help the police identify suspects straight away and direct units to the exact location to arrest them.
Harrow’s Council deputy leader councillor Susan Hall said:
“It is not about our cleaners suddenly becoming vigilantes but just using their experience of cleaning the streets to act as an early alarm service for town centre officers.”
Worcester City Centre Gets a Cleaning Blitz
April 9, 2009 Posted by Katie in : Cleaning News, News, environment , 1 comment so farThe leader of Worcester City Council has declared a litter blitz on a busy route into the city centre a success.
Simon Geraghty joined in the four-hour clean sweep organised by the city’s cleaning team, University of Worcester and the police.
About a dozen litter pickers swung into action backed by the city council’s cleaning machines.
A roadsweeper, pavement sweeper and a new cleaning truck fitted with an adjustable mechanical arm to tackle hard-to-reach areas were among the equipment being deployed.
University staff helped pick up litter along the route, Mr Geraghty said: ‘It’s been a real success for us. I think in areas of the city like this one where there is a parking issue it can really benefit from these litter blitzes.’
‘Because the police were able to shift the parked cars we were able to get in with the sweepers and the gully cleaners.’
He said the city council would now look at repeating the clean-up in another area of the city within the year.
He also added that the University and Police had been really good: ‘I think working with them this time has helped a great deal.’
Cleaning Scheme Set up in Edinburgh
April 1, 2009 Posted by Katie in : Cleaning News, News, environment , add a commentA team of six wardens have started operating in Edinburgh to improve the levels of cleanliness on the city’s streets.
There are plans to tackle some of the areas worst hit by graffiti and provide an instant response cleaning team for businesses as problems develop.
The cleaning teams have been set up by Essential Edinburgh, the company brought in to manage the city’s first business improvement district.
Many of the areas being targeted initially are within privately-owned land so are not the responsibility of the city council.
That can mean that litter builds up and is then blown on to the main public streets.
Operations manager at Essential Edinburgh, said: ‘It is a bit of a bugbear for the council that they can’t go in and clean these areas up because the rubbish that gathers just gets blown back on to public areas that they might have just cleaned.’
As well as removing litter, the cleaning teams are to use specialist cleaning equipment to remove graffiti and chewing gum.
Once the ‘deep cleaning’ programme of lane cleaning and graffiti removal is completed, they intend to provide an instant response team that will respond to businesses’ calls on issues such as graffiti or flyposting.
Councillor Robert Aldridge, environment leader, said: ‘We are determined to improve street cleanliness in Edinburgh and this support will help us to keep the city centre clean and attractive.’
New Street Cleaners Introduced in a Bid to Improve Conditions
March 24, 2009 Posted by Administrator in : Cleaning News, News, environment , add a commentSalford’s fleet of street cleaners have introduced two new vehicles to aid the cleaning process.
Salix Homes, for central Salford, has brought in a new road sweeper and a fly tipping van to help clean the area.
The two vehicles will be added to the team of 42 street cleaners provided by the council’s environmental services.
They will act as a rapid response team for central Salford and will be sent out as and when needed to deal with any concerns from residents about fly-tipping or litter in their neighbourhoods.
The street cleaners are part of Salix Homes’ Better Neighbourhoods programme, who is working to transform neighbourhoods by making them cleaner, greener and safer.
The head of better neighbourhoods for Salix Homes, said: ‘As well as providing housing services, we play a wider role in developing neighbourhoods and these cleaners are an example of the different types of work we’re doing with partners to continuously improve services for local people.’
Cllr Keith Mann added: ‘These new vehicles are additional to the council’s street cleaning service and will be used when required to respond to any issues from people living areas managed by Salix Homes.’
Hospital Cleaning Team Wins Award
March 17, 2009 Posted by Katie in : Cleaning News, Hospital Cleaning, News, Total Clean Services , add a commentTaunton’s Musgrove Park Hospital cleaning team has won the chairman’s award for excellence.
A panel of judges praised the team for their commitment and positive attitude towards their cleaning duties, and for the significant difference they’ve made to Musgrove.
Cleaning co-ordinator at Musgrove, Ruth Stephens, said: ‘They’re very thorough, take real pride in their work and are always looking to help out. In the last year, we’ve spent over £1m on cleaning and now there are cleaners in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week.’
Chairman Ros Wyke said: ‘Cleanliness is very important to us at Musgrove, and the cleaning teams have helped to reduce our infection rate and improve the hospital environment.’
She added: ‘MRSA is down by over 70% in the last two years – and the teams have played a big role in that.’
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