Minimize Carbon Monoxide Exposure

Are you serving carbon monoxide for dinner? Most homes we visit, have gas burning ranges. Cooking with gas is fast, reliable and the choice of most chefs. One little irksome trouble is the possibility of Carbon Monoxide (CO) exposure. If you have a CO monitor in your home- good job. Make sure to put one on each level of your home and especially on the bedroom level. Consider getting a peak flow monitor to help you know when and what your levels are.

The CPSC or Consumer Products Safety Commission sets the CO limits at 70ppm. At this level of CO, the monitor will give you a warning to prevent death. Preventing death is a noble reason to get a CO monitor. But you might consider getting a CO monitor with a peak flow monitor. Levels of CO can be low enough not to be fatal but high enough to cause all kinds of other health issues.
Interestingly, World Health Organization puts CO indoor air at 32ppm - max. The Canadian Department of National Health and Welfare has CO at 25ppm at a 1 hour limit. These are far below our 70ppm.

What is CO? "CO is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death. It is a result of the incomplete combustion of carbon." Some of those irksome health issues at lower levels of CO can be headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. At low levels, chest pain and fatigue are most common. At higher levels you might get flu like symptoms and of course death.

If you have gas appliances, does this mean you also have a high CO level? Not necessarily, remember CO is an odorless gas. Because it is a sneaky toxin, you will want to install a safety net and minimize you families risk.

Here are some healthy home tips to minimize CO exposure:

Install CO monitors on every level of home- preferable peak flow monitors
Have your appliances, furnaces and fireplace professionally installed and maintained
Install and use an exhaust fan over your range- making sure it vents to the outside!!
When cooking always run your exhaust fan
Do not idle your car in the garage
Never used charcoal grills, camping stoves, gas powered equipment indoors
Never use gas powered stoves or ranges to heat home

Besides gas ranges, here are some other CO producers to keep an eye out for:

Any gas appliance: furnace, water heater, washer, dryer....
Wood or gas burning stoves
Gas/fuel burning equipment- such as pressure washers or heaters
Charcoal grills and camping stoves
Attached garages

As always, wishing you a healthy, happy home and good cooking!!
Denise Frakes
Certified Healthy Home Specialist

Sources: Healthy Housing Referrence Manual, Essentials for Healthy Homes Practitioners Course, EPA

Open up the windows and ventilate your home

The sun is finally shining up here in the NW, it feels like summer. Time to open up the windows and air out the home. When I was growing up, my mom was always opening up the house to air it out. Most times it wasn't as nice as today. I was usually cold and wondering why my mom did the things she did. Now I realize, it was because she was very wise.

One of the most important things you can do to improve the health of your home is to improve its ventilation. Stagnate air out - fresh air in. Opening up the windows, turning on your vents and running your whole house ventilation system can help improve your ventilation. Keep in mind, what goes out must come back in. Any air that leaves the home, the equal amount must come back in.

Having a home with healthy ventilation does many beneficial things. According to the National center for healthy homes "Proper ventilation can reduce hazards of:

Volatile organic compounds (VOC)
Moisture
Environmental Tobacco smoke
Particulate matter
Allergens
Mold
Carbon Monoxide
Formaldehyde

Considering, in most homes, the indoor polutants have higher concentrations than outdoor air by 2x5 times! Keeping your home ventilated is a fundamental part of a healthy home and family.

Wishing you a healthy and happy home,
Denise Frakes

Carpet maintenance resource site

There is a web site where most of your carpet questions can be answered.
http://www.carpet-rug.org/ The carpet and rug institute site is a one stop resource bonanza for all things carpet.

Here are some of my favorite parts of this site: http://www.carpet-rug.org/
A list of recommended and certified vacuums
A list of recommended and certified carpet spotters and cleaning solutions
A detailed and at your fingers carpet spotting guide
Lots of answers to common question and uncommon questions
A list of manufacture recommended cleaning methods

For your fastest search path:
Start by clicking the Residential tab
On the left hand side click cleaning and maintenance
Your resources topics will appear on the left hand side

If you don't feel like all that clicking here is my summary of carpet care:

1. Install effective and clean entrance mats
Keep these mats clean- they are the filters to your home
Put good mats at every entrance

2. Vacuum, Vacuum, Vacuum
Get a good one with a HEPA filter or equivalent filter
Vacuum at least once per week
Do not over fill your filter bag
Vacuum slowly and thoroughly
(list of recommended vacuums on the carpet-rug.org site)
http://www.carpet-rug.org/

3. Spot clean- ASAP
Blot don't rub
Use mild - recommended cleaners
Like our Procyon Carpet and Upholstery cleaner
Rinse and dry
(The carpet-rug.org site has a good spotting guide)
http://www.carpet-rug.org/

4. Professionally clean your carpet
Most manufactures recommend every 12-18 months
In most cases, hot water extraction is the preferred method.
(the manufacture recommended list is on the carpet-rug.org site)
http://www.carpet-rug.org/

Wishing you a healthy and happy home,
Denise

Residue: the number 1 thing we remove

Websters definition of residue:
Matter remaining after treatment or removal of part; something which remains.

Residue is the number one thing we remove when cleaning is done properly.

What is in this residue?

Here are the usual 3 suspects:
* Soil
* Cleaners
* Water

Part of residue is made up of soils left on the surface. In "cleaning", the soil might be smeared around by mopping or wiping but it's regularly left behind. Residue also comes from the cleaners we use. If the cleaners are not removed, then those cleaners can actually help in attracting new soil- great right? Finally, water left behind is also part of your residue. Water doesn't seem too bad but in water there are hard water or mineral deposits and moisture. You know what hard water deposits can do in a shower! But what about moisture left behind? Have you ever cleaned your car and then had dust land on it? Soil is more likely to stick to a damp surface than a dry one. Plus mold needs moisture to grow. You leave something damp long enough and soon you will also have mold as part of your residue- again think showers!!

Just imagine this: taking a mop and mopping or as we call it smearing, a window. Now let that air dry. Come back next week and do it again. Imagine what a whole year of this weekly mopping would do to a window-yuck!! Imagine 12 years!!!

Window's are obvious because we can actually see the residue left behind. But what about your floors, showers or countertops? The same residue is there, it just is harder to notice. It takes a while but before you know it your floors are brown, black; your showers are water spotted, waxing feeling and moldy; your countertops are greasy and dingy. The true beauty of your home or business is covered with soap, soils, mineral deposits and mold!!

Amazing stuff right? Residue would make a fun science experiment! It is also best removed. This is where we come in, we specialize in leaving surfaces residue free and teaching you how to keep your surfaces residue free!

Wishing you health, happiness and prosperity,
Denise

Blue Sky Services
20 years restoration cleaning experience, research and a very curious mind

Top 5 tips for a fresh smelling home over the holidays

Season's greetings and wishing you a happy and healthy home.

This morning I was thinking about a phone call I had yesterday and thought it was a good time for holiday reminder.

During the winter months and especially during the holidays, we close our houses and add lots of fragrances. A home has smells, it is part of living. Close up your house and those smells become a little more obvious. Of course, you don't want your house to smell like dirty socks or your cat box so what do you do? If you listen to the TV, you might choose the options of: spraying disinfectants and deodorizers, lighting scented candles, using plug ins, or misting fragrances.

What happened? Your home no longer smells like socks but pumpkin spice, misty mountain and cider apple. All good stuff right? Our sense of smell is very powerful, but our ability to guess what is giving us a headache, sinus infection, stuffy nose, or watery eyes may be harder to distinguish. If you or a family member is sensitive to fragrances, these added smells may be giving you more than you hoped for.

While your home is closed for the winter, be mindful of what you are adding back to your air. Sometimes the fragrances we add may not be so festive!

Top 5 tips for a fresh smelling and healthy home:

1. Open up your windows as often as possible
2. Keep your home clean- especially well vacuumed and dusted
3. Run you vents and fans during: showers, cooking and laundry
( make sure your vents, vent directly outside)
4. Remove the source of the odor, don't cover it up
5. Introduce healthy and yummy smells
Roast chestnuts:)
Bake cookies
Put a little fresh cinnamon and cloves on the stove

A clean home, a fresh home, and a loved home usually smell pretty good.

From our house to yours- Happy Holidays,
Denise and Dallas Frakes

Preventing and putting out kitchen fires

Last summer I had one of those days. My grandpa had made me a cutting board, which I hang over our stove top. On one crazy summer day it fell. Did you know a heavy cutting board dropping approximately 10 inches can shatter a glass cook top? It was also news to me...

After, a quick shopping trip, a bit of luck and a handy husband by evening, I was back in cooking business. As I was going through the paperwork for my new cook top, I came across this handout for safer cooking. It is all about preventing and putting out a fire in your kitchen. As the holidays are literally right around the corner, I though you might like a refresher on fire safety in the kitchen. Wishing all a very happy and safe holiday season.

The follow comes from the Association of Home Appliance Manufactures: Recipe for Safer Cooking:

To prevent a cooking fire in your kitchen:
Keep an eye on your cooking and stay in the kitchen. Unattended cooking is the #1 cause of cooking fires!!
Wear short or close fitting sleeves. Loose clothing can catch fire
Watch children closely. When old enough, teach children to cook safely.
Clean cooking surfaces to prevent food and grease build-up.
Keep curtains, towels and pot holders away from hot surfaces, and store solvents and flammable cleaners away from heart sources. Never keep gasoline in the house.
Turn pan handles inward to prevent food spills.

To Put out a cooking fire in your kitchen:
Call the fire department immediately in many cases, dialing 911 will give you Emergency Services
Slide a pan lid over flames to smother a grease or oil fire, then turn off the heat and leave the lid in place until the pan cools. Never carry the pan outside.
Extinguish other food fires with baking soda. Never use water or flour on cooking fires.
Keep the over door shut and turn off the heat to smother an oven or broiler fire.
Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Make sure you have the right type and training.
Keep a working smoke detector in your home and test it monthly.

Here's to safe cooking,
Denise

Blue Sky Services
Natural stone and tile care
Preventative maintenance and in this case fire prevention in our cooking!!

Hair and leaves falling like rain!

The leaves aren't the only thing falling this season. Our dog's hair is dropping just as fast. Keeping the soil out of your house is the number one way to keep it clean. But what if the soil/dirt/hair comes from inside???

Apparently, fall is the season for dogs to shed- at least ours. I used to think dogs only shed in the spring but I was very, very wrong. My dogs are loosing their summer coat at an alarming pace.

In cleaning, your best bet is always to remove the source of the soil first. Not to worry, I'm not getting rid of my dogs, but I am putting a little more time into brushing Sally and Reggy.

Over the years, the owner at my local Splish Splash dog wash, has introduced me to some incredible dog care tools. At our house, we need two different tools. Our dogs have completely different coats. Reggy has long hair, Sally short has short hair. If you aren't already in possession of these tools, I recommend you stop by your local pet store or dog wash place.

Wishing you a healthy and happy home,

Denise

Blue Sky Services

Stone, tile care

Preventative home care

Not to exceed

It seems our culture is always trying to exceed expectations. I think this is critical in business service but exceeding your quoted price is not so cool. If you look at our quotes usually they have a little statement over our price that says "not to exceed".

We hope to always exceed your service expectations but exceeding our quoted price is not where we excel. Not only do we stay below our quoted price, sometimes we can also go below that price. It is so hard to tell the exact details of a job until you are deep within. A job may go a little easier than expected in which case our invoices reflect the ease.

Of course, when additional services are requested and we are already on your job, it may to have exceed the quoted price, but you will know that up front. Many times we have added a service or two but the bottom line still stays the same. I think being a company that doesn't not exceed may be even better than one that over exceeds- especially where the bottom line is concerned!!

We are able give your this benefit because you are always working directly with owners. Blue Sky Services isn't just another pretty company it is also a company with a lot of TLC. Thanks for your business, please feel free to call anytime.

Wishing you a healthy and happy home.
Denise
Blue Sky Services: stone, tile and grout care
Preventative maintenance consulting and very effective tools!

An ounce of thanks

Is there any better time to say thank you than the present moment? Over the past 19 years of our business, I have been amazed over and over at the generosity and kindness of our customers. With a tough economy and lots of other great businesses out there, our phone continues to ring and business flows.

It is always a good time to remember to say thank you. For without you where would we be? In return we hope you feel confident knowing we are always just a phone call away. Ours is not a big company but what it lacks in size we make up in heart. We take our work personally, we do our very best to help out, even if it means referring you to another company. Having happy customers and the satisfaction of a job well done is pretty much what we shoot for.

Currently, I'm taking a online class from South Seattle Community College on Online business. My class assignment was to find our business a tag line. Do you think 'thanks" would work? As I was contemplating tag lines, here are the words that came to mind: confidence, honestly, relaxed, personal, experience, gratitude, fun and helpful. It's not a tag line but maybe those words that come to mind are what keeps us in business. We may not have the best web presence, I don't even write to you for web presence. Our business is more like conversations between friends. I hope remembering to say thanks is always part of those conversations!

with our deepest gratitude, we wish you a happy and healthy home,
Denise

Blue Sky Services

Tis the season to clean and clean out!!!

I know spring cleaning is the popular time for the big clean but Autumn cleaning makes more sense. Before you close up the house for the season, before the holidays arrive and before the new year resolutions start accumulating - clean out your cob webs.

It actually makes sense. Your cleaning efforts will last longer when your house tucked in for the season. You don't have as much foot traffic coming in and out, probably less dust with the windows closed and you will feel like a million bucks to have your home clean before company and the holidays arrive at your door.

Besides the obvious benefits there are also some hidden benefits. Clean and organized just plain feel better. I can't explain it so much as I know it. With 20 years of professional cleaning experieince, a life of personal home cleaning and zillions of chats with family and friends here is my verdict: Clean and organized feel good. I'm not talking perfect here, just refreshed and rejuvenated.

There is something almost magical about a home that has been deep cleaned. It comes with a deep breath and big cleansing-relaxing-letting go exhale! If you don't believe me, next time you catch yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed stop and clean a closet or bookshelf. The act of quiet simple act of cleaning is also good for the soul!

May you breath deeply and have a healthy and happy home,
Denise