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| Steam & Clean chief technology officer Jim Morrison operates the company's truck to clean an empty trash bin. The company was founded by Emily Wiewiorka (pictured below), a Redmond resident who wanted to find a way to clean and sterilize her trash bins. |
Redmond woman starts business to clean and sterilize empty trash bins: A few summers ago, Emily Wiewiorka (pictured left) faced a very smelly problem. While her garbage was being collected each week, the odor left behind in her empty trash bins was unbearable. And the hot weather definitely didn't help. "The smell was just disgusting," the Redmond resident said. She was also worried about germs and bacteria growing in the bins. Bleach and water could have solved the problem, but Wiewiorka didn't want the runoff to go down the drains and end up in the area's rivers and streams. So she began looking for someone to clean her empty trash bins.
Even though such a service may seem unusual in Redmond, the Scotland native and mother of four was very familiar with the concept. "We have this service in the (United Kingdom)," she said. Her search was unsuccessful so Wiewiorka began looking into launching her own service. The end result was Steam & Clean, a new company that offers cleaning services for garbage cans, windows and home exteriors, which includes driveways, decks and play structures. The company, which launched its services last week, offers both residential and commercial services. The trash bin cleaning service is $3 per week, per bin and Wiewiorka (right), the company's founder and president, said they can schedule their curbside service to align with the customer's garbage collection day so the customer can leave the bins out on the curb once a week.
Steam & Clean's high-pressure steam system cleans at up to 250 degrees and Wiewiorka said this sterilizes as well as cleans. And because they only use steam, home owners don't have to worry about harmful chemicals. "We clean with no waste discharge," said James Morrison, the company's chief technology officer. Morrison said when they clean, the solids are separated from the water and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. The water is collected and filtered so that it is cleaner than drinking water and then recycled and reused.
Even though such a service may seem unusual in Redmond, the Scotland native and mother of four was very familiar with the concept. "We have this service in the (United Kingdom)," she said. Her search was unsuccessful so Wiewiorka began looking into launching her own service. The end result was Steam & Clean, a new company that offers cleaning services for garbage cans, windows and home exteriors, which includes driveways, decks and play structures. The company, which launched its services last week, offers both residential and commercial services. The trash bin cleaning service is $3 per week, per bin and Wiewiorka (right), the company's founder and president, said they can schedule their curbside service to align with the customer's garbage collection day so the customer can leave the bins out on the curb once a week.
Steam & Clean's high-pressure steam system cleans at up to 250 degrees and Wiewiorka said this sterilizes as well as cleans. And because they only use steam, home owners don't have to worry about harmful chemicals. "We clean with no waste discharge," said James Morrison, the company's chief technology officer. Morrison said when they clean, the solids are separated from the water and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. The water is collected and filtered so that it is cleaner than drinking water and then recycled and reused.
When they clean windows, Wiewiorka said they filter down to pure water, which allows them to get the job done without leaving any streaks on the glass. She added that the company's window cleaning service is usually a quick, one-hour job. "We're fast," Wiewiorka said. "As busy people, we don't want to be waiting all day for the guy to clean our windows." Window cleaning services are once a month and $60 per month.
In starting her new business — a nine-month process — Wiewiorka decided to invest in her local community. She hired companies throughout the greater Puget Sound area to build their high-tech trucks and even made sure all the parts were American made, often trading cheaper, made-in-China parts for their more expensive domestic counterparts. Additionally, Wiewiorka and Morrison have made it a point to make it a priority to hire veterans. To see that this happens, she and Morrison have been working with Richard Truitt, the local veterans employment representative for WorkSource in Redmond.
Truitt helps veterans in east King County — from Bothell to Snoqualmie — secure employment. He recruits and prescreens veterans who may fit a particular job with employers and works with employers on writing job-post descriptions for their open positions, which is what he has been doing with Morrison for about a month. "(Morrison) was excited about it," Truitt said. "He wanted to do this because he wanted to help vets get back to work." Truitt added that this is a free service provided by WorkSource.
Wiewiorka said Steam & Clean's services will begin in Redmond and expand to Woodinville and Bellevue as they grow. Eventually they will service more of the Puget Sound area from there, but Wiewiorka wants to start slow and grow organically as their business allows.
In starting her new business — a nine-month process — Wiewiorka decided to invest in her local community. She hired companies throughout the greater Puget Sound area to build their high-tech trucks and even made sure all the parts were American made, often trading cheaper, made-in-China parts for their more expensive domestic counterparts. Additionally, Wiewiorka and Morrison have made it a point to make it a priority to hire veterans. To see that this happens, she and Morrison have been working with Richard Truitt, the local veterans employment representative for WorkSource in Redmond.
Truitt helps veterans in east King County — from Bothell to Snoqualmie — secure employment. He recruits and prescreens veterans who may fit a particular job with employers and works with employers on writing job-post descriptions for their open positions, which is what he has been doing with Morrison for about a month. "(Morrison) was excited about it," Truitt said. "He wanted to do this because he wanted to help vets get back to work." Truitt added that this is a free service provided by WorkSource.
Wiewiorka said Steam & Clean's services will begin in Redmond and expand to Woodinville and Bellevue as they grow. Eventually they will service more of the Puget Sound area from there, but Wiewiorka wants to start slow and grow organically as their business allows.
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