Waterfed Pole Prohibited In Vancouver

The Men in Kilts gutter cleaning service use’s hand cleaning and vacuuming and therefore results in no wasted water!  They are also cleaning windows by hand & can clean up to 10 houses or 1,000 windows with a single bucket of water.

Vancouver businesses feel the pinch of drought: If you’re in the business of keeping things clean, stricter water restrictions are proving to be a challenge. Under level two restrictions that have been in effect since July 3, companies like Men in Kilts have not been able to offer pressure washing. As the drought continues and water levels in the region’s reservoirs continue to drop, Metro Vancouver now says that level three restrictions will go into effect starting the afternoon of July 20.

Pressure washing for cleaning, and washing windows and building exteriors with a water-fed pole, are both prohibited, said Nicholas Brand, CEO of Men in Kilts. Brand said his company is still offering services such as window washing by squeegee, gutter cleaning and pressure washing if it’s in preparation for painting.

But if the restrictions continue, or move into level four, the most stringent restrictions, the company may have to lay off summer students who are normally hired until the end of August. Brand has looked into trucking in water, but concluded it would be too expensive.

Other pressure washing companies are in the same boat, Brand said, and it’s difficult to predict how long the restrictions will continue. Summer is normally the busiest time of the year for pressure washers. “They say September 30, we’ve got a lot of customers that we’ve scheduled work into October for them, but we’re giving them the heads up that we might not be able to do it in October,” Brand said.  “If we have a long dry August and September, they’re not going to lift [the restrictions].”

Public and commercial water fountains and water parks not on a timer have already been shut off. Under stage three, other restrictions that come into effect  include no lawn watering at all and no outdoor washing of cars or boats. Commercial car washes, however, are allowed to continue operating in stage three, but would have to shut down in stage four.

Given the challenges pressure washers are facing, Brand said that was frustrating. “People are allowed to pay someone to keep your car clean, they’re not allowed to pay someone to keep their house clean,” he said. “And painters are allowed to prep for painting with pressure washing. From our industry, and speaking to others in our industry, it’s frustrating that we’re that far down on the totem pole.”

Commercial car washes are allowed to keep operating because they recycle much of the water they use, said Darrell Mussatto, mayor of the City of North Vancouver and chair of Metro Vancouver's utilities committee.

The previous stage two restrictions did result in water usage dropping, but didn't have enough of an effect, Mussatto said. Metro Vancouver has now started using some of the high alpine lakes it has access to to refill the Capilano reservoir. As a backup, the regional district also has access to BC Hydro's Coquitlam reservoir, which is currently not being used to produce electricity because of the drought conditions. Metro Vancouver has budgeted $862,000 to pay for up to 68 billion litres from that water source.

If current water restrictions don’t have the desired conservation effect, and if no rain falls to refill reservoirs, Metro Vancouver would move into stage four, said Greg Valou, a communications officer for the regional district.

Under stage four restrictions, municipal outdoor pools are closed, all outdoor cleaning with water is prohibited and vegetable gardens and plants cannot be watered with treated drinking water. The last time the region had level three water restrictions was during the summer of 2003. The region has never put in place stage four restrictions in response to a drought.

Quat Binding

Quat binding happens because quats contain positively charged ions and the fabrics of many cleaning applicators contain negatively charged ions.

Has it ever occurred to you that the cleaning solutions—specifically, disinfectants—used in your facility may be losing their effectiveness as they are being used?

Here’s the problem. The active ingredients in some of these cleaning solutions, called "quats," are being absorbed by the wipes, mops, and cleaning cloths that are used to apply them. And not only are the active ingredients that kill germs and bacteria being absorbed by the cleaning cloths, for example, but they may also be pulled into the cleaning cloths. No matter how it is happening, what this is known as is "quat binding."

Quat binding happens because quats contain positively charged ions and the fabrics of many cleaning applicators contain negatively charged ions. While a perfect union can occur between people when two opposites attract, when it happens with disinfectants the results can be very problematic: the disinfectant loses its germ-killing power.

Just how serious is this problem? In one study, a cotton cleaning cloth was soaked in a disinfectant solution–filled pail for about ten minutes. After that time the quat levels of the solution were measured and were found to be cut in half. This means that only half of the bacteria- and germ-killing quats listed on the disinfectant’s label were still present. When this happens, the disinfectant is no longer as effective as its label indicates.

Worse, not only is the disinfectant no longer as effective in killing pathogens as it should be, but it also may be contributing to the growth of “microorganisms that are resistant to the disinfectant,” according to J. Darrel Hicks, author of Infection Prevention for Dummies. Why exactly this happens, Hicks did not clarify, but it is assumed that surface organisms essentially become immune to the disinfectant.

Quat binding can be a problem anywhere, but some of the biggest areas of concern are food preparation locations. According to Tara Miller, product manager at ITW Professional Brands, which makes a number of professional cleaning products for the commercial food service industry, “Fifty percent of the food service industry uses cotton rental towels or bar towels,” exactly the type of towels implicated in quat binding. She goes on to say that "some larger chain [restaurants] know about quat binding issues, but most are still in the dark about them."

According to Miller, the key reason the food service industry and people working in food preparation areas should be aware of quat binding is that, on an annual basis, an average of one in six people gets sick from eating contaminated food, and 3,000 people die each year from foodborne illnesses. Even if the food itself is safe to eat and properly cooked, following best practices to protect human health, when cooked food comes into contact with surfaces that are not properly disinfected and hygienically cleaned, even if thought to be so, the food can become contaminated. Quat binding can be the culprit for these contaminated surfaces.

Miller goes on to say that, along with the possibility of causing people to become ill, quat binding can be costly in another way, and that is pure dollars and cents. "[Administrators] are throwing money out the window on chemicals because they are [not working] or [not] being used properly," she says.

Addressing the Problem 

Miller and most public health officials suggest that the first step in addressing the health risks of quat binding is simply awareness. Facility managers and administrators in correctional and other types of facilities need to know that quat binding is a problem, along with how and why it is occurring. Once quat binding is understood, administrators can take the following steps to combat its effects:

• Use disinfectants with higher concentrations of quats; then even if some of the quats are absorbed by the cleaning cloth or mop, enough may remain to clean and disinfect a surface effectively.
• While cleaning professionals are usually taught to spray cleaners and disinfectants on a cleaning cloth first and then wipe the surface to be cleaned, to lessen the effects of quat binding it probably is best to first spray the surface to be cleaned and then wipe it. (Be sure and allow the disinfectant to set “dwell” on the surface a few minutes before wiping)
• Investigate cleaning procedures that do not require the use of cleaning cloths or mops at all. For correctional facilities, a recommended option is a spray-and-vac or no-touch cleaning system that applies disinfectant directly to a surface, rinses and then vacuums the area clean without the need for wiping or mopping.*

Administrators are urged to discuss the problem of quat binding with their janitorial distributors to find more solutions to this problem. What they may discover is that there is a trend evolving in the professional cleaning industry that may help address this and similar problems. The professional cleaning industry is moving away from cleaning cloths, buckets, and mops,. This is because we now know that these tools can spread germs instead of effectively removing them. Quat binding is just one more reason to shelve mops and cleaning cloths and look for other, more effective cleaning options.

COMPATIBILITY OF DISINFECTANTS WITH CLEANING TOOLS

Studies have demonstrated that there may be a reduction of efficacy when quaternary-based disinfectants bind with cleaning materials such as microfiber or cotton.  The most common disinfectant used for daily environmental surface disinfection today is quaternary ammonium chloride, commonly referred to as quats. Quats are often used because they offer a broad spectrum of pathogen kill, good surface compatibility, and are often the most economical option.

Quats are cationic or positively charged compounds.  Because of this, quats have a tendency to become attracted to cleaning tools or fabrics that have an anionic or negative charge.  One of the most common cleaning tool fabrics is cotton, which is a natural fiber that consists of 90% cellulose, and has a negative charge.  Another common fabric used in cleaning tools is microfiber.  Most microfiber cloths are made of a synthetic blend of polyester and nylon (polyamide) which also has a negative charge.  

When quat disinfectants are used with cotton or microfiber fabric, the positive charge on the quat aligns itself with the negative charge on the fabric and essentially neutralizes the activity of the quat. This may mean that the expected level of disinfectant is not being applied to a surface as it is wiped. The tendency of quats to bind with some fabrics is often referred to as “quat binding” or absorption. It has been shown that quat binding begins as soon as the cleaning tool is dipped into the quat solution.  This phenomenon can be eliminated by spraying the disinfectant directly onto the surface, using alternate disinfectant technologies or implementing disposable wipes into your cleaning protocol.

Own Goal For Fraudulent Window Cleaner

Own goal: Footballer Gary Burnett claimed he had whiplash but was caught offside by his Tweet.

Footballer scores own goal after tweeting about match 24 hours after making bogus whiplash claim: A semi-professional footballer’s bogus claim for a whiplash injury after a crash at a McDonald’s drive-through was exposed when he tweeted about playing football 24 hours later. Gary Burnett tried to pocket £2,000 for the smash which he claimed left him with shoulder and neck injuries in October 2013.

But the 24-year-old then took to Twitter to update his followers about his side Northwich Victoria’s progress. One day after the accident in Birkenhead, Merseyside, Burnett wrote on Twitter: “Nice little trek to Kendal later for footy” - referring to an away match in the Lake District town. Three weeks later he was on Twitter again bragging about knocking higher ranked team Nantwich Town out of the FA Trophy with a second-half goal.

Investigators from insurance company Aviva tracked his messages and this week won a legal battle to make Burnett pay their court costs. The player, now representing Curzon Ashton FC in the National League North, was ordered by a judge to stump up £11,000.

The part-time window cleaner, of Lowton, Grt Manchester, had claimed the injury left him out of action for four weeks. Burnett’s claim was described as ‘fundamentally dishonest’ by a judge at Wigan County Court who accepted the footballer had misled his solicitors, his medical expert and the insurance company.

Dave Lovely, Aviva claims director, said: “This case highlights how a minor claim can be seen as an open-goal for fraudsters. “However, we are determined to tackle these fraudulent claimants and stop them scoring against us and our customers. “It shows that we will pursue and prosecute those who commit fraud, while taking care of genuine claimants.”

Jared Mallinson, partner at Horwich Farrelly solicitors, representing the insurers, added: “The hapless footballer clearly couldn’t resist boasting about his performance on social media despite claiming to have been unable to play. “The court’s decision to find him fundamentally dishonest is a red card to any would-be fraudster that they will be caught.”

Scaffold Collapses

3 workers rescued after scaffolding collapses outside Duval County Jail.

3 workers rescued after scaffolding collapses outside Duval County Jail (Jacksonville, Fla.): Three workers were rescued Thursday afternoon after the scaffolding they were standing on outside the Duval County Jail collapsed. One of the men was rescued by a co-worker. Jacksonville Fire-Rescue then conducted what they called a high-angle rescue, using ladder trucks and a commercial bucket truck.

"They'll do whatever it takes to get them down," said Randy Wyse, president of the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters. Less than 30 minutes after the initial call, the two other men, contractors cleaning & resealing the windows, were safely on the ground. "Fortunately, all three of the individuals were harnesses with their safety harnesses, which probably saved their lives," said JSO spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda.

Channel 4 chief meteorologist John Gaughan said there were gusts of wind in the area from a brief thunderstorm passing at the time, but the highest was measured about 30 mph. "More weather is supposed to be coming in. We're trying to determine how to secure the scaffold," Bujeda said.

Mozambique: At Least Five Dead in Scaffolding Collapse (Maputo) — At least five building workers died, and a further six were injured in a scaffolding collapse at a building site in downtown Maputo on Tuesday afternoon.

The building where the collapse occurred is owned by the JAT group, and is intended to house the future offices of the National Social Security Institute (INSS). It is 17 storeys high, and most of those who fell to the ground were working at a height of over 30 metres.

When the spokesperson for the fire brigade, David Cumbane, spoke to AIM in the early evening he could confirm three deaths - but at the stage the firemen and other rescue workers were still removing the dead and injured from the debris.

Before the fire brigade arrived, it was the construction workers themselves who began the rescue operations, trying to save the lives of their colleagues trapped under the scaffolding. AIM noted that some of the building workers lacked basic protective clothing. They had no helmets, goggles or boots, which should be routinely supplied by any contractor on a building site.

One worker, speaking to AIM on conditions of anonymity, said that the scaffolding collapsed because of a defect in assembling it. He claimed it was not the first time that an accident of this sort had happened. “The same thing happened last year”, he said, “but that time we were lucky because nobody died”. This worker complained to reporters of the lack of safety equipment on the site.

“There's no safety gear”, he protested. “We're working under inhuman conditions. They treat us as if we were slaves. There are even people on the site working in flip-flops”.

Entrepreneurs Rebuild After Bankruptcy

Bob Serwas (left), co-owner of Serwas window cleaning services and his partner Chris Mathias, overcame a bankruptcy & rebuilt their business.

Entrepreneurs rebuild after bankruptcy: Bob Serwas, co-owner of Serwas Window Cleaning Services, knows what it’s like to succeed, fail, and then succeed again. He and his partner, Chris Mathias, have learned that slow and steady is the way to build a business. “I was warned by people not to grow big too fast and that’s exactly what I did,” Serwas said.

Looking back, Serwas, who fell in love with window washing when he was a teenager, was working for a local company when that company was sold to a competitor. The merger did not go well, and Serwas and his partner decided to form Residential Window Specialists in 1996.

The business exploded. In just three years, it was grossing a million dollars a year and the partners had a new challenge. Since window washing is a seasonal business, they wanted to find a way to provide year-round employment.

To fill the gap, they purchased an awning cleaning and sealing division and a mobile blind cleaning and sales division. The result was a growing debt. Serwas commented, “I took out a loan, and the bank socked me with a big payment. At the same time, we discovered that the employees we had were clocking in but not completing jobs.”

What resulted was an accounts receivable nightmare. Companies were billed for jobs that weren’t completed and refused to pay. While Serwas tried to incorporate the new businesses into the existing one, employees were playing video games instead of working. “It went from one crisis to the next,” he stated. “I needed help and was run ragged. The new divisions were wearing me down.”

As the accounts receivable mounted and bills couldn’t be paid, the lender called the loan. Serwas defaulted and had no option but to declare bankruptcy. The next four years were spent building credit and paying off debt. He had lost his house, 10 trucks and most of his personal property. He traded off an old pressure washer for a $100 minivan so his wife could get around, and spent six months living with his parents.

His efforts paid off, and by 2004, he had cleared his credit and purchased a home. Long hours of working a full-time job and cleaning windows on the side along with his wife meant $3,543 in the bank and an opportunity to do the same business again, but to do it right.

“I bought a bucket of equipment and an old computer and started again. I talked to the people at SCORE and decided I would make this work because it’s the only thing I love to do and I do it well. I learned to monitor the business more closely and watch the accounts receivable carefully,” Serwas noted.

Back in business with Mathias, Serwas runs the residential division and Mathias handles commercial accounts. For the past 11 years, growth has been controlled and the gross sales have reached the previous high. There are 23 employees, and Serwas says they are phenomenal workers. Additional services, such as hanging Christmas décor, pest control, gutter cleaning and snow removal, have been added slowly.

The company is now well respected, and Serwas says that he strives to achieve greatness without compromising quality workmanship. He and Mathias have a hectic schedule and look forward to winter when things slow down.

“I feel satisfied at the end of the year when I can finally breathe,” Serwas said. “We look at the final figures and say, ‘Wow.’ But even better are those remarks we get from customers when they say they can’t believe how good their windows look.”

Rakes & Panes

Rakes and Panes is a garden maintenance and window cleaning business run by disability service provider The Compass Institute. Compass Lawn and Gardens service provides workplace training and flexible employment to the young people of Compass. It consists of two divisions – lawn and garden maintenance and window cleaning.

Grant helps business give disabled workers a hand (Australia): A Palmwoods business providing employment for 35 disabled people will ramp up its operations thanks to a donation from the Endeavour Foundation.

Rakes and Panes is a garden maintenance and window cleaning business run by disability service provider The Compass Institute. The $4000 grant has allowed the business to buy four lawnmowers, doubling its equipment pool.

Development co-ordinator DJ McGlynn said staff were excited to learn the workings of the mowers.

"We're hoping the new mowers will help us more than double the amount of work we do," Mr McGlynn said.

Rakes and Panes has operated with a varied collection of second-hand mowers, all with different operating procedures. This was challenging for workers with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Endeavour Foundation chief executive officer David Barbagallo applauded the Rakes and Panes program. "This is a great social enterprise, where people are doing meaningful work," Mr Barbagallo said. "It is fantastic that we can support them in a small but significant way," he said.

Fund chairman Grant Murdoch said the $4000 grant was a cost-effective way to contribute to a social enterprise that was both providing work to people with a disability and discounted services to people unable to maintain their own garden.

"Like The Compass Institute, Endeavour Foundation understands the value of supported employment," Mr Murdoch said. "We know that having a job is a vital source of financial independence, self-esteem and a sense of purpose for everybody, including those with a disability," he said.

The Compass Institute has social enterprises that provide flexible employment and on-the-job training for young people with a disability. It employs 40 staff across six sites on the Sunshine Coast, offering training and support services.

This year The Endeavour Foundation Endowment Challenge Fund awarded $40,000 to fund research, gave two awards of $5000 each to higher degree students, and made $20,000 available to non-profit organisations. The fund is a public benevolent institution that seeks to benefit the wider Australian disability sector as a whole, with an emphasis on people with an intellectual disability

Rogue Window Cleaners Reveal Public Perception Of Ladders

Window cleaners have been targeted on social media, but there have been no reports made to the police. 

No complaints over rogue window cleaners in Shepton, say police: Window cleaners in the Shepton Mallet area have been centre stage on social media this week, but for all the wrong reasons. There were a series of posts on Facebook warning of men posing as window cleaners in Shepton Mallet and Evercreech with a view to scoping out or breaking into houses, but police have confirmed that they have not been contacted in relation to these concerns.

Inspector Mark Nicholson, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We haven't had any reports of suspicious activity in relation to window cleaners in the Shepton Mallet area and we would ask people to be mindful, when posting on social media, of speculation and comment that could be harmful to legitimate businesses. "However, if you see something suspicious or you suspect a crime is in progress always call us on 999. "We encourage people to be good neighbours and look out for other people in their streets and communities and would certainly ask people to report suspicious activity to us."

A Wells-based window cleaner, who also operates in and around the Shepton area, took to Facebook to reassure his customers, emphasising that he always wears a branded T-shirt when working. Another recounted being treated badly while going about his work.

Suspicions were aroused by men knocking on doors asking residents if they would like their windows cleaned, with some of those approached commenting that the men do not appear fully equipped for the task, carrying only rags and bottles of water.

The men are said to have ladders with them, which some have taken as an indication that they are not legitimate, citing the belief that ladders are now illegal for window cleaners.

The men are said to have ladders with them, which some have taken as an indication that they are not legitimate, citing the belief that ladders are now illegal for window cleaners. However, the Health and Safety Executive simply recommend that ladders should only be used for low-risk, short duration work.