Soil control is an important part of keeping your home clean and healthy. The Institute of Cleaning and Restoration Certification defines soil as any undesirable substance that is foreign to a surface. Practicing soil control means limiting the buildup of soil on surfaces. Limiting soil equals a clean and healthy home. Here are 11 tips to help you practice soil control.

1. Keep dirt outside by keeping all entry areas and garage floors swept and clean. Pressure wash walkways, porches and stairs leading to the entrances to your house. It takes 12 times more effort, time and money to remove soil from your home than it does to prevent it entering in the first place.

2. Remove dirt before it enters the house with door mats. Again, the idea is to limit the amount of soil that enters from outside. Use water resistant door mats made of non-absorbent, mold resistant fibers outside every entrance to your home.

3. Stop dirt at the door by adding another doormat just inside your home. This mat should be made of an absorbent material such as nylon, cotton or wool. Washable throw rugs work great, provided they don’t slide around or become a tripping hazard. Vacuum or wash the mat twice a week.

4. Keep outdoor shoes out of the house. Take off your shoes at the door and wear indoor shoes, slippers or socks around the house. Don’t go barefoot all the time; the natural oils on your feet attach to the carpet and attract soil.

5. Brush and groom your pets regularly – preferably outdoors.

6. Change your furnace filter every 30 days when it is in use. Opt for a high efficiency allergen-trapping filter – it will be $15-20 well-spent.

7. Keep your kitchen vent hood clean… and use it. These vents trap moisture, oils and odors that would otherwise end up in your carpet.

8. Use a bathroom vent. Humidity in the bathroom can lead to mold growth. Let the fan run 10 minutes after you shower or bathe.

9. Vacuum regularly.This is the most important step in carpet maintenance. 74-79% of the soil in typical household carpet can be removed by regular vacuuming. If these dry soils are allowed to remain, some of them break down and oxidize, creating a perfect breeding ground for fungi, bacteria and unpleasant odors. Grittier soils adhere to sticky or oily residues on carpet fibers, causing abrasion and permanent damage. Regular vacuuming reduces these effects so carpets last longer.

10. Vacuum furniture. You should vacuum your upholstered furniture, drapery and blinds for the same reasons listed above. When you dust your furniture, do so gently, and slowly. It is best to do this with a duster attachment on your vacuum cleaner. Allow the dust to settle for an hour or so; then vacuum the carpet or floor.

11. Have your carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned at least once a year, at a minimum. Homes with more people, pets and especially those with young children, should be cleaned more frequently.

Call Hansen Steam Way to learn more or schedule your next cleaning.

Ready, set, go. Just as you would set off at the starting line of a race, this hectic pace is how mornings begin for many men and women.

Instead of waking with dread to face another hectic morning, consider these tips for a healthier way to ease into your daily rituals. Meditate. A practice that has been around for thousands of years may still be one of the best stress busters for hurried mornings. Stretch. While the most health-conscious person may opt for a morning sweat-a-thon, working in some stretches can also be beneficial. When you awake, think about oft-used muscles and extend each one for 15- 30 seconds.

Activate. Give your brain some fuel in the morning while also doing something nice for your mind. For example, journaling is a gentle way to ease into your morning and get your brain firing. If you can’t think of a topic, simply write down a few affirmations for the day, revisit a pleasant memory from your past or scribble down a goal for the week.

The holidays signal a time for family gatherings, traditions and the spirit of giving. Make this holiday season even more meaningful by giving gifts that help children in need around the globe.

According to UNICEF, around 15,000 children die every day from preventable diseases. This holiday season, you can join the charge by choosing gifts that can give back.

With Inspired Gifts, you can provide supplies in the name of a loved one that get delivered directly to children who need it most. Just $19 can provide polio vaccines to protect 100 children from the deadly disease.

If you are looking for stocking stuffers and unique finds, UNICEF Market has a vast collection of handcrafted items made by artisans from around the world. Visit www.unicefusa.org for more information on these life saving gifts.

The holidays are full of overindulgence, even for our pets. It may take a little effort on your part to ensure your pet has a healthy and safe holiday season.

Make sure any treats you give your pet are just that—pet treats, not human treats. If you decide to get goodies for your animal, be sure to dole out the treats slowly over time. Take these extras into account at meal times and reduce meal quantities accordingly.

Exercise is always good for you and your pet, so make time for a daily walk, too.

Festivities and decorations can also pose a health threat to your dog or cat. All cords should be well shielded and your tree should be anchored to prevent it from tipping over. All edible decorations should be placed out of reach. By taking these simple precautions, you can ensure that both you and your furry friend will enjoy this holiday season.

The basic principles of cleaning can be easily remembered by the acronym, C.H.A.T. The four letters stand for Chemical, Heat, Agitation and Time. Proper application of these four principles is important for effective cleaning. Chemical-The word chemical doesn’t always mean toxic; technically, even water is a chemical. Everyone uses soap to wash themselves, shampoo to clean their hair and various detergents to clean the dishes they eat on, and the clothes they wear. All of these cleaning agents are chemicals, and properly used, they are harmless.

There are different cleaning agents designed to remove a variety of soils from all kinds of surfaces. A product designed to work on tile and grout floors would likely damage carpet or wood. A wood cleaner would not do an adequate job of cleaning glass. To work well the right chemicals must be matched to surface and suitable for the soil that you are trying to remove.

Heat-Hot water cleans better than cold water. In situations where it is safe to do so, adding heat to your cleaning solution will increase chemical effectiveness, and decrease overall cleaning time. When you are dealing with heavily soiled surfaces, heat is especially helpful. Grease and oil are broken down by heat, so using hot cleaning solution and hot water to rinse will yield excellent results.

Agitation-Scouring pads, brushes, coarse cloths, and even high pressure water are some methods used to achieve agitation. Agitation helps by distributing your cleaning agent, dislodging soils from surfaces and suspending them in the cleaning solution to be rinsed away.

Time-We all know that the longer you scrub and rinse something, the cleaner it gets. While that is true, it’s not the best use of time. When you are cleaning, dwell time of your cleaning agent is important. Dwell time means that you allow the product time to work, breaking down and dissolving soils. The amount of dwell time will depend on the type and quantity of soiling, the surface being cleaned and the strength and concentration of your cleaning solution.

Easy as Pie -Think of all of the four principles (chemical, heat, agitation, time) as four slices of a pie. If you slice the pie evenly, everyone gets the same amount. But, if someone wants a bigger slice, you will have to decrease the size of one or more of the other pieces of the pie.

Here’s how it works in cleaning: If you have to use a very mild cleaning chemical, you’ll need to increase dwell time, agitation and/or temperature. If you can’t use hot water, you will have to use more chemical, dwell time, or scrub more aggressively. If you can’t use agitation, you will need more time, heat and/or chemical action. Increasing temperature by using hot water is usually the best way to improve cleaning efficiency and save time. Hot water reduces the amount of chemical you need to clean, suspends more soil, and rinses better. Temperatures over 130ºF begin to kill microbes on surfaces, providing sanitizing benefits. If you apply The 4 Principles of Cleaning, you can be more successful cleaning just about anything.

Of course, when it comes to cleaning your carpet, upholstery, rugs and tile, Hansen Steam Way technicians are the experts at applying the 4 principles of cleaning. That’s why we produce the best results every time, guaranteed.