Commercial Carpet Cleaning Reduces Office Allergen Concerns

Posted on September 6, 2011 by admin

The changing of the season from summer to fall brings forth a rush of allergens – unless the season change is greeted with a quality commercial carpet cleaning.

With summer nearing an end, fall winds and seasonal plant allergens create high levels of discomfort for many people. Sickness due to allergies can lead to missed days of work or lost productivity, as even the slightest allergy can cause a person to become drowsy and uncomfortable while working.

Woodard Cleaning & Restoration specializes in commercial carpet cleaning, and we recommend that businesses regularly clean their carpets to help reduce seasonal allergens. Carpets and all other upholstered materials act as filters, capturing airborne contaminants. While this helps keep those allergens from floating into the breathing zone, it is also a great reason for regular cleanings.

As Woodard’s operations manager, I have seen how bad it can get when commercial carpets are not well maintained – in fact, I’ve seen cases where soil has filled the depth of the fibers, from the carpet backing all the way up to the face fibers. Businesses with a lot of foot-traffic, such as restaurants or retail shops can collect a high amount of dust and soil. The longer it goes without cleaning, the more the soil sinks in through the carpet fibers.

At Woodard, we want to provide the legendary service that has earned us rave reviews as the “best commercial carpet cleaner in St. Louis.” Woodard crews will not only clean the carpet, but also provide carpet care advice to the business owner. It is this attention to detail and customer service that sets us apart in commercial carpet cleaning.

As a standard practice, I recommend for businesses to vacuum their carpets on a daily basis with a quality vacuum cleaner. When the bag gets more than half full, replace it, as the vacuum suction suffers as the bag fills. Once that soil gets down into the carpet, these particles actually cut the fibers of the carpet, which creates a “dirty” appearance (in fact, the carpet is just reflecting light differently, due to the abrasions on the fibers).

By Tom Blandford, Woodard Operations Manager

Quality Employees and Extensive Employee Training Sets Woodard Apart!

Posted on June 24, 2011 by admin

When people ask me, “what sets Woodard apart from other companies,” I answer that it comes down to two main points: hiring quality employees, and providing extensive employee training. Certainly the cleaning and restoration results we achieve, our attention to detail, amazing customer service, and respect for our customers’ belongings also play key roles.

Woodard has a very thorough hiring process. We only hire people that embrace our core values (FYI, Woodard’s core values are: Do what’s right, Honesty/integrity/trust, Respect, Dedication to serving others, and Continuous improvement). Additionally, an employee has to be presentable and respectful. We understand that inviting a stranger into your home can be disconcerting, and we want our customers to be comfortable with Woodard employees. The hiring process also includes several screening interviews with various department managers, placement testing to determine fit, and additional HR practices to help identify a quality employee.

Once a person is hired, they then begin an extensive employee training program. Traditionally, a new employee will be hired into our Flex Work Force, a position that requires them to work in all business divisions, learning multiple job functions. They begin working alongside seasoned crew chiefs, as well as having considerable classroom training to earn industry certifications. There are many certifications that a new employee could earn (depending on what position they hold in the company). Altogether, Woodard’s employees hold over 400 certifications, including carpet and furniture cleaning, structural drying, odor elimination, mold remediation, and others.

Next time a Woodard employee is working in your home, ask how they feel about working for Woodard. You will see their pride in working for a company that cares for their employees, and the customers they serve. We feel that quality employees and extensive employee training gives Woodard a distinct advantage over the competition.

(By Tom Blandford, Operations Manager)

Location Operations Manager Tom Blandford

Posted on March 25, 2011 by admin

I sat down with our location operations manager Tom Blandford this week to talk about some of the exciting things happening in his department lately. His department includes commercial and residential carpet and upholstery cleaning. We are currently looking into expanding our commercial service offerings to include vinyl tile and ceramic tile, and grout cleaning. Some of our customers have been asking for these services and we are fine tuning our processes for both the stripping and refinishing of Vinyl Composite Tile (VCT) and also ceramic tile and grout cleaning. These are both services that we will be happy to offer our customers once we perfect our processes.

Another helpful service we are planning on offering shortly is a better solution for animal urine removal. The scent and staining caused by some animal urine can be very challenging to remove. While we have had success in many cases, the industry as a whole has trouble with the more extreme cases. We are currently testing new cleaning solutions and techniques that have shown remarkable success with even high levels of cat or other animal urine (it’s interesting to note that we’re conducting our tests on cat and dog urine, along with some of the strong urine products that hunters use to mask scents).

We have also upgrading many of our trucks and vans that were using slightly older equipment, and we’ve begun using a new tool designed for delicate fabrics on furniture. This tool is gentler and uses less water allowing us to clean delicate fabrics and upholstery safely. Tom is very excited to be expanding our offerings to better serve our customers both residential and commercial, and we should see these services offered to all very soon.