Carpet Cleaning Myths Debunked

When it comes to the world of carpet cleaning, you might have some statements that aren’t actually based on fact. Myths and mistruths are easily spread, so before you decide that you’ve been put off carpet cleaning by what you’ve heard, let’s look at some of these myths and reveal the truth about professional carpet cleaning:

A carpet will shrink when wet cleaned

A carpet that is left wet for a long time will indeed shrink. However, when a carpet is being professionally cleaned, only a small amount of moisture is applied with proper cleaning tools for the job. The drying period is also quick, so you can rest easy that no shrinkage will happen to your carpet.

All carpet cleaners use the same technique

This isn’t the case. Many different methods are employed by different professionals. The truth is you generally get what you pay for and a cheaper quote might mean a less effective method that only cleans the top layer of your carpet, so it looks better but isn’t any more hygienic.

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Carpets take an age to dry

The best carpet cleaning machinery will use a high-quality suction and vacuum system to remove moisture from carpets. This means you’re your carpets will never become excessively wet and are able to dry naturally in a short space of time.

Carpets dirty more quickly after a professional clean

A professionally cleaned carpet is no more likely to get dirty than any other carpet. This mistruth comes from those who use the incorrect cleaning products or don’t rinse out the products from the carpet fibres properly. These problems will attract more dirt, so always make sure you hire a reputable company to complete your carpet clean, such as Cheltenham Carpet Cleaning Company http://gnccontractservices.com/

Carpet cleaning means you don’t have to vacuum

Whilst it is true that a proper carpet clean offers a deep clean that vacuuming can’t, you should still vacuum regularly to pick up things like crumbs, dust and pet hairs. A thorough vacuum is recommended before your cleaner arrives as this makes it easier for the cleaner to do a better clean.

You don’t need to clean your carpet unless there are stains

Regardless of whether you have visible stains or not, a professional carpet clean will keep you home fresher, smelling better and more hygienic. It reaches deeper than simple vacuuming alone and can remove hidden dirt that has been trampled into the fibres. It will also rid your carpet of possible allergens such as pet hair, dust and pollen. You can’t see these problems, but they are there nonetheless and almost impossible to remove by vacuuming alone.

Making your Wedding Day Personal to You

Spring is in the air and for many people, so are wedding bells as the most popular time for weddings in the UK begins – between April and September is when most people choose to get married as it is more likely that the weather will be good on the big day (although this is Britain, so you can’t guarantee it!). You may have a plenty of weddings to attend this summer, or you may be starting to plan your own nuptials. If the latter is you, you may be feeling excited but also a bit overwhelmed by all of the organisation that it takes to plan a wedding. Unless you are a celebrity with an enormous bank balance, you will notice that maybe you can’t necessarily have the lavish wedding that many famous people have splashed across the pages of celebrity magazines – but the important thing is that the wedding is your own and that you and your partner enjoy it.

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People often find that when planning a wedding they can get a bit lost under all of the pressure – especially if you have a particularly demanding circle of friends and family – and can easily end up with a wedding that isn’t what they really would have wanted or reflective of their personal style and likes and dislikes. So, before you start to hurriedly ring around all the venues, florists and bridal shops that you can think of, stop and take a minute to decide what you really want.

There are plenty of things that you can do to make your wedding day personal to you – and it certainly doesn’t have to break the bank – if you and your partner are big superhero fans for example, then why not have a fancy-dress superhero wedding? It doesn’t have to be fancy dress – if you want something more understated, but with a nod to the things that you love the table names are the perfect way to express what you love, and you can have great fun and save money creating your own home-made centrepieces. If you are both die hard punk rock lovers, then why not get married in full punk dress, complete with mohawks, and the perfect shoes – DR Martens Gloucester store https://www.cottersshoes.co.uk/product-category/brand/dr-martens/ can supply you with these, and you can customise them for the big day yourself.

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Whatever you choose to do on your wedding day, make sure that it is what you want and not the result of pressure from those around you.

Choosing The Perfect Wall Fountain

Nothing transforms a room quite like the addition of a water fountain can. These age old and yet unique decorations can create and atmosphere off peace and serenity while remaining on the cutting edge of style and elegance. Wall fountains create a sense of ambiance and inject a strong sense of character into a room. Whether it is a small wall fountain for a limited space, or an epic full wall cascade for a large room, water walls are a beautiful and relaxing way to revamp your home’s look.

Custom & Unique
There are literally hundreds of styles of wall fountains to pick from, but if nothing tickles your fancy you can have a custom design produced. These one of a kind creations take the individuality of a water fountain one step further so that it is an utterly distinctive piece of you and your family in tangible form. Water walls are not simply static sculptures frozen in place, but engagingly dynamic pieces of art that flow with a room.

If a custom fountain is your choice there are dozens of different materials and frames available to build with. Skilled artisans can fabricate any design imaginable, and give you something completely unique, durable, and gorgeous. From common metals such as copper or stainless steel to less typical materials like bamboo or treated woods, there are literally thousands of possibilities for the construction of your custom fountain.

Integration
It is essential that the fountain you choose or have created fit into the new environment you intend for it. Space in smaller rooms is at a premium, and your fountain should be tailored to fit seamlessly into that limited space. For larger rooms your fountain should parallel the expanded area to blend in with the flow of the furniture and shape of the room. With so many sizes and styles available choosing the perfect fountain should not be difficult at all.

Cleaner Air with Wall Fountains
A wall fountain gives you the soothing and serene sound of moving water with the added benefit of beauty and individuality. These unique works of art also serve a function in that they keep the air quality of whatever space they occupy fresh and clean. Particulates in the air will adhere to the molecules in the moving water and be deposited in the basin where the water collects. In this way water walls act as natural filters and can even improve your overall health.

Wall fountains are more than dynamic pieces of art; they are dramatic statements for whatever space they fill. Our relationship with water in all forms runs deep in our psyches which is a likely reason mankind seems so fascinated with manipulating and controlling this essential element. Fountains and water features are difficult to resist in the best of times, but when the stress of modern life begins to take its toll nothing can sooth and relax like the musical sound of moving water.

Fountains are truly multidimensional sculptures. Not only do they incorporate elements such as water and sound, but now they include light and even music. These highly dynamic pieces of art appeal on so many levels they are nearly impossible to overlook. Sight, sound, and touch all come together in a completely distinctive combination of function and decorative delight.

Best Giveaways For Office Christmas Parties

Christmas parties at the office are excellent for fostering good will and camaraderie in the workplace. It helps your employees get to know each other better, and in a setting that’s outside of work. Party games, especially group party games, are also excellent team building exercises. They get people working together, communicating, and having fun! Now as always with party games, there need to be prizes and party favors, and you don’t want to look like a complete cheapskate when you end up giving your employees Post-It pads as prizes. Trust me, you do not want to be THAT guy.

So to help you avoid being THAT guy, here are a few suggestions for office party favors:

Office Supplies. I know. It sounds like a really dull party favor, but hear me out. Excluding the Post It pads, office supplies can be a lot of fun. It also puts a personal spin on the office environment. Cute, quirky office supplies like paper clips with cartoon animals on them, funny calendars, and notebooks are surefire favorites. Notebooks and daily planners are always good, too, and are fairly inexpensive for the office on a budget—like if you’re a small business that’s just starting out. That’s not all. There are really nice bookmarks out in the market today, as well as odds and ends for your employees’ desks. Handheld paper shredders, for one, are kind of fun.

Personalized tote bags. The best thing about these tote bags is that you can carry in them all the fun, cute, quirky office supplies your boss gave you for Christmas. Tote bags come in all shapes and sizes. And as party favors, they’re really neat; you can have them personalized beforehand with the names of each employee. They can be as simple and as elaborate as you want them to be, too.

Desk Accessories. Cubicles can be depressing little places to spend eight or more hours of twenty four a day in, but we can brighten them up and make them feel a bit more like home with odds and ends for your desk. Magnets are great for decorating your office space. Paper weights, puzzles, card holders, and all other types of ornaments are great for the employees who want to decorate their working space.

Coffee Mugs. But not just any coffee mugs. Personalized coffee mugs and coffee mugs with cheeky, funny cartoons and captions on them make for excellent party favors. There are also really cool color changing mugs that, well, change color in different temperatures. And the best part is, you can sweeten the pot, or in this case mug, even more with a few sweets or some nice pens thrown in. Travel and transportation mugs are inexpensive and environment friendly (bonus!) ways to carry your coffee, too.

Sweets. Everybody loves consumables. Virtually everybody loves sweets. You never ever grow out of a sweet tooth. So unless they’re The Grinch, they’re going to love sweets especially when made and decorated in cute and interesting ways, like these Danish chocolates and gift baskets.

And remember: the most important thing about office Christmas parties is to have fun! So have one! Happy holidays!

Roofing Materials Explained

Whether you’re building a new property or want to replace an existing roof, the material you choose can make all the difference. A roof is one of the most dominant features of a property, taking up to 20-30% of the visible exterior area. The planning stage is crucial therefore, to get the right look and the most durable and effective roofing material. The main materials used in the UK are slate, concrete tiles and clay. There is a wider choice available though and here we look at the different choices in more detail. Considerations will include the coverage, cost, environmental friendliness, expertise required to lay and whether the material suits the area.

Stone

This is a pricey option for a roof covering and would probably only be considered where there is an historical reason to use it – such as in the Cotswolds or the Pennines. Sedimentary stone will separate naturally into thinner sections, similar to slate. They make a good roof material, heavy and strong but they do require a steeper pitch and most likely, a specialist roofer. Clay or metal ridge tiles are often used alongside stone as stone is difficult to achieve a curve with. They are laid with larger tiles at the base and smaller tiles ascending.

Concrete

This is a very popular material for roofing, due to its vast range in tiles available. Such tiles are mainly interlocking which gives greater waterproofing qualities. They can be used on a shallower pitched roof, are economically viable and offer a good, secure fixing. There are a wide range of finishes, textures and colours to choose from including vintage-look and double-roman. The only downside is that concrete tiles don’t have the life expectancy of stone and can weather faster. They do offer greater flexibility and can be adapted easily to fit more tricky shapes, curves and gulleys, for example. For Flat Roofing Gloucester, visit http://premiertradespeople.co.uk/trade-services-gloucester/gloucester-roofing/

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Metal

Metal for roofing might seem like a modern invention but copper has been used in roofing for hundreds of years, particularly for ornate domes and lead flat-roofing during the reign of Elizabeth I. Nowadays, materials like aluminium and zinc can be used for roofing and it’s particularly good for complex shapes and curving. It is highly durable but does have some environmental concerns over production methods. It can be attractive to thieves due to its high worth and run-off can be a worry. Steel tiles are common in Europe as they are light, hi-tech and can be used on low pitched roofing.

Slate

Popular in the UK due to its natural abundance. It is easily split to form thin sections perfect for tiling. To make them water-tight, they do need to be tightly overlapped and laid on battens on top of an underlay. The pitch required is at least 30 degrees and clay or metal ridge tiles need to be applied due to its difficulty in shaping. More modern varieties are available in different colours, but they are normally grey.

Five Top Commercial Kitchen Tips

The hospitality industry is probably one of the most stressful sectors to operate in. Not only do you have demanding customers coming at you from all angles, but there is a plethora of regulations to wade through and adhere to as well. But with some simple planning and processes in place, you can ensure that your operation runs smoothly. Here we take a look at five tips that will make life much simpler.

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Routine Maintenance and Training

Make sure you have a planned schedule of maintenance checks for all your equipment. The equipment in your commercial kitchen takes a real hammering at times, and the last thing you need is for an oven to break down mid-service. Get into the habit of checking them on a regular basis, and make sure you adhere to the manufacturer’s recommended service schedule.

Good staff training is essential in all businesses, but in the hospitality sector failure to properly train employees can result in your establishment being closed down. Make sure that training is an ongoing process to ensure that all staff are kept up to date not only with the menu but more importantly the relevant food safety procedures.

The Food Standards Agency also offers a range of support and guidance for businesses.

The Right Equipment

While, of course, you must have pots and pans in your kitchen, there are three key pieces of equipment that you must get right to prevent serious problems in your kitchen. They are the plumbing, a system for trapping grease and fat and ventilation.

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To a degree the first two go hand in hand. If excess fat and grease aren’t collected properly in grease traps, then it can cause a problem with your plumbing, leading to blocked or burst pipes.

If you’re looking for grease traps for commercial kitchens, whether they are stainless steel or outdoor type, companies like https://www.ukgreasetrapsdirect.co.uk/ can help.

No kitchen wants to be left without water, as it cannot function, and there’s no pleasure in being up to your knees in greasy water if a pipe becomes blocked and then bursts.

Your ventilation system, including cooker hoods and fans, is essential in keeping the kitchen smoke- and steam-free. But these extraction systems can be prone to a build-up of fat and grease too, so make sure that filters are changed regularly.

 

Great ideas for using raspberries

The recent spate of sunny weather has left many people yearning for summer and all the delights that the season brings. Raspberries are definitely one of the best things about summer, as there are many fantastic ideas to try out.

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Start the day off in the best possible way – add a few to cereal in the morning, pop some in your porridge or make a fresh fruit smoothie with raspberries as one of the star ingredients. Growing your own raspberries is a great way to get the freshest possible fruit and the plants can yield a lot of fruit. This article from The Guardian has some tips for two crops of fruit in the growing season.

Baking

There are so many ways to bring raspberries into your baking. If you’re a fan of brownies why not try adding a handful, folding them in to the batter before baking? A squidgy dark chocolate brownie with sweet, melting raspberries in the centre is a thing of beauty!

If cheesecake is more your thing then try a baked raspberry cheesecake, which would be ideal for a summer dinner party. Alternatively, match the fruit with almonds in a raspberry and almond cake and if you want raspberries out of season, then this sort of cake can be made perfectly with raspberry food flavouring, such as that from http://www.foodieflavours.com/shop/flavours/natural-flavouring/raspberry/. In fact, as fresh fruit can make baked items act a little oddly, raspberry food flavouring can even work better than the real thing!

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Another way to help keep the raspberry flavour throughout the year is to make your own jam. If you’ve never made it before, then jam may seem a bit fiddly, but it can actually be very easy and leaves you feeling like a domestic god or goddess!

Cool down

If the weather starts to heat up, then we’ll all need ice cream. Raspberry ripple is the creamy classic from childhood that can be surprisingly easy to make yourself and it’s ideal as there are many recipes that don’t even require an ice cream machine.

Perhaps an ice cold drink would be a better way to cool down? Try making homemade lemonade with added raspberries then serve the beautiful pink drink over piles of ice. Whatever happens with the weather this summer, bring on the raspberries!

10 essential items for every classroom

Every infant and primary school teacher knows that budgets are tight in the classroom, and not every school will supply all the items that you might need. As we move into the summer term, it is a good idea to make a list of the most useful items for the classroom.

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Why not plan ahead for the autumn term too, to ensure that you put in requests for all of the essentials?

You may not mind dipping into your own funds for pens and pencils, but most teachers would hesitate to supply their own magnetic dry wipe boards for schools.

Here is a list of 10 essential classroom resources that you really should not run out of:

1. Felt tip pens and sharpies in bright colours

It is impossible to imagine any primary school lesson which does not involve getting creative with pens. Make sure you also have some good spray cleaner for wiping desks afterwards.

2. A box of tissues

These are essential for those runny noses and moments when children are feeling fragile and tearful.

3. Storage files and magazine boxes

You need to have an efficient storage system for keeping children’s work easy to find and in good condition.

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4. Velcro dots and sticky tac

For fixing up posters and artwork.

5. Crayons and coloured pencils

For creative children, these are much better than felt-tip pens, as they allow for shading and variations in colour; for the artistic children in your class, they are essential, and also last longer than pens.

6. Scissors

You need a box of small, safe scissors suitable for small hands, and something sturdier for use by teacher and the teaching assistant, to make life easier.

7. Books

An essential part of any classroom. If you are lucky enough to have a school library, make use of it. For ideas for using literature, getting free books and celebrating World Book Day, see https://www.worldbookday.com/resources/primary/.

8. Portable whiteboards
These are so useful in the primary classroom for flexible working. They can be purchased from https://wedgewhiteboards.co.uk/.

9. Stationery and note cards for writing thank you notes to parents

If you get parents on your side, you may find you have willing volunteers when you need them for events and trips.

10. Glue sticks

Great for classroom papercraft projects.

Good Photography

Photos are not just about the product, whether for fashion or a corporate setting, they are about the message sent. A good photo is pleasing a provocative photo is what sells. When you gloss over a magazine the model showing off the photo should be portrayed to be human yet perfect.

What does that mean? If you have ever looked into a mirror (of course you have but humor me here) say under fluorescent lighting you notice how different features are enhanced or downplayed, certain lighting flatters or destroys a photo and its intended subject

Good makeup, quality products and a picturesque place are an advantage but a good photographer uses his/her knowledge to their advantage to portray a message within the picture and make it something to look twice at or thought provoking as stated earlier on.

The person behind the lens should know how to handle the subject, whether it is a building or a person. A good photographer listen’s to the client and works with what they are given to produce a high quality photo.

For the corporate look the most common photos are during events such as a cocktail party, seminars and office parties. A professional photographer knows how to blend in and work with the given lighting (most corporate events are indoors with low lighting so do not be surprised to see an external flash on the photographer). A good corporate photo is an advertisement opportunity for the company, both to clients and future employees, so picking the right photos show what type of a place the business is.

When employing a photographer, pick one that portrays professionalism. You do not want a photographer who appear in scruffy clothes and flip flops for your wedding. Look at their portfolio and read some of their reviews, you can contact past customers; a satisfied client is one of the best referrals. Take a peek at their website. The Michal Kriesch studios with extensive experience, over 10 years, in the photography business, offer quality photos for every occasion.

The website contains some of the photographer’s best work ranging from portraits to weddings and corporate affairs. The quality of work is superb. His portraits and choice of backdrops and lighting make for exquisite photos.

Free Project Management Software You Should Consider Using

Any good manager knows that in order for a project to succeed everything must be organized properly for everyone. This is where project management software comes in. A lot of this popular software usually comes at a premium price tag which is often beyond the budget of small to medium-sized businesses. The good thing though is that there are also free project management software’s available that can do the same job.

Open Workbench

If you are familiar with Microsoft Project then you may want to take a look at its free alternative which is called Open Workbench. The main focus of this application is project scheduling and it does a great job. You can access several features such as resource management, scheduling, planning, and reviews.

This is highly recommended software for startup companies who are looking for an effective solution in managing their projects that isn’t complex and expensive.

OpenProj

One other software to consider in managing your projects is OpenProj. This free task tracking application has several features comparable to that of paid versions. It is compatible with Microsoft Project files and uses less resource. Project managers who have tried this software find it a very useful tool for task management.

GanttProject

GanttProject is cross-platform software that works on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It has basic project management features that will help you oversee your project to the end. Some of its features include

  • Creation of a Gantt chart
  • Assigning of human resources
  • Generate a PERT chart from a Gantt chart
  • Save charts as .PNG
  • Generate .PDF and .HTML report
  • Import and export projects to Microsoft Project

dotProject

This is web based project management software that helps you in your project layout and control. It has extensive features that make it the choice for company’s who are particular in task management. Some of its features include

  • User Management
  • Email based trouble Ticket System, (Integrated voxel.net’sticketsmith)
  • Client/Company Management
  • Project listings
  • Hierarchical Task List
  • File Repository
  • Contact List
  • Calendar
  • Discussion Forum
  • Resource Based Permissions

ReqMan

Managers love to use this tool because it is highly configurable and versatile. It packs in several powerful features such as a planning module, time module, reporting module and even a questionnaire. It is also web based so you need to be connected online.

In times when companies everywhere are making budget cuts it is time to make the smart decision. Even if funding has been reduced any manager can still manage a project by using these free project management software. Although they may differ from the paid versions that some of you are used to it still provides the same end result.