newslink
ncca
April 2013
The official journal of the National Carpet Cleaners Association
Features:
Perspiration on Upholstery New NCCA Marketing Strategy PhotographŠMajestic by Brintons
Contents
Published monthly by:
03 From the editor - New marketing strategies 04 From the President 06 The whole story 08 Stoneman’s corner 11 Rug style elements
The National Carpet Cleaners Association 62c London Road, Oadby, Leicestershire, LE2 5DH. Tel: 0116 271 9550 E-mail: admin@ncca.co.uk Website: www.ncca.co.uk
Editor Nikki Law
Editor in Chief Keith Robertson
12 Don’t sell... serve!
Design Editor
14 Perspiration on upholstery fabrics
President/Technical Director
16 Avoid the ‘nuclear’ option 18 Excellent carpet cleaning and restoration opportunity for NCCA members 20 Cheaper fuel for members 22 Upholstery pre-clean checklist 23 Cleaning Show 2013 24 Floor sanding with no mess 26 Employee health and safety
Nikki Law Paul Pearce
Vice President/Marketing Director Keith Robertson
Vice President/Events Director Nigel Lay
Member Liaison Director Glyn Charnock
Assistant Membership Director Martin Johns
Franchise Liaison Director Denise Pitt
Corporate Liaison Director Rob Whitbread
28 Good news for small businesses Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Association or it’s officers or members. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the statements within this publication, we cannot accept responsibility for any errors, or omissions, or matters arising from any clerical or printing errors, and whilst every care is taken of manuscripts and photographs submitted to us, we can accept no responsibility for any loss or damage.
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Training Director Christian Ramsey
www.facebook.com/NCCAFloorCare www.twitter.com/NCCA_floorcare_ ©Carpet Cleaners Association Ltd 1994 (Trading as the National Carpet Cleaners Association). No part of this Newsletter may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Carpet Cleaners Association Ltd.
New marketing strategy announced by the NCCA! With major investment in new online marketing and social media to help find work for all NCCA members!
A
fter months of discussions with our members, and external consultants, the outcome was clear‌ it is vital for the NCCA to make big changes to start helping our members stay ahead of their competition. To do this it has been agreed that the NCCA should become increasingly 'open', by sharing more with the industry as a whole and by directly supporting the members with the introduction of new marketing strategies. All the Directors and office staff have worked incredibly hard over the last eighteen months paving the way for the new strategies. Hopefully you will have already seen some of these changes, such as the: ! Government endorsement with TrustMark, exclusively for NCCA members, which started in October 2012. ! New email campaigns and blogs, providing you with more information more regularly, which started in January 2013. ! New 'tiered level' membership system to acknowledge time served and training of our members, which started in April 2013. Some of the changes have already taken place internally, such as: ! Upgrading of our office computer system, providing us with better and faster tools to support the new strategies. ! New online CRM (Customer Relationship Management) database software, which will allow us to track and report to the members more quickly and efficiently. ! Revamping of our office systems and procedures to bring them up-to-date and staff training as we prepare the NCCA for ISO 9001. Moving forward, the biggest change you'll see, and
hopefully the biggest benefit to all our members, is the NCCA going online. There are two main areas here marketing and resources. Firstly the Marketing, which will be in place by the summer, and we are Nicky Law confident it will help you find work. Our Newslink Editor plan over the next few years is to more than repay you for your investment in the NCCA with: ! A brand-new 'consumer facing' website, to attract customers to our members with an 'SEO' friendly directory. ! New Social Media campaign across Facebook and Twitter aimed at the consumer. ! Online ‘consumer reports' and videos for the new consumer website and for you to share on your website. ! Lead 'capture' and 'nurture' programmes so we can give you more details about customers looking for cleaners in your area more quickly. Secondly, we are improving our resources to you with: ! The New Online NEWSLINK - Newslink will become 'paperless' by July 2013, progressing to fully interactive digital media. You'll be able to download it or go directly to websites listed within the publication, all by the click of a button. Back issues will be put online for the industry to use. ! A 'Technical Wiki' - An excellent tool for cleaners, the Wiki will function as an easy to navigate technical manual and will become available to members on the NCCA website. Of course with the exception of TrustMark membership, which is optional, all these benefits are inclusive within your annual fees. We hope you like all these new improvements to your association and appreciate we are here to help you.
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From the President
W
Paul Pearce
hat kind of work does your business cover? Do you just clean carpets and upholstery? Or maybe you clean only carpets? Have you thought about cleaning hard floors or even reinstallation/repair of carpets? My reason for asking this is really to get you thinking about the services you offer and to get you to communicate this to your clients. Have you not noticed the amount of hard floors there are around? There are a considerable amount of floors that will need better maintenance than a damp mop now and again. So let's go through a few different types. There are: quarry, laminate, vinyl, ceramic, terrazzo, Amtico (trade name), stone, marble, wood and variations of all of these. Have you thought about training to enable you to do this? Remember, if you don't take on the hard floor cleaning work, someone else will. Now what about carpet repairs? How many times have you attended a site to
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find that the carpet needs some form of refitting due to damaged door bars, lifting gripper rods, split seams, pot plant stains and so on? All these problems can be tackled quite easily after a little
training, some specialist tools, and patience. I, for one, have been carrying out repairs on my clients' carpets for many years not, I hasten to add, because I have done something wrong. We, at the NCCA, run training schools on Advanced Spot and Stain Removal and Hard Floor Cleaning, so if you are thinking of expanding the services you offer just give us a call (0116 271 9550) and we can book you on to one of our courses.
Obituary Cleaning industry stalwart and former NCCA President, Harry Fitchett, passed away peacefully at the Great Western Hospital in Wiltshire on April 13 with his family by his side. Harry started his company, Cleaning Enterprises (Wroughton), in the 1960's and joined the NCCA in 1976. Highly respected within the cleaning industry, he held the esteemed position of NCCA President from 1984 until 1987, running a successful cleaning business until his retirement in 2000 when he was succeeded by his son. As well as holding the office of President,
Harry contributed to the NCCA in many ways over the years, including the organisation of several NCCA conferences. Harry will be sadly missed by his family, friends and business associates. Industry friends have paid this tribute to him “He was a Gentleman and a gentle man who always took the time to make himself available to offer help and advice to members. It was a privilege to have known and worked with him. Our sentiments will be echoed by all who knew him and we send our sincere condolences to his family�. Harry's funeral service was held at Kingsdown Crematorium, Thursday May 2.
The whole story
Derek Bolton
H
ow many times have you spoken to a customer about a spillage and, when asked if they have attempted to remove the stain themselves, they respond with those immortal words “I have only used water”. What they are really saying is “I have tried every chemical I can possibly lay my hands on, and a few others besides, and I can't get the stain out, now it's your turn… after all you are the professional!” Similarly, “My dog would NEVER pee on the carpet”. Production of a black light by the technician soon establishes that the aforementioned pet has, in fact, transformed the lounge carpet into his own personal toilet area… more than once! Isn't it strange how, from time to time, you can
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enter the very inner sanctum of someone's home and almost collapse from the smell of animal body odour that prevails. What is even stranger is that the customer may not be aware that the odour is even there, let alone that you are turning
a funny shade of green. It's ironic then that when you use the strongest deodoriser you have on the van the customer says to you “That's got a strong smell hasn't it!?� Very early on in the cleaning technicians career he, or she, learns to look beyond the rather glib initial statement that is provided to discover a much larger and often more interesting picture. Another phrase you may have heard, in fact I wrote an article some years ago with the phrase as the title, is 'It's not really dirty, just a bit grubby'. Translation: The item is
soiled. Ironically I have, over the years, found that items described as 'disgustingly filthy' are rarely as bad as they are made out to be.
absolutely filthy but I don't want to pay a lot to have it cleaned. It is a wonderful, and unusual, customer who tells 'the whole story'; some simply do not realise that their carpet/furniture is actually quite heavily
The moral of this story is that you should never believe all that you are told. Listen to the customer and then, with the knowledge and experience you have acquired, assess the situation and do the best job that you can.
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The beauty of Blue John
V
isiting Derbyshire and looking for an interesting day out? Put the village of Castleton on your list and go on the hunt for some Blue John stone. In fact, Blue John is a semiprecious mineral rather than a normal stone - it's a calcium fluoride incorporating oils which provide colours that extend in bands or strips. These colours range from yellow to blue and purple. This is probably where the name came from, as 'Blue John' isn't referring to one of our early ancestors coated in Woad (blue dye)! It is most likely that it came from the French words Bleu et Jaune which translates as Blue and Yellow. It has been suggested that Blue John is unique to the hills near Castleton, although there are similar - but not identical - minerals that have been found elsewhere. Nevertheless, it is sufficiently rare to have become expensive. There was a time when Blue John was more plentiful and was used to create items found in stately homes like Chatsworth. In 2008 a pair of
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Keith Robertson
Stoneman’s Corner 1810 Regency Blue John vases were sold for more than £55,000.00 and more recently a pair of 19th century pedestal urns were sold at auction; the purchaser, with auction premium and tax, paid £146,640.00! It may have been mined from Roman times, when they were mining lead in the area for roofing, aqueducts and plumbing, and there is even a claim that two vases made from Blue John were uncovered in the excavation of Pompeii. The more modern history of the use of Blue John dates from the mid eighteenth century and since then jewellery and ornaments, both large and small, have been produced. It is claimed that there
is now very little Blue John left, so it is mined only for a short time in the middle of winter when visitors are thin on the ground. The four mines that are open for visitors lead into limestone caves naturally carved out by underground water. The 'original' Blue John mine has two hundred and twenty eight steps that lead you ever lower and if, like me, you have a heart condition they will either discourage you from making the climb or you will be asked to sign a disclaimer. Needless to say, I survived the trip although the staff at the visitor centre did very kindly provide me with a chair to allow me to recover when I arrived back. Most visitors, regardless of any interest in rock, stone or minerals, find it an interesting experience to descend deep into the hillside and observe just
what natural forces can achieve. If you decide to purchase a sample of Blue John it will only cost a few pounds, but if you are determined to purchase a larger piece be prepared to pay ÂŁ1250.00 to ÂŁ1500.00 for a small bowl. Famous Georgian architect, Robert Adams, used Blue John in his fireplaces - a practice that has been revised by Richard Bean of Natural Stone Sales across in Rowlsey. Richard, who owns and mines Derbyshire Fossil stone at Sheldon near Bakewell, constructs bespoke fire surrounds out of the finest quality fossil bed-rock and decorates it with insets of Blue John centrepieces as a feature - a process known as Pietra Dura. Continued on next page
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Continued from previous page
Pietra Dura, meaning 'hard stones', is a decorative art technique of inlaying cut and fitted, highly-polished coloured stones to create images; an early example of which can be seen in India in the Taj Mahal. It appears that Pietra Dura came to Derbyshire in 1835 after the 'then' Duke of Devonshire saw Florentine mosaics when visiting Italy and on his return suggested to William Adam of Matlock - the owner of the Ashford marble works - that inlaying coloured minerals was “something that they could do”. In due course, outworkers known as 'baublers' were employed to mark out the chiselled sockets using metal templates, into which the inlays were cemented, before the completed stone was returned to the marble mill to allow it to be ground level and polished. Derbyshire is an amazing county for lovers of stone. A wide range of sandstones and limestones are quarried for many reasons, including floors. The question is, does building up your general knowledge of stone and minerals have any relevance to you becoming successful in stone maintenance or renovation? You bet it does. Never forget the advice from Michael Gerber, writer of the 'E-myth', who said, “It's the story, the story, the story”. Customers prefer to deal with experts, particularly if you decide to work at the top end of the market. If you can talk persuasively about your subject it goes a long
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way towards helping your customers understand they have to be prepared to pay realistically to get a professional standard of work. They do actually want to know that you are interested in your subject, so attending a number of training courses and being sufficiently interested in your business to visit trade shows or quarries or stone finishing facilities will be beneficial to you. Combining pleasurable pursuits which can add to your knowledge of stone materials is just another way to do it.
New NCCA Members FULL MEMBERS Fresh Wizard New Milton, Hampshire Cleanicol Ltd London, EC1V Lady Bay Carpet Care Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Miss Maid Ltd London, E14 TopMark Cleaning Norwich, Norfolk
Rug style elements
Pete Collins
Y
ou have to take into consideration, when asked to clean a rug, the different patterns, colours, textures, weaves, shapes and sizes. Most oriental rugs are rectangular in shape, designed and woven to a long established set of
rules. The layout usually consists of a central field, framed by one or several borders. The rug may have an undecorated field, an all over decorated field or can contain one or more medallions as decoration. When assessing the cleaning schedule it is useful to know the wide variety of rug styles and understand the elements of the rug and how they are combined. Rugs of all varieties can have fringes, corners (spandrel), major and minor borders, central
medallions, open field, decorated field and full field decoration (geometric or repeating motifs) incorporated into their design. Colour and design Rugs usually have a dominant colour (but beware of colour run on all the colours). As you are aware you should test all colours before you carry out the cleaning schedule, indeed it is wise to test 24 hours before the actual cleaning takes place. Persian and Indian rugs have elegant, formal arabesques and curvilinear designs, while the Caucasian designs are more geometric. Textiles, piles and weaves When examining a rug, texture should be taken into account. Cotton pile or a flat weave catches the light in different light settings and even turning a hand knotted rug around affects the way it looks, as the pile is facing a different direction. In different types of wool a reaction to light can affect the way the rug looks. Some wools with a high sheen can, at first glance, be mistaken for silk. A cotton Dhurrie has a very different feel to a woollen Kilim. When you judge a rug, look at the fineness of the knotting, material quality, intricacy and symmetrical balance of the design.
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Don’t sell... serve!
David Coker
R
ecently while visiting my father-in-law he informed me that a sales visit from a double glazing salesman was imminent. My initial reaction was “there goes our evening together”. In fact, he seemed to know it as well. He was resigned to “sitting down together for a couple of hours while the salesman pressured him, cut the price in half and offered him a further reduction if he 'signed up tonight' ”. Have you ever wondered if that's how homeowners think about us when they ask for a quotation? The fact is that people like to buy. They just hate to be 'sold'. The result is that people 'tune out' sales messages. That's why they fast forward TV adverts. And that's also why they take the advice of their families and friends about carpet cleaning, a subject they know nothing about. Simply because they trust that they're not going to pressure them to buy something! It's often been said that people do business with those they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST. It's this aspect of trust that is so important today. So is there a way that you can acquire business without repelling prospects with your 'sales message'? And is there a way to help us if we feel uncomfortable viewing ourselves as 'a salesman'? What can you do to build trust, not just make the sale? The simple answer is to have a SERVICE attitude rather than a SALES approach. Old school says to 'Promote, Promote, Promote.' But if no-one's
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listening because they feel like a sales victim, what's the point? There are a number of things you can do to create a 'service attitude'. You can demonstrate your expertise first. In this way prospects can, in effect, 'sample' you without buying. Instead of reserving your expertise for only those who have paid you, give it freely to all who ask. Provide more service upfront. Educate your prospects about how they can remove their stains, or make their carpets look better for longer. If they're thinking of buying a new carpet, offer free advice that will help them make the best choice. If you do all this WITHOUT 'selling' you will build their trust and you'll find that this naturally progresses to sales. What people want is an expert resource, an advisor to help them do what's in their best interests. We sometimes have prospects phone us from outside the area we cover for cleaning.
Diary Dates 2013
Usually we will provide free advice to help them choose a reputable cleaner. As soon as they realise that we do not want them as a customer, their whole attitude changes; when they know we are not trying to 'sell' to them, they trust what we say. Make no mistake, people fear being 'sold'. Selling is all about 'you hire me', serving is all about your prospects even if they never hire you. And people like being served. They will view you as a trusted advisor and reward you with their business.
NCCA COURSES Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning 24th - 25th May 5th - 6th July 27th - 28th September 22nd -23rd November Spot & Stain Removal 21st June 25th October An Introduction to Hard Floor Cleaning 18th - 19th April Health & Safety 20th June 19th Septemer Carpet Cleaners Carnival 14th September (Wicksteed Park, Northamptonshire) NCCA courses held at NSPCC Training Centre, Leicester unless otherwise stated. Visit: www.ncca.co.uk for booking forms and further details. IICRC COURSES (HERTFORDSHIRE) Commercial Carpet Maintenance Technician with Paul Pearce 16th - 17th April Carpet Cleaning Technician with Paul Pearce 18th - 19th June Held at Alltec Network, Royston, Hertfordshire. Tel: 01763 208222 IICRC COURSES (SURREY) Stone, Masonry & Ceramic Tile Cleaning Technician with Keith Robertson 9th - 10th April Carpet Cleaning Technician with Adam Jankowski 4th - 5th June Held at National Flood School, Surrey. Tel: 01252 821185 Visit: www.nationalfloodschool.co.uk for further details on all IICRC Training Courses.
Perspiration on upholstery fabrics
O
ne of the main problems we technicians have to deal with when cleaning upholstery is the contamination of fabric with human perspiration. This can ultimately cause degradation, or permanent discolouration, of some of the fibres if left in the fabric too long before it is cleaned. Of course, if this is the case, you will have to be extremely diplomatic with your customer, as they won't be too pleased if you tell them they should have had their three piece suite cleaned more often. Perspiration plays an important role in the excretion of toxins and waste products from the body (through the skin) and in regulating body temperature. Under normal conditions about 600 to 700 c.c. is evaporated from the skin in twentyfour hours. Maximum sweat rates of an adult can be up to 2-4 litres per hour or 10-14 litres per day in the right conditions Human perspiration (sweat) is mainly water but also contains salts, ammonia, urea, uric acid, amino acids, lactic acid some minerals and sugar. The mineral composition - including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium plus many other
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Derek Bolton (Honorary Member)
trace elements - varies with each individual. All of these are excreted from the skin and in turn can transfer onto soft furnishing fabrics. Here are some things you should take into consideration when cleaning perspiration contaminated fabrics: > Older perspiration stains are difficult, often almost impossible, to remove as they have
already been set, and zinc salts and aluminium chloride have already been allowed to accumulate. > Fresh perspiration stains are acidic in nature but after a relatively short period of time the acid changes to an alkali, profuse sweating will turn even more rapidly to neutral then into alkaline. The higher the temperature of the body when sweating the higher the acidity. Light contamination can be easily removed by cleaning, the more heavy the contamination the more difficult it is to deal with.
> Decomposed perspiration is highly alkaline and can have an extremely destructive effect on fabrics containing natural fibres, the more alkaline the more destructive. > Perspiration can also cause dye bleeding and may stain some of the lighter fabrics, there are some instances where an actual colour change takes place e.g. a green dye may turn yellow. It is essential that when contemplating cleaning fabrics that have been contaminated by perspiration you check very carefully the full extent of the damage. Don't forget to ask the customer/client how old the item(s) of furniture are and if they have been cleaned before? Look around and assess the lifestyle of the inhabitants, is there evidence of children or pets, how many adults are there in residence? Once you have established exactly what you are dealing with make an informed choice of what technique you are going to use to clean the fabric and make your chemical selection. Bear in mind that in perspiration contaminated areas there may well be a weakness of the fibres, DO NOT be aggressive and use harsh chemicals or stiff brushes, take a more gentle approach. In addition to the perspiration damage/staining there may well be an odour problem for you to deal with too. Bacteria attack Urea to form ammonia‌ Combine sweat and heat and you have a nice living space for bacteria. Theoretically, leftovers from bacteria could also give us a pH problem causing damage, as I mentioned above. There is also the potential for the bacteria to eat the natural fibres directly over time; though as the
fabric dries out it will be less hospitable to microbes. So in addition to a good, thorough cleaning process some form of treatment for the bacteria is called for. Yet another phenomenon that I have come across several times over the years is the fabric changing colour dramatically. In one instance a beige coloured Flatweave containing a blend of various fibres had changed to an almost fluorescent lime green. It transpired that the owner of the furniture had been seriously ill and had been taking strong medication, this had been absorbed into the body and some of it became part of the perspiration. I found nothing that could reverse this chemical change. I always make absolutely sure that my customers/clients are aware of the damage that perspiration contamination can do to fabrics over time if not dealt with.
Member referral report Since publishing a referral statistics report in last month's Newslink there have been 73 recommendations for full members provided by the NCCA. This number is made up of referrals from the NCCA office, as well as potential customers contacting members direct through the website.
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Avoiding the ‘nuclear’ option Ken Wainwright
Main photographŠStripes by Brintons
F
rom time to time, we all encounter wool and other pH sensitive carpets and fibres that, for want of a better description, will be challenging to clean. The first thought to pass through the minds of many technicians is that something really strong is going to be required to attack a particular level and type of soiling. Sometimes this is true. After all, there are occasions where the only viable option is to use aggressive, wool unfriendly products to clean a carpet. The choices appear to be simple. A clean carpet that will need to be replaced prematurely, or a not so clean carpet, cleaned using fibre friendly products and procedures, that requires replacement now. It's a no brainer as to which choice the customer will make. A trend I have noticed amongst colleagues is that more and more are of a mind-set that all challenging soils in wool pile carpets need to be cleaned using powerful, aggressive chemistry. In my experience, this is definitely not the case. Most 'safe for wool' products are tested to ensure they are not only dye and fibre friendly, but are also EFFECTIVE cleaning agents and that they do not promote re-soiling. Many of our premium brand chemicals are proven to be gentle on the fibres, but also aggressive on the soil. For my own business, I have chosen to stay with high performance electric portable rinse/extraction equipment using a cold water rinse. Some may consider that I have put myself at a disadvantage in extreme soiling situations. However, I still regularly clean licensed premises such as sporting clubs, pubs and night clubs which have 'black-top' soiling. By having confidence in my chosen fibre-friendly
cleaning solutions and using the right techniques, first class results can still be achieved. The carpets are clean, look good and will perform well for many years to come. I'm happy, my customers are happy and premature replacement is avoided. As with most things in life, there is a downside to using the correct, safe products to attack extreme soiling levels. The negatives are time and application. Yes, it's going to take a little longer to
clean, but if you are offering a premium service, this will be accounted for. After all, the benefit to the customer is a longer service life of their valuable and expensive wool carpet. As for application, my experience in these circumstances is that spray and scrubbing of a preconditioner is less efficient. Much better is to apply through the shower feed of a rotary or similar purpose agitating machine. The application and
agitation is concentrated and much more effective. Occasionally though, it may be necessary to pretreat and rinse some areas twice. Going 'nuclear' has been avoided. Next time you encounter an extremely heavy soil load in a wool pile carpet, consider the options more carefully, and maybe test-clean an area, before reaching for your bottles of cleaning solutions.
Excellent carpet cleaning and restoration opportunity for NCCA members
H
ome Options is an operating division of BeValued who have been serving the insurance industry for almost twenty years, providing a specialist claims management service for media, electrical items and jewellery. Following the successful launch of a flooring validation and replacement service in Southern Ireland some two years ago, Home Options is now introducing this aspect of claims assessment and management within the U.K. They have been asked to provide a cleaning and restoration service for carpets and upholstery and are looking to create a network of companies/organisations who are willing to work on behalf of insurers, attempting the restoration of damaged flooring and furniture, which are the subject of an insurance claim. THE EXCELLENT NEWS FOR YOU IS THAT THEY WANT NCCA MEMBERS TO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE! Home Options will be the principle body in receiving the claims from the insurer and will
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undertake an assessment of the claim in the first instance, to establish the viability of a restoration attempt. This work will then be scheduled to a local cleaning company who will undertake the necessary work and receive payment based on a pre-agreed schedule of rates with Home Options and the insurers. The restoration network will be operated on a postcode "cluster" basis - therefore areas will be allocated to you based on your current capabilities for coverage. Operational charges will be pre-agreed per insurer client on a fair and equitable basis
structured around a call out fee, time-based cleaning and repair charges and an over-riding success fee where applicable. Importantly, there is the acquisition of a new customer to your company with no outlay for advertising or procurement.
How do I apply to become registered with Home Options? Applying to register your services is simple. There is no need to contact the NCCA with your intentions - you make your application directly through Home Options. To apply, simply call Shaun Mulvey at Home Options on: 01323 418432 or email: shaun.mulvey@thebegroup.co.uk with the following information: ! Contact name and details of who to correspond with going forward. ! Have you the capability to clean/restore carpets and furniture? (please expand on this point where relevant). ! Have you the capability to respond to flood claims? (installing drying equipment and air movers). ! Have you the capability to undertake fire claims? (cleaning of property - building work (strip out). ! What postcodes do you currently operate within? ! It is important that your organisation has a manned phone during normal working hours for the appointment of work please confirm you have this facility.
Area allocation Once they have received the feedback from interested parties, they will issue further details on how the scheme will work, the allocation of postcodes for your "territory" and the proposed pricing schedules that will be approved by the insurers. This is an exciting opportunity to become involved at the ground level with a company that is respected within the industry. BeValued has a proven track record of creating revenue opportunities into the retail and contractor sectors as a result of their network.
Home Options look forward to Hearing from you Please send any response to: shaun.mulvey@thebegroup.co.uk or call 01323 418432.
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Another great NCCA member benefit! Cheaper fuel for members with MF Oils
No set-up charge or added fees!
M
F Oils are a fuel consultant working on behalf of the major fuel brands in the UK such as BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco and the UK Fuels network, with coverage of Tesco and Morrisons nationwide. They offer commercial rates and discounts on diesel for the business sector. Working alongside us, they are offering NCCA members a group discount‌ meaning great savings on fuel! Sign up and every Friday you will receive a fixed price on your diesel, saving up to 12ppl dependent on where you are filling that week! There is NO SET-UP CHARGE and NO ADMIN or MONTHLY FEES, so quite simply you will only ever pay for the fuel that you use! And there are no additional charges such as card fees for you to worry about, unlike a lot of the competition. Every time an NCCA member signs up, MF Oils will add together the accumulative volume and usage of diesel across the members in the group‌ to receive cheaper rates for you all, meaning that
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the more members who join the scheme the bigger discount you will all receive! (Note: all NCCA members will pay the same rates). And signing up is easy. There's no need to contact the NCCA with your intentions - you make your application directly through MF Oils (contact details below). With MF oils you will have 24/7 control over your account through their online management tool, providing you with access to STOP, ORDER or REPLACE your cards. You can run reports on everything from the amount spent and registration of vehicle/s filled to an accurate MPG report for your vehicles or drivers. Jake Houston has been appointed as the dedicated account manager for the NCCA group, so you will have a direct point of contact and will never have to wait in a queue or deal with call centres. To discuss your fuel arrangements, contact Jake at MF Oils on: 01202 339197 of email: jake@mfoils.co.uk
Upholstery pre-clean checklist
A
n upholstery fabric pre-clean survey is equally as important as a carpet pre-clean survey. We have compiled a list (below) of the things you should check prior to cleaning any upholstery: ! Construction: Pile, Flatweave, Bonded. ! Fibre content: Acrylic, Polyester, Cotton, Blends, etc. ! Manufacturers Ink: On interior filling or reverse of fabric. ! Valances: Box pleats, frills. ! Seams: Integrity i.e. weak/splitting. ! Dye stability: Dye test, visually look for evidence of existing colour migration. ! Fading: Sunlight, fume fading, chemical damage. ! Body/Hair oils: Discolouration, weakening of fabric. ! Weak/Worn areas: Main use areas, arms, back and seating. ! Buttons: Missing, damaged (rust). ! Fringing: Damaged, missing, dye bleed. ! Dimensional change: Most fabrics will shrink slightly when cleaning; ensure that there are no weak seams etc.
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NCCA Library
! Delamination: Some bonded fabrics may have
suffered from a delamination of the backcoating through normal use but this may extend during a cleaning procedure. ! Pile distortion: Pile fabrics will often show signs of pile distortion in the main wear areas (This can include some Chenille fabrics that have a pile as part of their construction). ! Type of soiling: Light, medium or heavy (perspiration contamination). ! Abrasions/Holes: Wear, abrasion damage and colour loss. ! Water Marks: Spillages, stain removal attempts, previous clean. ! Spots and Stains: Check out and qualify with customer. ! Odour sources: Difficulty is going to be dealing with the odour source within the body of the item. Ticking off each section of the checklist as it is assessed certainly looks more professional and ensures that nothing gets missed. Consider it not just an exercise in professionalism but also a marketing exercise too.
Cleaning Show 2013 - A great success!
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staggering 11,341 visitors attended this year's Cleaning Show, making the three day event which closed its doors on Thursday, 21 March a great success for both visitors and exhibitors alike. Martin Scott, Exhibition Sales Director, said: “The Cleaning Show 2013 exceeded all our expectations and was a clear demonstration that the UK cleaning industry continues to thrive despite tough economic times. In 2011, 7652 visitors attended the event so to find out that over 11,000 people attended the show this year is an incredible increase. “As organisers we were struck by the quality of the 160 plus exhibitors and the amount of genuine innovation on show. We welcomed almost 50 new exhibiting businesses to this year's event and we look forward to seeing them all again in 2015 when The Cleaning Show will be held at Excel, London for the first time.” Andrew Large, Secretary General of the British Cleaning Council said: “The 2013 Cleaning Show has been fantastic for all the trade associations in the sector. Our stand has been busy from start to finish and we are looking forward to converting all of our leads into new members. Moving to London in 2015 is an excellent move for the show and we look forward to seeing everyone there.” Gareth Leicester, Regional Manager GB for Robinsons Services, visited and said: “I was really impressed by the time attendant systems and fingerprint technology, which are both very interesting.”
Exhibitors too were full of praise for the event. Emma Wood from Disposables UK Group said: “It's been a brilliant show. We've had in excess of 250 leads from quality visitors. We are very enthusiastic and are fully committed to the industry and this event. This has definitely been our best show and we have high hopes for some great return in the coming months.” David Yli-Juuti, Vice President at Tersano said: “This has been the first show for us in the UK. We've met many very interesting people to follow up with from all kinds of disciplines. There was interest from varying industries such as councils, schools, facility managers and contract cleaners. It has been well worth attending. We are happy about the move to London and would recommend the show to other colleagues.” Other activities that proved particularly successful were the hugely popular seminar programme, the daily window cleaning competition, the presentation of the window cleaner of the year award and the Innovation Awards, where all the finalists and entrants were on show for the first time in the Innovation Zone area.
More information on The Cleaning Show can be found on its website: www.cleaningshow.co.uk
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Floor sanding with no mess
Terry Guilford (The Ultimate Floor Sanding Co.)
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erendipity… I never really knew what it meant (and you probably won't be any the wiser when I'm finished). Anyway I recently received a phone call from Nicky in the NCCA office, once again bullying me into putting fingers to keyboard (remember the days of 'pen to paper'?) to write an article for Newslink. During her usual verbal arm-twisting she related a tale of a job that people didn't seem to want. Apparently the NCCA office received an enquiry from a customer in the Midlands desperate to get their wood floor sanded, but most of the members contacted didn't want the work. Why? “Because floor sanding is messy and not worthwhile”! So let's take a look at this. Going back to the first article I wrote for Newslink I stated that the majority of cheap hire equipment is definitely messy. The extraction on these machines is poor to non-existent and so the dust is actually pumped into the air; it doesn't matter what you do to seal the room because the dust is airborne and it will eventually settle and leave a mess. Professional equipment does not pump dust into the air. In fact
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the only dust you'll encounter will be when removing the dust bag, so do this carefully and it will be quite a clean job. So, is it not worthwhile getting involved in floor sanding? Well, strangely enough, the very same week that Nicky told me about the job that people didn't seem to want, I learnt of another one 'going begging' in the same location! A very large hall floor needed sanding and apparently one of our affiliates had to actually travel down to the Midlands, from the north of England, to do the job. Why? Because the client couldn't find anyone
locally. So a floor sanding job, that could have benefitted a local floor restoration company, went elsewhere and, with it, probably the possibility of other work. The clients on this particular job were so grateful that the contractor went out of his way to look after them that he now has the promise of extra work and, it has to be said, the money he received for the job would have been difficult to earn carpet cleaning. Going back to the first article, the benefits of floor sanding are: potentially bigger job tickets, the opportunity to build maintenance contracts into the job (very profitable) and the ability to offer an all-round floor care service (if you don't your
competitors will). The biggest barrier to entering the floor sanding market is the cost of equipment, which has to be balanced against the risk of finding enough work to pay for it and the possibility that you might not like doing it. If only there was a way to test the waters, so to speak, and do some training, have access to low-cost, high-quality equipment hire (maybe even get this free if you buy the machines eventually) and then get the marketing done for you as part of an established brand, then those NCCA members could have taken these jobs without any risk. Of course no company in their right mind would offer all that, would they. As I said‌. Serendipity.
COMPETITION YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A PLACE ON OUR TRAINING COURSE!
B IG ! E PRIZ
Would you like to train as a floor sanding professional? Well... this is your chance! Simply identify what you think caused the stain (left) on an oak kitchen work top and, on a less serious note, what you think it resembles, AND YOU COULD WIN A PLACE ON OUR FLOOR SANDING COURSE - WORTH ÂŁ395 + VAT! For your chance to win email your answers to Terry Guilford at: Terry.guilford@ultimatefloorsanding.com
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Employee health and safety
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n our line of work slip and trip hazards are an everyday risk, even in seemingly innocent situations. Trip situations can be caused by cables or even a freshly cleaned carpet that is slightly damp following hot water extraction. If the carpet is adjacent to a hard floor you will have the ideal conditions for a slip hazard situation. Dealing with a flood is especially risky, because if the water is deep you will not know what is lurking underneath just waiting to trip you up! It is important to wear proper footwear in order to minimise the risks. You should supply your staff with suitable footwear if any risk is evident, i.e. slips and trips. You could find yourself on the receiving end of a compensation claim if you don't inform your employees of possible risk hazards. Employers are required under law to ensure safe practices at work, so it is up to you to train your staff correctly to assess the risks before any work is carried out. Employees have a duty not to endanger themselves and to use all safety equipment supplied. Likewise manufacturers have a duty to
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NCCA Library
ensure that all equipment and materials are safe to use and that the appropriate instructions are available on how to use them. Training and planning of work is essential. Equally as important is the regular inspection of your staff's work clothes. For instance, do their old trainers still have tread on the soles? Lack of tread would be termed as a safety risk where water is involved. Staff need to know the procedure for reporting problems. A dilemma you may have to face is whether to allow your employees to attempt removal of heavy items on their own. Whilst it may seem discourteous to refuse moving such an item in a customer's home or office, it is better than having a claim made against you for injury. Staff should also report to their employer if a really slippery surface is exposed. Every attempt should be made to resolve or correct it, otherwise this could also result in an injury claim being made against you. Lastly remember that it is not only you and your staff, but also your customers, who can be affected by slip and trip hazards and it is your responsibility to warn them of the risks.
Changes to health and safety law - Good news for small businesses Robert Downes (FPB) The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is a not-for-profit business support organisation focussed on the growth and profitability of small businesses. It offers a comprehensive package of member services to help firms make money and save money. Visit www.fpb.org
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wice a year the country's statute books are updated with new laws. This is called the common commencement date - or CCD for short - and it happens every year on October 31 and again on April 6. This April's CCD saw a raft of important changes to the law, including huge changes to health and safety. These 'changes' are now already in force, and whether or not businesses are aware of them and what is expected of them, they are legally required to be compliant. If you're in a high risk sector and you're unaware of what's required, this could be particularly costly for your business should you be found to be non-compliant.
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Many of the changes are as a result of the Lรถfstedt Report, a study commissioned by the Government to look at issues concerning health and safety regulations in the workplace, and how it could make H&S simpler for business in terms of compliance and cost. The report recognised existing problems with the current system and recommended a number of actions be taken to make the system fit for purpose. Essentially, these were that the body of health and safety regulation should be streamlined; enforcement activity must be redirected toward businesses where there is the greatest risk of injury or ill health; the status of pre-action protocols - the rules about how businesses
approach disputes - should be clarified; and that liability provisions are reviewed so that businesses that have acted reasonably can defend themselves. But what does it mean for your business? Many of the LĂśfstedt recommendations came in to being on April 6, and one of the main changes is that low-risk businesses that manage their responsibilities properly will no longer be visited by inspectors. Self-employed people whose work poses no threat to others will also be exempt from health and safety law. This deregulation is good news for many small businesses. In addition, businesses will only be held liable for civil damages in health and safety cases if anyone making a claim can show that a business acted negligently. Under previous legislation employers had a civil liability for breaches of statutory duty in relation to health and safety regulations, regardless of whether they did anything to cause the breach or acted negligently. This particular change is especially good news for small and medium-sized businesses that have seen insurance premiums rise with an increase in workplace injury claims. Recent research we carried out with our members shows this is something they really support, as it puts the focus much more on the employee to act in a safe way in the workplace. Effectively the onus is on them, and this should not only foster a better health and safety culture for, and from, all employees, but should mean better workplace safety all round. To learn more about what is and what isn't applicable to your business, the Forum produces a health and safety guide which is updated at every CCD allowing businesses to keep abreast of
changes and development. With so many changes this year, there's never been a more relevant time to buy a copy. For more advice on health and safety, to buy the guide, or to join, telephone the Forum's helpline on 0845 130 1722.
A step toward your TrustMark membership The NCCA is running the popular Advanced Spot and Stain Removal course again on 21st June. Attendance on the course (along with a minimum of two years industry experience) will allow NCCA members to apply for registration with TrustMark - a government endorsed trusted trader scheme. Attendees to the JUNE school will also receive a discount voucher worth ÂŁ100 toward their TrustMark membership... SO BOOK NOW AND DON'T MISS THIS CHANCE! On the course, you will learn how to identify stains, establish the chemical solutions to be applied and how to determine expected results. Very importantly, you will not just be taught how to remove the soils, but also how to do it without causing further damage to the fabric or fibres. Call the NCCA office on: 0116 271 9550 for further details or to book your place.
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Items for sale BUSINESS FOR SALE Small, long-established, reputable NCCA Registered, working carpet, upholstery and soft furnishings cleaning company. Essex based. Owner Operator retiring. To be sold as a complete package only. Mobile HWE and dry cleaning system. Domestic and commercial clients. Genuine interested parties only please to call 07903 497298 and leave details. EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Prochem 250 ft vacuum hoses for truck mount £150.00. Chemspec hose reel for truck mount plastic - £200. Prochem sadle tank for truckmount 227 litre/60 gallons - £300.00. Contact aquadriinfo@btconnect.com for further information or contact andy on: 07970 544806. VAN AND TRUCKM0UNT FOR SALE - £4500 IVECO van, 2001, very good condition, 2800 cc engine size, 124,000 miles, fitted with shelving, all the necessary hoses, 2 wands go with it + Steam Way Sidekick 6100 truckmount, very good condition with 2165 hours on the clock. As an extra goodwill gesture we will include a rotary jet extractor R X 20, which is worth more than £2000 to buy brand new! Selling price is NON NOGOTIABLE because this very good price for someone maybe looking at starting up in the industry. Interested buyers are more than welcome to come to Market Harborough and test drive the van and truckmount. MOT until end of March 2013 and Tax until end of Feb 2013. Call Angelo on 07949 214588.
VACANCY & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Experienced full time Carpet and Floor Care Technician required. Own van and equipment would be an advantage but not essential. Good business incentive package (profit share or buy in). Area coverage M4 corridor from Bristol to London. Apply by email to glynn.norcutt@gnccontractservices.com with full CV, etc.) or telephone: 01672 871882 or mobile: 07831 172743. BUSINESS FOR SALE Small, well established carpet, hard floor and upholstery cleaning business based on the London and Kent borders. The package includes a 57 plate Vauxhall Vivaro LWB Van with 53k miles on the clock, Prochem Blazer GT Truck Mount machine with only 270hrs on the clock, established interactive website (which had SEO programme last year), chemicals, turbo drier, 250 feet of solution and suction hose and van mounted hose reels, together with a property maintenance company name, website and promotional materials. Contact telephone number 020 8309 6517. Sale price: £18,000 O.N.O.
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CITROEN RELAY HDi LWB HR + TRUCK MOUNTED CARPET CLEANING MACHINE VAN: Year-56plate. Miles-38453. TAX-End March 2013. MOT Due-August 2013. Serviced March 2012. TRUCK MOUNT: Chemspec 860 High Heat. Hours2537.5hrs. This was Chemspec's largest and most powerful petrol truck mount. The same was used as their demonstrator mounted on a trailer. It is designed as a dual wand system so a 2man team can work continuously at impressive distances if required, but equally can be run as a simple wand system. The machine is mounted on the vehicle complete with: large waste tank, large capacity clean water tank, retractable hose reel for easy filling, fuel tank, chemical shelf, 5 x 50' extraction hoses on van mounted reel for easy set up, 5 x 50' solution hoses on van mounted reel for easy set up, 3 x large carpet wands, 1 x Hand Tool, 2 x yellow/black hose pavement ramps, chemical tanks. We have it set up so you can have up to 4 different chemicals ready to go and can simply be switched from one to the other without moving/switching tanks. We have also invested and have installed an Eberspacher cab heater (http://www.eberspacher.com/products/air-heating/) which allows the back of the vehicle to be kept warm overnight during the winter months if the vehicle can't be garaged. This runs independently from the engine. Cost: £10,750+VAT. Contact Peter Booth on: 01553 762762. TRUCKMOUNT Banclene truck mount complete with base unit, stainless steel 80 gallon recovery tank, 100 gallon solution tank, 150 feet of Vaccuum/solution hoses, floor, stair and various upholstery hand tools, inline heater and misc parts etc..The van has been sold seperately. Selling due to retirement and will consider the highest offer. Call Derek at Aquamaster on 01845 537640 - mobile 07976 218304 or email derek @aquamaster-yorkshire.co.uk CLEANING AND RESTORATION MACHINERY EQUIPMENT - ACCESSORIES Dri-Eaz Dehumidifier 1200 as New Boxed £450.00. DriEaz Sahara Pro TurboDryer - New Boxed £150.00. DriEaz Dri X Airchanger Dehumidifier New Boxed. Normal Price £1900.00. Our Price £500.00. Plus much more. For a complete list please telephone: 07580 182 325 or E-mail: info@restoration-direct.co.uk
MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT 3 Ozone plates 4'' x 6'' to fit Jetazone 600 ozone generator - £15.00 for the 3, plus £5.00 p & p. Chemspec stainless steel 4 jet floor wand in good condition - £100.00 plus delivery charge if applicable. Please phone Pete Collins on 07885 804560.
NCCA Corporate Members EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Mobile container/bin (red) - comes with lid. Heavy duty container on wheels. L55” x W32” x H31”, ideal hose and other carpet clng equipment storage. List price: £199 - selling for £95. Whole room drier/air mover. List price: £534 - selling for £250 (no VAT). Professional spot carpet cleaning machine, one year old, includes vacuum hose plus product cleaning hose - selling for £250 (no VAT). 6 Litre spray bottle (comes with nozzle) - selling for £40. Contact: Chis on: 02380 898 212 or email:mncrostance@googlemail.com or phone Chris on: 07970 040729.
+ Allied Insurance Services Ltd: 0844 8156211 (I) + Alltec Network: 01763 208222 (C/M/F/T) + Amtech UK: 01444 232211 (C/M) + Ashby's Cleaning Equipment: 01322 227806 (C/M/E) + Asset Finance Solutions UK Ltd: 01254 584404 (FI) + Bio Productions Ltd (inc. Stapro): 01444 244000 (C) + Camberford Law (insurance brokers): 0208 315 5000 (I) + Chemdry Franchising Ltd: 01482 872770 (C/M/Fr) + Chemspec Europe Ltd: 01274 597333 (C/M/T/D/F) + Cleanerswarehouse Ltd: 01772 434333 (T/C/R/M) + Cleaning Systems UK: 01334 656787 (C/M/T/F) + Cleanpro Software Solutions Ltd: 01582 518467
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Prochem bazooka plus citrus gel Good condition £20.00. Extracta electric power sprayer. Excellent condition £40.00. Contact Lester Gale 07949 207777 based in Oxfordshire.
+ Cleansmart Ltd: 0115 8240034 (T/C/R/M/K) + Cleantec Innovation Ltd: 0870 733 7733 (T/C/W/M) + Columbus Cleaning Machines Ltd: 01772 426527 (M) + Dri-Eaz Products Ltd: 01908 611211 (C/M/T) + Dry Fusion UK Ltd: 01772 433711 (C/M/T/W/Fr)
The Association advises that all goods are checked to be in a satisfactory condition, and comply to electrical and health and safety standards, etc. It is recommended that equipment serial numbers should be checked to ensure the seller is the legitimate owner. The Association accepts no responsibility or liability arising from any transaction or dispute between the buyer and seller.
+ Forum of Private Business: 01565 634467 + Get Booked Up Software: 01405 813665 + Gleaming Insurance (insurance brokers): 0845 4740068 (I) + Hi-Tec Cleaning Group: 02866 341416 (C/E/F/M/T) + Host Von Schrader Ltd: 0151 347 1900 (M/C) + Hydro Dynamix: 01622 664993 (Fr)T) + Mailboxes Etc: 01628 633336
NCCA Member Benefits
+ McGregor Lloyd (insurance brokers): 0121 706 0616 (I)
+ HMCA (free legal and councelling helpline): 0117 934 2600
+ Nu Life Stone Care Ltd: 0161 480 7284 (M/C)
+ NSL Restormate: 01670 590099: (M/C/Tr)
+ SiteWizard (website creation): 08450 608860
+ Oates Laboratories (Europe): 01772 433711 (C)
+ EMJ Management Ltd (workwear clothing and accessories): 02392 434650
+ Rainbow International: 01623 422488 (M/C/Fr)
+ Thompson Local - ask for Corporate Advertsing Department: 01252 390385
+ Sebo UK Ltd: 01494 465533 (M)
+ Hibu (previously Yell) - ask for Corporate Advertising Department: 0808 100 7890
+ Prochem Europe Ltd: 0208 974 1515 (C/F/M/T) + Restoration Express: 01252 726106 (M/C/T/A) + Robert Saunders Marketing Mentor: 08450 537129 (K) + ServiceMaster Ltd: 0116 275 9000 (M/C/Fr) + Stainshield Ltd: 01372 841467 (C) + Textile Cleaning Solutions: 01934 521155 (M/C) + The Big Clean: 0208 3934778 (M,C,W,K)
+ Adalante Merchant Services: 01628 820500
+ The Ultimate Floor Sanding Co.: 00353 91846488 (M/C/Fr)
+ Payatrader: 01296 660177
+ Truvox International Ltd: 02380 702200 (M)
+ Control Account PLC: 01527 882901
+ Woodbridge Comercial Ltd: 01279 422220 (C/M)
+ TrustMark (Diversity): 0115 9673767
C - Chemicals / M - Machinery / W - Wholesalers / Fr - Franchises / I - Insurance / K - Marketing / T - Technical Services / F - Fire Retardents / A - Auxiliary Services (Restoration Cleaners) / E Supply/Repair of Curtains and Blinds / Fi - Finance / Tr - Training.
+ The Woolsafe Organisation: 01943 850817
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Going Going - Gone Dye Gone offers a unique new package and application device to remove the severest of dye stains including: coffee, tea, wine, hair dyes, paints, candle colours etc.
e dby goo n Say ake ta to f ains! st
No need to mix - just spray wait and the stain is gone.* *pre-test carefully and rinse out after stain is removed with cold water after use.
Chemspec Europe, Tong Park, Otley Road, Baildon, West Yorkshire, BD17 7QD. Tel: 01274 597333 Fax: 01274 597444 E-mail: info@chemspec-europe.com Website: www.chemspec-europe.com