Business – Folklore

December 9, 2019December 7, 2020

How A Clean Office Environment Increases Employee Productivity

In old folklore, your space and environment reflect your state of mind. A clean work space leads to a person being productive and constructive. On the contrary, the psychology hoarding and having no organization causes anxiousness and increasing the amount of decisions that must be made day to day. No matter the size of your business, whether it is just you operating a small business or you have a staff of one thousand employees, it is essential to keep work areas free and clear from clutter.

Makes For Happier Employees

In many instances, due to the sheer volume of time that employees spend working, they will treat their office as their second home. After all, an employee spends eight, ten or even twelve hours in an office. It lays claim that a business should invest effort to ensure their work spaces are clean and organized.

Because a clean work desk means zero distractions. It also eliminates the time it takes for you to rummage through a cluttered desk just to look for an important document or a paperclip.

Boosts Creativity

Some employees would argue that the mess on their desk can help them think and be creative. However, scientific studies about clean offices state otherwise and that too much clutter can be detrimental to clear, creative thinking.

Here are three simple ways to organize the desk space to ensure no chaos:

Put office documents that do not need immediate attention in a “later” basket.
When working, only allow papers and stuff that you use at that very time to be on your desk. Put the rest in your drawers.
Get into the habit of emptying your garbage basket and cleaning your office table every single day before leaving.

“Taking the time to remove clutter your office space can help you organize your thoughts. Not to mention that your next big idea might be sitting under the pile of documents,” says the owner of Bellevue Janitorial Services, who’s company services hundreds of offices and has had several clients reach out to them stating how their services allow their employees to “work happy”.

Improves Work Focus

Having a clean office area is crucial to a successful and efficient business.

In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, 103 student participants were directed to sit in a room with a clean work space and or in a cluttered room. They then moved to a separate room afterward and were asked to work on an unsolvable geometry puzzle.

The Result: Those who sat in a clean work space spent 1,117 seconds on the task, while the other group only spent 669.

The numbers are clearly there, a clean and organized work space is key for a company or organization to ensure their employees work smart, efficient and stay happy.

December 3, 2019December 7, 2020

How Mold Can Effect Your Home

When your home or business property is slowly being taken over by mold, there are more issues at hand than just an unpleasant smell, including damaging the structure of your home and causing health issues. When detecting mold in your structure, the smell is usually a dead giveaway. It is crucial to be on the leading edge of moisture, because it could lead to mold, a costly thing to remove that if left untreated, can lead to health and structure issues.

Spotting The Signs of Mold That Must Be Removed

If you think you might be experiencing mold in your building, here are some signs:

Visual

Black spores on any surfaces
You, your family or roommates are always ill with flu-like symptoms
A damp or musty odor that is always present
Respiratory issues – mold is an airborne agent and as you breathe it in, it will cause breathing problems
Bubbling paint, squishy floors,

Tell-Tale Scent

When mold is present as is beginning to spread, it produces compounds with a distinct stench. If you have ever smelled it before, you know you are encountering a potentially expensive mold remediation and removal situation and there is no mistaking that smell. It is similar to damp and rotting wood, or damp clothes that have sat too long.

Common Places That Mold Can Hide

Mold flourishes in areas where there is darkness, moisture and warm air. Common areas such as this are bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, bedrooms, attics and vents. Always check for leaky plumbing, behind appliances where moisture is present such as refrigerators, as well as heating and cooling vents.

Recently Found Signs of Mold?

If it sounds like you have signs of moisture that has turned into mold, it is much better to have it remediated and removed sooner than later. As mold spores are potentially dangerous to you and your family. There are two components of mold remediation for most properties, it begins with cleaning up the area with the mold, then take steps to prevent it from occurring again in the future.

Eliminating Mold Now

Are experiencing mold that keeps coming back to areas such as your bathroom, air conditioning or heating vents? Or have you experienced any form of water damage that is causing mold related problems? Getting in contact with a trained technician for mold removal will allow your home to be restored effectively and efficiently so you can get back to your everyday life without worrying about the effects of toxic mold.

April 30, 2019December 7, 2020

4 Important Facts You Must Know About Water Damage

Professional restoration technicians know that damage increases and restoration costs escalate the longer neutralization, corrosion control and cleaning is delayed. When homeowners prolong the restoration of their home, they extend the effects brought on by the intrusion of water. There are some things you need to be aware of when it comes to the restoration process:

1. Multiple Insurance Policies For Flood Related Claims

Most assume that the insurance coverage on their property is neutral, however flood damage is not covered under your general homeowner policy. If you happen to live in an area where floods are likely to occur, you will need a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Policy (NFIP).

Ana, the founder of Iowa Flood Doctors, a company that offers Des Moines water damage restoration insists that “when you report your claim to your insurance, specify whether the claim being for general water damage or from a flood, so a contractor knows whom to bill”.

2. Not all water damage is covered by your insurance.

Take a thorough look at your policy statements and understand the potential for any exclusion to your water damage coverage. For instance, most policies cover incidental damage such as water damage from a really bad storm or from an overflowed washing machine. However, water damage that happens because you didn’t maintain the property may be excluded.

3. As soon as water arrives, the clock is ticking

When your property has been water damaged, you don’t have the luxury of waiting around for a convenient time to start the cleanup.

Mold growth can occur quickly and mold spores are everywhere, but they need a solid amount of moisture to grow and thrive. And that is exactly what the wet features inside your house offer.

There is a 24 to 48 hour window from the time an item gets wet and to when mold grows. After that time, the spores rapidly multiply.

To prevent mold growth, you must employ a drying strategy right away. To do this, you’ll need to contract a company that specializes in water damage restoration and emergency water extraction. They will have the professional water removal equipment and drying equipment to get the job done as quickly as possible. Most offer 24 hour service and can dispatch a crew quickly.

4. Call your insurance immediately!

It’s a good idea to call your insurance company right away when you discover water damage. Your agent can start the claim process immediately, and help guide you through the first steps you will need to take to protect your property from more damage, like stopping the source of the water at the main water turnoff or bagging sand if your home has a flood.

Water damage can be dangerous and expensive, so preventing water damage is an important part of home maintenance. But if you know the basics of what to do once it happens, you can prevent it from doing its worst.

Here are additional water damage repair tips:

April 23, 2019

Top Reasons To Have Landscaping On Your Property

Landscaping is important because it helps by contributing to our well being thus improving our overall quality of life. Landscapes provide a much broader context within our lives. It goes without saying that living in a home which is surrounded by an aesthetically pleasing landscape which is also culturally pleasing enhances our sense of wellbeing. In a way, it helps you reconnect with nature which ensures that your mind and body are reinvigorated. That’s why it is so imperative to only hire the very best landscaping service provider.

A professional landscaping service will offer everything needed to make sure that your yard space or lawn is thriving and healthy. Whether it is basic lawn care or the installation of sprinklers or new sod, good professional services can make a significant difference.

The Benefits of Residential Landscaping

While as you might imagine there are many benefits of a well designed and managed landscape, the fact is that most homeowners will opt for it primarily because it looks good. Though there are a couple of other benefits worth considering especially if you are weighing doing it yourself against hiring a professional.

Adds value to your residence: Regardless of where you live, or the size of your home it is estimated that a well designed and thought of landscape can add up to 12% percent to its value.
Directs the flow of water: A well planned landscape helps by directing the flow of water so you’ll not have any issues with it. Water issues are generally reasonably common in DIY landscapes.
Solid Planning: Professionally designed landscapes use trees for shelter or shade, the shrubs are placed in a way so that they direct cool breeze during the summer and the open areas are where the winter snow accumulates.
Easier Navigation: If you have a large yard or an odd shaped one landscaping makes navigating through it more comfortable. Walkways will help to keep the water and mud from being tracked into your home.

March 10, 2019December 7, 2020

A Roundtable Discussion Amongst Landscapers

As spring has sprung, landscapers worldwide are talking amongst one another, trying to stake claim on what the best landscape practices are.

Perennials or Shrubs for Landscaping?

This question is often asked by customers to our landscape designers. The next question we ask is, how much maintenance work do you want to do or hire someone for? Typical landscape shrubs require pruning and extensive watering in their first couple years as a planted specimen. Whereas perennials require frequent watering during their early years but only require pruning when cutting the wilted growth back once – either during the fall after the first frost or in the spring before it begins growing again.

Paver Patios – Permeable or Traditional?

Water conservation is a prevalent topic in today’s current events, another question landscape designers receive is whether customers should have a traditional paver patio/walkway or permeable paver patio/walkway constructed at their home. The biggest difference between the two paver patio structure types are the cost and water run off. The big advantage of having a permeable paver patio is that the water is filtered through the hardscape’s base before going back into the ground.

With a traditional patio, all water runs off the patio and down the street to the storm drain, this can take contaminants such as oil, fertilizer, or gasoline and continue polluting our freshwater sources. If you can afford the increased cost of a permeable paver driveway, walkway, or patio, it’s the preferred choice for many to preserve our ever important freshwater sources.

Things to Consider With Your Landscaping Design

When you have a landscaping project designed for your home, there are a lot of factors that come into play. Here are Pat, owner of alwaysgreenerlawnpa.com‘s top five tips for hiring the best landscape designer to ensure your project is created exactly how you’d like:

How will your outdoor space be used?
How large of an area will your project cover?
Where on the property will the landscaping be?
Is there a swimming pool to be constructed in the future?
Do you want to have a fire place or landscaping shade structure such as a pergola?

The list is longer but those are the basics you must have narrowed down before the project is executed.