Fantastic odour neutralisation results in Gloucester.

Posted on August 5, 2022August 5, 2022 by Leanne Coelho

Pete was called to assist in this property in Gloucester where there were significant odour issues due to cat urine.

The first step in successful odour neutralisation is locating the source of the odour so it can be addressed. This is not always an easy process but is vital to ensure the odour can be successfully neutralised. Without addressing the source, the odour will persist.

Once the source of the odour is located, the area is thoroughly cleaned to remove any bacteria and soiling. This is what you can see Pete doing here using the water claw for a deep rinse extraction. Once all areas of the source of the odour are thoroughly cleaned we can be confident the area is decontaminated.

The source of the problem in this instance was carpets, hard floors and upholstery, where the surfaces were holding onto the odour molecules.

After all these areas had received a thorough deep clean, it was time to move on to tackling the airborne odour contaminants.

Where there are multiple sources of the odour, there are gases released into the air meaning the whole area needs to be deodorised.

Once all the cleaning is done, Pete used a ULV (Ultra low volume) fogger with a water-based odour counteractant to tackle the airborne odour molecules.

This fogging ensures all areas are decontaminated and are left smelling fresh and clean.

We recommend after fogging the property is left empty for a short while to allow the product to dissipate and get to all the areas it needs to without being disturbed.

We are IICRC trained in odour neutralisation, you can read more about this accreditation here.

Pete has done a fantastic job, the source has been decontaminated and the odour addressed meaning the home will be a much more sanitary, and fresh smelling place to be.

Please do get in touch if you have a persistent odour in your home, or commercial premises that needs addressing. We offer this service in Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Cardiff.

Dirty water from odour neutralisation cleaning

Let’s see some impressive results! Before and after our deep cleans in Cardiff, Stroud, Bristol, and North Somerset.

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Leanne Coelho

We understand that when you are booking a service you want to know what results you can expect. Whilst this does vary depending on many different factors, we thought you would like to see a few examples of some impressive stain removal results.

The images on the left show some tough stains Pete faced recently in Stroud.

As you can see on the right, Pete’s hard work means you would never know there had been a stain there!

These impressive upholstery and carpet results were Sam’s hard work in Clevedon. This sofa had been stained by an unwell child and the carpet had seen a lot of footfall causing black marks and ground in dirt.

Sam has managed to achieve some really impressive results here, whilst still being environmentally friendly and using no harsh chemicals.

Domestic carpets get a rough deal, especially where children and pets are involved. Accidents and spillages are a part of day to day life but they can leave your carpets looking unappealing and unsanitary.

Here are some great examples of carpet cleaning in Cardiff recently where we have managed to remove the little accidents and make the carpets fresh and hygienic again as well as more resistant to any future spillages.

Certain areas on sofas, namely the arms and backs where heads rest, often get a lot of stains and marks. These can be from greasy hands, sweaty heads, spillages and general use, the more an area gets touched and used the more likely they are to get soiled.

Deep cleaning your sofa can make such a difference to the appearance as well as to the whole feel of your home. The stripy sofa above has been rejuvenated, the colours are more vibrant and the fabric is sanitised.

Progress picture of upolstry cleaning in Gloucester — Progress picture of upholstery cleaning in Gloucester

As you can see, impressive results can be achieved with our green methods.

Sometimes though, staining can prove permanent and despite all our experience, procedures and tools, stains may remain. There are several factors that can impact how likely a stain is to be removed, for example organic fibres are more absorbent and will cling on to any dyes or stains and due to their nature are also more likely to brown.

We pride ourselves on our honest and upfront approach, if our technicians think that staining is likely to remain, we will always discuss this with you. We offer an iron clad guarantee, which you can read more about here.

If you have any carpets or upholstery that are in need of stain removal, or a freshen up, our deep cleaning eco friendly treatment is what you need!

Please do get in touch by using the button below, we would love to help you.

Stunning cleaning results and scorching weather in Whittington, Gloucester.

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Leanne Coelho

Despite it being a heat wave and the hottest day of the year, Pete and Joanne were hard at work with a variety of deep cleaning tasks at this stunning barn in Whittington, Gloucester.

We were asked to come and rejuvenate some beautiful limestone flooring, as well as deep cleaning of carpets and very low moisture cleaning of seagrass carpets.

The images above show how well Joanne and Pete’s hard work paid off as these limestone areas came up beautifully and looked as good as new. Using our deep cleaning methods alongside a polish and seal, this limestone has been transformed not only in looks but in terms of its longevity. The process itself will leave the floor more resistant to stains and spills. You can read more about our limestone cleaning process here.

After some refreshments in the shade in this gorgeous garden Pete and Joanne moved on to cleaning the carpets and the seagrass.

Sisal and seagrass carpets require a very low moisture (VLM) clean due to the way in which the fibres will absorb water. After a thorough vacuum, a powerful, environmentally friendly cleaning compound is worked into the fibres to lift as much dirt and bacteria as possible. Once this has been allowed to dwell it is then vacuumed up leaving the sisal/seagrass freshened and more hygienic.

The team then moved on to our standard process for cleaning the other carpets.

Pete can be seen here rinse extracting the carpets. Rinse extraction is the last step in our deep cleaning process.

The full, eco friendly process we use incorporates;

Pre-testing
Dry extraction/vacuuming
Spot/stain treatments, as necessary
Eco-sanitising pre-spray
Rotary agitation
Traditional rinse extraction (sometimes called steam cleaning)

This process ensures the carpets are thoroughly cleaned whilst ensuring no chemical nasties are left behind as we use all eco friendly products.

After rinse extracting, the carpets need some time to dry out, we usually estimate a few hours until they are fully dry. The scorching conditions for this work would have meant these carpets dried out in record time!

If you would like to see these impressive techniques and results in your own home, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would be delighted to help you, heat wave or not!

Successful Upholstery clean in Cheltenham

Posted on July 4, 2022August 5, 2022 by Linsey Morris

Our process for cleaning your upholstery involves many detailed steps to ensure a thorough deep clean in order to provide successful results.

Our first step is to pre-test the fabric so we are sure about what we are working with and which products will give the best results on that particular type of fabric. Natural fabric upholstery tends to not yield up stains as well as synthetic fabric. Watermarks in particular can prove to be permanent.

The next step is to vacuum the upholstery using our high powered vacuum cleaner, then we treat any noticeable stains. This particular piece of upholstery had very visible watermarks.

Our technician, Pete, used an acidic solution to begin with to suppress any further potential watermarking, then a single eco-friendly solution which dealt with the stains as well as delivering a deep-clean.

The third step is to apply an eco-sanitising pre-spray, this acts as a disinfectant whilst being environmentally friendly.

The final steps include rotary agitation which involves agitating the liquids through the fabric and bringing any dirt to the surface. The traditional rinse extraction, sometimes called steam cleaning is the final part of the cleaning process.

Rinse extraction is one of the most effective ways of thoroughly cleaning upholstery, not only can it remove stains & dirt but also allergens & pathogens.

In this instance the step by step process that our technician employed, successfully removed the stains including watermarks and left the upholstery looking clean & refreshed.

This full deep clean service that we offer is a also a green clean which demonstrates that you do not need harsh chemicals to get results.

If you would like more information, please use the contact us button below to get in touch.

Brilliant commercial carpet cleaning in Gloucester

Posted on May 10, 2022May 10, 2022 by Leanne Coelho

Last week our technicians Pete and Rob visited an office block in Gloucester for some commercial carpet cleaning. As you can see there was some significant staining, that with our professional techniques we managed to remove.

Office carpets often get a lot of heavy use and footfall, our process of environmentally friendly carpet cleaning can get your office feeling like a much nicer place to be!

After a thorough vacuuming to remove as much of the dry soil as possible, and pre treating the heavy soiling and staining we use our rotary agitator.

The rotary agitator works by brushing the fibres in the carpets to bring all the deep, hidden dirt to the surface for removal. Our industrial machinery can get your carpets looking fresh and sanitised. Here you can see our technician Rob using this machine to ensure a rigorous yet environmentally friendly deep clean.

If you are struggling to find a commercial, or domestic carpet cleaning company local to you then look no further!

If you have any questions about our processes or what we can offer you please don’t hesitate to get in touch, you can do this on our contact us page.

Commercial Carpet Cleaning in Gloucester

Posted on December 17, 2021December 21, 2021 by Adrian Somerfield

When a desert parlour called our team to look at the shop’s iconic mats, we were only too pleased to help. Commercial carpets & mats in restaurants can sustain heavy foot traffic from customers, organic spillages, as well as a build up of greasy accretions from the kitchens. A range of issues is always an interesting challenge, requiring a good understanding of cleaning chemistry & process.

Unusually, rather than cleaning these particular rugs in situ, we brought them home to the back garden! This is not our standard practice but because the restaurant was busy serving delicious deserts, it would have meant significant health & safety concerns and inconvenience for customers.

How we cleaned these commercial carpets:

The heavy foot traffic had created a heavy soil load. The first line of attack was professional vacuuming using the Sebo BS46 (pictured above). The motorised beater bar agitates & lifts the pile, while a separate vacuum motor has the power to recover up the 72% of the available soil before we have even applied a pre-spray.
Organic spillages from food & drink can contain proteins, oils, sugars & all manner of ingredients. We used an eco-friendly, bio-cleaning solution that literally digests these soil types and holds them in suspension for easy rinsing.
Greasy soils are often treated with harsh, highly alkaline cleaning detergents. Here we were able to emulsify the oil using a colloidal solution that breaks the bond between the carpet fibres & the grease, enabling us to rinse it out with hot water extraction cleaning.

How did we do?

BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER

If you would like to talk about a premises you manage, or have a general enquiry regarding commercial carpet cleaning, or our general commercial cleaning services, please use the details on our Contact page.

Thank you for reading!

Odour Neutralisation in a cottage in Broadway

Posted on February 11, 2021December 9, 2021 by GrrenManCleaning

The Brief –

This week, three of our technicians were called out to conduct a full professional odour neutralisation clean for a start of tenancy in Broadway. The new owners had realised that the property smelled strongly of tobacco odours as a result of a long-term smoker in the property.

A certified IICRC company

Green Man are certified members of the IICRC & our technicians are trained to the highest standard in a wide range of services, including flood restoration & odour neutralisation.

The Odour Control Technicians Course teaches a rigorous & scientific approach to the causes of odours. Nicotene & smoke odour removal requires intensive cleaning with specialist solutions of all surfaces, including walls & ceilings…

Professional domestic decontamination services in Cheltenham
Odour neutralisation in Cheltenham
Domestic cleaning in Broadway 1
Professional cleaning services in the Cotswolds

Because of the “sticky” nature of deposits from tobacco smoke, traditional rinse extraction is an essential first approach to removing unpleasant smells from soft furnishings, such as curtains & upholstery.

Professional end of tenancy cleaning in Broadway

Porous surfaces such as stone require a longer contact time with the specialist cleaning solution, so we employ a foam-generating sprayer to ensure the “dwell time” of the product is increased.

There are many similarities between decontaminating a property (for Covid-19, or other pathogens) & eliminating odours. In both cases, all surfaces must be cleaned & sanitised prior to fogging. When the Covid-19 pandemic first began, we noted that many companies appeared offering to decontaminated commercial & domestic properties using fogging alone. This will not work.

Professional deodorisation using a fogger

Simply misting a product onto a dirty/dusty surface does not deal with either an odour issue or bacteria/viruses at their root cause.

Once we had completed a thorough clean of every surface in the property, we then conducted a professional fogging using an eco-friendly odour counteractant.

The purpose of fogging is to create a “fog” of particles only a few microns in diameter that are able to penetrate areas that cleaning cannot reach, and also interact with the molecules & micro-organisms that we are seeking to deactivate.

If you have any questions regarding professional odour neutralisation, decontamination or any of our services, please feel free to get in touch.

You can use the telephone numbers at the top & bottom of this page, or use our Contact page to email us.

Cleaning & sealing a Victorian tiled hallway

Posted on January 20, 2021December 9, 2021 by GrrenManCleaning

Many homes from the Victorian/Edwardian era contain skillfully laid tiled hallways. When they were originally installed, they would have then been cleaned & oiled at least once a week. In the more recent modern era, mopping is the main method of cleaning and brings with it a few issues.

“What has this floor been cleaned with?”

The chances are that most tiled floors are cleaned with a general detergent based solution. Over time, the sticky residues left by mopping with detergent accumulate in the grout lines and flaws in the tiles, attracting further dirt. If this is combined with insufficient rinsing, then you will find that entrance tiles can soon lose their vibrant colours beneath layers of soil.

This image shows a typical example. The floor is actually quite recent, but a regime of heavy footfall & standard mopping has lead to a dull, faded appearance.

After an initial survey to determine the quality of the installation & integrity of the tiles, our technician performed a simple test of the seal (this is done by pouring a small amount of water onto the surface of a section of tiles to see if the water is absorbed).

Any absorption indicates that the seal has failed & will require new applications of a sealant.

The Clean

Stage One:

First of all, we conduct a thorough sweep & dry extraction of all debris & loose material on the floor.

Stage Two:

Next, we apply an eco-friendly tile specific alkali cleaning solution to break down historic deposits of soil, grease and layers of ingrained detergent residues. We do this in stages, using either a rotary machine or a more specialist agitating device (example video below) to ensure the floor is scubbed as thoroughly as possible.

How we deep-clean & re-seal Victorian tiles

Stage 3:

After the cleaning solution has broken down the layers of dirt in the tiles, we extract the resulting slurry using a rinse extraction machine or a “wet pick-up”. We then clean & rinse the floor again using pure water only. This tends to be the last stage of Day 1.

Stage 4:

On Day 2, only after the floor is completely dry, we begin applying the new layers of seal. The type of seal depends on the preferred finish type of the homeowner – in this case, we were instructed to put down a satin finish. After the initial layer has been applied, we allow the seal to dry or “cure” before applying further coats.

“A completely reinvigorating facelift”

After 3 layers of sealant have been applied, the job is complete.

You can see in the image opposite that not only have these tiles been deeply cleaned, but that their colours are now enhanced.

This is the beauty of applying the right type of seal – you are protecting your floor from scuffs & spills, as well as giving the very first area of your home that people see a completely reinvigorating facelift.

If you have any questions regarding the cleaning, sealing or general maintenance of your floor tiles, or any type of stone or laminate flooring, please do get in touch using either our CONTACT page, or by calling your local branch of Green Man using the number at the top of the page.

Thank you for reading.

TV series upholstery cleaning under Covid!

Posted on November 20, 2020December 9, 2021 by GrrenManCleaning

Yesterday, our senior technician Rodney Gray attended a TV location to conduct a commercial upholstery clean.

The situation

The modern looking suite had sat on a shelf in one of the large London prop-houses and had become dusty and probably a little damp. The shoot was imminent & the upholstery needed a professional deep clean to a high standard.

The need for a quick response was clear & we despatched our most experienced technician within 24 hours.

A professional deep-clean of props that have been hired presents an interesting situation. The items do not belong to the tv production team, so if these sofas & armchairs were damaged, the production company (and then us!) become liable. Every upholstery clean we conduct begins with a careful pre-test. There are endless combinations of fabric types that are used by furniture manufactures. Some of these (such as Haitian cotton, viscose, velvet etc.) can be challenging to clean without damage.

The clean

Because of Covid-19 restrictions and, quite probably, the franticness of work on-set, an area outside had been prepared for us. This was ideal as it was a lovely day for drying – some late Autumn sun & a light breeze.

Professional commercial upholstery cleaning in Bristol

After the initial tests were done, we confirmed the fabric was suitable for a deep clean.

Our eco-friendly process follows the full professional specification to ensure all dry soil is recovered prior to stain treatments, rinse extraction (“steam cleaning”) and post-clean checks.

Professional commercial upholstery cleaning on a film set

The image above demonstrates the poor condition of the fabric. Our technician has applied our eco-sanitising pre-spray and is about to brush this in to work the solution evenly throughout. Once wet, fabrics often reveal their true condition. This also means that it can be difficult to determine the success of a clean until the item is fully dry.

The image also displays the Sapphire upholstery tool. This remarkable piece of kit enables us to rinse extract upholstery without actually “firing” the rinse solution into the fabric. The video below demonstrates the principle (see 1:10) :

The work went well and a large amount of soiling was recovered. Our cleaning methodology sanitises as part of the process. On an extremely Covid sensitive site, this was an additional bonus for the production team.

Thank you for reading!

Marmoleum polish & repair at The Corinium Museum, Cirencester

Posted on November 18, 2020December 9, 2021 by GrrenManCleaning

This week, the Green Man team were working in the impressive new extension at The Corinium Museum, Cirencester. The museum houses a fine collection of large Roman mosaics from the 2nd and 4th century, and a wide array of artefacts from the Roman town of Corinium. The new extension is designed as a narrative through time and describes the evolution of the Cotswolds from a prehistoric landscape to more civilised times.

Damaged marmoleum

During the renovation of this part of the gallery, contractors fitted brand new marmoleum flooring. Unfortunately, a shallow gouge occurred in the floor after it had been laid-

These types of shallow scrapes present multiple challenges.

Sometimes it is easier if the damage is deeper, as it allows for the repair to bond with the marmoleum more fully.

Before attempting to repair the damage, it was important to ensure the surface was clean…

Cleaning this flooring begins with a thorough removal of loose soil & debris to ensure that there is nothing abrasive left prior to machine cleaning…

In the image, you can see our technician Pete wielding the mighty “scissor” (dry) mop. This is an especially handy tool for sweeping large areas of commercial hard flooring.

After we had removed as much loose material as possible, it was time to apply a cleaning solution & agitate the flooring.

Forbo, the manufacturers of marmoleum, specify their own cleaning solution and method of clean.

We applied the product & agitated the floor with a lightly abrasive white pad. This works the solution evenly across the floor, as well as helping to lift out any stubborn or sticky soils.

After the cleaning solution has been agitated & dwelt sufficiently on the marmoleum, it needs to be rinsed off the surface using a wet vac.

This ensures no residue remains and leaves the flooring streak-free.

The floor dried very quickly, which meant we could begin to address the marmoleum repair.

Repairing marmoleum

On this occasion, our work was made more difficult becuase the damage ran across two differing types of marmoleum.

Firstly, a paste is made by mixing a powdered sample of the same type of marmoleum & an appropriate type of glue. This is placed into the areas of damage.

This is then carefully pushed into the gouge to ensure the best chance of adhesion…

The paste is then allowed to dry, ideally overnight.

Once dry, the area of repair is sanded down to the level of the floor. This leaves a flat surface which is easily distinguished, owing to its lack of reflectivity.

This area now requires additional cleaning to remove the fine debris from the in-fill. Following the clean, the area is force dried & several layers of marmoleum polish are applied.

The result

To be honest, the result in this instance was not perfect. Marmoleum is designed to be repairable, but the more heavily patterned styles hide repairs much more easily. As you can see from the image, the lighter area of flooring is more forgiving of the repair.

What we certainly managed to achieve here was a level finish. Those involved with the fitting of marmoleum will confirm that achieving an invisible repair with the simpler designs of this flooring type is practically impossible. Over time, the accumulations of cleaning & polishing will help to blend out the areas of repair.

Importantly, we had done our best to manage our client’s expectations from the start. No-one wants to send brand new pieces of marmoleum to the tip, so often it makes sense to attempt repair first.

We would like to thank Amanda Hart (Museum Director) for her kind assitance and for making our time in The Corinium Museum an interesting & valuable experience.

Thank you also for reading!