Homemade Laundry Detergent

Soon after starting my window cleaning business my wife decided we should make our own clothes washing detergent. I wash a heap of very dirty towels every evening, and often they are heavily soiled or even worse . . . greasy. These towels require a little something extra to get really clean, and the store-bought detergent was only doing an mediocre job removing the stains.

My wife found a homemade laundry detergent recipe on a blog (click here) and whipped up a 5 gallon batch super cheap. Result? Towels cleaner than I had gotten them in months, and after a few washes even some of the old stains started to fade. It was inexpensive and easy to make. The cost savings is a bonus, but the job this detergent does on all our clothes is what gets me excited.

Try it and let me know how it works for you, then post your thoughts here.

Got a homemade cleaning 'recipe' to share? (It doesn't even need to be original to you.) Post it here.

Spring Cleaning and Green Cleaning

Ahhhh. Spring Cleaning!

What could be better than moving all that junk around and cleaning behind it? (Well, if you are like me getting rid of that junk could be better. Of course then I still have to clean the empty area.)

As you remove dust and allergens from your home don't forget the allergens on your windows. Just because you can see around the dust and dirt on your windows doesn't mean it is not there. (It's sort of like that stain on your shirt. You forgot about it hours ago, but others can't miss it.)

Hardwick Window Cleaning can clean the conventional way, with water and a small amount of chemicals, or we can give your home or business a green clean. Email or call and Steve can fill you in on the details.

Wow! . . . Clean windows, Spring cleaning, removing allergens, and doing it all in an environmentally sound way. You gotta love that.

Cheers

To tweet or not to tweet? (New and awkward)

OK, I did it. I signed up for Twitter. Until @Lori_Randall explained it to me, I knew next to nothing about Twitter. Less than a week later @Steve_Hardwick is my Twitter tag. I'm so new to Twitter that I'm hardly sure what to call things or how to Tweet. Is it called a tag or a name or what? Gotta learn the proper etiquette too.

I'm great at F2F intractions and group settings, but now I need to master social media.

Funny sign I saw today

Steve Hardwick, Hardwick Window Cleaning, 706.248.7051

Beautiful Weather

It is 65 outside (I should be out there) so I am thinking about spring cleaning. More sunshine as the days get longer and more beautiful weather makes me think of windows.

In addition to cleaning the glass, HWC will focus on getting rid of cobwebs around your windows and porches, as well as cleaning exterior window ledges. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Recommendations

We love it when our clients and friends recommend us to others. Here are a few who have recommended us recently. Please keep these names and contact info nearby in case you or someone you know may need these services.

• Charmaine and Cedric Broughton - C and C Janitorial Services are excellent home and commercial cleaners.
• Ceci Churchwell - Chastain Jenkins and Leathers LLC. Ceci is a realtor in and around Athens, GA with experience in residential sales, investment properties, and commercial locations.
• Pitaya - a clothing store on Clayton Street in Athens, GA. Mallory, the manager, is studying fashion merchandising. She knows what she is talking about and loves helping her customers look great.
• John Morecraft - Nothwestern Mutual Financial Services. You need to know John. Email him and let him know I said to contact him.

French Windows

French windows are multi-pane windows like you see in the picture below of Five and Ten, a local Athens restaurant.

Hardwick Window Cleaning keeps the windows at Five and Ten restaurant looking great.

This small section of the restaurant is 72 different windows which are individually cleaned. Smaller wetters and smaller squeeges are required to clean the smaller panes, and the result is beautiful to see. Check it out the next time you are in Five Points.

Construction Clean-Up

Recently, Hardwick Window Cleaning cleaned a new building on the campus of Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Georgia. A 60ft lift, and later an 80ft lift were required to reach the top floors. Since this was a construction clean-up job we had to remove mortar and putty off of the windows prior to the building being occupied.

This picture shows Steve Hardwick on the 60ft lift.

Since this job was completed we have been contracted to clean the windows of a similarly sized, older building that is already occupied. We are delighted to add the cleaning of windows on large and tall buildings to the services we provide to our clients.

I'm covered - and so is your stuff

Rule to live by: only let insured workers perform jobs on your property.

In a networking meeting about a year ago a lady who owns an independent insurance company explained the necessity of making sure you hire only insured workers to perform jobs on your property. For example, if a heating and air-conditioning professional is working on your unit and falls off a ladder, if he is not insured you may be responsible for his medical bills. If any material damage is done you may also be required to foot the bill for replacement or repairs.

The best way to make sure the person or company working in your home or business is covered by insurance is to ask them to provide a Certificate Of Insurance. Getting a copy of the COI is as simple as a phone call from the worker to the insurance company requesting the COI be emailed to you or faxed to your machine. If a worker balks at providing a COI, you may want to look elsewhere to get that need of yours tended to.

Too Cold to Clean Windows?

I hear this often, "It's too cold to clean windows." With temps below freezing many mornings I appreciate people's concern for our wellbeing, but other than issues of our personal comfort, we can clean windows even when the outside temps are very low. Warm water is good for cleaning and for keeping the window cleaner's hands from turning numb. Denatured alcohol or other "anti-freeze" methods are very helpful to keep ice from forming on the window.

I admit that sometimes the weather is just too bad to clean windows. Gusty wind and really cold weather do tend to prohibit window cleaning, but in general we can be out there and keep cleaning your windows even in the freezing weather. (If we come in for a minute or two to warm up our hands - let me thank you in advance for your kind words and your heat.)