Most offices have windows. Natural light in a workplace creates happier working conditions. With windows, your facility likely makes use of costly window treatments. In most cases, blinds of some sort will be the variety of choice. They look great. They tend to be less intrusive and are an excellent means to control lighting conditions and privacy.
Because they are so unobtrusive they may be overlooked in your regular maintenance schedule. Like other features of your facility, blinds must be cleaned regularly. A number of impurities attach themselves to blind surfaces over the course of the year.
- Fungus
- Bacteria
- Oil
- Grease
- Dust
- Dirt
- Pigments
- Rust
- Lime scale
- Soot wax
- Fingerprints
Removing these contaminants keeps your indoor air quality cleaner, safe guarding the health of your employees and providing a healthier, more pleasant work experience. As well, regular cleaning and maintenance of blinds improves their working life which is a great cost-saving measure.
Replacement costs can be significant, especially if your office space has a lot of windows:
- At Blindsgalore Canada, composite wood blinds retail for $329.95 for a 48x66 inch window
- Hardwood blinds with 2 inch slats retail for $209.02 for the same size
- Fabric vertical blinds for both standard sizes retail for $183.64 for a 48x66 inch window size
- At Select Blinds Canada, premium faux wood blinds for a 48x66 inch window retail for $368
It is apparent from these prices that replacing blinds more frequently than necessary due to poor maintenance will significantly impact your bottom line.
A thorough clean removes these and other pollutants from all parts of the blind:
- Vanes
- Ladders
- Cords
- Head rail
As part of your regular janitorial maintenance you could have the blinds hand-washed and dried by regular janitorial staff. However, it is a very time-consuming and labour-intensive process. And many contaminants will not be removed with simple hand-washing. Along with the mess and time consumption, why not leave this job to the experts?
Many commercial cleaning companies provide blind cleaning and repair as a specialty service. And you have to know if they are going to provide that service it will be efficient. Many companies use something called ultrasonic cleaning for blinds. Venetian, verticals, pleated shades or silhouettes can be efficiently and safely cleaned and sanitized. As well, strong solvents to dissolve the contaminants are eliminated by this process making it a greener, safer alternative for cleaning your blinds.
Here's how it works:Ultrasonic cleaning
uses a device that creates cavitation bubbles using high frequency sound waves. Compression waves are created in the liquid, 'tearing' the liquid apart. Millions of microscopic bubbles are created. These bubbles collapse with enormous energy creating a vacuum that lifts dirt and contaminants from the blind, cleaning, sanitizing and polishing. However, because these bubbles are so tiny, they do not damage the blinds and are able to thoroughly clean the most intricate details.
As facility manager, maintaining equipment and supplies for blind cleaning diverts company resources from your key projects. Commercial cleaning companies have the equipment appropriate to efficiently, safely and thoroughly clean and sanitize your window treatments. Let them do the dirty work keeping your blinds clean and fresh. Your employee's health and productivity will benefit. Your brand perception will remain high and your bottom line will benefit.
