By Glenn Haege
(All rights reserved)
Publication date: 10/20/2007
Get a head start on your holiday cleaning, then enjoy
I don't want to alarm you but do you realize that we are 11 days from Halloween, five weeks from Thanksgiving, six and a half weeks from the beginning of Hanukkah and nine weeks from Christmas?
My beloved bride Barbara has been in maximum-catalog shopping mode for months. But even with all this advance preparation, I know she will soon be in panic mode. In addition to being the most elaborate gift-wrapper I have ever known, Barb decorates the entire house for Thanksgiving, then takes everything down and redecorates for Christmas. If you are the Chief Household Officer, you know her dilemma. There are guest rooms that have to be made antiseptically clean. All the furniture has to be polished, windows washed, ducts cleaned and carpets shampooed. News flash. Get the heavy stuff done now and you won't have to go into panic mode this holiday season. November and December are two of the busiest months for duct and carpet cleaners. If it's been five to seven years since your ducts were cleaned you're due. Call now and start the line, instead of standing in the line. Some of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association certified Air System Cleaning Specialists in our area are: Safety King, (800) AIR-DUCT; Amistee Inc., (248) 349-8877; Clean Air Specialties, (586) 463-9699; Dalton Environmental, (800) 675-2298; Dusty Ducts, (313) 381-7801; Flame Furnace, (586) 582-1700; Fresh Air Solutions Inc., (800) 341-4076); Professional Duct Cleaners of Michigan, (517) 545-5865; Sanit-Air, (888) 778-7324; and VentCorp., (248) 347-9300. If you live out of the Metro Detroit area, call or go to the NADCA Web site, (202) 737-2926, www.nadca.com. It was a wonderful summer but you and the kids were tracking dirt into the house and grinding it into the carpeting. Your carpeting is begging you to clean it now. Be sure to pay a little bit extra and get stain protection. The party season is the spill season. Protecting your carpeting up front is a very good idea. Here's a list of some good, economical carpet cleaners: Centurion Home Services, (800) 722-8855; Miracle Carpet Care, (248) 721-6136; and Emergency Restoration, (866) CALL-ER1. The problem with trying to clean carpeting yourself, is that you usually get it too wet or leave too much cleaner on the carpeting. It takes days for the carpet to dry and the leftover shampoo makes the carpet get dirty faster. If you want to clean the carpeting yourself consider using a dry-powder cleaner instead of the usual shampoo system. If the temperature is still in the 50s, clean outside windows with a mixture of a level teaspoon of liquid hand-dishwashing soap and 4 ounces of vinegar to a gallon of water. When it's too cold, use 100-percent automobile windshield washing solvent. Put an all-cotton towel on the sill. Sponge the cleaning solution onto the window, then squeegee off. Mop up the water with the towel. Inside, mix 1 level teaspoon of liquid hand-dishwashing soap and 4 ounces of ammonia to a gallon of water. Repeat the outside procedure. If you don't want to walk around with a bucket, get a can of Gleme Glass Cleaner. Spray on and wipe off with an all-cotton towel. The product is a mixture of three different alcohols with no ammonia. You get quick cleaning with no streaking. Gleme is available at some janitorial supply stores and on the Web at www.dudco.com. It is privately labeled for Gordon Food Service and available at all their stores. You're almost done. Replace the furnace filter and humidifier media pad. Check to be sure the humidifier is on. Clean ductwork, a new filter and proper humidification are the secrets to a dust-free environment. If you have a question, call the "Handyman Show" with Glenn Haege at (866) ASK GLENN noon-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The show can be heard locally on WJR-AM (760) and more than 160 radio stations nationwide. To suggest a question for Haege's Wednesday "Ask Glenn" column at detnews.com, write: Ask Glenn, Master Handyman Press, P.O. Box 1498, Royal Oak, MI 48068-1498, or e-mail askglenn@masterhandyman.com.