Getting your teen to clean

It may seem like an impossible task but it isn’t if you preserve. Yes, most teens will be prepared to help out and the trick is to get them to want to do it. It may be that pocket money is linked to chores or a small reward is given if completed to a satisfactory standard. A key thing to remember here is that as a child grows up and their rights increase so should their responsibilities increase.

There are a huge amount of chores children from age 12 can do. It is best for you to select those chores which you need your child to do and discuss the list with them. The first thing is get them to agree to do their chores. They may need some training for specific things. Getting your kids to do these chores will help them when they finally leave the nest.

Here are some appropriate chores for kids 12 and up:

Change bed sheets

Do laundry from start to finish

Clean shower, bath and toilet

Completely care for pets

Prepare one supper for the family per week

Babysit younger siblings for short periods

Mow lawn, spread mulch, fertilize

Wash windows

Pack own suitcase for longer holidays

Kids for this age are able to be a great help around the house. By teaching them these skills you will make their transition to complete independence so much easier.  For more information on cleaning products you can use and how to use them, visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is the best local cleaning chemicals manufacturer in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Cleaning jobs for kids ages 9-11

When your children reach this age you know they are no longer small children. You, as the parent, have already suffered through years of comments dripping with sarcasm and a child who believes they know so much more than you.

If you’ve been getting your kids to do chores from an early age, it should be no trouble to get them to keep on going and adding more complex chores as they grow older.

Here’s a list of chores for this age group:

Bathe and groom pets

Organise own cupboards including toys

Fold own clothes and put away

Clean bath/ shower after use

Help younger siblings with homework

Iron own clothes (ensure safety training here)

Take out rubbish bins on collection day

Organise recycling efforts

Wash car and vacuum inside

It’s important to remember that the more you involve your kids in household duties, the more your own time will be freed up to spend with them. There is always plenty to do to keep your house clean but a family having time for activities together is also important. If everyone does their share, their will be more together. You can contact Blendwell Chemicals for all your cleaning products. Please visit www.blendwell.co.za. 

List of cleaning jobs for kids

During the school holidays it’s good for you kids to really start helping at home. If you make it part of your routine, you’ll be able to carry on after the holidays too. Too many kids today expect to be served and don’t know how to use the appliances around the house. I’ve written out a list for each of my kids to follow and so far, so good – they’re sticking to it.

With each age group you’ll want to include new tasks but also keep up with the old chores. You’ll find that if you have more than one child, you will be able to have younger children take over easier tasks.

Here is a list of cleaning jobs for kids between 6 and 8 years of age:

• Change bed sheets
• Load washing machine and run a load of laundry
• Wash dishes by hand
• Load and unload dishwasher
• Unpack groceries
• Pack lunch for school
• Fold simple laundry items and pack away
• Vacuum
• Sweep front step and outdoor pathways
• Prepare simple meals like salads and desserts (please ensure child is well trained with knives)
• Mop floors

You will need to spend some time showing your children how to do any cleaning jobs. It is important to remember that you don’t want to start your kids who may not have done many chores before on a complete list like this. Rather, start with a couple of things and slowly phase in more. Encourage your kids and praise them when they do a great job – they might just want to do more.

For more information on cleaning products you can use please visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is a manufacturer of cleaning chemicals in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tips for Cleaning with Little Children

Now that the school holidays are upon us, the mess in my house has certainly increased. I’m not prepared to do this alone. My kids are the ones making the extra mess so they are going to help clean up – even the little ones.

I’ve been talking to each of my children about what I expect them to clean up and they have their own list of duties. They seem to be taking pride in what they do and are eager to do it well. Of course, there are lazy moments but I’m really proud of the job they’re doing.

As your child gets more duties they should continue to do their previous chores as well. This list will grow with age.

Here’s a list of the jobs for 4-5 year old children:

• Make own bed – duvet
• Prepare own simple breakfast or lunch (like cereal or sandwich) and clear away after
• Empty laundry baskets and sort into light and dark loads
• Empty small bins around the house
• Help with vacuuming, sweeping and dusting
• Clean kitchen counters with cloth and spray
• Clean bathroom sink
• Help fold laundry – small towels, etc
• Take clothes out of the washing machine and put into basket and pass items for hanging on the washing line.
• Mop laminate floors with spray and flat mop.
• Use dust buster for cleaning small spills

I find that making specific times for chores makes it easier to do. It is simply part of the routine and there is less resistance. For example, when you get dresses, you should make your bed and after breakfast sort the laundry. Once an activity has started it’s going to be a lot harder to get your kids attention.

For more information on cleaning and cleaning products, please visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures a massive range of cleaning products for all industries. We are the best local wholesaler of cleaning products in the Midrand area.

Getting your kids to clean up!

The school holidays are upon us and kids everywhere are running amok, causing chaos and making a mess - as they should. At this time of year, kids can get really bored really quickly and the threat of Santa won’t bring you any presents only lasts for so long.

It’s time to introduce some tasks that your kids can do to help you out around the house so that it doesn’t permanently look like a bombs hit it. Kids of all ages can help out. The key is to finding jobs that they can do and sticking to it -that’s the hard part.  If you haven’t managed to train your older children yet, you may need to get them started with tasks for younger children and introduce new tasks regularly to get them up to speed.

Here are some ideas of what you can get your two to three year old to help with:

• Tidy up toys and pack away.
• Put dirty clothes in the wash
• Wipe table where they ate.
• Spray and wipe chairs and table
• Wash vegetables
• Tear lettuce
• Help set and clear the table
• Bring in pet food bowls and check water bowl – tell parent if low
• Unpack plastic items and cutlery from the dishwasher

At first they may not be great with any of these tasks but a whole lot of encouragement and they will improve and they will show enthusiasm. If they grow up with chores to do there will be less resistance from them. For more information on the cleaning products you can use visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is the best local cleaning chemical manufacturer in  Midrand South Africa.

Nelson Mandela

We hope that our Madiba rests in peace now. He was such an amazing example of what one person can do when love fills their heart. Thank-you Mabida for all the things you taught us. Your country and the world will miss you

Cleaning with Kids

Have you seen our latest article on cleaning with children? This article was written by a guest blogger and we have published it on our website. All schools seem to be breaking up for the holidays and your kids will be hanging around the house making a mess. Get them involved in cleaning up too!

Read this great article on: http://www.blendwell.co.za/Cleaning_With_Kids

What are Risk Phrases and Safety Phrases?

When you are looking at your Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) usually towards the end of the document, you will find the risk phrases and the safety phrases. The risk phrases and safety phrases are part of the European Union Directive but are used internationally.

This is what they may look like on your MSDS:

These R-phrases, as they are sometimes called, give specific information regarding any risk with a substance. There is a long list of R-phrases and they cover risks attributed according to the nature of a cleaning chemical in the form it is sold in. This means that it is not measured by its individual components nor is it rated in the form it is used in i.e. diluted.

Safety Phrases, or S-phrases, give the user safety advice for using the cleaning. These are slightly different to risk phrases as they offer specific advice for handling cleaning products. A risk phrase will say irritating to skin and a safety phrase will say wear gloves.

Even if a cleaning product is very safe it may still carry risk and safety phrases. One safety phrase that should be on almost all cleaning products is S2 – Keep out of reach of children.

Risk phrases and safety phrases will give you the knowledge you need to handle you cleaning products with safety first. Blendwell Chemicals will be happy to supply you with a MSDS for each cleaning product that you buy from us. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures all their cleaning products in Johannesburg, South Africa. We are your best local cleaning products wholesaler.

What are Hazard Symbols and what do they mean?

When you receive a MSDS from Blendwell Chemicals you can expect towards the end of the document to see a small diagram in the hazard symbol section. This hazard symbol will give you information regarding how safe or dangerous the cleaning product could be to the user and the environment. This hazard symbol is created based on the information on the finished product. Although the cleaning chemical may contain hazardous components, the finished product may not necessarily carry the same hazard warning.

Some products are safe and they will not need to carry a hazard symbol.

If a cleaning product is classified as an irritant it will mean that this cleaning chemical can cause irritation if the product comes into contact with skin, eyes, hands and lungs. The cleaning product does not have to be an irritant on all areas but simply on one of them in a significant way.

Another hazard symbol that looks almost the same is for harmful products. You will notice that the little “I” in the corner of the irritant hazard symbol is missing. The harmful hazard symbol can refer to the cleaning chemical being harmful to the environment or it being harmful to people either by ingestion or contact.

The Corrosive hazard symbol will appear for a cleaning chemical that will cause burns and serious damage to the skin, lungs or eyes. If this hazard symbol appears on your cleaning product, please handle with care. It will be very important that you use safety gear when handling this product. It is always important to use safety gear but with this hazard symbol on your cleaning product, you could cause permanent damage if you allow any carelessness when handling this product.

The Toxic hazard symbol is one that is used for cleaning products that are poisonous when ingested, breathed in or with direct contact. It can also refer to a cleaning product that is known to cause cancer or other illnesses. This product must be handled with the utmost care.

The Environmental Hazard is for a chemical that will do serious damage to the environment including water. This cleaning product will require careful disposal.

Flammable cleaning products will carry this hazard symbol. These cleaning products will require special storage in a proper flame resistant cupboard or room.

Blendwell Chemicals will supply you with the information you need to handle your cleaning products safely. For more information on the cleaning products available from Blendwell Chemicals, please visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is the best local cleaning chemical manufacturer and wholesaler in Johannesburg. We are your partner in cleaning.

2 Documents to Explain your Cleaning Products

Blendwell Chemicals supplies two documents for every cleaning product that we manufacture. These two documents will help you with all the information you may need about our cleaning chemicals, how to use them and how to stay safe with them. The documents can be quite technical so if you need some help - just ask.

The Data Sheet includes a description of the cleaning product, how to use it, dilutions, its basic chemical stats and safety recommendations. This document is usually about one page long and is great for a quick overview of the cleaning product you are interested in. You should be able to find all the most important facts about your cleaning product on this page.

The Material Safety Data Sheet is also known as a MSDS. This document is much more indepth document than the data sheet. The MSDS will provide you with information regarding the hazardous components that make up your cleaning chemical. These hazardous components are a legal requirement so that users are aware of the potential risks of that particular product. This doesn’t mean however that because these raw materials are used in your cleaning product that it must be incredibly harmful. Hazardous raw materials can be diluted so much in formulation that they are no longer hazardous or that can also be neutralized in formulation. You will find information on the environmental impacts of the cleaning product and full safety information too. The safety information will cover what safety equipment you may need and what to do if there is a significant spill of the cleaning product. The MSDS will cover how this product will react in a fire and the storage requirements. First aid advice and transport codes are also available here. There will a risk and safety analysis at the end of the document that will include the hazard listing of the finished product,

If you buy any of our cleaning products we are happy to supply you with either of these documents so that you know more about the cleaning chemicals you are using. Blendwell Chemicals is your partner in cleaning and is the best manufacturer of cleaning products in the Midrand area.

3 Steps to Cleaning

No matter what you are cleaning there are some basic steps to start with. These steps are simple questions you can ask yourself before you get started.

The first question is: Is the dirt you want to clean oil based or other? If you’re cleaning oil, you will need specific cleaning products to lift the oil from the surface.

The second question is: Is the surface to be cleaned hard or porous? Porous surfaces will be able to absorb some of the cleaning product which could damage the surface or item being cleaned. It is most likely that you will need to rinse the surface with clean water after cleaning. What equipment you use will also need to be considered.

The third step is to calculate what actions should follow. This will include things like what cleaning product should you use and at what dilution ratio. Will you need a cleaning product that foams or one that specifically does not foam? What temperature should your cleaning products be and what equipment will you need? How will you be cleaning (wiping, scrubbing, mopping) and how much time will you need?

 For more information on cleaning and cleaning products, please visit www.blendwell.co.za. We are your best local cleaning chemical manufacturer in the Midrand area.

4 Key Elements of Cleaning Faster and Easier

No matter what you’re going to clean you will need to know a little bit about how to clean. Sure, you may not need to know all the rules for cleaning to get the job done but knowing and applying the rules will help save you time, effort and money too.

Anything that requires cleaning needs more than one element to be cleaned. Certain items will require all four elements to be considered and adjusted.

THERMAL ENERGY means that heat may be required for cleaning to be optimum. Some items, often where they are greasy, will need heat to support cleaning. Think of cleaning and oven or grill.

CHEMICAL ENERGY is the actual cleaning chemical used to clean. Using the right cleaning product at the right dilution will definitely make cleaning easier. More is not always better. In fact, there are some cleaning products, like dishwashing liquid, where using more cleaning chemical makes it harder to get your items clean.

MECHINICAL ENERGY is the energy that you or a machine uses to clean. This is the actual wiping motion when you clean a countertop or scrubbing when cleaning the paving bricks outside.

The final element is time. Some cleaning requires extended contact time so you may apply the cleaners and then wait for 20 minutes before starting to clean (this would allow for chemical energy to do the hard work for you). But all cleaning requires time even if it is only a couple of seconds contact time.

The equation of cleaning is:

CLEANING = (CHEMICAL ENERGY + MECHANICAL ENERGY + THERMAL ENERGY) X TIME

For more information on cleaning please visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is a manufacturer of cleaning products in Johannesburg South Africa. We are the best local wholesaler of cleaning products.

Now you are ready to get going with cleaning your car

Start with checking the headlining. Hopefully all is in order here. A quick vacuum will not go amiss. If there are dirty patches you should use a product like Blendwell Chemicals Carpet Shampoo. Here you’ll use the foam to clean any dirty patches so that the area is not left wet.

Then clean the fascia and dashboard.  It’s usually easier to have a cleaning product like Blendwell Chemicals Wac GP Cleaner. This all-purpose cleaner is ideally diluted into a spray bottle and then sprayed onto all the areas to be cleaned and wiped with a clean cloth. When I last cleaned my car, I cleaned with diluted Eco-Lyte DG Cleaner. It was brilliant on the milkshake that had spilt the day before and I had not had a chance to clean up. Because it had been so hot the mess had dried up. I sprayed the green cleaner and a quick wipe later and it was all cleaned up. It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I had imagined. Here are my before and after photo’s:

After cleaning the fascia and dashboard, you can move onto Silicone Cleaner to shine up these plastic surfaces. Please be careful not to over use a silicon product on the steering wheel or gear lever as you don’t want these areas to be slippery.

Cleaning the seats of your car will often require some spot cleaning. I recommend that you first do some vacuuming of the seats before you apply any cleaners to the seats. Whatever you happen to be cleaning, a great tip to follow is always clean dry before wet. Once the dust and dirt has been lifted by the vacuum, you can move onto cleaning with cleaning chemicals. For fabric seats, you could use the Carpet Shampoo if you are planning to clean the whole seat or you can opt for Wac GP Cleaner if there are just one or two spots that need cleaning.  The Carpets can be cleaned in the same way.

If your car has leather seats, you will want to use Blendwell Chemicals Leather Cleaner and Leather Polish. These two cleaning products are designed to work together to bring out the best of your leather seats.

For more information on cleaning your car, please visit www.blendwell.co.za/Car_Cleaning. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures all their cleaning products in Johannesburg, South Africa. We are your best local wholesaler of cleaning products

Delphis Eco cleans up at Wandsworth Business Awards

The Wandsworth Business Awards were last week and Delphis Eco cleaned up!

Delphis Eco won the Green Business Award and was also commended for their Commitment to the Community.

Mark Jankovitz (founder of Delphis Eco) received Highly Commended as Entrepreneur of the Year.

Well done Delphis Eco!

Dates to diarise

We're already firmly into November and we have year end fast approaching. Please be aware if our dates for shutdown this year and get all your orders in on time.

Blendwell Distributors

Blendwell is proud to announce the distributor agreements that we have entered into with Tharochem and Downstream Trading. We now supply Tharochem exclusively in Sasolburg. Downstream Trading are exclusively supplied by Blendwell Chemicals in Rustenburg.

If anyone is looking for Blendwell cleaning products in Rustenburg you can contact Downstream Trading at 014-596-7170, visit their website at www.streamtrading.co.za  or you could email them at downstream@telkomsa.net.

Downstream Tradings new premises look fantastic. Here are some pictures:

To contact Tharochem in Sasolburg you can phone them on 016-976-7001, visit their website at www.tharochem.co.za or email them at klippies@tharochem.co.za

If you would like to find out more about becoming an official Blendwell Chemicals distributor please contact Judy at 011-805-9940. Please note: distributor agreements are only entered into if particular criteria are reached and we will not be able to enter into any distributor agreements for companies based in Gauteng.

November becomes MOVEMBER.

Register on the movember website to support this great cause!

It's Halloween!

Happy Boss's Day

It's Boss's Day today!

We would like to wish Judy - Blendwell Chemicals woman in charge - a very happy Boss's Day. We hope we haven't given her too many grey hairs. Thanks for being such a great boss!

Happy Boss's Day!

Do you have proper HACCP cleaning schedules?

Photo courtesy of RGB Stock

In a food environment it is vital to follow HACCP procedures to ensure food safety. Part of these procedures will include having cleaning schedules and stringently sticking to them.

A cleaning schedule will allow for both maintenance and deep cleaning. Each time cleaning is done the person who does the cleaning of that particular area must sign. This will allow for each cleaner to be accountable for their cleaning. Spot checks and thorough inspections should be done regularly. If the inspection results in cleaning not being adequate a new cleaning regime (NCR) must then be introduced. The inspections will involve different tests for each area. These tests are not just visual checks but rather measurable, relevant tests. This will ensure that no bacteria are given a chance to grown and the area is kept clean.

All cleaning schedules should include information on what cleaning equipment is required for that area, frequency of cleaning, protective cleaning and gear required, warnings and full details of what needs to be cleaned.

Blendwell Chemicals can provide you with the right cleaning products for the job as well as the technical information you may need. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures a range of HACCP compliant cleaning products in Midrand, South Africa. We are your best local cleaning products manufacturer.

3 ways to have green appliances in your home

Making the commitment to go green is not just about changing the cleaning products you use and how you use them. It’s about relooking at the things you buy and deciding what you really need.

Most appliances are marked with a scoring system for how electrically efficient they are. Choose the most efficient appliances and you may just see your electricity bill come down too.

Make sure you really need an electrical appliance before you buy it. After careful consideration you may decide it is not necessary. A tumble dryer may not be necessary if you don’t have uniforms that need to be dried in a hurry. Or if you have kids over the age of 8 they can do the washing upafter dinner each night and you may not need a dishwasher.

Sometimes you don’t need to have a large appliance and many smaller units use less electricity. If there are fewer people in your household you might opt for a washing machine that has a smaller capacity as it will use less water and electricity.

These small changes can make a huge difference to the environment. The immediate change it could make to you is lower water and electrical bills and that would certainly relieve my household budget. Every little thing we do to save our environment will add up and become a big thing. Blendwell Chemicals is working towards a greener future – join us.

Are there HACCP compliant cleaning products for high level disinfection?

Photo courtesy of Sanja Gjenero

Blendwell Chemicals manufactures a range of cleaning products specifically for use in the food industry. These food safe cleaners are in our H-range of products.

Sporequot H is a QAC (Quarterary Ammonium Compound) disinfectant. It is designed for both normal and high level disinfection and sterilization. It can be used through foaming machines if required. This disinfectant provides excellent microbicidal efficacy.

This cleaning product can be used in all water conditions and is totally free rinsing. It is capable of killing all bacteria, bacterial spores, fungi and yeasts. It is important to use this disinfectant only after the area has been cleaned and any soiling removed.

For more information on our HACCP cleaning chemicals please visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is a manufacturer and wholesaler of a huge range of cleaning products.

Are there any cleaners that also disinfect and are HACCP compliant?

Photo courtesy of Jana Kollorova

The answer to that is – YES. Absolutely! Blendwell Chemicals manufactures a range of cleaning products that have specifically been designed for use in the food industry. The H-range cleaning products are all HACCP compliant.

Alko H is a concentrated, ready to use surface disinfectant. This cleaning product contains alcohol and is ideal for areas where rinsing surfaces after cleaning is problematic. It is suitable for all food related industries and can be applied to all food contact surfaces.

This cleaning product does not contain any perfume but it does smell because of the alcohol it contains. You should not dilute this cleaning chemical. Use it through a spray bottle and spray surface that it needing disinfecting or cleaning. It can be left to dry (evaporate) and will not contaminate food that is later prepared on that dry surface.

Blendwell Chemicals is able to supply wholesale bulk cleaning products for use in the food industry. This HACCP compliant range is called the H-range. You will find Blenwell Chemicals in Midrand South Africa.

Training in October

We're doing our free training session in October on Car Washing. We will cover all you need to know about the cleaning chemicals and cleaning equipment required for a car washing business. This training should be filled with demonstrations and useful information for selling products to car wash companies.

Our training sessions are offered to our clients and their staff as well as anyone looking into this business. If you would like to attend this session please call Cynthia to book your place on 011-805-9940. Training will take place at 10AM on the 16th of October 2013 at Blendwell Chemicals offices in Midrand.

Recycling at school

It’s Clean-up and Recycle Week and there are lots of community cleaning up projects all over the country. If you want to find out more, please visit http://www.cleanup-sa.co.za/cleanupdiary.htm.

Schools are often very involved with their communities. A school is the perfect place to locate recycling bins. These bins do need to be well managed so that they do not over-fill. The school may choose not to have facilities for all recyclable material but only select collecting one or two items.

The school should identify a company that can come collect the recyclable materials or alternatively find a charity organisation that will collect the recyclables who can benefit from these goods.

Educators, learners and parents must be educated and encouraged to use the recycling facilities to ensure participation. Learners should know about how the packaging of their lunch or drinks maybe recycled. They should be encouraged to use bottles and lunch boxes that are not disposable so that they create less waste.

It may be necessary for bottles, cans and boxes to be flattened if they are to be stored before they are collected.

We can all do some kind of recycling. If you haven’t yet started then pick one thing to recycle. You’ll see it’s easier than you think. At Blendwell Chemicals  we’re always looking for new ways to recycle our waste. We can all work together for a better world for our children.

Recycling at the office

Since it’s Clean Up and Recycling Week, this is the perfect time to look at how we are doing things and see if we can do them better. Find ways of recycling goods in your office is a great way to contribute. For more information on community projects, please visit http://www.cleanup-sa.co.za/cleanupdiary.htm

Each office is different but there are many different things you can do. Firstly you will need to assess your environment and see where you create recyclable waste. Many offices still use a lot of paper. Making sure that where possible the blank side of paper is also used is an easy way to recycle. You can cut up this used paper and use the clean side to write phone messages and notes. Even better, your phone messages can all be on email – taking out the need for message slips that may get lost. Instead, you may consider paper that has been printed to be taken home and used by your staff member’s children for drawing on.

The paper that does have to go through your shredder can be collected by a paper recycling company to ensure that it does not go into normal waste.

If you do not have a canteen on site, staff members should be encouraged to bring lunch in a plastic lunch box and something to drink in a glass or plastic juice bottle. If these are used every day, there will be much less of an environmental impact than new plastic or paper bags and cans or new bottles being used each day.

All staff members will need to be informed of your recycling efforts and bins for different items must be easy to access for the system to work.

Identify a company that will be able to collect your recyclable items if you do not have facilities nearby to drop off.

There are many creative ways to recycle things in your office. You just have to look at your office and  work out what can be re-used or recycled. Find a way to do your part in Clean-up and Recycle Week! Blendwell Chemicals is looking for ways to improve too.

Photo courtesy of Sanja Gjenero for RGB Stock.

Recycling Day - What you can do at home

On Friday the 20^th of September it will be Recycling Day. This initiative is part of Clean-up and Recycle week which runs for the whole of this week. There are community clean-ups arranged around the country for individuals to participate in making public spaces cleaner. If you would like to know about events that have been organised by Clean-up SA please visit http://www.cleanup-sa.co.za/cleanupdiary.htm

Not all of us are going to be able to be part of events like this one but we can all still do our bit. We can start recycling at home, at work and helping arrange recycling schemes at local schools.

For your own recycling at home, you should start to separate the things you throw away. There will be wet waste mostly from food stuffs and dry recyclable materials. Some of your wet waste like fruit and vegetable waste can be used in your compost heap.

Find out about recycling schemes in your area. Some suburbs have separate rubbish trucks that collect different materials – one for paper and one for glass, plastic, tin, polystyrene, etc. You may need to find a shop or school in your area that has recycling bins for you to drop your goods into.

Create separate bins or boxes to store your recyclable goods until you can dispose of them. If you can, try to colour-code your bins if you have small children. Or you can put labels on the bins if your family is older. Teach everyone in your household about what items go in which bin and what state items should be in if they are to be put in these bins. Bottles, tins and jars should be cleaned out before placing them in the recycling bin – there should not be chunks of food attached. Once your family is in the habit of sorting it’s really easy. A huge advantage of doing this is that you dramatically reduce the amount of waste that would go into your big black wheelie bin. During the last rubbish collector’s strike we only filled our big wheelie bin after 4 weeks. We’re a large family and most of throw away goods are recycled so we were barely affected by the strike.

Here’s a picture of my indoor recycling bins. I find this system works really well for my household.

I’ll be looking at other places to start recycling so check back tomorrow.

Clean-up and Recycle Week

This week is Clean-up and Recycle week and now is the time to get involved in community clean-ups of public spaces. If you're not able to, just starting your own recycling scheme at home or work is a great way to contribute.

It doesn't take a lot of extra time to throw different types of waste into different bins and once you start you'll find it's really easy. Kids love to follow through with recycling at home.

Get involved and find a way to be kind to the environment. This is a great week to start!

It's Spring!

4 Tips for Cleaning Carpets

Sometimes it can be really hard to keep carpets clean. At home, the dogs, the kids and who knows what else trudge in a huge amount of mess. In the office, everyone walks in with mess from outside or the factory, workshop or warehouse. A simple little vacuum is not going to be able to keep things neat and tidy.

 Blendwell Chemicals manufactures a range of cleaning products designed specifically for cleaning carpets when you need some extra cleaning.

• First things first, try to stop dirt at the door. Have a door mat for people to wipe their feet on before entering. I have not yet been able to train my dogs to do this but small children can be taught. Make a game out of it and sing a silly song while you do it to get them in the habit.
• Always do a spot test on a piece of carpet that can be covered and is unobtrusive. You want to make sure that this is the right cleaning product for your carpet and a spot test is the best way to do this.
• Choose the right cleaning product for you. If you have a carpet cleaning machine, you will need a low foaming cleaning product. If you are cleaning by hand, you will need a high foaming product.
• Maintain your carpets between big cleaning sessions but vacuuming regularly and cleaning up spills immediately.

You’ll be able to keep your carpets looking new and fresh by following these tips. For more information on carpet cleaning products, please visit www.blendwell.co.za/Carpet_Cleaning. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures all their wholsale cleaning products at their factory in Midrand.

Other Areas to Clean in School Toilets

You will need to make allowances for the cleaning of all items within school toilets as a way to ensure the best hygiene standards are met. Some of these things will only require once a day cleaning and others will need even less.

Mirrors will require daily cleaning. Any stainless steel fitting surrounding the mirrors should be kept bright and shiny.

Walls and partitions should be spot cleaned as required. They should be checked daily.

Ceilings, windows, airvents, lights and fittings do not need routine cleaning but that doesn’t mean these items should be forgotten. When they do require periodical cleaning hot water and detergent is the best cleaner.

External pipework from toilets and basins should be cleaned weekly with hot water and detergent.

Feminine hygiene bins should be cleaned on the outside daily. Bins must be lifted off the floor during mopping of floor. Sanitary product disposal bins should be emptied and cleaned regularly preferably by a registered company.

Please also be aware that drinking water should not be available in the toilet facility areas.

For more information on cleaning products please visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is a manufacturer and wholesaler of cleaning products in Johannesburg, South Africa.

How to Clean High Risk Areas in School Toilets

Previously I wrote about cleaning the low risk areas of school toilets. Now, it’s time to deal with high risk areas. It will be necessary to have your colour-coded cleaning accessories at hand and fresh hot water with correctly dosed cleaning product properly diluted. These are areas that have regular contact and are most likely to be exposed to germs and bacteria. It will be necessary to clean these areas a minimum of twice a day, perhaps more.

Sinks and basins can be cleaned using a cream cleaner.

The toilets should be cleaned with your hot water and detergent mix. Both top and bottom of the toilet seat should be cleaned as well as the flush handles. Door knobs and any locking mechanism will need to be cleaned. Surrounds underside of urinals should be cleaned as well as any disabled persons grab rails.

Taps and soap dispensers should be washed and dried as well as hand driers. Special attention should be paid to the undersides and sides of hand driers and soap dispensers.

This should cover the highest risk areas of your school toilet facilities. If there is every any blood of faecal spillages these must be cleaned up immediately and the area disinfected thoroughly.

Regular and planned cleaning in toilet areas will make the school toilets hygienic and keep students healthy. For more information on cleaning, visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures cleaning products for all industries in Midrand, South Africa. We are your best local cleaning chemical manufacturer and wholesaler.

How to clean low risk areas in school toilets

After assessing your school toilets and deciding on which areas are high risk and which are low risk, you would have been able to get ready for some cleaning. With your colour-coded cleaning accessories in hand, you should be able to refer to your cleaning schedule and get started.

General areas will need a minimum of a daily clean. It’s a good idea to use a general purpose cleaner and hot water with the right colour-coded cleaning equipment. All surfaces should be manually cleaned as well as dried before the space can be used again. If there is the possibility of an outbreak of infection then all surfaces should be disinfected. These areas must be properly cleaned before disinfection takes place.

Floors should be mopped at least once a day. If there have been any blood spillages, disinfection will be necessary.

Bins must be emptied at least twice a day. This may be different in other environments. If paper towels are used and only small bins are provided they may need to be emptied after each break. The outside of the bins should also be cleaned daily. If there is obvious soiling then this too may need to be more frequent. All bins should also have liner bags.

For more information on cleaning products for toilet facilities, visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals is a manufacturer and wholesaler of cleaning products. We sell our vast product range to resellers and contract cleaners from our factory in Johannesburg, South Africa.

4 Tips for Cleaning School Toilets

When it comes to school toilets, cleaning should be taken very seriously. Dirty toilets in a school will negatively affect school attendance. Children who get sick more often are also less likely to achieve good marks so making sure that these facilities are hygienic is really important.

• Creating and sticking to a cleaning schedule is a great way of doing this. In fact, have two schedules – one for deep cleaning and one for maintenance cleaning.
• Each area within your toilet area should be assessed to decide what type of cleaning it requires. Some areas like the basins may be considered a lower risk area than the flush handles of toilets.  High risk areas should be cleaned with one cloth and low risk areas should be cleaned with a different cloth. To make this easier, each area should have colour-coded cleaning equipment that is used exclusively for cleaning that area. This will prevent germs and bacteria moving from one area to another.
• It is a good idea to start cleaning with the lowest risk areas and finishing on the highest risk areas. This does not mean that all areas must be cleaned every time cleaning is done but rather the lowest risk area for that cleaning rotation should be done first.
• You should also try to ensure that areas are dried thoroughly before users have access to the facilities.

For more information on cleaning and cleaning products, please contact Blendwell Chemicals in Johannesburg, South Africa. We are the best local manufacturer and wholesaler of cleaning products. Please visit www.blendwell.co.za.

2 reasons to use Thick Bleach

Blendwell Chemicals has recently launched some new household and office cleaning products. Among the new products is Thick Bleach. What are the advantages of thick bleach over a traditional thin bleach?

• Thick Bleach will not splash as easily as thin bleach. Especially when your bleach is in a larger container like a 5 litre can, it's easy to spill bleach all over as you pour. This can be a massive problem if you spill on a carpet or your clothes. Splashes of bleach can easily ruin these items. Thick Bleach does not splash as much and the chances of landing up with little white spots on your favourite black pants is minimised.
• Thick Bleach is also more likely to stick to surfaces for longer. Just think about when you're cleaning your toilet. If you use pour thin bleach onto the insides of the toilet, it simply runs off. Thick Bleach will have a longer contact time as it will follow gravity more slowly. This, in turn, means that more germs and bacteria will be killed.

This new cleaning product will make your household and office cleaning easier and more efficient. Visit Blendwell Chemicals website at www.blendwell.co.za for more information on other cleaning products that will make your cleaning easier.

Free training this Wednesday

Have you heard about our "What's New?" training?

On Wednesday the 17^th of July we are doing a training course on what’s new at Blendwell Chemicals. We have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to bring you new products and new changes to old products that, we believe, will knock your socks off.

We have some fabulous new products in our household and office cleaning range and we have also been working on our eco-friendly products so Green is Growing. If that was not enough, we have also completely redesigned our labelling. Our new labels will make it easier for you to display your logo and all the product information and safety warnings are now much easier to read.

If you join us for training you will receive a goodie bag with some of our new products to try them out yourself. Please contact Cynthia to book your place on 011-805-9940

What are the 5 different hazard symbols for cleaning chemicals?

All chemicals, cleaning and others, are classified and they carry hazard symbols. Cleaning chemicals usually only have four different types of hazard symbols.

The most common hazard symbol is for irritant:

When you see this symbol it is possible that the cleaning product could cause some irritation in either skin, eyes, breathing or when ingested. The irritation can be mild or severe. Some people are extremely sensitive and may have a reaction when most people won’t. The product will still be labelled as irritant to protect these sensitive individuals.

Then you may also see the symbol for corrosive:

Items that carry this label must be handled with care and proper protective gear is necessary when handling these cleaning products. They are aggressive chemicals that can cause serious injury to all. It describes a substance that may destroy living tissue on contact.

Another of the hazard symbols is for harmful products:

This symbol is very similar to the irritant symbol but you will notice a small “I” on the irritant symbol. The harmful symbol describes a product that may causes some form of harm.

You may also see the sign for flammable:

This symbol will describe a cleaning product that is flammable and can easily catch fire. This cleaning product may require special handling or storage considerations.

The last symbol you might see on a cleaning product is for toxic:

If a product has this symbol, handle with extreme care as it may be poisonous if swallowed or breathed in. Please be careful

For more information on cleaning products, please visit www.blendwell.co.za. Blendwell Chemicals manufactures a huge amount of cleaning products in South Africa. We are your best local cleaning chemical supplier.