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Do Women Care More About Restroom Appearance Than Men?

By: Briana Smith  |  June 5, 2014

A thought occurred to me this weekend as I caught a snippet of the television program Bar Rescue, do women care more about restroom appearance than men? Bar Rescue is a reality show highlighting a bar or nightclub that isn’t very successful. A team of professionals surveys the situation in order to diagnose & resolve the problem(s). At this point in the show, Jon Taffer, host and bar/nightclub consultant, had already pointed out sanitation issues with the main bar & food preparation areas, spotlighting the owner of the bar. From there, he moved onto the women’s restroom to discuss the cleanliness.

Topics: Restroom Care, standards of cleanliness, first impressions

6 Tips for Giving Your Upright Vacuum Cleaner a Tune-Up

Don’t let this happen to your upright vacuum cleaner!

By: Briana Smith and Mike Anderson  |  May 29, 2014

1. Brush Adjustment

Think that the brush adjustment option on your vacuum cleaner is just for show? Think again. It’s critical to the life of the brush, the vacuum AND your carpet life! Improper brush adjustment actually causes your vacuum to perform poorly, wear out faster, overheat, and can cause damage to your carpeting. Carpet pile lengths and textures vary and the point of having a brush on a vacuum is to sweep the dust, dirt & debris up and into the vacuum. If you have the brush too high for your carpeting then it’s not doing anything. If it’s too low it wears out both your carpeting and your brush. Make sure to check your brush every so often to see if it needs replacing, as it’s cheaper to replace a brush then a vacuum.

Topics: vacuuming, Indoor Air Quality, cleaning tips

Floor Matting Systems - Protecting Your Investment at the Front Door

By: Briana Smith |  May 22, 2014

Entrance matting should be the first thing that you come across when you enter a building. Why you may ask? 80% of the dirt & debris that enters a facility comes from walking in the door on the bottom of our shoes. Your entrance matting system is the first line of defense in protecting your floors and improving indoor air quality. An effective entrance matting system can potentially stop as much as 95% of dirt, sand & moisture at the door.

Here’s what you can do to protect your investment in your floors, your matting system & the cleanliness of your facility…

Topics: Indoor Air Quality, floor matting, preventative maintenance

Public Toilet Seat Sanitizers – Do They Work or Is It Peace of Mind?

By: Briana Smith  |  May 15, 2014

Using a public toilet is not typically on the list of my favorite things to do. In fact, most of the time I will attempt to “hold it” for as long as possible to avoid having to use one. Sometimes though I don’t have an option, and I have to actually brave it. Most of the time this happens when I’m out & about in an area that I haven’t been to before, so I haven’t scouted out the restrooms beforehand. Half the time I’m pleasantly surprised and discover that the restroom is perfectly fine with plenty of supplies, but the other half…

Regardless of the condition of the restroom, the second thing I do, after checking for a stall with toilet tissue (always #1 in importance), I reach for a paper seat cover, if they are available. I’m not sure why, but it always makes me feel slightly less grossed out, even though I’ve read that “most” toilets have less germs & bacteria on them then our mobile phones & handbags. Deb Group has a fantastic article on “Your Mobile Phone Is Dirtier Than You Think”. Which reminds me…I’m reaching for my disinfectant wipes now!

Topics: Hand Hygiene, Restroom Care, sanitizing

WAXIE Arizona Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Raffles

Topics: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, fundraising, raffles

The Healthy Schools Project* in Action at CA School for the Deaf

By: Briana Smith  |  May 8, 2014

On Friday, April 18, 2014 WAXIE Sanitary Maintenance Consultant, Remy Meehan, accompanied a couple of Kimberly-Clark Professional* trainers, Elisa Huang & Brian Boll, to the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, CA to educate the students & staff on the importance of handwashing. Kimberly-Clark Professional* developed The Healthy Schools Project* in order to help students understand germ transmission & how they can stay healthier in school and at home. Its key components focus around reminding students (as well as teachers, administrators & staff) to wash, wipe & sanitize.

Topics: Hand Hygiene, Education, Infection Prevention

Keeping Up with the Year-Around Cold & Flu Season

By: Briana Smith  |  May 1, 2014

Spring Fever, Summer Colds, Autumn Sniffles & Winter Chill

It always seems as if there’s something going around…colds, flu, allergies…regardless of the time of year. So shouldn’t everyone practice good hand hygiene year-around, and not just during the winter? After all, norovirus doesn’t go on a summer holiday.

The spread of germs happens daily as people consistently touch one surface or another. The rate at which germs are transmitted from one person to another may depend (airborne vs. direct contact) it’s important to protect yourself and others by doing the simplest of tasks: washing your hands.

Topics: Hand Hygiene, workplace wellness, healthcare, Education

5 Tips for Refinishing Your Gym Floor

Photos taken at WAXIE Ontario's Gym Floor Care Seminar at Pete Knight High School in Palmdale, CA on April 8, 2014

By: Tom Ciccarone  |  April 24, 2014

1. Know Your Area

Square footage, facility events, spring breaks and more can play a factor into preparing to refinish a gym floor. Square footage – this is key to have an accurate knowledge of how much area will be refinished. Varying finishes alongside individual application techniques can have certain finishes cover anywhere from 200 to 800 sq ft per gallon. Price per gallon can be deceptive, know your product and break it down to price per foot to ensure you know exactly what bang you are getting for your buck.

Topics: wood floors, Hard Floor Care, flooring, gym floors, cleaning tips

Thinking Globally While Composting Locally

As Earth Day approaches, it's a good time to review current resource management & waste diversion innovations, ideas & initiatives. Would you like implement a higher percentage of "green spend" for your facility? Are there products and technological advances that you'd like to incorporate into your facility management plans, such as LED lighting systems or water conservation strategies?

Are your business or facility's waste diversion goals being met? Does your business or facility even have waste diversion goals – and do these goals include the diversion of organic waste through composting?

Topics: composting, Recycling, Sustainability