Your Questions Answered…
At One Stop Cleaning Shop we get dozens of questions every day from customers asking us “How do I clean my oven?”, “How do I remove the stains from my woollen carpet?”, “How do I unblock my vacuum?”…
So much so, that here are the top 10 questions we get asked most… and our best answers to them!
1. My Vacuum isn’t sucking… What can I do?
If you are having any sort of issues with your vacuum, your first option is to become the ‘vacuum cleaner’ and make sure your vacuum is fit for purpose… If a vacuum has poor suction, or overheats and stops working, it is almost certainly due to a blockage in the tools. A blockage will cause the machine to overheat and temporarily cut-out until it cools down.
- To test, remove the hose and drop a coin down it. Repeat this process with the rods and floor tool.
- If the tools are clear, please check there is no blockage inside the machine where the bag connects to the drum.
2. Our school toilets smell… What can I do?!?
There are several reasons why boy’s toilets normally smell worse than girl’s:
1. Bad aim. Urine soaks into grout lines & porous surfaces. The urine stains & creates persistent malodours.
2. Uric acid crystals (which is part of the urine) build up inside pipework—creating potential blockages & also malodours.
3. Many of our competitor’s products mask the smell rather than dealing with the build-up. Also, standard yellow blocks do nothing apart from mask the smell & can also create blockages themselves!
4. Poor cleaning & hard water build-up. Calcium deposits in hard water areas create surfaces for bacteria to breed.
5. Finally, urinals that use too much water can create scale build-up & the uric acid will then cling to that rough surface. Urinals that use very little water but no appropriate additive can also create a problem.
What is the answer?
Thankfully there is an easy solution to this problem that does not include hazardous chemicals but instead allows a biological chemical to work for you day & night.
Blu Away & Bio Blocks contain millions of bacteria that love to eat the build-up which cause the odours. The friendly bacteria like to bed into the deposits and create their own culture, continually feeding on the uric acid crystals & the fatty deposits. With regular use & the avoidance of other cleaning chemicals, you can keep your pipes clear & your washrooms smelling fresh. If these products don’t do the trick, and the urine is more built-in than first thought, please contact on of our reps who may be able to help with a more acidic cleaner.
3. I want to clean in an eco-friendly way… Help me!
Unfortunately, many conventional cleaning products are loaded with harmful chemicals and come in single-use plastic packaging that can end up in landfills and oceans. By making the switch to plastic-free, eco-friendly cleaning products, you can keep your home or business sparkling clean while also reducing your environmental impact. In this Blog, we explore the reasons why going plastic-free when cleaning is important and provide you with easy tips to make the transition.
4. How to clean Altro / safety flooring?
In our opinion, a Scrubber/Dryer is always the best option for this type of floor. Check out this Blog for a full rundown of how to clean different types of flooring.
5. My carpet is a mess! How do I get rid of these stains…?
Carpets are the number one notorious place to get stains and spills on them, whether it be by children, or by you personally spilling food or drink. But the question is, how fast should you clean carpet stains? The moment they happen? Once they’ve dried?
We got the perfect product and method for you which works well on cleaning all sorts of stays, be it fresh or old! One of our go to products is Stain-Pro. To use this product, you need to have a pair of gloves and a cloth handy. We recommend the microfibre cloth as this will pick up the dirt easily. If the stain is fresh, soak up as much of the drink as you can. If it is food, clear all of the food up before beginning with the cleaning. We think this product is fantastic at removing stains from carpet. Like with most stains it will work best when on fresh stains but it can even tackle old carpet stains!
As with all carpet cleaning, always use in a small inconspicuous place first. Also, not all products are suitable for a wool carpet.
6. What chemicals / machine should be used to make different floor types look polished?
This is such a common question! We all love a nice shiny looking floor, but how do can we achieve it? First thing’s first… you need to pick the right machine for the size of the job! There’s no point spending £2,000 on a rotary polishing machine when you only have a small reception area to clean! Take a look at our range of Rotary Polishers & Scrubbers – many of which will show you the cleaning range/time/size/floor type to narrow down your search. Secondly – pads – White is the colour for polishing, and our best option would be these pads which come in a variety of sizes to fit any machine. Lastly, make it last! We recommend using a polish & sealant to complete the clean, so check out our options for this here.
If you’re still having trouble picking the correct machine for the job, then take a look in our “How To” section in our Blog for the best way to polish specific flooring types.
7. What’s the difference between the coloured floor pads? What does each colour do?
By and large, the industry standard colour-coding system works from light to dark, with white the finest, working up through tan, red, green and blue to brown and black, with the coarsest fibres. Please note, there may also be differences between the same colour pad from different manufacturers, so we always recommend double checking with us before you purchase. As a rule though, the following are colours and the results:
Black/Brown: Stripping
Green/Blue: Scrubbing
Red/Tan: Spray Cleaning
White: Polishing
8. What is the ‘cost in use’ compared to my current product portfolio?
Again, a very frequently asked question, and one we can answer quickly*
The best option is to drop our sales team an email with your current product portfolio which would need prices and quantities used per month or annum. This would let us create a like-for-like comparison and see where we can help to save you money.
9. What product / machine would you recommend for X,Y,Z?
Obviously there is an endless list of answers for these possible types of questions, so if you have a specific problem you need the answer to, our Blog is the best starting point for answers. However if you’d like to discuss with someone, then please feel free to contact us and one of our experts will be able to get back to you with the answers you’re looking for!
10. When is my order arriving?
98% of orders are delivered the next working day. If you live in mainland England or Wales & most of Scotland & you order before 3.30pm & we have the item in stock, you will receive your order on the next working day. For the 2% of orders that cannot be fulfilled immediately, we will be in touch via telephone to keep you fully informed as to when you will receive the item.
*BONUS QUESTION*
11. What the heck’s a Melamine Pad?!?
Although not technically a buffing pad, melamine floor pads are gaining massively in popularity among floor maintenance teams, as users discover how effective they can be on natural stone, terrazzo, wooden or tiled floors. Made from the same material as the magic sponge, they are more expensive than standard floor pads, but can remove stains and scuff marks and restore a new appearance to the floor in a way that other pads can’t, using only water. They should be used at low speed (150rpm) to avoid wearing through the pad too fast.
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