Most people keep their cleaning chemicals under lock and key, because they are so toxic they could sicken or even kill if ingested. But UBM’s powerful antibacterial cleaner for workstations and desks is so safe, you can drink it. In fact, you probably do, every day. It’s regular tap water. With one little difference: it’s ionized.

What is ionization?

It’s what occurs to water when you pass a slight electric charge through it. In the technology UBM uses, the charged water then passes through a membrane that separates the water into oxygenated positively and negatively electrically charged tiny bubbles.

When the water is sprayed directly on a surface, it breaks apart and lifts dirt like a magnet, so it can be wiped away. Before the water exits the spray nozzle, a slight electric field is applied, so the water carries a low-level electric field to the surface where germs may be living. When used as directed, this low-level electric field kills more than 99.9% of harmful germs.

Creating a germ-free environment can reduce employee absenteeism by up to 33%. See the “Green Cleaning for Health” section of the UBM website for more information.

How in the world does ionized water get rid of dirt and kill germs?

Let’s say you have a negatively charged dirt particle lying on a desk surface. Positively charged water attracts the particle (positive attracts negative) and lifts it from the surface. Then, it’s easy to wipe it off with a cleaning cloth. That’s the short and simple answer.

As to how ionized water kills germs, remember that germs and viruses are cells. Their cell walls are what hold them together and allow them to stay alive and able to infect whoever touches them with flu, staph, or other illness. When ionized water hits those cells, their cell walls break apart, and they die. Wipe them away with a cloth, and those dead disease germs are gone.

To learn more about how the ionized water cleaning and sanitizing system UBM uses works, take a look at this video from the manufacturer, Activeion. And for green cleaning that’s safe and effective, call UBM at 913-322-6200 for a free, no-obligation consultation.

The Hydramaster RX-20 High Speed has revolutionized steam cleaning. Join the thousands of homeowners worldwide who have profited from cleaning performance that “wand cleaning” can’t equal. Enjoy the luxury of cleaner than ever before carpet.

With 5 spray jets matched with 5 vacuum slots, the RX-20 makes over 650 cleaning passes per minute. This super agitation, combined with the unit’s weight, deeply cleans, extracting soil and cleaning solution. The rotating head cleans all sides of the carpet fiber, fluffing up and restoring the pile.

Hydramaster introduced the first RX-20 Rotary Jet Extraction Power Head to the professional carpet cleaning industry over 10 years ago. The tremendous benefits of the revolutionary patented cleaning process were instantly recognized and embraced by industry leaders.

Some carpet cleaning companies think that if they work hard enough with a wand, they can equal the cleaning of a Rotary Extractor. Not true. There are cleaning dynamics taking place with and RX that can’t be duplicated by hand. Look at the math. It starts with exposure of a fiber to the cleaning process. Imagine the star on an RX rotating at 130 RPM. This means over two rotations every second! Now, don’t forget that there are five (5) individual cleaning heads on the star. Each of these heads has it’s own spray-jet and vacuum slot.

If you were a fiber, you would be looking up at 10 of these injecting/extracting heads passing over each second. That’s a lot of action and it’s no wonder a fiber gives up dirt! This cleaning exposure cannot be duplicated by the action of a wand, not even for a moment, let alone hour after hour. The RX-20 has been tested and proven to be the most effective on-site carpet cleaning process ever developed.

Many Kansas City carpet cleaning companies claim to be the best but none of them can compare to UBM.

This video, created in 2008 by Robbie Reynolds, of the UK, which we found on YouTube demonstrates just how one person and a group of friends started a company and set out to get rid of this problem.

Why Gum is Difficult to Remove

The bond that is created between concrete and gum is strong and very difficult to break with regular cleaning methods. The removal of gum from concrete is most effective through the use of hot water or steam to soften and break the bond to the concrete – cold water, scraping and chemicals are not as effective and often can end up causing damage to the concrete surface. The use of hot water and steam pressure washing methods to remove gum can help to safely remove gum without damaging the surface it is ‘stuck’ to and more importantly, ensure that the entrances and public areas of the property are clean and inviting.

To get the most benefit and ensure that the sidewalk surfaces are free from staining and chewing gum they should be pressure washed or steam cleaned regularly and not just when an inspection or property visit is taking place.

Choosing a power washing contractor in Kansas City is easy. Contact UBM today.

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If mold is found in your home or business, mold growth can be eliminated in several ways; but precautions must always be taken to decrease the risk of further contamination. If mold is disturbed or removed incorrectly, the spores may filter into the HVAC system, redistributing mold throughout the structure.

If you have experienced water damage or other conditions that can create a mold problem Contact UBM to confirm the presence of mold. The process begins with • assessing the situation, • presenting a project report, and • making recommendations for safe, effective cleanup and removal.

The following are some frequently asked questions and facts about mold, the health hazards, and what you can do about the problem.

Q: What are molds?
A:  Molds are fungi that can be found both indoors and outdoors. No one knows how many species of fungi exist but estimates range from tens of thousands to perhaps three hundred thousand or more. Molds are found in virtually every environment and can be detected, both indoors and outdoors, year round. Molds grow best in warm, damp, and humid conditions, and spread and reproduce by making spores. Mold spores can survive harsh environmental conditions, such as dry conditions, that do not support normal mold growth.

Q: How do molds grow?
A:  Mold growth is encouraged by warm and humid conditions. Mold will grow and multiply under the right conditions, needing only sufficient moisture (e.g., in the form of very high humidity, condensation, or water from a leaking pipe, etc.), and organic material (e.g., ceiling tile, drywall, paper, or natural fiber carpet padding).

Q: Where are molds found?
A:  Outdoors they can be found in shady, damp areas or places where leaves or other vegetation is decomposing. Indoors they can be found where humidity levels are high, such as basements or showers.

Q: How do molds affect people?
A:  Some people are sensitive to molds. Allergic responses can come from exposure to dead as well as to living mold spores. For these people, exposure to molds can cause symptoms such as nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation. Some people, such as those with serious allergies to molds, may have more severe reactions. Severe reactions may occur among workers exposed to large amounts of molds in occupational settings, such as farmers working around moldy hay. Severe reactions may include fever and shortness of breath. Some people with chronic lung illnesses, such as obstructive lung disease, may develop mold infections in their lungs.

Any extensive indoor mold growth should be treated as a potential health concern and removed as soon as practical no matter what species of mold is present. Identify and correct the source of moisture so that mold will not grow back.

Q: Can people decrease mold exposure?
A:  Sensitive individuals should avoid areas that are likely to have mold, such as compost piles, cut grass, and wooded areas. Inside homes and businesses, mold growth can be slowed by keeping humidity levels between 40% and 60%, and ventilating showers, bathrooms, and cooking areas.

Q: Can mold be found in the home?
A:  Yes, if there is sufficient moisture. Indications of a moisture problem may include discoloration of the ceiling or walls, warping of the floor, or condensation on the walls or windows. The key to preventing mold growth is to control all moisture problems. Lookout for these common sources of moisture:
• Flooding
• Roof leaks
• Plumbing leaks and/or drainage problems
• Damp basements and crawl spaces
• Steam from the bathroom or kitchen
• Condensation resulting from poor or improper insulation or ventilation
• Humidifiers
• Wet clothes drying inside the home or a clothes dryer venting indoors
• Poor or improper ventilation of combustion appliances

Q: What can I do to help prevent a mold problem?
A:   Some specific recommendations we have found are:
• Keep the humidity level in the building environment between 40% and 60%.
• Use an air conditioner or a dehumidifier during humid months.
• Be sure the your building environment has adequate ventilation, including exhaust fans.
• Use exhaust fans/open a window when showering, cooking/washing dishes.
• Add mold inhibitors to paints before application.
• Clean bathrooms/public restrooms with mold killing products.
• Do not carpet bathrooms and basements.
• Fix water leaks as soon as possible to keep mold from growing.
• Dry damp or wet items completely within 1 to 2 days to keep mold from growing.
• Remove or replace previously soaked carpets and upholstery.

You see, your carpets are made up of thousands upon thousands of very small thread-like fibers that are twisted together. These fibers are basically translucent pieces of plastic. That means that light can pass through them, like a colored Plexiglas. You know how Plexiglas looks after it gets scratched, dull and dirty. Well, improperly cared for carpet can look the same.

What scratches carpet is gritty soil and sand that is left in the carpet, and when it is walked on it rubs against the fibers and scratches them. After so much of this scratching, you can clean the soil and sand out but the damage already done is irreversible and you get is what we call in the carpet cleaning industry traffic lane gray.

Here are several tips that you can do to improve the appearance and life expectancy or your carpet

1. Use walk off mats.
2. Maintain your vacuum cleaner in good working condition.
3. Vacuum weekly, or more often as necessary, to remove abrasive particles that can damage the fibers
4. Remove spots quickly
5. Have your carpets professionally Steam Cleaned a minimum of once per year, more often if you have pets or children.
6. Have your carpets retreated with stain and soil resistant products regularly after a through, deep cleaning.

Carpet is an expensive investment and you want to take the best possible care of it to keep it looking great for as long as possible and to maintain your warranty. Have your carpeting cleaned twice a year by the professionals at Unlimited Building Maintenance. UBM services businesses and residential property in the Kansas City Metro area.

Contact UBM today.

updated May 12, 2011

There are areas in life where we can’t help but to be in contact with germs and bacteria and the possibility of becoming infected with the flu or a cold, including the H1N1 flu: the grocery store, the shopping mall; any public place. H1N1, as well as most colds and flu, is spread through human contact and by touching contaminated surfaces. As a business owner you can reduce exposure of your employees and clients to viruses and decease with a complete commercial disinfecting of your work place.

Flu and cold viruses can live outside the body for up to 2 hours and sometimes longer. These germs spread when someone sneezes or coughs, and then touches a surface such as a door know, a shopping cart handle, a computer keyboard, etc. If you come along and touch these contaminated surfaces than touch your eye or eat something with your hands, the chance of infection is spread to you. Smokers and people who bite their nail are at a greater risk of infection because of the hand to mouth contact associated with these habits.

H1N1 is a respiratory disease. The H1N1 virus is a subtype of the influenza A virus and was the most common cause of human flu in 2009. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness, including seasonal flu. Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs (swine influenza) and in birds (avian influenza). H1N1 symptoms are similar to the symptoms of the typical flu including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.

There are several simple steps you can take to protect yourself, your family, and your employees and co-workers from infection.

1. After leaving a public place, wash your hands before getting into your car or returning home. Carrying a bottle of an alcohol based waterless solution or wipes are easy to carry around with you at all times, although thoroughly washing your hands with soap and water is best.

2. If you use a public restroom to wash your hands, remember not to recontaminate them by touching the door handle. Use a paper towel, or your elbow.

Washing your hands with most soaps do little to kill viruses unless you rub them together with soap and hot water, creating a lot of friction for at least 25 seconds (or the time it takes you to say the alphabet) and then rinsing your hands under warm water. Rinse, starting at the your wrists and work down to your finger tips. This will remove the unwanted bacteria—at least until you touch the next contaminated surface.

3. Bleach everything in your home from counter tops, sinks, tables, toilets, showers and shower sponges. Don’t forget the door knobs and light switches. Bleach kills everything. Always be careful to have plenty of ventilation when using bleach – it is harmful to you and your pets as well if breathed in a closed, unventilated area.

4. Open up all your windows turn on your fans and keep the air circulating in your home whenever possible. This helps rid your home of the bacteria.

5. Wash all your linens, bed sheets, pillow cases and anything else a contaminates person has touched, coughed or sneezed on in hot water

6. Buy a large can of a good disinfectant spray that kills the flu virus. Spray your mattresses, couch, pillows and even door knobs, light switches sink handles, washer machine handles—any and all surfaces the infected person may have touched. Don’t forget the toilet handle.

7. If possible, purchase Chlorascrub Swabs (they even kill the MRSA virus). The CDC has an excellent webpage about MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections) and wipe your cell phones, remote-control devices, and computer keyboards and mice. Just do a web search for the Chlorascrub Swabs to find the best price and place to purchase.

8. And if you are a business owner, have your work place professionally cleaned by a reputable maintenance service that provides ‘green-cleaning’, such as UBM.

Around this time year, especially in the Midwest, we see a rise in home and business floods.

These are pictures of a flood that happen in a Law Office in Kansas City. Unlimited Building Maintenance was called out to the job site. We were able to rescue important files and restore integrity to this building.

Here at Unlimited Building Maintenance we specialize in any type of flood or other emergency work. UBM is always here to serve Kansas City area business.

When winter is this severe, forage for mice and rats is even more scarce than usual. This causes them to seek out food sources in areas where they normally would shy away from. Mainly, your front office. We have noticed that a number of our customers have set out traps and bait trays this past winter.

You’re just not putting them in the right place! Next to your file cabinet may make you feel a little more secure but by the time that mouse has found your bait or trap they have already contaminated a lot of areas within your office.

Most rodents are entering your building from the warehouse, loading dock, storage area or manufacturing area. This is where there are more points of access. This is also where you need to focus on trapping or poisoning them before they make it all the way to the front office to get to the receptionist candy dish.

A couple of tips to reduce these vermin is in the area of prevention.

1. Had a birthday party? Don’t leave the cake out, especially uncovered, put it in the refrigerator or have someone take it home.

2. All those boxes of cookies, crackers, bags of candy and other goodies stored under the desks? Not a good idea, it’s a junk food buffet for these critters and what they don’t get now, the ants will find in another month.

3. Break areas, coffee stations and cafeterias–don’t leave food out overnight, close up the donuts and put away the bagels, besides eating that stuff after it’s been out, uncovered all night, isn’t healthy for you either!

We clean all of these surfaces nightly and take out the trash as well but we won’t throw away food that isn’t marked ‘TRASH’.

For some of our customers that are only serviced sporadically, ( anything less than 5x a week is sporadic) we clean these areas on each service call but you will need to keep watchful eye on the food invitations left out on the nights we aren’t scheduled.

Remember that mouse droppings can carry the Hanta Virus which has been proven deadly to humans. If you see mouse droppings or other signs of vermin post a note on our communication portal and we will address it immediately on the next service call. We are trained in hazardous material handling and infectious disease prevention.

I can’t wait for spring and warm weather and I know most of you can’t too!

How can we help you?

As the name suggests, a handyman can come in handy when you are striving to find someone to do various odd jobs or small tasks that often contractors handling major projects do not have the time or refuse to do. It is often a daunting task to find someone to do odd tasks at home or to repair something in this custom-made era of ready solutions; that’s where the handyman services by UBM comes to your rescue!

Do you have rental property to ready for the next tenant? Are you moving? Has your ‘honey-do’ list grown beyond your time? Do you need those odd jobs fixed fast? UBM excels in small ‘around the home’ jobs and you’ll be surprised how quickly we can get the job done. Installing or repairing ceramic tile floors and vinyl composite tile, cleaning air and dryer ducts, or cleaning up a basement after a flood, are among many services we offer. UBM handyman services employ professionals with specialized skills such as plumbers, electricians and decorators to work for a wide range of home or office property maintenance. All of our contractors and employees certified and experienced.

We handle any job presented to us. From big construction clean up and all the way to the smallest drywall patching job. UBM specialists will do small jobs you never find the time to complete. No one’s project is too small for us. Here is just a small list of how UBM can help you:

When you have little time to spare for household chores or minor repairs that have been delayed, our services are the solution for you. For a free, no-obligation consultation, Contact UBM today. One of our representatives will visit a home or business site to evaluate the type of work that needs to be done, and an estimate of the time and costs involved is provided. This gives the you ample time and opportunity to discuss various options, to plan and prepare finances, and schedule daily activities.

How to hang a picture may not seem like a difficult question until you actually get started.  There’s more to displaying the picture in an appealing way than just putting a nail in the wall and placing the picture on the wall.

Actually, one of the first things I learned when I started hanging our family portraits throughout our home was just how tricky the process is, especially without a second person to give you a hand.  Here are some strategies that should show you how to hang a picture properly.

Getting the Proper Tools

Before you start trying to learn how to hand a picture properly, you need to gather the correct tools.  First, you need to decide the weight of the object you want to hang on the wall.  Most pictures are light enough that an ordinary nail will be sufficient for hanging, but a better choice is a wall hook.  These hooks are created to hold different weights of items so you’ll need to choose the right hook for the weight of your photo.  If you are trying to hang a portrait in a very heavy frame, then consider purchasing wood screws instead.  Obviously, you’ll need either a hammer or a screwdriver depending on the hanging method you choose.

Additionally, you’re going to need a good level.  Spend a little extra to get the models which offer the most useful features.  Remember you can get reusing that level for a long time so it’s worth the investment.  You’ll also need a stud finder, a tape measure, and a pencil.

How to Hang a Picture Properly: The Process

Once you’ve gathered all of your equipment you’ll need to decide where to hang the picture.  Having a second person around can come in handy at this stage because you can experiment with holding the picture against the wall until you find the best spot.  Remember to hang pictures at different heights depending on the furniture and other wall hangings.

After you select a spot, you’ll need to find the center mark.  If you want to center the picture over a piece of furniture, then measure the width of the furniture piece.  Otherwise, measure the width of the wall.  Mark the center with the pencil.  Now you’ll want to find the center mark on the picture you’ll be hanging.

Make sure to install the picture fastener you’ve chosen.  If you’re using wood screws, you’ll have to use the stud finder because those screws should be placed directly into the wall stud for extra strength.  You’ll want to avoid the studs if you’re using nails or hooks.

You can then hang the picture on the fastener.  Use the level to hang the picture correctly.

After you know how to hang a picture properly, you can experiment with placing pictures at different heights and in different positions relative to the furniture in your home.  Experimenting can help you create a unique feel to your photos.  For example, I’ve hung some of our children’s pictures in a stair step formation instead of in a vertical or horizontal row.  The different form makes the photo more visually interesting.