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Warmer weather signals the beginning of spring and the instinctual, yet daunting, task of spring cleaning.

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• Develop a task list.

• Clean carpets, upholstery, draperies and even your mattress.

• Clean oven, refrigerator and other appliances.

• Clean fireplaces.

• Wash inside of windows.

• Wash woodwork.

• Clean out cupboards and closets.

• Change HVAC filters.

• Clean efficiently. Avoid going back and forth around a room. Instead, work using a systematic approach. Think in terms of left to right, top to bottom. Begin with ceilings and walls, and work your way down to windows and furniture, finishing with the floors.

• Hire cleaning service providers. For those tasks that require a specialist (i.e. carpet, upholstery and hard flooring cleaning), hire only certified professionals. Before hiring anyone, confirm that they are trained and certified in the type of work to be performed, informally interview the company representative or technician, obtain a written estimate of the work to be completed and receive a written contract or invoice confirming the total price and any statements or guarantees.
  

Developing a plan of action and hiring certified cleaning professionals make spring cleaning a breeze.

About Ruth Travis

Ruth Travis holds a degree in textiles from the University of Tennessee. She is Past-President of the Society of Cleaning and Restoration Technicians (www.scrt.org), President of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, and chair of the IICRC Marketing Committees. She also served on the IICRC S100 Carpet Cleaning, S300 Upholstery Cleaning and the S520 Mold Remediation Standard committees.

She owned and operated her own carpet and upholstery cleaning service company for 13 years in Chattanooga, TN. She is an IICRC-certified Master Textile Cleaner, Master Fire and Smoke Restorer, Journeyman Water Damage Restorer and a Carpet, Laminate and Resilient flooring inspector. Ruth specializes in carpet color correction for major carpet mills and consumers. She is an IICRC-approved instructor in color repair, upholstery/fabric cleaning and rug cleaning, and travels throughout the country and abroad teaching other cleaning professionals. See the Ruglady (www.ruglady.info) for more information.