Below are the 3 most recent journal entries recorded in charlotairduct's InsaneJournal:

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
10:45 am	How to Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires Few people realize the importance of dryer safety. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are an estimated annual 15,500 fires, 10 deaths and 10 injuries caused by dryer fire. Several hundred people a year are also subjected to carbon monoxide poisoning from improper dryer safety measures. The financial costs come to nearly $100,000,000 per year. In some cases faulty appliances are to blame, but many fires can be prevented with proper dryer safety precautions. Why Dryer Fires Occur Lint accumulation and reduced airflow feed on each other to provide conditions ripe for a fire. Lint is a highly combustible material, which, interestingly enough, is one of the ingredients in a recipe for home-made fire starters. A number of dryer vent problems contribute to this. A growing problem Traditionally, most clothes dryers were in the basement. However, nowadays many newer homes tend to have dryers located away from an outside wall in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and hall closets. These new locations mean dryers tend to be vented longer distances and vents are generally installed with sharp turns and bends to accommodate the structure of the home. As a result, dryer vents are harder to reach, and also create more places for lint to gather. The ideal solution is to have short, straight, dryer duct venting. However, a dryer vent booster, while not the ideal approach, can improve your dryer venting in cases where your venting is longer and/or has more bends than it should. In addition to creating a fire hazard, if the venting is too long and/or has two many bends, it will cause your dryer to take much longer than necessary to dry loads. Inside the Dryer Lint is the biggest culprit here. As you know from cleaning out your lint filter, dryers produce very large quantities of lint. Most people assume their lint traps catch all the lint, and that all they need to do is clean them out after each load. However, a significant amount of this lint is not caught by the lint trap and builds up inside the dryer-even on the heating element! If you are skeptical, try this experiment: pull out the lint trap and look underneath it- you may find large mounds of lint staring at you. Lint can build up on the heating element and in other places inside the dryer, causing it to overheat and possibly catch fire. As a rule, a fire starts from a spark in the machine. However, improper clothes dryer venting practices outside the dryer can play a key role in this process. Outside the Dryer There are many improper dryer vent practices which restrict airflow and lead to lint buildup, the two main preventable causes of dryer fires. Some of the most common and important dryer vent mistakes are: 1. Dryer vents are too long and/or have too many bends, but don't use a dryer duct booster, resulting in lint buildup. When it comes to dryer vents, shorter and straighter is better. 2. Use of flammable, flimsy plastic or foil duct extenders. Only metal vents should be used, which is what most manufacturers specify. Metal vents also resist crushing better than plastic and foil, which allows the air and lint to be carried out of the system. Reduced airflow from build-up or crushing can cause overheating and wear out the clothes and appliance faster. In fact, many state and local municipalities have placed requirements on new and remodeling projects to include all metal dryer venting. 3. Inadequate clearance space between dryer and wall. Many people create problems by putting their dryer right against the wall, crushing the venting material in the process. The cumulative effect of reduced airflow and the resulting lint build-up prevent the dryer from drying at the normal rate. This causes the high temperature limit safety switch to cycle on and off to control the heater. Most high temperature limit safety switches were not designed to continuously cycle on and off, so they fail over a period of time. 4. Failure to clean the dryer duct. Your Dryer May be Failing If: The clothes are taking an inordinately long period of time to dry, come out hotter than usual or if the vent hood flapper doesn't open. Maintenance is needed in these cases. Only You Can Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires Proper Installation & Choice of Building Materials 1. Make sure the dryer duct is made of solid metallic material. Both vinyl and foil are combustible and spiral-wound surfaces tend to catch lint more readily. 2. The dryer duct should vent to the exterior and in no case should it vent to the attic or crawlspace. Avoid the use of inside heat recovery diverter valves or termination boxes, which do not comply with current standards. 3. Avoid kinking or crushing the dryer duct to make up for installation in tight quarters -this further restricts airflow. If you really want to save the extra space, the Dryerbox is a new invention that allows the dryer to be safely installed against the wall. 4. Minimize the length of the exhaust duct (maximum recommended lengths depend on a number of factors, such as number of bends, and vary by model-check with your manufacturer for their specifications). If this is not possible, you can install a dryer duct booster. 5. If at all possible, use 4-inch diameter vent pipe and exterior exhaust hoods that have openings of sixteen square inches or more, which offer the least resistance to air flow. 6. Don't use screws to put your vent pipe together - the screw shafts inside the piping collect lint and cause additional friction. Keep the Dryer Duct in Good Condition Disconnect, clean and inspect the dryer duct run on a regular basis, or hire a professional company to clean the dryer duct. This will reduce the fire hazard, increase the dryer's efficiency and increase its lifespan. In addition, you are less likely to experience water damage. Keep Your Dryer as Lint-Free as Possible By keeping your dryer clean, not only will you significantly reduce the fire hazard, you will also save money as your dryer will run more efficiently and last longer. To keep your dryer clean: 1. Use a lint brush or vacuum attachment to remove accumulated lint from under the lint trap and other accessible places on a periodic basis. 2. Every 1-3 years, depending upon usage, have the dryer taken apart and thoroughly cleaned out by a qualified service technician. 3. Clean the lint trap after each load. Alternative Solutions 1. Use a condensing dryer. Unlike conventional clothes dryers, condensing dryers do require external clothes dryer venting. This significantly reduces the risk of a dryer fire. 2. Use a spin dryer, which uses an extremely fast spin speed to extract water from the clothes. They extract significantly more water from the clothes than a washing machine spin cycle does. Spin dryers can be used alone or in conjunction with a conventional clothes dryer. Before You Go.... 1. Never let your clothes dryer run while you are out of the house or even worse, when you are asleep. 2. Thoroughly read manufacturers' instructions regarding the safe use of their dryers. 3. If all else fails, you can always use an old-fashioned clothesline. There have never been any reported clothesline fires! Best Duct Cleaning Company Charlotte | Air Duct Cleaning Charlotte NC (Comment on this)
10:44 am	Is A Cleaning And Maintenance Franchise For You? There is a slate of incredible franchise opportunities in the market today and one of the most exciting businesses prospects involves owning a cleaning franchise. The most important factor to keep in mind is that cleaning franchises offer all the profitable advantages of owning a franchise business in addition to benefits exclusive to the cleaning industry. Work from Home with a Cleaning Franchise There are several benefits for entrepreneurs interested in operating a cleaning franchise. The chance to earn a home-based income is one of the most attractive aspects of this franchise opportunity. For many people, working from home sounds too good to be true. However, investing in a franchise business is the most sensible and lucrative ways to build a home-based company. For example, when you become part of a franchise, you have the advantage of a well-established brand name. Merry Maids, a cleaning franchise that has been in business for 25 years, has the highest name awareness in its industry. Rather than starting a home-cleaning business on your own, why not purchase a Merry Maids cleaning franchise? Once you consider the name awareness, training and third party support, the modest capital investment just makes sense. Furthermore, there are many carpet cleaning franchises that allow franchisees to earn a home-based income. For instance, the ServiceMaster Clean franchise business offers this kind of flexibility with a low-cost investment. This company has been in the franchising business for over 50 years and they offer financing assistance to franchisees. Additionally, if you are would like to participate in a unique marketing opportunity, you may be interested in ChemDry Carpet Cleaning. This particular carpet cleaning franchise partners with Home Depot, which allows franchisees to set up displays in its stores. Most importantly, services like carpet cleaning will always be in demand. In fact, recent reports show that infants and young children frequently encounter high amounts of lead from dust in the floors of their homes. For reasons like these, families are willing to hire carpet cleaning professionals to make sure that their floors are clean - and safe. Ultimately, when you become part of a great franchise business, you have an edge over your competition. The floor cleaning industry is booming and the sky really is the limit for this franchise opportunity. Even more appealing, when you own a franchise of any kind, whether home-based or on location, you have the chance to be your own boss. This means choosing a franchise business based on the amount of time you would like to invest and the money you would like to earn. Cleaning Franchises Offer Training and Support Even though you have plenty of experience cleaning your own home, you will undoubtedly have questions about how to manage your house cleaning franchise. Perhaps you have shampooed your own carpets plenty of times. Still, you would most likely seek professional training before launching a carpet cleaning franchise. Moreover, even seemingly simple cleaning services like pet waste disposal and junk removal can become complicated when you consider the business aspects. That is where franchise businesses can be an especially wise investment. After all, your success contributes to their success. It should come as no surprise that most every franchise business provides training, ongoing support and even financing. This kind of assistance can only be found when working with experienced franchises rather than building a business alone. For example, most franchise businesses will help you implement a marketing plan, choose the best location for your store (if applicable) and other intricacies involved with their respective industries. In addition, many of these companies take training a step further by helping you recruit clients and even employees. One example of this is the Coverall Cleaning Company franchise. As a leader in the commercial cleaning industry, Coverall Cleaning Company will help you obtain a customer base. Furthermore, you receive assistance with billing and collection services. Additionally, dry cleaning franchise businesses like Lapel’s Dry Cleaning will help you negotiate with garment care specialists, which will allow you to focus on the details of operating a retail store. However, if you choose to run a plant in addition to your store, you receive all the necessary training to help you run a successful, environmentally friendly plant. How Cleaning Franchises are Especially Profitable The number of two-income families continues to increase, which means that fewer families have someone available to assume full time roles as homemakers and caregivers. As you may know from your own personal experiences or from someone you love, there is little time left once a person returns home from a full day of work. Plus, not many people are willing to spend the entire weekend cleaning their homes or businesses. After all, so much hard work should afford them some leisure time! As you may have already determined, families are happy to hire cleaning professionals. As more and more professionals enter the workforce, their time becomes increasingly valuable. Most importantly house cleaning, carpet cleaning, pool sanitizing, garage organizing and junk removal services are sought after more and more. Thus, these services are more valuable than ever. Furthermore, people realize that purchasing the services offered by a cleaning franchise can actually improve the health of their families. In today’s world, people are acutely aware that their living environments have a direct affect on health. When you decide to take advantage of this incredible franchise opportunity, you tap into a growing market where people are willing to hire franchise businesses like 1-800 Water Damage, DUCTZ Duct Cleaning and The Duct Genie. After all, chemical pollutants and allergens in the air are not just nuisances anymore. People see them as a threat to the health and well being of their families. As the proud owner of a cleaning franchise, you have the opportunity to provide cleaner, healthier homes and businesses. Most of all, you enjoy the fruits of a profitable business franchise. Now is a great time to own a cleaning franchise and become part of a very lucrative and growing industry. One of the most important things to remember is to take the time to research all the options available to aspiring entrepreneurs like you. There is a variety of different cleaning franchises that can make your dreams of become a successful business owner a reality. Dryer Vent Cleaning Company In Charlotte NC| Best Duct Cleaning Company Charlotte (1 Comment |Comment on this)
10:44 am	Look no further than A-1perfection for disaster management services If you look at A-1perfection, you will be pleased to know that the company specializes in providing total reconstruction services in case disaster strikes. A disaster can cause damage and ruin property worth millions of dollars and it becomes important to choose a professional team of experts to stop the damage from spreading and to minimize losses. At A-1perfection you get the best advice and service from a professional team of experts from different fields who are capable of handling the whole reconstruction operation. No matter what the cause of damage is, the company will take care of everything in great detail. The company specializes in water and fire damage reconstruction as well as carpet cleaning, duct cleaning, and even a complete commercial move out. A-1perfection has a team of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, architects, etc. to have your property up and running again. Each professional has a highly specialized job thereby making reconstruction quick. The full team can reach the site within a maximum of two hours and start its work. In case of water damage restoration, the team can quickly drain the water from the affected area and also disinfect the area. In case of fire damage restoration the team will do its best to slow down and kill the spreading fire. It will then proceed to reducing the spread of damage and make the area smoke and odor free. A-1perfection has advanced tools and equipment to handle any type of disaster. Even in case of a bio-hazard, the company can return your unsafe home or office to normal condition in a short period of time. In case of duct cleaning, the professionals can quickly remove the debris, pollutants, and dirt from the air ducts. For move outs the company can help you decide whether to relocate, restore, or repair the contents. Each employee at A-1perfection goes through a rigorous program of hands-on training before he is introduced to the permanent team. The natural catastrophe team is always on its toes and ready for any type of damage caused due to natural phenomena like storms, hurricanes and torrential rains. The company has tie ups with major insurance companies and can help you evaluate your loss and then claim the insurance amount. No matter what type of damage has been cased to property, A-1perfection is always there for you 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Help is now just a call away. You will be greeted by a professional who will direct you to the right department. A-1perfection will also help you with disaster preparation plan. Service is 100% guaranteed at A-1perfection. Air Duct Cleaning Charlotte NC| Dryer Vent Cleaning Company In Charlotte NC (Comment on this)