Home | Cleaning Procedures
One way to generate more income and more profit for your cleaning company is to offer additional services to your existing customers. Traditionally, cleaning companies have offered window washing, hard floor care (stripping, waxing, refinishing) and carpet cleaning services. But an additional service you can easily add without buying extra supplies or equipment is changing your customers' fluorescent bulbs or what some may refer to as lighting maintenance. While fluorescent bulbs can last a long time, they eventually do burn out and companies want their bulbs replaced quickly and efficiently. They don't necessarily want to burden their own employees with this task. Even though changing bulbs is a simple task, employees must be properly trained to avoid potentially dangerous situations. Be sure to have the proper bulbs on hand to replace the burned out bulbs. Most office buildings use T8 or T12 bulbs. Although these bulbs can fit into the same fixtures, putting the wrong bulb into the wrong fixture can cause the bulb to burn out quicker and cause stress on the ballast. Employees should also wear gloves when changing bulbs, as the oil on fingers can burn out some types of fluorescent bulbs. To safely replace fluorescent bulbs follow these steps: 1. Turn off the light fixture and allow it to cool. If changing bulbs in a building where employees are still working, put a sign on the light switch saying "Warning - Do Not Use - Changing Bulbs". 2. Make sure you have the correct replacement bulbs for the fixture. 3. Make sure you have a clear path around the bulb that is being changed. 4. Remove the lens or diffuser to get to the bulb. The lens/diffuser may be held in place with a clip or you may just have to tilt the panel and push up to remove it. 5. Before actually changing the bulb, make sure it is burned out. If the bulb is not making good contact it will not be working correctly. Turn the bulb a gentle turn and back to the lock position. 6. To remove the bulb, hold it firmly at one end and rotate it counter clockwise until the end prongs are in line with the loading slot. 7. Slowly lower the end bulb out of the socket. When one end is free a slight pull will remove the other end from the fixture. 8. Set the bulb aside in an area where it will not get stepped on, broken or moved. 9. Hold the new bulb horizontally and rotate it until the prongs on each end are lined up with the grooves in the socket. 10. Insert the prongs into the socket and then rotate the bulb in a counterclockwise direction. The bulb should click into place. 11. Turn on the switch to be sure the light works. Replacing the bulb is only half of the process. Most fluorescent bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, which can become hazardous to fish, plants, and even people if not disposed of correctly. Bulbs are manufactured in such a way that the mercury is enclosed. However, if the bulb is broken the mercury can escape into the environment. Each bulb contains just a small amount of mercury. But multiply that by the number of bulbs in a building and it quickly adds up to a large problem if bulbs are disposed of incorrectly. All commercial buildings are required to recycle their fluorescent bulbs. Some states even require residential households to recycle fluorescents. After old bulbs are removed from fixtures they should be stored in a place where they will not get broken; if possible store them in the box the new bulbs came in. This should prevent any breakage. You may want to wait until you have a few burned out bulbs before taking them to a facility that will recycle them. Check with your local lighting business, hardware store, or home improvement center to see if they have a fluorescent recycling program. If there are no businesses in the area that recycle the bulbs, check with your county government solid waste or planning office and they should be able to provide you with a list of recycling opportunities in your area. How do you charge for providing this service? As far as the time involved in replacing bulbs, it is easiest to charge an hourly fee - such as $25.00 per hour and include a minimum time you will charge for - such as 15 minutes. If you provide the new bulbs and are required to recycle the burned out bulbs, add 10 to 20 percent for both the cost of the bulbs and for recycling. The cost of the bulb and the cost to recycle the bulb will vary depending on the size. Adding that additional percent will cover your time to pick up bulbs and drive to a recycling facility. Changing and recycling fluorescent bulbs is a service that your cleaning company can easily provide to existing customers. There is no expensive equipment to buy, but make sure you have the right tools and follow the proper procedures when replacing bulbs. Your customers will thank you for providing this service and you'll have extra money to put in the bank! Copyright (c) The Janitorial Store (TM)
Article Source: http://www.cleaningarticles.com
For more cleaning tips and information on starting and running a successful cleaning business, visit Jean Hanson at www.TheJanitorialStore.com. And while you're there, sign up for Trash Talk: Cleaning Tip of the Week. Read cleaning success stories at www.cleaning-success.com.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
