Cleaning and repair companies often advertise that they are “fully insured and bonded” — but what does this really mean and are YOU really protected from potential liabilities when someone works in your home?

The market is flooded with companies that carry inadequate insurance to save money and gain a competitive advantage.  Unfortunately, homeowners are often unaware that the savings they receive from hiring an “underinsured” low-bid company exposes them to much greater risk of personal liability if a worker is injured or injures someone while in their home.  We’ll look at the three types of insurance coverage any service company must have and what you should require to protect yourself from unforeseen liabilities.

General Liability – this insurance provides coverage for any damages to your property or for injuries caused by the company or its employees.  It is a primary line of insurance coverage that all businesses should have – with limits of at least $2 million.

Worker’s Compensation – Workers Compensation provides payments to injured workers for time lost from work and for medical and rehabilitation costs arising from an accident.  In the State of Georgia, employers are NOT required to purchase workers compensation coverage if they have less than three employees.  So if a company has less than three employees, or uses sub-contractors (not technically employees), they have no legal requirement to purchase workers compensation coverage, which is the most expensive insurance for most companies — costing as much as 15% of the company’s total payroll!

To save money and gain a competitive pricing advantage, many cleaning companies do not purchase workers compensation.  BEWARE!  As a homeowner, you are assuming considerable risk of being sued if you hire a worker that is not covered by workers compensation.  Even though you are not the worker’s “employer”, if he is injured at your home and his employer does not have workers compensation coverage, some courts have found the homeowner to be liable!  To make matters worse, your homeowner’s liability insurance does NOT likely cover medical and lost wage costs for employees working in a home.

Fidelity - this insurance is also commonly referred to as “crime insurance” or being “bonded.”  It provides coverage for losses arising from theft, fraud or other forms of employee dishonesty.

Insurance Certificate - before beginning any work in your home, a service company should provide you with an official “Certificate of Insurance” as evidence that they have the necessary insurance and adequate limits of coverage.  And don’t assume that big name franchise companies must have coverage because they are a household name.  CHECK.  As an example, you can look at the Q Care insurance certificate at www.qcare.com/about-qcare/our-insurance/

Be sure to protect yourself from unforeseen liability; require any worker in your home to provide proof of proper insurance!

Chris Callas is President of Q Care, Inc.  QCare is a full service cleaning company specializing is carpet & upholstery cleaning, window cleaning, hardood floor refinishing and pressure washing.  Chris can be reached at (770)594-1836 or on the web at www.qcare.com

Is it better to wet clean or dry clean? When and how should my carpets be cleaned? Will professional cleaning damage my carpet fiber and make it wear out faster? My carpets don’t look dirty so why should they be professionally cleaned?

Leading carpet manufacturers and the Carpet & Rug Institute agree that the two most important factors for properly maintaining and cleaning carpet are: 1) regular vacuuming and 2) professional cleaning every 6-18 months depending on household traffic.

Loose soil deposits from common foot traffic are your carpet’s worst enemy. To the naked eye soil may appear smooth but, under a microscope, common soil has sharp jagged edges that act like little tiny saws or sandpaper, cutting into the carpet fiber when agitated by normal foot traffic. Regular and thorough vacuuming will remove up to 75-80% of the dry, loose soil trapped in carpet fibers. The remaining 20-25% of deeply imbedded soil must be removed periodically by professional cleaning to prevent premature wear and permanent damage.

While there are many different professional carpet cleaning methods, they typically fall into two categories – “wet cleaning” and “dry cleaning”. Let’s examine each.

Dry Cleaning

There are several variations of dry cleaning. They involve applying a liquid or sawdust like substance to the carpet, spreading it around, and then vacuuming up the dried substance along with the soil. Unfortunately, it doesn’t actually rinse the carpet fibers, it leaves residue which attracts more soil and it doesn’t reach deep down into the carpet fiber to extract the deeply embedded soil. Dry cleaning is usually recommended for interim cleaning, typically in commercial settings where wet cleaning is not feasible. Many cleaners offer dry cleaning to homeowners as a cleaning method of first choice because it is easier and less expensive for them, not because it produces the best results.

Hot Water Extraction

Also known as steam cleaning, it involves applying a cleaning agent deep into the carpet fibers to emulsify the embedded soil, then injecting hot fresh water deep down into the carpet fibers to rinse the stubborn soil, and then “extracting” the soiled water and cleaning agent with a high powered wet vacuum. When performed by properly trained technicians, it provides the most thorough cleaning possible without leaving any harmful residues. That is why the two largest carpet manufacturers, Mohawk and Shaw, recommend this method and will actually void your warranty if this method is not used! Critics of water extraction point to long dry times but, when done properly, there should be very little moisture left after extraction and any inconvenience is far outweighed by the superior cleaning results.
Simply put, the best way to clean your hands or laundry is to wash with hot water and soap and then thoroughly rinse. The same is true for your carpet and rugs…

By Chris Callas, President & CEO, QCare, Inc