Green Carpet Cleaning with Steam Green

Steam Green Carpet Cleaning

I like a clean and organized house.  As a single bachelor, it was easy for me to keep my place in a consistent state of organized bliss.  Being a husband and father has taught me many things, and learning how to compromise what it means to be “clean and organized” is one of them.  When living alone, it was pretty simple to keep everything in its right place.  Now, as long as the dishes are done before everyone is in bed for the night, it was a good day.  If the toys are picked up and the carpet is vacuumed – even better.  If my desk is clear of clutter, it is the closest to a clean-and-organized bliss that I will come to on a regular basis.

For reasons of a tight budget, my wife and I haven’t stayed on any kind of carpet cleaning schedule.  Not to mention that it can disrupt the living space for a day or two as furniture is moved and the carpet needs time to dry.  I won’t mention exactly how long is has been since we have had the carpet professionally, but let’s just say it was overdue and leave it at that.

I first ran across SteamGreen at the Earth Day Festival at Forest Park Nature Center in 2008.  I have already removed all of the toxic cleaning chemicals from my home, and selecting a company that uses natural and biodegradable products was the obvious choice for me.  My wife and I had already seen evidence of their work at our chiropractor’s office, and were excited to use them to clean the living room and hallway carpet.

I used the service yesterday and was not disappointed.  In fact, the carpet looked better than what I was expecting.  There were a few spots that had been in the carpet for quite some time that are now completely gone!  Despite the age of the carpet, it looks great and even smells great.

He arrived right at the scheduled appointment time, and the company van and uniform added to the professional appearance to make a great first impression.  We did a quick walkthrough, discussed what services he offered, and decided to do the upstairs carpet (living room and hallway) as well as the upholstery (couch and armchair).  Kodie communicated very well as he answered all of my questions with detailed answers.  He was efficient in his work and was finished in less than 2 hours.

All of that is great, but it is the product he used that made all of the difference to me.  The cleaners were natural, non-toxic, and biodegradable from companies like Planet Guard, Biokleen, and Envirox.  Many of the products carry the touted Green Seal approval – a independent, nonprofit certification for items like household and industrial cleaners, paint and paint coatings, and even windows.  SteamGreen also has an enzyme cleaner that can be used to get rid of bacteria (and smell) from organic material like spilled milk, vomit, urine, and feces that get introduced into carpet and upholstery from people, children, and animals.  Any parent with a small baby knows that “urp” can land anywhere!

When I am at work while the carpet is being cleaned, I always develop watery eyes and a runny nose until I am out of the building.  I don’t know what it is about the cleaning products used, but I get an allergic reaction from them.  With SteamGreen, I had none of that!  What a relief.  In the end, I can now breathe easier – literally and figuratively – that the carpet looks great, smells great, and there is one less exposure to toxins for my family.

I should also mention that SteamGreen’s prices were very reasonable.  While I didn’t shop around, I know that I paid less for the carpet cleaning yesterday that I have in the past.

Final result:  5 Stars out of 5.

Contact Information for Steam Green Carpet Cleaning

Peoria, IL 309-278-5510

Bloomington/Normal 309-807-85252

www.steam-green.com*

*The web site was down when I checked it out.

Stop Junk Mail with GreenDimes

Wouldn’t it be nice to stop junk mail?  Tired of filling up your paper recycling with unwanted advertising?  Worried about prescreened credit card offers getting into the wrong hands?

Now you can stop junk mail from ever being delivered to your mail box using a service like GreenDimes.  By registering for the service for $20 a year, GreenDimes claims to reduce your junk mail as it easily guides you through the steps to removing your name from the 9 major marketing companies that supply thousands of companies addresses for direct mail advertising.  GreenDimes consolidates all of the opt-out information into one tool.  They provide the direct links to web sites that let you fill out a form requesting your removal.  For those companies that don’t offer the web site removal tool, GreenDimes lets you print out a letter for you to sign and mail.

www.greendimes.com

I had signed up in November of 2008, but I procrastinated.  I looked at the list and was not enthused about working through it.  In February, I finally decided to get it done and was pleasantly surprised how quickly it went.  I was done in 20 to 30 minutes.  I whipped through the web site removal tools and printed out the letters.  The only thing I didn’t like had nothing to do with GreenDimes;  one company – DMA Choice – required me to register on their site and create a password.  That seems counterproductive – to give them MORE information just so they can remove it.

The process may have been easy, but how well did it work?  How much mail did I receive that wasn’tt covered by these mailing lists?  GreenDimes suggested waiting for 90 days for all of the removals to be in effect, so I set a reminder in my calender to follow up at a future date.

It has now been 7 months since I went through the process of limiting my junk mail.  Now, I didn’t exactly track every piece of advertising that has come through my mail box, but I can tell you that the amount of junk has been dramatically reduced.  I no longer get ANY credit card offers.  I still get some advertising, but I believe most comes from area businesses which doesn’t bother me too much.  I try to limit my spending to my local economy when it makes financial sense to do so.

Now, I just need a service that make all of my bills disappear!

Todd

Vegetable Garden Update

At this point last year, I was so distracted by everything else going on in life with school starting, being busy at work , and trying to keep up the house with 3 jobs between my wife and I that my vegetable garden was neglected.  This year, I felt that same pull now that I have both girls in school, we still have 3 jobs, and I’m working on an upcoming project that will take my green transformation to a whole new level.

I made it out this morning to weed the garden, remove one of my six tomato plant, both of my garden beans, and one of my two green peppers.  As I posted earlier, all of my tomato plants are pathetic and really don’t expect to get much from the rest that are still in the ground.  The garden beans had discolored leaves;  when I pulled them from the ground there were at least 3 different bugs in the area but I have no idea if there purpose is for the benefit or detriment of the plant – probably the latter.  One of my green pepper plants had dark discoloration in the skin of the peppers, so I yanked the whole thing.  There is a second green pepper plant right next to it that doesn’t appear to be affected by it, so there is still some hope left.

I’m considering planting some greens to get a bit of spinach and lettuce before the first frost.  However, time is of the essence in other areas of my life.

The garden beans plants were discolored.

What are those dark spots on the green peppers?

The Evergreen Long White Bunching Onions Look Good!

The last Kurota Carrot Plant

The corn is almost ready

It's been a sad, sad year for the tomatoes.