How to Prevent Dryer Fires

Are you aware of all the fire hazards in your home? Sure, you know about the obvious ones: the stove, the unattended candles, and maybe even the furnace; but have you thought about the laundry room?

Surprise! Your clothes dryer is one of the biggest fire hazards in the home. Clothes dryers cause more than 15,000 house fires every year, which is more than chimneys. If you want to protect your family and home from tragedy, follow these tips:

• Clean your lint screen. By far, the leading cause of dryer fires is failure to clean. Getting in the habit of clearing the lint screen before each load could potentially save your life.

• Vent your dryer to the outside. The tube that runs out of the back of your dryer should vent directly to the outside, not to the attic or under a porch.

• Don't run your dryer unsupervised. Never run your dryer when the house is empty, and even worse, never run the dryer overnight while everyone is asleep.

• Have your dryer vent cleaned annually. If you don't clean your exhaust vent every year, chances are it is filled with flammable lint. Cleaning this tube annually also promotes air flow, which can decrease overheating and improve energy-efficiency.

Cleaning your dryer vent requires special tools and knowledge, so it is best to leave it to a licensed professional. If you are looking for a dryer vent cleaning service in Nassau County or Suffolk County, Long Island, look no further than GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration! Call us to schedule a same-day appointment at (631) 940-8100.

5 Plants That Can Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

Besides giving your home a lively touch of décor, houseplants can actually help improve your air quality. During the late 1980s, NASA (yes, that NASA) studied houseplants to see if they could naturally reduce the level of indoor pollution. When the study concluded, their research found that several common houseplants could indeed filter out and remove harmful chemicals from the air.

If you are looking for a way to naturally improve your home's air quality, stock up on these five plants:

Aloe Vera

If you have ever suffered from a severe sunburn, you are probably aware of the healing properties of aloe vera. It is also a great plant for purifying your home's air – it is easy to grow, hard to kill, and effectively removes benzene from the air.

Spider Plant

The spider plant is one of the most common houseplants, and is also one of the most effective when it comes to improving air quality. In just 48 hours, a well-placed spider plant can remove up to 90 percent of airborne allergens and toxins.

Chinese Evergreen

The Chinese Evergreen plant is very easy to care for, and produces tiny red berries that add color and life to any room. It is best at filtering out toxins found in cleaning products and actually gets more effective as time goes on.

Bamboo Palm

The bamboo palm, or reed palm, thrives in shady spots in your home and is one of the best-known plants at filtering out benzene and trichloroethylene. Put this plant in problem areas in your home, just make sure to leave it a lot of room to grow.

Snake Plant

The snake plant is the perfect shrub to incorporate into your bathroom. It thrives in low light and humidity, and filters out pollutants found in many bathroom products such as bathroom tissue, toiletries, and commercial cleaners.

Looking for additional ways to improve the air quality in your home? Give the cleaning experts at GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration a call. We offer a variety of services that can help reduce indoor air pollution such as HVAC duct cleaning, crawl space and attic cleaning, and mold removal. We serve all of Long Island, so call us today for a free quote at (631) 940-8100.

3 Reasons to Have Your Crawl Space Cleaned

When you did your spring cleaning earlier in the year, did you have the guts to venture into your crawl space? If not, you aren't alone. Although the crawl space is actually a very important area in your house, many homeowners often neglect it. If you think the crawl space is too dark, dirty, and scary to clean, here are three reasons you should consider changing your mind. 

To improve your home's air quality.

Did you know most of the air you breathe in on the first floor of your home actually comes from your crawl space? If your crawl space is infested with mold, rodents, and high moisture levels, your air quality – and health – could be suffering.

To save your home from structural damage.

Unless you have a professionally-installed vapor barrier in your crawl space, it probably has a very high moisture level. As you know, mold can grow anywhere moisture is present, which is why crawl spaces are such a common hiding spot for it. If you let this mold spread for too long, it could infect your support beams and weaken the structural integrity of your entire house.

To expand storage space.

Many homeowners use their crawl space as an extra storage room, but this is impossible to do if yours is already jam-packed. Things you don't use very often (such as Christmas decorations) can be stored here instead of taking up valuable space in your garage or closets.

Is your crawl space too dirty, small, or infested with mold or rodents for you to clean yourself? Call in the experts at GreenPro Cleaning &Restoration! We serve all of Nassau County and Suffolk County, and only use environmentally-friendly cleaning products. If you live on Long Island and need your crawl space cleaned, call us for a free quote at (631) 940-8100.

About Our Services

GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration is based out of Deer Park, New York. We provide specialty cleaning services to all of Long Island, including both Nassau County and Suffolk County. We are accredited by the Better Business Bureau and have rave reviews on Home Advisor.

Continue reading below to learn more about the different services we offer:

Air Duct Cleaning

Most homeowners never even think about cleaning their air ducts, but they are secretly one of the dirtiest areas in your entire house. Over the years, dust, pollen, pet hair, and even mold can contaminate your HVAC ducts, where they can be circulated throughout your entire home. These unwanted substances can pollute your household air and cause allergic reactions and even respiratory infections. If you haven't had your air ducts cleaned in more than three years, call us today.

Attic & Crawl Space Cleaning

Did you know that crawl spaces are the largest single cause of indoor air quality problems? Most of us never peek into our crawl space, but if you did you will probably find plenty of mold, rodents, and bad odors. Our crawl space and attic cleaning services include mold removal, pest control, debris clean up, and moisture control. Contact us for a free inspection and we will perform a thorough examination of your crawl space before determining what needs to be done.

Water Damage

There are plenty of ways for your home to incur water damage: burst pipes, leaky ceilings, and bad thunderstorms are just a few examples. Long Island is in the middle of its hurricane season, and we are sure to see our fair share of severe storms over the next couple of months. If your home has suffered from water damage, don't touch affected items with your bare hands and don't breathe in the damp air. Instead, call the water damage repair experts at GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration.

Not only is GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration committed to keeping your home clean and safe, we are also committed to protecting the environment. All of our products are environmentally-preferred, and our cleaning methods are proven to be bio-safe. We produce superior results without the use of toxic cleaning products. If you want to inquire about any of the aforementioned services for your Long Island home, call us for a free quote at (631) 940-8100.

4 Benefits of Getting Your Dryer Vent Cleaned

If you are like 80% of Americans, you own a clothes dryer. When was the last time you had your exhaust vent cleaned?

The curvy metal tube attaches to the back of your appliance and connects it to the outside, giving it a place to vent its excess heat. Experts recommend getting your exhaust vent cleaned once per year, but almost no one does this, primarily because they aren't aware that it needs to be done.

Here are four reasons you should get your dryer vent cleaned as soon as possible:

• Improve energy efficiency. Over several months and years, your dryer exhaust vent can accumulate lint, to the point that there is very little air flow getting through the tube. When this happens, the dryer can't release its moist air, and it takes longer and longer to dry your clothes.

• Save time. Not only will waiting for your clothes to dry cost you a lot more on your monthly utility bill, it is taking away from your precious time. If you notice that your clothes are suddenly taking two or three cycles to dry, a clogged exhaust vent could be the reason.

• Extend appliance's lifespan. All the extra wear-and-tear from a clogged exhaust tube can take its toll on your appliance, leading to future breakdowns and repairs. An annual cleaning will help your dryer run efficiently for years to come!

• Prevent a fire. This is really the main reason why you should be getting your dryer vent cleaned each year. Clothes dryers present a huge fire hazard, and it is only worse when its exhaust is filled to the brim with flammable lint.

Has it been over a year since you've had your dryer vent cleaned? Give GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration a call! We offer a variety of services to help keep you safe and healthy such as dryer vent cleaning, air duct cleaning, mold removal, and crawl space cleaning. We serve all of Long Island, call us for a free quote at (631) 940-8100.