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THE POWER OF BLEACH
WITH THE RIGHT PRECAUTIONS, BLEACH IS A GREAT CLEANING TOOL
Tent cleaning is a large task. There are many do’s and don’ts when it comes to tent cleaning and preserving the integrity of your equipment. Historically, one of the biggest don’ts in tent cleaning is the use of bleach. However, bleach is a powerful cleaning agent and, if you know the tricks, can be used to clean tents. One of the biggest enemies of the tent industry is mold. Tents are huge pieces of fabric, and in order to be stored efficiently, they need to be folded multiple times. If there is even a hint of moisture on the tent, its storage location becomes a prime breeding ground for mold. Bleach is one of the most effective cleaning agents to combat mold, which is why many individuals in the tent industry are tempted to use it. Why, then, is it that tent manufacturers advise against using bleach? When used with vinyl, bleach can erode plasticizers from the fabric. This eventually leaves the tent brittle and rigid. Tents without plasticizers cannot be folded, and they don’t hold up when used at events. Also, bleach clings to the tent stitching, which causes rot and eventual stitch failure. The chemical reaction between bleach and tent fabric, especially in the stitching and webbing, can be a huge downfall in the cleaning product. But, if you dive in and understand bleach’s cleaning properties fully, you can use it to clean tents. When you buy bleach at the store, the concentration typically stays around 6 percent. If you buy bleach from a commercial source, it is twice as strong. The higher concentration gets fabric nice and white, but the chemical reactions between the bleach and fabric also happen at a faster rate.
When you use bleach to wash your clothes, you almost always dilute it in water. The bleach is still effective, but it is less harmful, and the negative effects are slowed. When using bleach on tents, it’s important to figure out the correct dilution ratio. Because you are using commercial bleach, you will need to use more water than you would when bleaching clothes. Remember, it is still effective, you are just slowing down the negative side effects. After you measure an appropriate dilution ratio, you will need to determine an exposure time that will allow the bleach to clean your tent without harming your fabric. You want to keep the bleach on your tent for the least amount of time as possible. The cleaning power of bleach happens quickly, so getting the bleach on and off of the fabric as quick as possible is key. The last, and most important, aspect of cleaning with bleach is rinsing. If you don’t rinse all of the bleach out of your tent, your stitches will rot. Also, the bleach you did not successfully rinse off will continue to eat at your fabric as it is stored. Washing by hand is the most common tent washing method, but if you use bleach, knowing for sure that you have rinsed the entire tent top can be very difficult to gauge. If you want to guarantee that all the bleach is rinsed off the material and stitching, use a tent- washing machine, that way you can guarantee dilution ratio, exposure time, and rinsing. Bleach has many negatives and positives in the tent industry. However, it can be a fantastic cleaning agent. Once you completely understand bleach, you can use it safely and effectively.
– Steve Arendt
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It’s the end of summer, and before fall and winter start to creep in, you can still take advantage of the warm weather and jump into the world’s fastest-growing water sport: stand-
up paddleboarding (SUP). This sport is exactly what is sounds like. You stand on a paddleboard — like a surfboard but wider and more buoyant — and use a long paddle to glide across the water. It sounds simple enough, but with a 200 percent boost in gear sales
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES CAN INCREASE COMPANY PRODUCTIVITY
Many companies are hesitant to adopt flexible schedules — personalized work hours, remote work, not tracking hours worked at all, or compressed workweeks — because of the traditional “command and control” approach laid out by older generations. The challenge that these companies face is letting go and trusting their young employees. However, according to several studies, a trusting work environment breeds more loyal employees and increases efficiency. Leslie Doolittle, assistant dean and director of academic support services at Bentley University, says that work doesn’t define millennials as much as it does older generations. Family, friends, and making a difference in the community are more central to their lives. Because of this, demands on millennials’ personal time are bound to increase as they balance work with raising a family. More employees are looking for jobs that offer flexible schedules, and they are even willing to take pay cuts to find those jobs. But do flexible schedules really increase productivity? In 2016, a Fortune 500 company replicated Penn State professor Lonnie Golden’s 2012 study on flexible schedules and company productivity and produced the same results as the Golden’s study. Researchers found that employees who were placed on a flexibility program were both happier at work and less prone to
burnout and psychological stress than their colleagues who were not in the program. When compared to the control group, the flex schedule group felt far more empowered and supported by their boss while having more time to spend with their families. They also reported higher job satisfaction levels and felt less stressed than their colleagues. Similarly, research by Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom found that working remotely increases productivity, overall work hours, and employee satisfaction. Over a nine-month period, Bloom found that flexible workers at Ctrip, a Chinese travel website, achieved more, took fewer sick days, and were happier in their work. The telecommuters completed 13.5 percent more calls than office workers, performed 10 percent more work overall, left the company at half the rate of those who worked in the office, reported feeling more fulfilled at work, and saved the company $1,900 per employee. As demands for more leeway in the workplace increase and research continues, we may soon see the end of the nine-to-five workday. But this is nothing to fear. As the studies remind us, when we empower employees to exert control over where and when they work, it tends to have a positive impact on productivity and company well-being.
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The #1 Way To Avoid Competing On Price People wind up getting into the tent business for all kinds of different reasons, and from all sorts of different backgrounds. Zachry Veal got into the tent rental business through the hotel his family owned on Jekyll Island, Georgia. “We can do this,” says Zachry, after The Beachview Club rented a tent to handle a wedding reception. So the hotel invested in its own tent,and things took off from there.“We had a twenty four foot trailer that held everything we owned. We grew from that into a storage bay, and then two bays in a mini storage place, then the whole lane, and then we built a warehouse. We grew out of that, and now we’ve buying more and more stuff.” maintenance man. It varies by season, and now we have 50 to 60 full time employees. Some days we’ll have 40 or more laborers, working part time. It keeps us busy.” Beachview has staked out a position in the market as a
Zachary Veal Beachview Tent Rentals Brunswick, GA
source of quality and professionalism. “We do not compete on price,” says Zachry. “We compete more on quality and a diverse selection. We try to spend the money to put out a good quality product. We’re successful in higher-end markets. That’s our sweet spot.” Keeping tents clean keeps the Beachview staff busy. “We have three guys and all they do year ‘round is wash vinyl, in the busy season, seven days a week. Before we got
our Teeco machine, it was unbelievable. We wound up having so much dirty vinyl stacked up. We just could not keep up. “Now we can keep up with orders. Even in the peak season you can do a last minute order. You’ve got something you hope is clean. You just put it in there, hit the button, and let it do the washing.”
Now we can keep up with orders. Even in the peak season you can do a last minute order.
Zachry says three things have happened as the result of Beachview’s investment in the Teeco 3000 in late 2008. “Before, washing was my problem. Now drying’s my problem. I can wash more than I can dry.” The second beneÞt is the lower expense for labor. But where the Teeco really pays its way is when it comes to helping Beachview extend the life of its
What is the true cost to own a tent washing machine? (less than you might think) Visit www.tentcleaningmachines.com
inventory. “It’s the biggest difference. Whenever we used to wash by hand, you could get the vinyl good and white, but not the webbing and the straps. Now that gets white too. Makes the whole top look clean. ItÕs extended the life in terms of keeping the whole product looking nice and clean. We have some old tops. Might be worn looking but they’re always nice and clean.” Zachry Veal to measure. “Absolutely, it’s been a good investment. I don’t know how we’d keep up without it.” Installing the Teeco washer? “It was quick and easy. Run a water pipe and a gas line, a little bit of electrical, we set it in place with a forklift and it was done.” And as far as maintenance, “We rarely have trouble outside just the preventive stuff. I’ve never had anything go wrong that’s catastrophic.”
DO YOU OWN A JOB? Owning a company teaches you many things. You learn how to manage money, employees, customers, vendors and 9me. Most companies would pay quite a bit to have a person with your skills. A?er a difficult day - have you ever thought about going to work for somebody else? Here are three important thoughts to consider: Appreciate the difference between owning a business versus owning a low-paying job. One absolutely cri9cal way to look at your business is to step back, take a big-picture look, and figure out if you're making the money an owner should make, or whether you're doing all that work only to make what an employee would make. In other words, if both you and your company are not making money, you're working for everyone else instead of yourself, and losing money doing it. Take the dollar amount you pay yourself a year, and divide it by the number of hours you work per year, and make sure you count all the hours — the hours on the phone, in the office, at the job, selling, promo9ng — all the hours. That's how much you make an hour. Are you the highest-paid employee of your business? You should be, you‘re the most-important employee, and if you're not, you don't own a business, you own an overworked, underpaid job. Realize that customer expectaGons are rising, and prepare for an industry shakeout. You may already have no9ced how the industry is changing — the bar has been raised in almost every facet of the tent-rental business, par9cularly customer expecta9ons. More and more, customers are expec9ng professionalism, 9meliness, and clean, upscale tents that look new — the last thing they want their rented tent to look like is "just an old tent." In addi9on, more and more, fewer tent-rental businesses will be able to stay compe99ve as companies consolidate and grow in size. Now is the 9me to re-evaluate everything by taking a fresh, objec9ve look at the very business you look at every day. Comprehend why efficiency is more important than growth. So if your business isn't making any money, you, as its owner, its most-important employee, and its leader, are failing. You hate failure. And since you're already charging what the market will bear and the compe99on will allow, the obvious solu9on is to make more money by ren9ng out more tents, thereby increasing gross revenue and growing your business, right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Over and over again, increased business and its resul9ng growth have been the death of companies like yours — par9cularly unprofitable companies. Why? Because the opera9onal inefficiencies that inhibited those companies' profits in the first place were only exacerbated when those companies grew. In other words, when a company grows, the impact of its number-
one problem — inefficiency — always grows faster than the company itself. So not only should you not grow your business un9l you have absolutely MAXIMIZED opera9onal efficiencies, maximizing efficiencies is, by far, the quickest way to increase your company's profitability.
in the last year alone, SUP fans can tell you how much fun “simple” can be.
Stand-up paddleboarding has ancient roots in African, Peruvian, and Hawaiian cultures. Thousands of years ago, each independently developed traditions of traveling across the water while using a paddle and a longboard. However, it was the Hawaiians who surfed the big waves with a paddleboard, and Maui surf legend Laird Hamilton was the first person to bring SUP to the continental United States. Most stand-up paddleboarders aim to battle the waves to challenge their balance and core strength, but you don’t need to live by the ocean in order to enjoy paddleboarding. Wide lakes, lazy rivers, and even fierce rapids can all be perfect places to paddleboard. Basically, if you can bring a canoe, you can SUP there, too. Many outdoor gear providers across the world rent out SUP supplies now, so you can try it out with your friends before fully investing in the sport. Part of what makes SUP so fun is how the simple premise has been adopted into so many other activities. SUP enthusiasts created specially designed paddleboards for fishing, yoga, racing, and even touring the open ocean. So, what are you waiting for? Enjoy these last days of summer and have some fun out on the water!
Scientific Innovation Helps Provide Independence
Anupam Pathak wants to end the embarrassment the 11 million people with essential tremors or Parkinson’s disease experience when they sit down for a meal. The limited motor function associated with these conditions turns eating into a stressful ordeal, and the University of Michigan Ph.D. student took steps to remedy the problem. He founded Lift Labs, and developed a device to help individuals with tremors eat easier. Dubbed Liftware Steady, motion sensors in the computerized handle detect which direction the device is pulled and moves the utensil attachment in the opposite direction, negating shaky motion. First released in 2013, in less than a year, the popularity and success of Liftware attracted the attention of Google, who quickly acquired Lift Labs. With the additional support, Lift Labs launched a second product in December 2016 to address the needs of individuals with limited hand or arm movement. The new Liftware Level uses sensors to detect motion in 3-D space and move a flexible joint to keep the utensil attachment at the right angle. Like its predecessor, the Level proved to be a meal saver, especially for people with Huntington’s disease or who have suffered from a spinal injury, cerebral palsy, or post-stroke deficits. Both the Liftware Steady and the Liftware Level are available at liftware. com, where starter kits sell for $195. The concept of a smart spoon may make some people scoff, but for those who use Liftware, the device means more than just keeping their shirt clean while eating hot soup; it renews their independence and confidence. “Once you start to lose the ability to function independently, there’s a huge emotional toll ... people will often just avoid going out in public.” Pathak plans for this technology to be adapted to any hand-held device, from keys to makeup brushes, and wants to help people of every ability level enjoy more independence.
TEECO’S TIPS
Have and Use the Right Chemicals First and foremost, you have to have the right chemicals for your part of the country. What works in Texas won’t necessarily work in New York. With that in mind, know that the right chemical or cleaning solution for you may cost more, but in the long run, if it cleans better and requires less labor and time, it will be a worthwhile investment. Be sure to take the time to test different chemicals to figure out what works best!
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Offering the best in tent washing & drying machines
PAGE 1 The Power of Bleach
PAGE 2 The Best Water Sport You Haven’t Tried Yet Empowering Your Employees PAGE 3 Teeco Tips: Simple Tests for Selecting Chemicals Google’s Smart Spoon Provides Independence PAGE 4 International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
‘DISCOVERY’ OF A PRE-COLONIAL AMERICAN TOWN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
On August 9, we celebrate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples to promote the rights, culture, and land of descendants of pre-colonial times. Unfortunately, there are still many mysteries surrounding the history of America’s indigenous people. However, Wichita State University personnel have discovered one of the Wichita Native Americans’ greatest mysteries: the city of Etzanoa. In the early 1600s, Spanish explorers stumbled upon the city of Etzanoa and were intimidated by its size. Spanish documents indicate that the town was home to 20,000 Wichita Native Americans and spanned 5 miles, making it the second-largest settlement of Native Americans found in the United States. Experts deemed all documents describing Etzanoa as exaggerated until a high school student discovered a half-inch iron cannonball in an area between the Walnut and Arkansas rivers in Kansas.
Spanish documents with the land near Arkansas City, Kansas. Blakeslee says the archeological findings in the area, combined with the descriptions in the Spanish documents, confirm where Etzanoa once stood. Smallpox and other diseases killed most of the Wichita population after 1600, and relocation forced survivors to Oklahoma reservations. The tribe subsequently lost most of its culture. Modern-day Wichitas number about 3,000 and are now based in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Now that Etzanoa has been identified, Blakeslee strives to bring awareness to the culture of the Wichita Native Americans. He hopes that the Etzanoa site can be turned into an educational, interactive replica of the town, which could promote awareness of the Wichita culture. With approval and funding, Blakeslee may have the town replica up and running in time for next year’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
Donald Blakeslee, Wichita State anthropologist, realized that Ziegler’s discovery could be Etzanoa and began to compare the
4 • Cleaner Tents For Maximum Profit • Teeco Solutions
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