Author Archives: admin

“Prevention is better than cure.” – Desiderius Erasmus

 

Call In The Professionals For Peak Flu Prevention

Implementing all the above tips can encourage great habits and flu prevention within your employees and work culture, but if you want to truly guard your workplace against flu and colds, calling in professional cleaners could be the ideal solution. They are fully equipped to sanitise and disinfect high touch point areas safely, including keyboards, phones, shared lounge and kitchen areas, etc. They can also help you maintain and top-up hand sanitiser stations, soap dispensers, tissues, and other essential items. Regular disinfection can prevent not just flu, but other diseases from spreading in the workplace.

Clean up after a flood can be devastating: you don’t know how much damage you’ve sustained, you don’t know how many things can be salvaged or need to be thrown out, and the cleaning tasks ahead of you can seem huge and overwhelming.

Checking to see that you are prepared to tackle your mammoth cleaning task ahead is vital in making sure that your health and safety is maintained throughout the whole process.

So… what exactly do you need?

The damage done can vary between property type and location. A concrete warehouse, for example, would need to be cleaned a different way to an office, which may have damaged carpets or electronics. As a general guide, the following items can come in handy:

• A portable generator for powering high-pressure drying equipment
• Spare towels, old newspapers, and big sponges for absorbing water
• Bleach, muriatic acid, or vinegar for removing mould and mildew
• Air fresheners and purifiers for eliminating bad odours
• Wax and brushes for polishing water-stained floors
• High pressure cleaning for removing deep-set, stubborn stains on floors and walls

Wear protective equipment before going inside

Floodwater and debris may be contaminated with sewage or other dangerous substances, which can linger on surfaces for a long time. As you begin your clean up, protect yourself by wearing protective equipment such as watertight boots, a hard hat, a long-sleeved shirt, and gloves. If there are risks that there may be rotting material, such as spoiled food or vegetation, wear a mask, safety goggles, and gloves. You can also wear sunscreen or insect repellent to protect yourself from UV exposure and itchy bites. And make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after participating in clean up activities!

Identify and set aside salvageable items

The damage to the individual items within your property will vary depending on a number of factors, such as how high the flood waters reached, or what materials your items are made of. While some items will be beyond repair, others might be salvageable. For example:

• If you sealed and stored your papers, documents, photographs, or other similar stationery items well before the flood, drying or freezing them upon discovery can do the trick.
• All sealed food items like canned goods or airtight bottles are safe to consume, provided that their seals are unbroken.

For any salvaged items, disinfect them thoroughly by spraying them down with a strong disinfectant, and leaving them in the sunlight to dry. Always ensure that you and any other involved with your clean up practice proper hygiene!

Dry out puddles and excess moisture with pumps, blowers, and dehumidifiers

These tools can be used to extract water and dry your interiors, particularly the floors, walls, and carpets. Be careful when going to any lower areas, such as basements or garages. These spaces may have sustained the most damage as all the floodwater aboveground likely flowed into any underground spaces and leaked into the foundation.

If it’s too risky, don’t attempt to dry your basement on your own! Also, prepare yourself for unpleasant smells from mould or mildew, which can build up anywhere. Wearing a mask can help reduce smells, but you can also book specialty cleaning services that will be able to clean your space safely, quickly, and thoroughly.

Remove tough surface stains with a high-pressure washer

A high-pressure washer is useful for removing difficult stains left by the flood. You can use it on concrete surfaces, like wall corners, floors, and even furniture. High-pressure washers can be easily rented. However, if you want to save time and energy, a high-pressure cleaning service can do it for you efficiently and meticulously.

Clean your carpets

One of the most difficult things to clean after a flood is carpet, as it can be very heavy and have its fibres full of dirt and grime. To thoroughly clean a carpet, you can choose between a steam cleaner or carpet shampoo. Consider hiring a carpet cleaning service to ensure that every layer of your carpet is fresh and dirt free.

Stay safe during clean up and seek emotional support.

Your Safety is the Priority!

As with any disaster, cleaning up after a flood has additional risks. To maximise your safety, follow these crucial points:

1. Shut off gas valves and electrical panels.
2. Check the structure of the property. If you spot significant damage (e.g. cracks and holes) in the foundation, you might need to postpone your clean up project and consult a construction expert before entering the property.
3. Avoid contaminated water and exposed cables. Wearing rubber shoes and gloves might not be enough to save you from electric shock.

Cleaning and disinfecting your premises after a flood takes a lot of effort. We’ve addressed the physical aspect of clean up, but make sure that you look after your mental health as well. Find some face-to-face emotional and trauma support after a flood services here. After all, we’re all in this together.

Trees are immense, impressive, and important to the environment. They provide shelter to animals and birds, and they produce the oxygen we all need to breathe. Through tree lopping or pruning, a well-maintained tree can also enhance the look of your neighbourhood or property. However, summer storms can wreak havoc on the structural integrity of your trees, making them dangerous in winter. As winter begins in 2022 with howling winds after such an intensely wet summer, it is imperative to make sure that you and your family are safe from any wayward tree limbs by lopping off dead or dying branches.

But first, what is Tree Lopping?

As the name implies, tree lopping is the removal of tree branches that are dead, dying, or not wanted. There are a variety of reasons why tree lopping is important. When trees grow too wide for the space they need to grow, they can obstruct power lines, passing vehicles, and other nearby structures. Additionally, trees can clog storm drains, footpaths, driveways, and other areas. When new growth or falling deadwood is allowed to flow through these channels without limitation, blockage from a build-up of sediment and debris can occur, leading to serious drainage issues or even flooding.

Tree lopping vs. tree pruning

When it comes to tree care and tree maintenance, you may see many sources talk about tree lopping and pruning interchangeably. However, while they are both related to tree maintenance, they are different methods required for separate reasons:

• Lopping is the trimming of tree branches to reduce and modify the size of the tree
• Pruning helps to protect trees against disease to aid health for a long life

In other words, lopping removes branches to increase the safety of the environment around the tree, whereas pruning strategically cuts branches off trees to remove diseased branches and/or get a desired shape to promote tree health.

How does Tree Lopping work?

Depending on the size of the tree, tree lopping can be done by yourself or by professionals by using a cutting blade such as a saw or chainsaw and cutting across the branch. This action makes sure that only the branch that is being cut is touched, leaving the rest of the tree intact.

For bigger trees, professionals may need special equipment to reach the branches that they are removing. Sometimes, they even need to use cranes or special harnesses to safely and successfully lop off the branches!

What should I consider when tree lopping?

When it comes to any sort of tree maintenance, safety is paramount. Although you may think that sawing off a stray branch is an easy DIY job, many people don’t realise that a tree branch with all the extra stems and leaves can be extremely heavy, bulky, and dangerous to handle. Hiring an experienced and reputable professional will ensure that all work is carried out in line with the relevant regulations for complete safety. Not only will this approach aid growth and protect against tree-related diseases, but it will also safeguard you, your property, and your surroundings while the procedure is in operation.

Another important consideration is the legal side of tree maintenance.  The same laws covering tree removal in Sydney also apply to lopping in most cases. As many NSW councils prohibit work on any native trees, it is imperative to seek advice on the laws surrounding the trees on your property prior to any major work.

One last thing to consider is what to do with the branches that have been cut off. When you make decisions regarding tree lopping, make sure that you are thinking about tree lopping and removal together in your plan.

 

“To be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots.” – Richard Mabey

 

Trees are good for the soul. They’re essential to the air we breathe. And they provide a majestic example of strength and perseverance in the face of adversity. Let us at Star Property help you maintain the health of your trees so that you can guarantee the safety of your family and your surroundings and help them enjoy the beauty of your trees for many more years to come.

Homelessness is a hidden crisis, with 116427 people experiencing homelessness in Australia, and 32% of those living in NSW. We have thousands of rough sleepers every night in our communities because of Australia’s continued struggle with the availability of social housing. Our homeless population is undoubtedly one of the most vulnerable communities.

It’s a whole-community issue to support those who need our help most.

StarPM has always been driven to help out the community in ways that matter – by donating to the Starlight Foundation, Coptic Orphans and Australian Paramedic, we contributed to the causes that matter to us.

And we recently happened across a way to create a positive impact on lives directly.

St Merkorious Charity, a local charity based in Strathfield that works on the ground distributing emergency supplies for people in need in over 60 Sydney suburbs, wished to do more for the homeless that they help.

Part of the biggest issues that homeless people face when they try to reintegrate back into the system is the length of time they’ve been disengaged from society.

Often, especially for people experiencing chronic homelessness, there isn’t any recent employment history, experience, medical records, accreditations, referees, or even identification documents that employers usually look for. That’s without adding on the fact it’s difficult to attend interviews without money to buy appropriate clothes or even to shower and keep clean.

It’s hard to even step through the door, let alone take an interview, without these things.

This didn’t stop St Merkorious Charity from seeking help from the community anyway.

When they looked for help, they found Star PM.

“The charity wanted to see if we were interested in helping out by hiring people off the street and employing them to do work for us,” said Steven Khalil, owner of Star PM. “When we heard of this, we knew that this was a way that Star PM can step in and help stop the cycle of poverty that too many fall into. Sleeping rough is one of the most stressful things a person can experience. We understand just how crucial a job is to getting life back onto track, and that’s why we’ve hired two people straight off the streets and into our business.”

A part of it is corporate social responsibility and doing what you can. Another large part is wanting to give back to the community that has supported StarPM for so long.

These past few years have put a lot of stress on the economy. From bushfires straight into COVID-19, and from there, floods. Stepping up when people are most in need when you can is inspiring and humbling all at once, and if we can employ the homeless in South West Sydney, where we are based, then it’s all the better.

Star PM is honoured to have worked with St Merkorious Charity to make this program happen. We hope that more businesses hop in and try, and will think of our capacity to take in more employees in the future.

The two individuals who were hired by Star PM are doing well in their current roles. By being hired into a steady job with a predictable income, we hope to give them a strong stepping stone to regaining their lives back. Not only that, gaining some recent experience and training will help bulk up their resumes to make them attractive job prospects in the future.

Not that we wish for our newest employees to leave any time soon.

“There’s no better way to help out than find a way where everyone can win. By helping out, we train up and gain a trustworthy employee in return. That’s a win-win in my book.”

 

“The greatest good is what we do for one another.” – Mother Teresa

As technology continues to rapidly evolve, so too does alternate ways of caring for and maintaining large, open spaces and creating sustainable mowing solutions. Robotic solutions and vehicle automation has led to the development and innovation of greenkeeping technology. Although most automated robotic solutions for the maintenance of greenkeeping spaces is more than two years away, there are already promising signs of innovation. We are constantly monitoring the market of automatic technology for more sustainable ways of maintaining sustainable mowing, biodiversity and environmentally friendly practices in order to protect our natural environment.

Creating a sustainable way to care and maintain large open spaces is crucial to the survival and ongoing preservation of the natural environment. Here are some ways to develop sustainable mowing practices:

1. Automated technology

The development of automated mowing machines encourages safe work practices for the employees using it. The risks associated with employees mowing lawns, collecting trimmings, and cutting edges can be significantly limited when tools are automated. On top of this, automated technology can be of great use for commercial property maintenance, as large open spaces require more work and efficient practices.

2. Switch from petrol to electricity where possible

Electric powered cars and machinery are becoming more popular as the technology becomes far more reliable. As a society, we have advanced from coal powered machinery to petrol, and in the future, electricity. Due to the size of many open spaces, electric powered tools are not yet advanced enough to cover such a vast area. While these products may not yet be available, it is crucial to monitor the market of automation tools so that when they are available, businesses are prepared for the change.

3. Protect ecosystems

We can protect the natural environment of which we work by ensuring that we are prioritising sustainable practices. Eco-friendly sustainable mowing practices are crucial when working so closely with the natural environment. Even by considering what type of lawn you plant by using a type of lawn that requires little water and fertiliser. Maintaining an eco-friendly and sustainable mowing mindset when working in these open spaces will produce better outcomes for the natural environment.

4. Efficiency is key

Automated technology allows greenkeepers, landscapers, and other maintenance workers to work effectively in other areas of ground maintenance. This allows them to be more efficient, spend more time being environmentally conscious, and working on other areas of sustainability.

5. Think futuristic

Landscaping tools that support the sustainable maintenance of open landscapes is yet to be on the market, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start thinking about applying it to your greenkeeping. Be ready for the advancement of electric powered machinery. For the moment, electric powered machinery can not be utilised for large commercial use. However, given the way that technology is advancing, it won’t be long until automated technology and bigger electric or battery powered tools is introduced to maintenance workers. We are constantly keeping up to date with the newest features of machinery and look forward to seeing modern technology keep up with the changing needs of the community.

 

“First life, then spaces, then buildings — the other way around never works.” – Jan Gehl

 

Looking after our vast and unique environment is one of the most important jobs we have. Maintaining eco-friendly, safe, and beautiful land will only become easier and more efficient as new technology is introduced. By using the modern technologies that will be introduced in coming years, we will be able to create more eco-friendly ways of taking care of our environment, by limiting pollution and the interference with biodiversity. Monitor the future of landscaping technologies to create sustainable mowing habits.