Boots, builders' for the cleaning of: recommendations?

[ToughButterCup]

The muddy phase of our build  is about to start. And hoping to reduce the amount of extra cleaning to be done in our cottage, I'm attempting to encourage folk to clean their boots before they come into our kitchen for tea and sympathy. To do that I need to make the cleaning process easy and quick.

 

The prospect of @MrsRA standing there with a rolling pin and a look of thunder on her usually smiling countenance - shouting

"Get em off !" and me countering

"Have you seen how clean they are?" does not appeal.

 

How have you managed it?

[SteamyTea]

35 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

How have you managed it?

I live on my own.

[joe90]

My site accomodation is a caravan that has seen better days and Mrs Joe is rarely there this time of the year so I don't have a problem, in a different life however when I lived on a small holding all outside shoes came off at the door, no discussion and it worked.

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

I live on my own.

No rolling pin then @SteamyTea.

Tempting but impracticable...  due to increased levels of Learned Helplessness on my part. 

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, recoveringacademic said:

The muddy phase of our build  is about to start. And hoping to reduce the amount of extra cleaning to be done in our cottage, I'm attempting to encourage folk to clean their boots before they come into our kitchen for tea and sympathy. To do that I need to make the cleaning process easy and quick.

 

The prospect of @MrsRA standing there with a rolling pin and a look of thunder on her usually smiling countenance - shouting

"Get em off !" and me countering

"Have you seen how clean they are?" does not appeal.

 

How have you managed it?

 

If @MrsRA is standing there with a rolling pin doing absolutely nothing, I think the solution for easy boot cleaning is standing there next to you holding a rolling pin.

 

Replace the rolling pin with a roller brush, get a convenient chair and footstall and kneeler pad, and ... Bingo !

Edited January 29, 2017 by Ferdinand

[SteamyTea]

34 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

No rolling pin then

It is a while since I have used the rolling pin on myself.  Too many years at Catholic schools taught me one thing, you don't have to self flagellation to have fun:

http://old.wordsmith.org/anagram/anagram.cgi?anagram=self+flagellation&t=1000&a=n

Now try rolling pin or dirty boots

Edited January 29, 2017 by SteamyTea

[Ferdinand]

Can you use incentives?

 

Keep in Rich Tea and Chocolate Digestives.

 

Unclean boots get the former.

 

Or disposable galoshes at 3p each?

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/disposable-overshoes-blue-size-one-size-fits-all-100-pack/3734K

Edited January 29, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

Slightly more seriously I think I would want:

 

Approx 1mx1m of slabs with:

 

1 - Traditional boot scraper.

2 - Raised area where Bill Der can put foot up, with bucket of water and stiff bristled (like yard brush) hand brush, useable without hand getting wet.

3 - Clean route from 2 to kitchen door.

4 - Deep pile doormat that can take being hosed down.

 

Hose down once per day.

F

Edited January 29, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Jeremy Harris]

I tried a few things, as our subsoil is a very sticky clay that was tough to remove from boots,and the best I found was a mix of a small pressure spray filled with water, plus two stiff broom heads nailed to a heavy board, with the business end pointing upwards. 

 

Put this right outside the door and the combination of a squirt of water plus rubbing the boots on the bristles works well.  Inside I used those super-absorbent floor mats, the ones that are rubber-backed and soak up a load of muck and can then be stuffed in the washing machine.  That kept most of the muck out, until we had the hard landscaping done and so had clean paths to get in and out of the house.

 

Getting people to remove their boots every time they come in doesn't work well, I found, as some people are in and out all day long.

[Onoff]

 

EDIT: You obviously need a dog!

Edited January 29, 2017 by Onoff

[Triassic]

Maybe you need  brew shed close to the kitchen, in that way people can come in with dirty boot and clothes, sit on plastic chairs at a wooden table and walk on wooden floors, all easily cleaned with a stiff brush and a weekly mop. Keep home and work separate is best.

[Guest Alphonsox]

Boots off at the door - No discussions, no arguments, a sign may help 

I used to live in Switzerland, no-body would consider walking into a house with outdoor shoes on. (Think snow, slush etc). We have used the same approach back in the UK and its worked well.

[Construction Channel]

create a dirty boot area in the kitchen

 

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Proplex-Surface-Protection-Sheet-1200mm-x-2400mm/p/118670

[Jeremy Harris]

37 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

EDIT: You obviously need a dog!

 

 

That's a posher version of mine!  I didn't have the hose connection, but relied on a hand-pumped pressure spray.  I also only used two stiff broom heads.

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

 

 

That's a posher version of mine!  I didn't have the hose connection, but relied on a hand-pumped pressure spray.  I also only used two stiff broom heads.

 

PIR and a solenoid valve would be good!

[Steptoe]

This issue of removing the boots,

Has anyone thought of the H&S implications of this ?

I doubt your insurance company would be happy, 

I certainly wouldn't entertain the idea of removing my footwear, in fact I've walked off/refused jobs for this very reason.

[ProDave]

I'm the opposite of Steptoe. When I bought my current pair of work boots, I deliberately chose slip on boots, so if they are at all grubby, and the house I am in has a white carpet, I can slip them off.
 

[Vijay]

One of my jobs this week is to finish a 12v pressure washer spray lance, to clean boots and tyres before they drive off site. I can just connect this to a car battery/lighter socket or a separate 12v battery that I can leave on site

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, Steptoe said:

This issue of removing the boots,

Has anyone thought of the H&S implications of this ?

I doubt your insurance company would be happy, 

I certainly wouldn't entertain the idea of removing my footwear, in fact I've walked off/refused jobs for this very reason.

I agree with the stance, but i sacked one worker after he told my customer the same. Lasted till 10:00 and he was gone. 

What he should have said is "can I bring some clean steel toe capped trainers in as I need to wear PPE in work". 

So, as I'm in and out of customers houses, and they deserve some respect, I carry blue disposable hospital slippers / overshoes to go over my black work socks and like @ProDave would never go in wearing my boots. 

I need these people for me to earn a living so when they say "jump", and I say "how high ?"

Bought a new pair of boots Saturday in SFix and they need to be comfortable when laced 70% up, so I can still wiggle them on or off without the delay. . 

 

[ToughButterCup]

@MrsRA thanks you all for the advice. I think we'll use a combination of ideas based on your suggestions - with one addition. There's a guy who sells astro turf off cuts not far from where we live. A few square meters should do us...

[TerryE]

When it comes to anyone other than you and the better half, IMO if you even hint at a  "boots off" or "clean boots" policy, then they just won't bother coming near the house; just too much hassle for them.

 

Except our slater who liked to come and have chat occasionally (and who was good company and as it he was slating in Feb, having his lunch with us was a good way to warm up), all of our builders or guys on site didn't want to come into the kitchen, except on an occasional basis, but we did make the loo next in the hall next to the back-door available (in lieu of a portaloo) and they did regularly use it for 1s and 2s, but:

• we never used this downstairs loo when the guys were on-site so they knew that they had it to themselves and,
• we put down heavy dust sheets between the external door and the loo, so they were comfortable with the idea of using it.

One advantage of a timber framed house is that it goes up and is water proof within a week or so, so our workmen tended to use the house hall as canteen area when it was raining, but we did have an absolute smoking ban inside the house.  A good alternative is a shed or even a gazebo in the milder months, but again it has to be reserved for their space if you want them to be comfortable to use it.

 

As far as teas etc., we simply asked each team when their preferred break times were (and most preferred a set routine), say 10:00, 12:30, 15:00 and we took tea and biscuit out to them.  To us it's just a matter of treating the people that work for you with respect and consideration, they will invariably reflect this back on us.

 

In our case Jan and I had different rules: boots off or ear ache. But easy slip-on boots and a separate set of cloggies for working inside the new-build once weather tight helped a lot.  So did a conscious effort to maintain and enforce clean access paths.  You'll rapidly collect lots of pallets and they make excellent duck-boards.  

[Steptoe]

2 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

I agree with the stance, but i sacked one worker after he told my customer the same. Lasted till 10:00 and he was gone. 

What he should have said is "can I bring some clean steel toe capped trainers in as I need to wear PPE in work". 

So, as I'm in and out of customers houses, and they deserve some respect, I carry blue disposable hospital slippers / overshoes to go over my black work socks and like @ProDave would never go in wearing my boots. 

I need these people for me to earn a living so when they say "jump", and I say "how high ?"

Bought a new pair of boots Saturday in SFix and they need to be comfortable when laced 70% up, so I can still wiggle them on or off without the delay. . 

 

 

I agree, its not down to your employee to enter into this discussion with a customer, he enters into it with you.

I also carry overshoes, but not always convenient if lots of in-out trips required.

 

 

1 hour ago, TerryE said:

When it comes to anyone other than you and the better half, IMO if you even hint at a  "boots off" or "clean boots" policy, then they just won't bother coming near the house; just too much hassle for them.

 

Except our slater who like to come and have chat occasionally (and who was good company), all of our builders or guys on site didn't want to come into the kitchen, except on an occasional basis, but we did make the loo next in the hall next to the back-door available (in lieu of a portaloo) and they did regularly use it for 1s and 2s, but:

• we never used this downstairs loo when the guys were onsite so they knew that they had it to themselves and,
• we put down heavy dust sheets between the external door and the loo, so they were comfortable with the idea of using it.

One advantage of a timber framed house is that it goes up and is water proof within a week or so, so our workmen tended to use the house hall as canteen area when it was raining, but we did have an absolute smoking ban inside the house.  A good alternative is a shed or even a gazebo in the milder months, but again it has to be reserved for their space if you want them to be comfortable to use it.

 

As far as teas etc., we simply asked each team when their preferred break times were (and most preferred a set routine), say 10:00, 12:30, 15:00 and we took tea and biscuit out to them.  To us it's just a matter of treating the people that work for you with respect and consideration, they will invariably reflect this back on us.

 

In our case Jan and I had different rules: boots off or ear ache. But easy slip-on boots and a separate set of cloggies for working inside the new-build once weather tight helped a lot.  So did a conscious effort to maintain and enforce clean access paths.  You'll rapidly collect lots of pallets and they make excellent duck-boards.  

 

I'm a smoker, and I would 100% agree with your no smoking policy,

I don't smoke in my own house, I would never even think of smoking in a customers house, 

 

At the cost of a house build, I'd think knocking up a brew hut should be well within the budget to keep everyone happy and bobbing along nicely, 

[TerryE]

@Steptoe, the main reason for the absolute ban on no smoking in the house is that our new-build is a timber-framed one, and by far the greatest risk to a house before boarding out and plastering is smoking and flame gun work.  We didn't need the latter and the former was an obvious thing to ban.

 

Ian and my house are / were construction sites pre inhabitation.  I feel that different rules would apply for using tradesmen and workers in an occupied family home.

[Steptoe]

@TerryE

I think you may have misread my post.

I would 100% agree on your NO smoking policy, as a smoker myself, it is just disrespect to expect it to be acceptable to others within their house,

As long as you don't have any issue with someone having a cig outside, then I don't see any issue whatsoever .

But, you do get some customers who do actually think you should walk down the road and stand outside next doors house to have a cig,

Yes, its a dirty habit, but, it's one I have, that and a few beers by a weekend, hopefully it's something that doesn't make me a social phariah, 

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Steptoe

[Steptoe]

Building site or not,

Its still YOUR HOUSE

anyone that can't respect that shouldn't be in YOUR HOUSE.