Carpet Cleaning Tips
Download our FREE Cleaning E-book Now!!To get the best out of your carpets follow our carpet cleaning guide. These handy carpet cleaning tips will extend the life of your carpets, maintain the original texture ensuring your home not only looks good but smells fresh. Day To Day Carpet Cleaning Home Carpet Cleaning Tips House Rules: Prevention, as always is better than cure. First and foremost, establish house rules: Remove outdoor footwear prior to entering a carpeted area. You may be surprised at how quickly this becomes second nature. Don’t be afraid to ask non-family members to remove footwear-it’s your home and your hard earned cash afterall. Vacuum Cleaning: Vacuum frequently. Removing dust on a regular basis will help prevent it becoming embedded. Choose a vacuum cleaner and attachments that are suited to your carpet type. As a rule of thumb if you have large carpeted areas or deep pile carpet then anupright cleaner is probably better. Visit how to choose a vacuum cleaner for some excellent tips. Stain Removal: Stain removal is in most cases more effective if the stain is tackled straight away. Mud however is best left to dry first. Don’t be tempted to use harsh chemical stain removers, in many cases natural remedies are effective and less harmful to your carpets. Keep a handy supply of baby wipes at the ready. If the stain is tackled quickly enough they often do the trick. For a more comprehensive guide visit our stain removal tips page Detailed Carpet Cleaning Carpets benefit from periodic cleaning. Generally every twelve to eighteen months is recommended. How you choose to clean your carpets is very much a matter of choice, often dependant on budget, but there are pro’s and cons attached to which ever method you decide upon: Professional Cleaning: Professional cleaning is generally performed by one of the following methods: Shampooing Steam Cleaning Dry Cleaning Professional cleaning can be expensive and the outcome is not necessarily reflected in the price. It’s important that you identify the source of any stubborn stains and ask how effective their removal is likely to be. A professional carpet cleaner (charging professional prices) should not be fazed when faced with a barrage of questions. Shampooing The type of detergent used should be determined by the composition of your carpet. Some require an alkaline based detergent whilst others are best treated with an acidic detergent. The detergent used must contain chemicals that create an abundance of stable foam to avoid over-wetting. This however will leave a sticky residue that will attract dirt unless an anti-soiling chemical is also present in the detergent. This method of carpet cleaning may involve the use of optical brighteners to make the carpets appear cleaner than they actually are. Beware- over time this will lead to yellowing which cannot be removed. Industrial strength cleaning agents used by professionals may upset the natural PH of the carpets. It is important that the PH is restored, post cleaning, for the carpets to regain their original texture. Your cleaner should be able to advise and ensure that the finished result will reflect this. Steam Cleaning Steam cleaning is probably the most effective method of deep cleaning carpets. From a health prospective it is the better option because the dirty air and humidity are contained within the cleaning system as opposed to being recirculated around the home. Steam cleaning basically entails loosening the dirt by spraying a fine mist over a small area at a time then immediately vacuuming over with the powerful vacuum cleaner. This method prevents over wetting and the carpet dries quickly. Dry Cleaning A dry absorbent compound is worked into the carpet via a machine. This compound attracts and absorbs the dirt which is then vacuumed away. Many professional cleaners use organic compounds, but some may contain polymers. Check with your cleaner beforehand. Spring Cleaning ArticlesHow to clean granite countertops
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