Carpet, Rug, and Tile Cleaning Tips By The Expert in Pensacola

For most homeowners, the holidays are the most important time of year to have a clean home.  Friends and relatives frequently drop by for visits.  Christmas parties.  Your home gets busy and you want everything to look perfect.

Remember to book your holiday cleaning appointment early.  We often are booked 2 weeks in advance for the holidays.  So don’t wait until the last minute.  Call us now at 474-1133 or click the banner at the top right of this page to get a FREE estimate.

Happy Holidays!

John Braun

You walk in and out of your house dozens of times per day, tracking in soil. Your carpet acts as a filter to all the unhealthy oil, dust, pollen, and pollutants that you carry in on the bottom of your shoes. Plus, drink spills, food spills, and pet accidents add to the unhealthy status of your carpet. This filter (your carpet) needs to be cleaned regularly to keep your home healthy.

The EPA and carpet manufacturers recommend that you have your carpet cleaned every 6-12 months. Your carpet is a fabric. It needs regular cleaning to be kept clean and to stay looking beautiful.

When you call us to clean your carpet, we concentrate on three important health benefits for you:

1. First, the safest cleaning agents possible are used to pre-spot your carpet and break down oils. We use all natural Bi-O-Kleen cleaning agents that are formulated specifically for chemically sensitive people.
2. Soil, pollen, and dust mite dander are broken down and bacteria is reduced with 180 degree water through our truck mounted machine. The dirty water is extracted into a holding tank in our van.
3. No mold or musty odors will grow because we’ll use turbo dryers or special tools to ensure your carpet dries fast. 
    

    If you have allergies to dust mites, we have an excellent anti-allergen treatment that neutralizes the der-1 allergen in your carpet, upholstery, or mattress. This treatment is applied after a thorough extraction and cleaning of the dust mite dander. For a limited time, try our Anti-Allergen dust mite treatment in one room FREE when you get your carpet cleaned.

Treating Pet Accidents and Odors

    For your pet accidents, we use Bi-O-Kleen enzymes. We’ve tried many enzymes over the years and we’ve found these enzymes work better and are much safer than any other professional or store bought enzyme. Other enzymes can cause allergic reaction to some people, but we have never had a problem with Bi-O-Kleen.

    For other deodorization needs, we have a natural disinfectant-type deodorizer with tea tree oil that is safe for your family and pets. Many disinfectants, such as bleach, Lysol, etc, can be very bad for you to breath. In every possible situation, we use the safest cleaning agents available.

I’m going to show you an easy way to remove spots 95% of the time. It works every time as long as you get to the spot as soon as it happens.

Why would a professional cleaner tell me how to clean spots myself? Well, there are a few reasons. First, if you have kids or pets in your home, you MUST do some type of interim cleaning. Most people who have pets get their carpet or rug cleaned once or twice every year. If a pet stain sits in your carpet for six months, it will be more difficult to remove. Carpet needs to be maintained on a regular basis.

Yes, carpet manufacturers recommend professional cleaning at least every year. Some manufacturers actually demand it be done in order to comply with their warranty. Failing to have professional cleaning may void your warranty.

But professional cleaning is only part of the maintenance. Carpet is kept beautiful by vacuuming at least twice per week and taking care of emergency spots IMMEDIATELY after they occur.

What type of machine should you purchase? The brand isn’t really as important as making sure you have something for an emergency. Get a small, hand-held type. The smaller it is, the more likely you are to get it out of the closet. Because let’s face it, these happenings are never convenient.

Even a shop vacuum that extracts liquid will do the trick. You can go to www.carpet-rug.com for machines that are certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute. Bissell, Little Devil, Little Green Machine, etc.

Here’s the trick:

1. The first thing you’ll need to do is extract all liquid matter from the fibers.
2. Next, treat the area with a neutral PH spot remover (call us or stop by for purchase)
3. Gently blot the spot with a cotton towel
4. If the stain is still there, repeat the process above
5. Last, rinse the spot with water from your spot machine

That’s it. It really is that simple.

Now, where people usually go wrong is they skip over step 1. STEP ONE is the most important step of them all. The initial extraction is where you remove the bulk of the spill or accident. Then, the spot remover is used to take care of what’s left behind.

As well, you can use a shop wet vacuum to remove the liquid matter. The only difference is you can’t rinse with the shop vacuum. Instead, take a glass of water and pour it over the area for a final rinse. Then, extract the rinse water with the shop vacuum.

That’s the magic tip. Try it. It works. And if you don’t already have a small spot machine or shop vacuum, go out and get one today.

Our recent newspaper ad has made huge waves in the local community.   Every time we run an ad of this nature, we get tons of calls from clients with all kinds of horror stories about other carpet cleaning companies.

Now, I’m not saying we’re the only good company in Pensacola, because there is another five or six companies who can do a decent job for you.  But out of the 60 carpet cleaners in town, there literally are only a few.

This isn’t limited to carpet cleaners.  It’s really a problem with every type of home service company that can be started with a small start up cost.  This includes tree services, fence services, painters, drywall contractors, carpenters, and the list goes on.

Just remember, you get what you pay for.  You can NOT get a good service for a cheap price.  It doesn’t exist.  And if it does exist where you do happen to catch this extreme rarity, it won’t last long.  The company will either go out of business because they’re not making enough money or they’ll raise their prices.

Sorry to rant on the subject, but now you know.

Most people don’t know this, but carpet makers recommend annual cleaning.  You’ve probably heard the old wives tale that says, “What as long as you can to clean your carpet.” 

The reasons behind this is many homeowners would have their carpet cleaned and they would look uglier after cleaning.  This is still true today if your carpet is cleaned improperly. 

Many years ago, dry cleaning and shampooing were a primary method of cleaning.  As well, many companies would perform steam cleaning, but they would do it correctly. 

Any method of carpet cleaning done improperly WILL DAMAGE YOUR CARPET and cause resoiling.  It’s not the method that’s important, it’s the technician who is cleaning your carpet.

If you pulled some poor unsuspecting soul off the street and gave him brand new, state-of-the-art cleaning machine, he would make a mess out of your carpet.  Unfortunately, that is what many carpet cleaning companies do.

The education and experience is as important as the method being used.  Yes, carpet makers recommend yearly cleaning.  Yes, the recommend truck mounted steam cleaning.  But they also recommend you have it done by certified, trained technicians.

And here’s a tip…the company with a great reputation, education, and experience isn’t going to charge you $99 for the whole house.  Sorry.  But you do get what you pay for.

If you’re reading this from Pensacola, I invite you to visit our homepage at www.CarpetCareTips.com for an estimate. 

If you’re from out of the area, go to www.carpetcaretips.com/findacleaner.htm to find a cleaner near you.

Here’s an article written by me that’s been circulated around the internet. 

Your elusive 12 week-old puppy walks into the living room. “Where have you been?” you ask, as if he will answer you. You immediately jump up and begin your search. Everything seems fine in the bedroom. Everything seems fine in the den. Everything is fine in the dining roo—oh no! Not your brand new Oriental rug. What are you going to do?

Time is of the essence. So, you grab your trusty bottle of miracle spot remover and spray it directly on the stain. You press a towel you grabbed from the kitchen into the stain. You rub and scrub. It doesn’t seem like it’s working, so you try more spot remover and you scrub harder. At least you’re trying to take care of the accident quickly, but now you’ve got a bigger problem. You have an even larger puddle that includes urine with spot remover added to it. Even worse, you’ve scrubbed the rug so hard the fibers look frayed and unraveled. Adding spot remover to a urine stain and brushing it in does not mean you are removing the stain. Where did the stain go? You’ve spread it in the backing of the rug.

4 Easy Steps To Emergency Pet Stain Removal

1. Do it NOW. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to remove. It isn’t always convenient to clean up a pet stain, but your life will be much easier if you take care of it immediately. The stain could become permanent in just a few hours, especially with some light colored fibers.

2. Use the right equipment. Use a small, hand-held carpet spotting machine or wet vacuum to extract the urine, vomit, or feces. If you find the stain while it is still damp, it is important to extract the liquid BEFORE rinsing or adding a spot remover. Some popular brands to look for are Bissel, Little Devil, and Little Green Machine. For a wet vacuum, go to any hardware department and ask for wet vacs or shop vacs.

3. Use the proper cleaning agent AFTER the liquid has been removed. Use a low residue spot remover if the stain is fresh or an enzyme spot remover if the stain has been in the fiber for more than a few hours. A mixture of white vinegar diluted at a 1 to 3 ratio will also work in a pinch. Never use bleach. If you are using an enzyme, allow it to dwell for at least 20 minutes or according to the label. An enzyme actually digests the bacteria associated with the odor in urine and works well for spots that have been in the carpet for more than a few hours.

4. Rinse the spot with plain water and extract the water with your wet vacuum or carpet-spotting machine. This can be done by rinsing with water from your spot removal machine or simply pouring a glass of water on the area and extracting with your wet vacuum.

What to do if these steps don’t work?

Often, the spot will be even bigger and darker when it returns. Many spot removers can leave excess residue in the carpet that attracts soil. If you experience this phenomenon of a mysterious spot returning, simply pour a cup of water on the area and extract with your carpet spotter or wet vacuum. If the spot returns again, rinse it again. To prevent this from happening in the future, use less cleaning agent. If you continue to have problems with returning spots, try a different spot removal product.

So now you’ve removed most of the stain and the odor. But, you notice a slight discoloration of yellow is still left behind. Hydrogen peroxide gentles fades discolorations from urine and vomit stains and is available in most drug stores. The solution should be misted on and allowed to dry over the course of an hour. This procedure should only be used after all attempts for removal have been made. As with any spot remover, make sure you pre-test the peroxide in an inconspicuous area before using.

The next time you don’t know where your puppy has been and he strolls into the living room to greet you, don’t be quite so alarmed. You’re now armed with the right information and right tools that will make taking care of the accident a breeze. No more worries. Your life will be so much easier.

We get tons of calls in the days following the 4th of July.  Many go something like, “My nephew spilled barbecue sauce all over my carpet”, or “My dog got into the rest of the ribs and got sick all over the living room.”

All of these problems can be cured.  The biggest aide in curing them is to have it done immediately.  Don’t let these types of stains sit in your carpet for more than 24 hours or they may become permanent.

Hello and welcome all friends and clients.  I will be occasionally posting useful information on spot removal, floor selection, and maintenance issues.

Please check back often.

Thanks.