Archive for February, 2010

Silk Upholstery Fabric and Cleaning Tips

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Have you thought about purchasing some new upholstered furniture and wonder what type of fiber you should choose? In my experience, as the owner of a Portland upholstery cleaning business, it is rare for most consumers to consider the cleaning process required to clean their new found upholstered furniture to complete the interior remodeling project. Did you know that some types of fabrics provide health benefits?

Purchasing silk covered upholstered furniture can provide some great benefits over other types of upholstery fabric.

Here is a great article that discusses the advantages of silk covered furniture

Do It Yourself Tile Grout Cleaning

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

New looking tile and grout is a wonderful thing. It provides great comfort knwoing that your tile counter tops, tile showers, and tile floors are clean.

Two Choices

The two options available with your tile and grout is either to hire a professional tile and grout cleaner or do it yourself  tile and grout cleaning.

You can hire a Portland tile and grout cleaner or another professional tile and grout cleaner in your area. Everyday, I see tile and grout showers, counter tops, and floors that need some serious cleaning attention. Hiring a professional tile and grout cleaner can bring your tile back to life like new!

If are willing to do some hard work on your hands and knees you can clean your own tile and grout.

Here is a great tile cleaning article that discusses the options for cleaning all different types of tile including, ceramic tile, slate, travertine, and marble.

Help Dirty Traffic Lanes

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Have you looked down at the dirty traffic lanes and wondered what caused them?

Okay, it may seem obvious that soil is causing the traffic lanes to look dirty, but is it?

When soil is left in the traffic lanes they begin to sand the fibers and dull the fibers. Cleaning will remove the soil, but nothing fixes fibers that have been scratched from abrasion.

To understand the damage abrasion causes to carpet imagine this simple example. Imagine holding a clear acrylic tube. Half of the tube is clear, like new, and the other half is scratched. The difference between the two ends of the tube is that one end is shiny and the other end is dull. Also, there is the same amount of plastic on each end of the tube. This is important point that we’ll get to in a minute.

Now, when carpet gets scratched from abrasion it becomes dull. The dull areas of the carpet reflects light differently than the new or lightly traveled areas. So after removing the soil from the carpet it will still look a little darker than the other areas of the carpet that have not suffered from abrasion.

Abrasion can be mild to severe and is not actually wear. Remember where I stated that the same amount of plastic is on each end of the tube? Well the fiber that has been scratched has the same amount of fiber when it was new. The only difference now is that the fiber has been scratched, but there still is about the same amount of fiber when it was new. Therefore this situation is not wear. Now you know the difference between wear and abrasion.

See the reason why is is a good idea to have your carpets cleaned at least every 12-months? If you need help with your carpets, please give your local Portland Carpet Cleaner a call at 503-922-4875 or info@seanscarpetcare.com

Keep Carpet Looking It’s Best

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Everyday I see carpets that let’s say, “Need some attention”. It is sad when I see good quality carpet, that I know if regularly cleaned by a professional carpet cleaner, would have stayed looking like new for years. Instead the carpets are cleaned maybe every 3 years or so. When carpet is not cleaned regularly fibers are prone abrasion and distortion, indoor air quality suffers, the carpet’s warranty can be void, and more. The best way to protect the large investment in the carpet in your home is to practice proper carpet maintenance. Here is a great article written by Kimberly Janeway that has some great advice to keep carpet looking its best.

If you need help restoring your carpet to like new condition, please give your local Portland carpet cleaner a call at 503-922-4875 or e-mail

Home this information is helpful,

Sean

What is Carpet Wear?

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

When you look at your carpet is the wear obvious? Hmmm…well what is meant by the term, “wear” as it relates to carpet?Actually wear as it pertains to carpet is missing fiber from the carpet pile.

Often what is thought of as wear is really not wear! Surprised? Maybe many professional carpet cleaners do not understand the difference between wear and abrasion either, so don’t feel bad.

What is thought of as wear is actually called pile distortion. The fibers are no longer square and their shape has changed. Because their shape has changed they reflect differently and seem to look a little darker that the fibers that are undistorted. Since they are now always darker they look darker even after cleaning.

Hiring a professional carpet cleaner to maintain your carpets every 6-18 months will minimize the chance of having distored and damaged finbers.

At Sean’s Carpet Care, a Portland and Vancouver carpet cleaning company recommends having your carpets cleaned at least every 12-months.

Important Reasons to Seal Tile and Grout

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

You just bought a new home or had new tile installed. It would be a good idea to make sure that the tile and grout is sealed. Often contractors do not seal the new tile. Unsealed tile and grout leaves your tile prone to staining.

Here is a great article to further explain the benefits of sealing tile.

For help with your Portland tile and grout sealing needs, please give me a call at 503-922-4875 / 360-901-8686 or e-mail info@seanscarpetcare.com

Do It Yourself Terrazzo Countertop Cleaning

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Terrazzo tile is rare to find in many Portland and Vancouver Washington homes.

This type of tile has some special cleaning requirements like natural stone. Did you know…that unsealed terrazzo tile, like natural stone, can be damaged with simple acid from a lemon?

You want to make sure to that this type of tile is properly sealed, so there is time to wipe any acids that may spill on the tile. Remember, even with properly sealed natural stone and tile, you only have minimal amount of time to remove the acid before there is damage.

Here is a great article that explains how to do it yourself terrazzo tile cleaning.

If you need assistance from a professional Portland terrazzo tile cleaning company, please give me a call at 503-922-4875 / 360-901-8686 or e-mail info@seanscarpetcare.com

Do It Yourself Tile and Grout Cleaning Tips

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Regular maintenance of your tile and grout is paramount to keeping it looking like new and beautiful.

I understand that sometimes homeowners like to attempt to do their own cleaning. To help, I try and provide some useful tips to help make their project turn out the best possible.

I have found an article that may help you accomplish your tile cleaning goals.

In reality hiring a professional tile and grout cleaner is the best and sometimes the only way to get your tile looking like new. Here a link to my tile and grout cleaning website

If you need assistance with professional Portland tile and grout cleaning, please give me a call at 503-922-4875 / 360-901-8686 or e-mail info@seanscarpetcare.com

Tile and Grout Cleaning Tools and Tips

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Ground in dirt and stains can ruin the look of your beautiful tile and grout. With the proper cleaning tools your tile and grout can be brought back to life.

One of the main things to consider is wether you need to hire a professional to clean your tile and grout or wether you can do it yourself.

There are a variety of cleaning tools available to the home-owner to take care of their tile cleaning maintenance. If the tile and grout become dirty beyond the skills of an average homeowner then it is time to call a professional.

Here is a great article that details the various tile cleaning tools available to clean tile. Not all of these tools are available to the average homeowner.

Click this link to learn how a Professional Portland tile and grout cleaner uses high pressure grout cleaning to safely blast the grout clean

Tips – Do it Yourself Carpet Steam Cleaning

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

There are many good Do It Yourself carpet home steam cleaners available on the market today. Yes, I admit I own a professional Portland carpet cleaning business, but some of these carpet cleaners do a great job in certain circumstances. If you are going to do it yourself I would at least like to give a few pointers to help.

Here is a great article I found that explains the basic procedures to Do It Yourself  carpet steam cleaning.

If you are going to attempt to do your own carpet cleaning then I have a couple of pointers in addition to those mentioned in the article above.

Points

  • Do not use more soap thean needed. As a general rule less is more with carpet cleaning.
  • Take extra steps to rinse the carpet thoroughly to get as much soap out as possible.
  • Make sure the cleaning solution you are using is safe for YOUR carpet.
  • Do not put wood or metal objects back on the carpet until it is completely dry!

Hope these tips are helpful…If you have any questions, please give me a call at 503-922-4875 / 360-901-8686 or e-mail info@seanscarpetcare.com