I like the do it yourself (DYI) stuff on the Internet. There are some great options for Do it Yourself Carpet Cleaning on How to Sites, blogs, and  You Tube. When I see this information it brings out the mad scientist in me. When I mix something to use in my business Carpet Cleaning in Portland that works well and costs many times less than the commercial product, it makes me feel like I got away with something—like I beat the system or something. Am I the only one? The Internet has made DYI into an art form. You can find a DYI article or video on just about any topic.

If you keep up with my posts, you know that I have written a lot about stain removal for the Do It Yourselfer. I took formal training for my job; however, when I write, I like to see what other’s have said. I read the DYI sites on stain removal. There’s some interesting stuff out there. Let me leave it at that.

I read a DYI cleaning site today about which I wanted to comment. Take a look Vinegar the (almost) Only Cleaner You’ll Ever Need. Many of the DYI sites mention vinegar as a good cleaning agent for carpet. Vinegar is a weak acid. It can remove many odors. It also neutralizes soap that you might have used previously and will help with the residue problem. However, to claim that vinegar is the almost do all cleaner is a bit of stretch for me. Using vinegar on the wrong surface could lead to trouble

Think about all the things that can get on your carpet: gum, grease, blood, wine, milk, vomit, coffee, soda pop, red food coloring, beer, or pet urine odor. To expect any one cleaner to remove all those things  is expecting too much. It takes soap to dissolve petroleum based products. Natural red food coloring found in some many of our products require an alkaline solution to remove them. Vinegar is acidic. Some cleaners, including vinegar, can actually set a stain when used in the wrong way or at the wrong time. My common sense and my experience tells me that no one product can clean everything.

Having said that, should you avoid DYI cleaning products? No, I wouldn’t go that far. It’s fun and sometimes profitable to experiment in a mad scientist sort of way. However, I suggest to my customers that they experiment on a scrap piece of carpet. DYI products can ruin your carpet as fast as any commercial product. Test any products you make to see if they take the color out of carpet. See if they remove the stain.

Use common sense. Anyone claiming that a single product can clean anything is probably breathing too much of that product. If you want to write about a product that cleans like no other, then pick water. Water dissolves more things than any other liquid. Hey, if you can sell it, you could make some real money.

Be careful about mixing things. Don’t mix ammonia and bleach. It makes chlorine gas. Just because they call it natural doesn’t mean it is safe. Ammonia is quite dangerous. If your child or pet drinks it, it will require a trip to the emergency room. So have fun. Be careful. Take safety and carpet precautions.

Hope this information is helpful.  Until next time….Sean.

Have you ever watched people vacuum their carpet? Have you ever watched yourself vacuum? Most people vacuum like the house is on fire, and they have to get done before the roof caves in on them. The lowly vacuum cleaner ranks as one of the world’s most amazing machines, but it has its limits. You really can’t run the thing at mach speed over your carpet and expect that it will adequately clean. As a professional carpet cleaner providing Carpet Cleaning in Camas WA let me tell you some things I have seen and some suggestions for proper vacuuming tips.

• Clean Your machine before you clean your carpet. I can’t tell you how many people I have seen trying to clean their carpet with a full vacuum bag. You can’t do it. A good cleaning job depends on your machine’s ability to develop a good vacuum. Air has to flow through a vacuum for it to work. A full bag stops that air flow. I know that your bag probably has a line on it that tells you when to change it. I recommend that people change it long before you hit the line. Your vacuum is still cleaning,  but the power goes down something terrible the closer you get to that line. Bags cost a lot less than new carpets.
• Check the drive belt and the brushes. The drive  belt on a vacuum takes a terrific beating. Paper clips, button, and pennies wreak havoc on the drive belt of a vacuum. When the belts gets beat and loose, it loses vacuum. The brushes and beater bar can no longer do its job. The vacuum is no longer the machine it wants to be for you.
• Check the vacuum height. Most people set their machine too high or too low. Too high and the brushes and beater bar don’t lift the dirt for the vacuum. Too low and it slows the machine revolutions, vacuum, and lifting ability. I like to adjust it so you can just feel the carpet vibrate.
• Now take a deep breath. Vacuum the carpet slowly. I read somewhere that it can take four passes to pick up all the dirt in your carpet. Overlap your passes at least half. Go over the area slowly. Go over it several times. Take your time. Don’t wait until company is about to arrive before you vacuum the carpet.
• Vacuum the carpet a couple times a week at a minimum. Most people don’t vacuum enough. Look at that vacuum bag. See how much dirt goes into that paper bag. That’s a lot of dirt. The longer that dirt stays on your carpet the more damage it does. It literally cuts your carpet.

Another year has passed! Ok, I may be a little announcing that it is a new year, but hey it is still January 2012. Last year I received the Super Service Award from Angie’s List. This year I was honored to win the Angie’s List 2011 Super Service Award Portland Oregon

I want to thank all of my great clients and Angie’s List! It has been a long year and felt great at adding new clients. It is always fun to see my repeat clients, providing Carpet Cleaning in Portland.

Thank you!

Sean

Super Service Award 2011

Sean’s Carpet Care, 1631 NE Broadway St. #318, Portland, OR 97232

Red looks nice on Santa Claus, fire engines, and doors. It doesn’t look so good in our eyes, on our blouse, or in the middle of the living room carpet. Face it. Red surrounds us. We find it in our cough syrup, our drinks, and our birthday cake. No wonder we sometimes find it in places where we would rather not find it. While providing carpet cleaning in Portland Oregon and find myself seeing red more than I care to admit. Today I want to talk red  carpet stains with you. The truth…Not all reds are created equal. It pays to know your reds because it will make the difference between getting a stain out of the carpet or having to look at it for a long, long time.

Let me suggest a great article about removing red stains.  As pointed out in the article red color comes from two sources:

1. Synthetic–The red that comes from artificial dyes. Red dyes appear in everything from popsicles to furniture polish. Your favorite barbecue sauce probably has red dye as does your cherry yogurt.  Have a cough? Take the syrup in the bathroom not the bedroom because undoubtedly your red cough syrup has red dye. Are the kids eating Lucky Charms ™ as a treat in the living room? Yes, you guessed it. Lucky Charms ™ uses red dye. And just because it isn’t red doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have red dye in it. Producers mix red with other colors to get the color they want in a product. When you start to clean the stain with water, you may be surprised to see red.
2. Organic–The red from natural sources like grapes, tomatoes, and blood is an organic red. Just because something is organic doesn’t necessarily mean that it is easier to remove. Organic stains can prove just as troublesome as synthetic red especially if you try to remove organic red using cleaning products designed for synthetic red.

We live in a quickly changing world.  Let me give you example. Have you ever bought a cold medicine that really worked well for you and then gone back to the store six months later with another cold and been unable to find that same medicine? It’s probably there. However, in the six months between colds they have changed the packaging, maybe the formula a little bit, and put it in a different place on the shelves. It takes you twenty minutes of reading the small print on the back of little boxes to get close to what you had before.  Retail capitalizes on change. They want you to think that they always have something new, better, faster, bigger, or brighter.

Sometimes with the constant change our society forgets some of the good things we had going for us in the past.  As a carpet cleaner in Portland and Vancouver WA I encounter constant change even in the cleaning industry.  I embrace the change for the most part. Most of the new products and processes work well. However, I try not to forget the older, good products in the constant onslaught of the new stuff.

Our ancestors didn’t have the constant stream of new products that we encounter. They learned to use the same products over and over in creative ways. Often they made their own cleaning products. They knew how to make soap from animal fat and lye.  Have you heard of “washing soda?” Don’t feel bad if you haven’t.  It’s one of those older but good products that has gone by the wayside in our quest for unending innovation. With carpet cleaning in Portland Oregon many people like to use green carpet cleaning methods. And with other cleaning needs around the home you also may need solutions for green cleaning around the home. There are some great homemade green cleaning solutions available. Even some that have been forgotten.

What is washing soda? Sometimes they call it soda ash. In the US they make it from minerals mined primarily in Wyoming.  Washing soda has many uses.  They use it in the manufacturing of glass, the softening of water, in taxidermy, in our toothpaste, and for balancing of chemical in swimming pools.  Oh, did I say washing soda.  Washing soda, calcium carbonate by its official name, happens to be an excellent alkaline cleaner used for washing.

Some spills, like artificial red dye found in hundreds of products, require an alkaline cleaner like washing soda to remove the stain.  Alkaline refers to the base pH balance of a liquid as opposed to a acidic pH.  Plain water or acidic water will not remove red dye.  Let me give you a link to a website that shows you how to make an alkaline cleaner using washing soda.  If you need to remove a stain from a red popsicle, red cough syrup, or red soda pop spill on the carpet, alkaline cleaner is the thing you want. Where do you get washing soda? Arm and Hammer ™ still makes washing soda. You can get it at many of the popular discount stores. If you don’t find it there, try a swimming pool company or your local glass blower.

You can buy many commercial stain removers at your local store. However, they don’t usually separate them by pH scale. You just have to trust that it removes what it claims to remove. When you make you own alkaline cleaner, you at least know that you’re using the right solution for your stain.  Most of the new products on the market do a great job; however, don’t forget some of the old standbys. Also, there are some great articles that teach you how to make Homemade Green Cleaners.

Hope this information is helpful.  Until next time…..Sean.

Have you ever wondered why your Do it Yourself pet urine odor removal secrets have failed? Have you had a hard time trying to remove pet urine odor from your carpets? Often, many people think that carpet cleaning will fix the pet urine odor in the carpet. If you look around on the web or in pet stores you’ll find an abundant supply of pet urine odor removal secrets. I am a professional carpet cleaner providing Carpet Cleaning in Portland. The truth…I rarely see these products work on removing pet urine. The problem is that most products only treat the surface of the pet urine. When someone calls to ask about carpet cleaning I always ask, “Is the carpet or is there pet urine?” I know that once water is added to pet urine the pet urine odor will return immediately and carpet cleaning alone will not fix the urine odor. See the video and watch what is in the pad of the carpet and what needs to be removed.

Now you can see what your up against. The truth is that the pet urine in this is an extreme example of pet urine in carpet, but it happens to be this color every so often. There is always pet urine in the pad  and unless it is treated then the pet urine is still there.

Before spending too much money on Do It Yourself Pet Urine treatment it may be better to hire a professional experienced with pet urine odor removal. I provide Pet Urine Odor Removal in Portland

Hope this information is helpful…..Until next time….Thank you…..Sean!

I did it again this year. I ate too much, and I’m thinking about getting back into shape. All the gyms in town have their best business in January. Everyone feels the old belt tighten. New Year comes. We all make the New Year’s resolution, call the gym, and start the process of figuring out the best way to excercise. Those of us who would rather suffer at home go with the home gym. The industry has come up with some pretty good equipment for home exercise. Before you start moving the weight set into your spare room, you might want to do some figuring.

I provide carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon and know a couple things about carpets. Most carpet pads are designed for walking on not exercise. Carpet pads if too thick will actually damage your carpet. You end up walking through the carpet rather than on it. Manufacturers make carpet pads thick enough to cushion the carpet but thin enough to support it. Exercise pads have a different purpose. Exercise pads need to cushion your body from the floor.

An exercise pad gives you cushion. It also protects your floor from the exercise equipment. I wouldn’t recommend setting up your weight set on your new carpet or hardwood floor. Many of the gyms and sport’s stores sell a small rolling mat for exercise. They have great portability but don’t have much cushion to them. Their small size makes them inconvenient for serious exercise. The small mat always ends up in the wrong place. You spend half your time moving the thing around. It’s like sleeping in a too small bed.  The small mat also does nothing to protect your floor from the equipment.

You really need a large mat which covers the area under the equipment plus a surplus for floor exercises. Many of the gyms have gone to one-piece, dense rubber padding. Rubber provides the best cushion and slip resistance. It lasts forever. The exercise world has taken their cue from the carpet industry. The better carpets use rubber mats under them. You can get rubber padding in many different forms.

• Rubber Rolls–You can buy rubber padding in large rolls like that found under a carpet. Make sure you get a thickness and density sufficient to protect your tailbone from those hundred sit ups.  Typically you glue or tape this kind of padding to the floor. It would work best over a tile, concrete, or hardwood floor.

• Rubber Tiles–They come in squares like regular floor tiles. You glue them to the floor one at a time.  Of course, these work best over regular sub flooring.  It’s a great option for permanent exercise room.

• Rubber Interlocking Mats–Many of the better gyms use rubber interlocking mats. The mats looks like giant puzzle pieces made from thick rubber. You simply fit them together. One could use interlocking mats over a carpet. If you move, you can take them with you to the next house.  They have good flexibility even if you don’t.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time….Sean.

Bowl game after bowl game and then the Super Bowl hits the airwaves right about now.  That means it’s time for company, parties, and good times.  I see  good chips and good beer in your future.  Sometime in this frenzy of football and fun the beer will end up on your carpet. I call it beer pong gone wrong. Beer doesn’t present a bad clean up problem as far as carpet stains go. Beer usually assaults the olfactory senses. In short, it smells. I find it helpful to understand the chemistry to removing carpet stains and spills.

Beer has many enemies which causes it to go stale and stinky:

• Sunlight works against beer. You ever wonder why they put it in a dark bottle. Like peroxide beer doesn’t like light. Sunlight makes beer stale. Sunlight on your rug does the same thing. It will cause that bowl beer to go stale right in your carpet. It will smell like the local bar after 2 am.
• Temperature makes a stellar beer stale. That’s why they keep it cool. Warm beer is stale beer. Stale beer is stinky beer. Of course, the temperature of our carpets lean toward the stinky side.
• Bacteria makes beer stale. Bacteria is the most abundant living thing on the earth. It’s everywhere including your carpet. That bacteria will make the beer on your carpet stink.
• Air is the final enemy of beer. They pack beer under pressure in a bottle for a reaso n. Air makes beer stale. If you take the air our of your living room, your beer will remain fresh in the carpet; however, I think I might have an easier way.
• Alcohol works in your beer’s favor. Alcohol fights the above enemies. The higher alcohol content beers last longer and will take longer before they stink. Light beer may not be light on smell.

You’ve heard the old adage that says, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” The adage applies to carpet cleaning specials as well. I provide carpet cleaning in Vancouver Washington and I have hear about and seen many unbelievable carpet cleaning specials. If you see an advertisement that is way below the average for your area, it’s probably too good to be true. In fact, I wouldn’t suggest hiring someone based on just price or a special.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that most people have budgets regarding carpet cleaning. Carpet cleaning specials can be very tempting. Hey, I shop specials on many services and products I use. If a vendor wants to entice me to buy, and they have a good product or service, then yes, I will take advantage of a special. However, I think the sequence in which you approach a special makes all the difference. I have heard a few horror stories about people who have selected a carpet “professional” on the basis of a phone quote only to have the guy start throwing in added expenses when he gets inside the home.

How can you take advantage of the specials without getting sucked into some kind of unethical scam?

• Start with reputable company. I wouldn’t go for the special on your first cleaning. Use the first cleaning to test the company. Did they live up to their promises? Did they clean your carpet? Were there hidden costs? Are they trained, certified, and bonded? Did they have unbiased references to the quality of their work? Did they have the latest in cleaning equipment or did they show up in a beater truck? Do they have a guarantee? Do you feel you got your money’s worth?
• Ask them about their specials. Almost every carpet cleaning company has specials. I did a quick scan of the Web under Google images. Here’s some of the specials you can expect:

1. Free pre spotting
2. Free carpet protector ants
3. Free deodorizing
4. A free room or area with whole house cleaning
5. A reduced price for x number of rooms
6. A percentage off the total price if over x amount of dollars
7. A seasonal special
8. On-line specials
9. Buy one get one free

• Read the fine print. Almost every special has restrictions. Some are for first-time customers only. Some are for a certain time of year or for a limited time. Others require a minimum purchase or a certain number of rooms or area. If you use a coupon or special, make sure that you actually qualify before you agree to anything.
• Realize that sometimes specials aren’t that special. Don’t get in a hurry. The major companies offer specials year round. For example, look at this special from COIT. I’m not saying that you should necessarily use COIT. I just pulled them up as an example. They have year-round specials. Just type in your zip code and the website will tell the offers in your areas right now.
• Use the special that works for you. If you don’t want deodorizing, then it doesn’t make much sense to sign up for a special that gives you free deodorizing. However, if you have a party coming up this Christmas, use the special that gives a discount for winter deep cleaning.
• Get a winter cleaning. I recently wrote a post about the advantages of winter deep cleaning. It makes really, really good sense. Many companies have time and will offer better specials in the winter. I’d certainly consider a cleaning that lasts nine months versus the one that last three days to 3 months.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time…Sean.

There’s a funny article floating around on the Net entitled How to Prepare for Your New Puppy. I would strongly encourage you to read it before you buy a Christmas puppy. Allow me to quote some of the steps:

1. Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around barefoot in the dark.
2. Immediately upon waking, stand outside in the rain and dark saying, “Be a good puppy, go potty now – hurry up – come on, lets go!
3. Cover all your best suits with dog hair….
4. Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor.
5. Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV program and run to the door shouting, “No, no! Do that outside!”

You get the idea. Owning a puppy has its drawbacks. Most of us get in over our heads quickly. The article goes on to say that owning a dog represents a ten to fifteen year commitment at a cost of $2000 a year. It takes a couple years to house train a puppy, and in that time they can do much damage to your home including your carpet. However, owning a pet can have many benefits if you plan ahead.

Carpets and puppies don’t mix. If possible, keep your puppy on a tile or cement floor. Have a barrier that keeps your puppy off the carpet. Most trainers recommend crate training early on in a dog’s life. Crate training gives the dog a place of its own and gives the owner a measure of control over the dog’s movements. If you have the crate on the carpet during a family time, put plastic under the crate to catch any pet urine accidents that may occur inside the crate.

Even with careful planning and training an accident will eventually happen. The secret to pet urine removal is to blot up the urine right away. With a solid accident scrape up the area with a piece of cardboard or old spatula. You must get the liquid up before it soaks through to the pad underneath. Use a clean white, dry rag. Step on it to get out all the liquid. Get it as dry as possible.

Use vinegar to neutralize the urine. Spray the area. Blot with a clean, dry rag. Repeat several times. It’s important to neutralize the urine to prevent odor. The vinegar helps with the odor and also acts a deterrent to future urination. You may want to consider as part of your dog ownership an investment in a regular deep clean of your carpets.

I provide carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon, so I understand the difficulty in pet urine removal. I encounter urine odor all the time and have invested heavily in equipment designed for the purpose of pet urine removal. Many of the over-the-counter urine cleaners depend on chemicals to combat urine odor. They work for awhile, but the odor often returns. Professionals know that you have to remove the source of an odor to really get rid of it. I bought a device called the Water Claw that sucks the dissolved urine clear down to the sub floor.

Hope this information helps. Until next time…Sean.