Sean's Carpet Care

Have you recently had a spot or stain on the carpet? Have you searched around the web for help? Isn’t it amazing at how much information there is to remove  spots and spills from your carpet and upholstery? Pet Urine removal is also a hot topic with tons of supposed secret information on how to treat pet urine.

As a professional carpet cleaning in Portland I am amazed at how much mis-information there is on the web. Some of the information I learn that my cleints have tried has often made spots worse or improssible to remove. The truth…using the correct chemistry to remove a spot can keep it from becoming a permanent stain. Use the wrong chemistry on a spot or stain and the spot can become permanent.

Everyday, I see things done with carpet, upholstery, counter tops, tile, etc. that cause major, often unrepairable, damage. With a little education on how to take the best care of your carpet, upholstery, tile & grout, and more you can keep your home in great condition.

What I’ve Learned – Secret Carpet Cleaning Information – For My Clients

Helpful Tips to Keep Your Home Looking It’s Best

Tip #1 – CAUTION Putting Area Rugs Over Carpet - You want to put a beautiful new area rug on top of the carpet in an area of your home.

Ok, but please make sure the rug does not have latex in the backing. Latex releases a gas called BHT that over-time naturally causes irreparable damage to the carpet turning it yellow. For example, the latex back on new shower mats is white and turns yellow over time. The BHT gas sometimes can also turn vinyl floors yellow.

Tip #2 – Acids Etch Natural Stone Counters/Floors- Natural stone counter tops and floors are prone to etching when exposed to acids, such as lemons. It is important to have these surfaces sealed. Often contractors skip sealing natural stone counter tops. Even after sealing natural stone surfaces can still etch, so be careful letting any type of acid sit on these surfaces.

Tip #3 – Unsealed Tile - Tile floors, counter tops, and showers are often left unsealed by contractors.  We can bring these areas back to life and seal them to help keep foreign debris from penetrating the grout.

Tip #4 – Prep A Repair Piece (Just in case J) - If you have new spare pieces of your carpet then I would recommend taking an approximately 12 x 24 inch piece and placing it where it will get lots of foot traffic (preferably shoe traffic). This will serve as great piece of replacement carpet that will blend in with the original carpet, if needed. After about a year of walking on this carpet have it cleaned and then put away.

Tip #5 – A Reason Why Dogs Like Certain Rugs – Do you have a dog that likes to pee on certain rugs and not others? The reason some dogs pee on one rug consistently and not the others is because the rug they favor may be made out of wool. Of course the dog has not seen a lamb running around the house, but the wool causes the dog to think there is a lamb near. The dog thinks, “Hmm…No lamb is coming into my home and taking over.” The dog pees on the rug to mark its territory. Bleach dissolves wool. So if you carefully remove one fiber from the rug and put some bleach on it and it dissolves then you know it is wool! Do Not put bleach on the rug.

Tip #6 – Microfiber Upholstery – Microfiber is a fabulous material that is very durable. This fabric is imitation suede, which is a compliment. If you have a spot on this type of fabric make sure to BLOT the spill. NEVER rub the spot or you can permanently damage the fabric turning it from a suede look to a leather look. Microfiber is not like carpet and cannot be re-dyed.

With the information above you should be better equipped to take the best care of your home. I found a great article on AOL that discusses How to Avoid The Top 5 Cleaning Faux Pas to help provide the best home cleaning tips. P.S. Make sure to read the comments section. There are some great tips there as well.

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

Everyday I travel throughout Portland and Vancouver, WA providing cleaning services in  a variety of homes. In my Portland upholstery cleaning business I often notice some nice furniture with some wood parts that are in need of minor repair. I do not specialize in furniture repair, but I just received my daily eHow article which discusses How to Repair Wood Furniture With Water Damage.

This is a great article that covers Do it Yourself furniture repair and I thought I would share it with everyone who reads my blog.

Hope this info is helpful…Talk to you soon…Sean

Upholstery is not Carpet! Ok, this piece if information may seem obvious and it kinda it, except upholstery should not be cleaned the same as carpet. Upholstery cleaning requires special tools and special equipment to properly and safely.

Using the same cleaning solutions on upholstery can be disasterous. Often, upholstery is made from blended fabrics that are delicate and contain natural fibers. Carpet on the other hand is usually made of only one type of fiber and the cleaning process is straight forward once the carpet cleaner knows the particular fiber it is made from.

There is a lot of information on Do it Yourself Upholstery Cleaning. There is some great information out there, but please be careful in which information you trust. In my Portland upholstery cleaning business I have seen many ruined pieces of upholstery due to improper cleaning. Usually, improper cleaning has been performed by homeowners. The link for Do it Yourself Upholstery cleaning is one way to clean upholstery, but please be careful making sure it is suitable for your fabric. If you have any questions, please give me a call…Sean

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