If tearing out the carpe makes you feel better than do what is best for you. I am not trying to change your mind about wanting hardwood in favor of carpet. I always enjoy educating my new customers about their homes.  Let me refer to a post that talks about the relationship of carpet to allergies. I acknowledge that the Shaw Carpet company could have a profit motive swaying their opinions. However, I have never read a convincing medical study proving that carpet makes allergies worse. And I have read several convincing studies showing that carpets could actually help alleviate allergy symptoms.

The Shaw site makes a good point when they say the presence of allergens does not in itself pose a hazard. The allergen must be inhaled for exposure to occur, and in order for inhalation to occur, the allergen must be airborne. Numerous studies have shown that in fact more allergens get into the air off the surface of a hardwood floors than off the surface of carpet. The article cites the 2002 North Carolina study where airborne contaminants, possible sources of allergens, were higher over the tiled floors than over carpet.

How can that be? We as moving bodies create our own wind. On bicycles and sailboats they call it “apparent wind.” Your body moving through a room displaces air and creates its own wind. That wind picks up dust and allergens off the floor. The same thing happens when your fan, air conditioner, or furnace kick on. Allergens in the air cause the allergic reactions we experience. A carpet actually traps many of the allergens within its fibers and prevents their flight to your nose. Consequently, the allergens over a tiled floor are higher than allergens over a carpeted floor.

Maybe allergists should be advocating carpets. I provide carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon. Whether you have carpet or hardwood nothing really replaces old-fashioned cleaning. If you clean the allergens from the surface, you don’t have worry about breathing or touching those allergens regardless of their source. We really can’t do much about allergens at this time of year. They ride the wind, stick to our shoes, and come in with the dog. Start with the vacuum. Vacuum a several times a day if necessary. Using a clean bag and filter in the vacuum. Set up a hot water extraction date for carpets. Dust hardwoods floors with an approved hardwood cleaner. Change the filter in the air conditioner and stove exhaust fan. Dust the entire house. Rinse off your window screens. Keep the windows closed as much as possible. Haachoo! Whoops, I’d better follow my own advice.

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

Sean’s Carpet care offers carpet cleaning in Vancouver WA, upholstery cleaning, tile cleaning, rug cleaning

Girls softball offers exciting competition and great learning opportunities for the girls on the team. After all Team Rampage stands for Respect + Ability + Motivation + Positive Attitude + Goals = Excellence

Go Team Rampage!

In spite of the thermometer I know that summer will soon come our way. Let’s see it’s twenty-three days until Memorial Day—not that I’m counting mind you. For most of us Memorial Day signals that start of summer unless you live in Portland. I like Memorial Day. It’s a good time to reflect on life, death, sacrifice and freedom. The holiday has existed in the South for many years. Families often gathered in May to honor family members that had passed. They often had picnics at the cemetery grounds with church services and pot-luck meals. The practice gained more popularity during the Civil War in the South and eventually spread to the North after wards.

Many of the trappings and activities of Memorial Day have carried on to the present. The day starts a season of outdoor activities which include flowers, picnics, barbeque, friends, family, and celebration. We made it through another winter, hooray! With the activities comes a host of unseen things. Memorial Day starts the season of bugs, dirt, grass, fertilizer, pollen and insecticides. Boy, can I rain on a parade, huh? Sorry, about that. During this time of year we open up the windows to the air and the doors to our friends. In comes pollen and all those other nasties I mentioned.

I get very busy this time of year. My customers like to start out the summer with a fresh start and a clean hosue. I understand and agree. It feels good to clean the floors, put on fresh paint, cut the yard, wash the windows, and clean the carpet, upholstery, and maybe the tile and grout. It’s like a fresh start. Unfortunately, at the very time we clean the most we also subject our house to its highest use. The kids run in and out. We have the neighbors over for a barbeque. Fertilizer, insecticides, dirt and grass get tracked in at this time of year. Should we not clean in the spring knowing that things will get dirty so soon?

No, I’m not suggesting that we skip spring cleaning. In fact, we should use spring as a jump start to a season of summer cleaning. Martha Stewart – An Owner’s Guide To Rug and Carpet Care has some very helpful cleaning tips to make the spring cleaning last a little longer. She recommends a no-shoes rule accompanied by sturdy throw rugs at the door. She also leaves a vacuum out near the door where she vacuums the entryway a dozen times a day. Now that seems a bit much. However, she limits those passes to four feet pass the doorway. It makes sense when you say it that way. Get the dirt before it tracks further. She vacuums several times a day in the other areas too. It really doesn’t take that long to vacuum if you have the machine at the ready. She recommends a good hot-water extraction deep clean. I advise my customers to get a deep clean at the end of the season. You have to live on that same carpet all winter long.

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

We talked to Marion, the carpet lady. Her and her husband had worked in the retail carpet business for thirty years. She knew her stuff. While there I took some time to look at their area rugs. They had a beautiful selection of rugs in any kind of style and pattern imaginable. It surprised me to see that they ran in the hundreds and not thousands of dollars like some handmade wool rugs. When I expressed my surprise, Marion replied, “and these rugs are easy to clean too.”

I looked for a tag. Marion broke in again, “These are polypropylene rugs.” Most people would think these rugs were made from wool.

“Is that Olefin?” I asked. (I provide rug cleaning in Portland)

“You know carpets.” She said with some surprise.

We left for the car. I told my friend on the way home more about Olefin. Marion was basically correct regarding the ease of maintenance of Olefin rugs; however, she didn’t reveal everything. Olefin does clean easily in most cases, and it resists most stains except one. Olefin has problems with oil. Oil tends to seep deep into the fibers and proves difficult to remove. Even body oils will stain an Olefin carpet. I wouldn’t recommend Olefin anywhere near a kitchen.

Some Concise Facts about Olefin

• As mentioned above it resists most stains except oil.
• Although Olefin wears well, it mats more easily than other carpets.  Consequently, it may look worn even when it has lots of life left. Wandering around the Web I came across a good review on Olefin rugs. The writer made a good point about Olefin. He said that it works reasonably well in a closed loop, tight-twist style of carpet. However, it looks bad quickly in cut pile because of the matting and staining problem.
• It holds color well. Manufacturers can dye some carpets after they have made them. You can’t do that with Olefin, and so they include the color right into the fiber during extrusion, which is called solution dying. That actually works out well because they tend to hold their color better than other carpets.

Olefin has its place in the carpet market. If you have short pockets and need an  inexpensive rug in an area away from oil, then Olefin would probably work for you. I wouldn’t necessarily buy a plush Olefin rug. Stick to the closed loop indoor/outdoor kind of carpet and it will probably work well for you. I can imagine an Olefin carpet in a playroom or family room. They can take wear and abuse. If it gets stained, you can easily replace it. These rugs are also able to withstand pet urine treatment, if needed!

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

Sometimes I feel like I have superhero powers with my business carpet cleaning in Portland, but I can’t change Mother’s Day to its originally intended purposes. What should Mother’s Day look like?  Love takes several forms that depend on the beliefs of the person receiving that love. A few years ago a book came out called “Love Languages.” It seems that we all view love in different ways. Some people want to hear it. “I love you.’” Others want to see it in some act of service that says “I love you.” Some want words of affirmation. Touch mean love to some. Just spend time with me. That shows me love. Receiving gifts like cards or candy is only one of the love languages.

You might consider asking mom what shows love to her? Okay, it was just an idea. She probably won’t tell you or maybe she doesn’t really know. Start listening my friends. She may drop a hint. Cover your bases. I’d get a card, candy, and flowers just to be safe. However, this year maybe you can get a little closer to Mom’s love language. I came across a carpet site called interestingly enough Mom’s Carpet Cleaning. that has some insights for us. The site had an interesting survey result about mothers.  “According to the results of a recent survey, ‘a clean house’ was #2 on the Mother’s Day wish list. (#1 was time with family).”

I could go into a shameless plug here about carpet cleaning. A “ clean house” could mean many things like new paint, washed windows,or scrubbed floors. In my experience I have found that large surfaces make the biggest impression on our minds both conscious and unconscious. We live in a house with a stained carpet and think little of it. However, it affects us. Clean and organized makes us feel better. Dirty and disorganized makes our world feel a little out of control.

A “clean house” may mean clean carpet. A clean carpet makes a big difference to the eye and to the psyche. I just throw it out there as a possible gift for mom that says, “I love you.” If you look around, you might find several carpet cleaning companies offering a Mother’s Day Special. I wouldn’t suggest you buy on the basis of the special itself. Check the carpet cleaner out to make sure they have a good reputation. Are they listed with the Carpet and Rug Institute and Angie’s List? Can you contact people for whom they’ve worked. If they check out, then maybe a good deep cleaning of Mom’s carpet might be the best Mother’s Day gift ever. Happy Mother’s Day!

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

Take a look at the aforementioned link about soap. I think you will find it fascinating how soap works to break down soil in your carpet. Let me see if I can interpret. In the old days pioneers used to mix animal fat with a lye to produce glycerine and soap.  Lye came from soaking ashes from their fire in water. The caustic lye is potassium hydoxide. You can see that it took some significant time to make soap. Chemists call this process saponification. You don’t have to remember that term. There is no test at the end of this post.

Our pioneer parents had no idea about how or why this soap worked. It amazes me that they came up with the idea of mixing ash water with animal fat. Why would anyone do that? Regardless, it worked. Chemists have studied soap and can now give us some idea the hows and whys of its inner workings. The soap molecule is a long chain (a string) of organic elements linked together. The molecule has one end with a negative charge that just happens to like water.  The other end of the soap molecule hates water.  The water hating end of the soap molecules come together at a single point leaving the water lovers floating.  In the end they form a ball with the haters on the inside and the lovers on the out. If my wordy description has failed,  you might want to take a look at the picture. They call this little ball of haters and lovers a micelle. I realize that I have given these molecules human characteristics, but you get the idea.

The micelle float through the water looking for like-minded molecules. It so happens that grease also hates water. The micelle proceeds to bring the grease molecules into the center of their little water hating world.  Grease molecules actually get trapped in the center of the soap micelle. To our eye it appears that the soap dissolved the grease. In any case the soap micelle have made it possible for water and grease to coexist. You’ve heard the phrase “oil and water don’t mix.” It’s true unless you have soap micelles on the scene.  I view soap micelles as little bridges between the world of water and the world of grease–peacemakers if you will.  I don’t know if you could impress anyone at a cocktail party with this information, but you have to admit it’s pretty cool.  Do me this favor.  The next time you remove a grease stain from your floor, be thankful for your little micelle friends.

See how important cleaning with hot water extraction is for your carpet. Without soap you would still have some dirty carpet.

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

If you can afford wool, I would not recommend that you buy it. Wool will attract your pets for reasons you won’t like. Pets seem to smell the sheep scent of the wool and want to compete with the sheep they have never seen, but can smell. Pets will scratch and defecate on wool or other natural fibers before doing so on man-made fibers. Wool absorbs more than synthetic fiber and is harder to clean. For wall to wall wool carpet pet urine causes permanent damage. Wool carpet cleaning is not difficult. If you have pets then I recommend that pet owners stick to nylon or olefin.

Stay away from the closed loop, Berber-style carpets. Pet claws can accidentally get caught on the loops and leave a snag. Cats have more accidents with the loops than their dog friends. Olefin carpet resists stains better than nylon; however, it is not as soft as nylon. In most circumstances nylon would probably be your best bet for a pet carpet.

Deep pile, dense, lush carpets and pets don’t mix. You can have carpeting and pets but you have to remain practical. Get something that you can easily clean and something that will not attract clawing. You might even consider some of the new modular carpet tiles. If you pet ruins a spot in the carpet, you can just pull it up and replace it with a new tile. But don’t worry professional carpet cleaners with carpet repair expertise, like me, can also repair your nylon carpet.

Some companies have started offering a carpet with a waterproof, secondary backing made from polyethylene that keeps pet urine from soaking into the padding.  Pet Agree ™ by Solutia is one such company offering this new backing. Ask your carpet retailer for it or similar products by name. One issue I have with this type of carpet padding is that it is still stapled to the floor and doesn’t have water-proof seams, so urine can underneath the pad create a difficult situation for drying.

I ran across an article about picking a pet carpet that has a couple more ideas that hadn’t occurred to me. They mentioned color. Pick a color of carpet that coordinates with your pet. No, it’s not about matching for style. It’s about your pet’s hair not showing after one walk through the house. Also choose a color that doesn’t show muddy footprints. Go with the carpets manufactured for stain resistance. Carpets have come a long way. The technology provides fibers that resist common stains within the fiber. You can have stain resistance without the danger of chemicals coming off on your pets or kids.

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

Of course, tools help the homeowner too. Today I wanted to talk about a little used tool that has some real benefits in the home. You may own one.  Many people have one of these in their garage. Okay, I won’t play any more twenty questions. I’m talking about a wet vacuum. Most of us have a dry vacuum in the house. The wet vacuum often sits outside. Many people use them around the shop or to vacuum out the car. The wet side of wet vacuum often gets little use.

A glass of grape juice spills on the floor. We head for the rags or the mop. On carpet a rag can spread a stain inward, outward, and downward. A mop often leaves liquid sitting on the grout of a tile and grout floor.  Liquids can flow into cracks, under molding, and through flooring material. The rag or mop often misses these little places. The liquid stays behind to stain, mold, or even stink.

The wet vacuum can help alleviate problems associated with rags and mops. Some of you may not have ever had the opportunity to use a wet vacuum. Of course, a home carpet cleaning machine is a form of a wet vacuum.  They just combined a sprayer with a wet vacuum.  I like the portability of a wet vacuum.  You can get them in different sizes with a variety of attachments.  For spills you don’t need anything super big.  I think every home should have a small wet vacuum inside the house just for spills. They work very, very well and save time.

Some of my readers may not have ever used a stand-alone wet vacuum. I found a link that explains how the wet/dry vacuum works spots and stains.  Most wet vacuums consist of a bucket with a vacuum motor on the top.  When you open up the lid, you will find a cylinder covered with a filter that can stand up to liquids. That protects the motor from incoming dirt and liquid. On the side of the bucket you will usually see a little plastic shield. The air enters the bucket there. The liquids hit the shield and fall into the bucket below.

Many wet vacuums have a way to use them as a dry vacuum. You have to put a paper or cloth filter over the cylinder inside. The paper filter keeps finer dust out of the motor. You have to remember to remove the paper filter when you switch to liquid vacuuming.  It proves difficult switching from wet to dry. I found it better and easier to have one vacuum for dry and another for wet.  If you shop around, you can pick up a wet vacuum at a very reasonable price. I encourage you to get one for you spill cleaning kit.

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

1. Residue—Soap attracts dirt. That sounds funny when I write it, but it does, and you want it to do so. You put it in the water for that purpose.  If you put in too much soap, it stays on the surface of the carpet long after you remove the water. And guess what it does? It continues to attract dirt long after your carpet has dried.  If you have recurring spots, they may be from soap residue left on your carpet from cleaning.
2. Wicking—Carpet wicks water up and down its fibers through an action we call capillary action. Without capillary action life would not exist as we know it. Plants, people, and yes even carpets wick moisture using capillary action. Capillary action helps wet carpets dry. The water wicks from the padding and backing below through the carpet fibers to the surface of the carpet where it gets sucked up by our carpet machine or evaporates into the air. With clean water this capillary action works to our advantage. What happens if we have dirty water below? The fibers will wick that dirty water to the surface of the carpet long after you left the room. A few days later you will see a recurring spot.

You can see by the above text that recurring spots come from two different places. One comes from the surface of the carpet. The other comes from below. You have to treat the right symptom to cure your carpet’s spots.  Let’s start with the residue problem.

First, you can avoid the problem by following directions. Carpet cleaners know that you shouldn’t assume that more is better when it comes to soap. It would serve you better to go over the carpet with the right concentration of soap later rather than try to get all the dirt up in one pass. More soap doesn’t mean more cleaning. It means more residue.  Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox. Pun intended. To get rid or residue, you need to neutralize the extra. Vinegar works well in this regard. If you over soaped the carpet, you’ll need to add a cup of vinegar per gallon of warm water. Go over the whole carpet. You may have to do it a couple times. Let it dry between passes. Residue can come from other sources like oil or tape. See this link for Why Spots on Your Carpet Keep Coming Back.

In the second case of wicking, you have to attack the problem at the bottom of your carpet. You want to draw the dirt up to the surface. Mix a mild solution of soap and water. Spray the spot thoroughly. Let it sit a few minutes. Blot the area with a clean white rag or towel. Do it several times until you wick all the dirty water from the depths of your carpet. Neutralize with a weak solution of vinegar to avoid problem one.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time Sean.

Let’s look at one of the original sport’s drinks Gatorade ™.  I went to their website to see the ingredients. You can too at Gatorade.com. Here are the ingredients right off the bottle:

• Water
• Sucrose
• Glucose-Fructose Syrup
• Salt
• Sodium Citrate
• Mono-Potassium Phosphate
• Ester Gum
• Yellow 53
• Brominated Vegetable Oils
• Yellow 6
• Red 40
• Blue 12
• Caramel 1

I’m not a doctor, nor am I here to comment on the value of the drink for rehydration. I provide  carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon.  I’m paid to be an expert in stain removal. So what are we dealing with when it comes to sport’s drinks as a stain? The water and sugar and the salts don’t present any big problem.  Sodium Citrate is one of those minerals that Gatorade ™ talks about replacing. It helps balance out the acids produced by exercising muscles. It doesn’t harm your carpet, nor does the mono-potassium phosphate which is a preservative used in many of our foods.

It’s the rest of the list that causes problems.  Ester gum and bromine help keep vegetable dissolved in water. Your sport’s drink has oils in them. Oils stain carpets and attract dirt. The yellow, red, blue, and caramel refer to food dyes used to give your drink its color. We have two major cleaning problems with sport’s drink: oil and food dye.

• Oil—Of course, we can’t do anything until we remove the spill. Blot up the drink with a clean white rag or towel. Don’t scrub. Scrubbing harms fibers, spreads the spill, and pushes it deeper into the carpet.  After removing the spill, we can go to work on the stain. Start with the oil. We can’t get to the food dye until we remove the oil. Deal with oil using soap and warm water.  Put several drops in a spray bottle of warm water. Gently spray it on the stain. Blot. Spray again. Blot. See how much of the stain you can get up with the soapy water. You might get lucky.
• Food Dye—I wrote a post for St. Patrick’s Day about green food dye. You might want to take a look. The principles for removing food dye are similar regardless of the color. What do they have you add to the water when you color eggs at Easter? Vinegar, right? You can use vinegar or lemon juice to help you remove the dye from a sport’s drink. Add a couple tablespoons to warm water in a spray bottle. Spray the stain. Blot. Spray. Blot. That should take it out. If not, try a little hydrogen peroxide.

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