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

Moving is almost always a pain isn’t it? Not one of my favorite things to do. It always seems amazing at the amount of stuff that was somehow collected. The challenge of organizing and packaging possessions can be overwhelming.

The scary part after removing items is the amount of cleaning that is needed to get your apartment ready for the move out inspection. Once everything is removed from the apartment it is like, “hey where did that spot come from on the carpet, or I never noticed all that black stuff down there!”

With this article I will help provide some tips to get your apartment ready ready for the big day.

Everyday, I get calls about what to do to get the carpet ready for moving out of an apartment. One of the hard parts to moving is dealing with all of the spots on the carpet. There can be black spots, red spots, yellow spots, or pet urine on the carpet.

Who to Hire?

Now that you notice all of the spots there is the tough decision of what to do about them. I mean should you hire a professional carpet cleaner or do your own carpet cleaning? I understand that everyone has a budget when getting their carpets cleaned. I get that the main goal with apartments and cleaning the carpet is to get it clean enough to get the deposit back.

The deciding point about whether to hire a professional carpet cleaner or to do it your self is deciding who has the best chances of getting the spots out? Black Spots are pretty easy in most cases. The spot cleaner Folex, which is sold at Home Depot, is great at removing most stains. For red stains it may be best to call a professional carpet cleaner. Often red stains need special attention and using the wrong spot remover will permanently set the stain. Secret Tip: Using and “Oxy”gen based spot remover will set most red stains.

Pet urine removal is most often best performed by a professional carpet cleaner. Most of the products used to treat pet urine don’t work. If you want to understand pet urine and how to remove it click the pet urine link above.

If you want to do your own carpet cleaning here are some useful tips on how to do it yourself carpet cleaning. This will tell you how to setup a rented carpet cleaning machine to get the best results.

Not Just Carpet

Obviously there is more to preparing for a move out inspection than just cleaning the carpet. You still have to clean the rest of the house!

Here is a great article that proivdes step by step details and how to prepare your apartment for moving out:

How to Clean an Apartment Before Moving Out

• Find out whether your landlord or apartment complex automatically cleans the carpet, without charge to you, when you move out or whether they require you to have stayed in the apartment a certain number of years before they will waive the carpet cleaning. Spot clean tough stains with a spray-on carpet cleaner first, like Folex.
• Before painting make sure the apartment manager is not going to paint anyway
• If there is damage you want want to start a conversation with the manager of the apartment about what they might charge to fix it. They often get deals from contractors to help with their repairs.
• Check the list on the site above to make sure you have all the items you need before you begin cleaning.
• Have family or friends help you with the cleaning. You can bribe them with offers of free meals at your new place.
• Bring a radio to listen to while you clean.
• If viable, begin cleaning in the room farthest from the front door, working your way towards the door. This prevents you from cleaning yourself into a corner.
• Send your new address to the landlord, so they know where to mail your security deposit.
• Take photos after cleaning your apartment to show the condition if needed.
• Hold on tight to the various records associated with your stay, such as:
  • apartment lease or rental agreement
  • rent receipts or checks
  • a copy of all agreements regarding damages between you and the landlord
  • a copy of the letter sent to your landlord with your forwarding address

Now you have your list and it’s time to get to work!

Hope this information was helpful…Until next time…Take care Sean

Sean is the owner of Sean’s Carpet Care, providing Carpet Cleaning in Portland.

Pets are a wonderful addition to the family. Hey, I am a pet person, so I understand the down side in dealing with unexpected cat urine or dog urine accidents. Almost everyday in my carpet cleaning Portland business I receive phone calls for help with pet urine issues.

I get calls all of the time for asking for help with pet urine removal from carpet and then there are those special calls: Pet Urine Removal from Wool Rugs.

Pet urine removal is challenging, except for carpet cleaners with specialized knowledge and tools. Pet urine in wool rugs requires additional specialized experience and knowledge to properly treat.

Damage from pet urine in wool rugs can sometimes be minimized if quickly and properly treated. If the urine is not properly treated quickly there can be permanent staining, color loss, fiber damage, and more!

Here is a great article written by Lisa Wagner, “The Rug Chick”, that has a great article that provides answers to the question: Pet Accidents Happen. Now What?

Search the web or visit pet stores and you will find a wealth of pet urine removal tips and products. Do it Yourself Pet Urine Treatment, once the urine is dry, is really a myth. To help my clients with Portland Pet Urine Odor Treatment needs I created a great page on my website to explain why pet urine smell returns and why many of the store bought treatments don’t work.

Here is a great article that provides some specialized methods on How to Remove Cat Urine Odor From Carpeting Hopefully this information will also help you!

Talk to you again soon…Sean