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News Flash!
News Flash!
With the holidays approaching many of you may be considering getting your carpets cleaned before guests start dropping by. It's a good practice to do this once a year whether or not your carpets look like they need it. The best cleaning your carpets can get is no doubt from a professional. The machines they use have more power and heat hotter than anything available to the retail consumer.
The next best would be to rent a good steam cleaner. The carpet steam cleaners that you can buy at the department stores for around $200 to $300 are pretty good these days too, provided you buy one with a heater. It's the hot water that really helps clean your carpet and kill allergens. The hotter the better!
For antique and Oriental rugs using a regular vacuum or steam cleaner is a no-no. The long-term damage caused by the beater bar and suction will greatly reduce the life of the rug. Find a professional that specializes in these types of carpets.
Vacuuming on a regular basis is the best way to extend the life of your carpet. It gets rid of the dirt that acts like abrasive sandpaper that slowly wears out the carpet fibers.
Maintaining a beautiful carpet also means maintaining your vacuum cleaner so that it cleans well and doesn't damage the carpet while it cleans. Did you ever start running your vacuum cleaner and see it pick up dirt only to spit it back out ? Well that means it's time to change your bag. To prevent this from happening don't wait until the bag is full. Replace the bag when it is three-quarters full. Before putting a new bag back in clean out the inside where the bag fits, dust and dirt always accumulate there. While you're at it shake out any filters your cleaner may have and replace those that are really filthy.
Sometimes hair and other debris can wrap itself around the bar and prevent it from turning. You need to periodically remove this to prevent pernament damage to your vacuum cleaner as well as ensure better cleaning.
If the vacuums suction seems to be weak then your hose may be clogged. Try to unclog it with a stick, broom handle or coat hanger. If you've unclogged it and it still doesn't seem to be working then you may have a crack or hole in the hose that can be temporarily fixed with the all important, (no home should be without it), DUCT TAPE--at least until you get a chance to replace the hose. If that still doesn't help than you may have a bigger problem in the motor and need to take it to a professional to repair or buy a new one.
Sometimes when you are vacuuming you may catch loose fibers or a snag in the rug, (sometimes caused by pets' claws) and the carpet fiber pulls right up out of the backing and wraps around the beater bar. You pull it out of the beater and the vacuum is fine but you now have a long noticeable strip of missing carpet yarn and ugly carpet backing showing instead. This is a tedious but simple repair.
Buy some carpet seem adhesive, available at any home center that sells carpeting for the do-it-yourselfer, cost about $5.00. Start by placing masking tape on both sides of the exposed carpet backing to prevent any glue from getting on top of the existing carpet yarn. The carpet seam sealer will have a long thin nosal; use that to carefully run a bead of sealer along the exposed carpet backing. (See photos) Using a large long nail or something similar, carefully press each scab, that's the area where the original adhesive
attached to the yarn, back down into the carpet backing. Be sure to hold the scab in place with the nail, giving the seam sealer some time to adhere before moving on to the next one. Let set for 24 hours before removing masking tape.
Besides carpet seam sealer another handy product to keep around you house is dry-cleaning fluid (trichoroethylene). It aids in removing a myriad of sins from your carpet.
First freeze gum with ice cubes then scrape off what you can with a butter knife. Next blot the remainder with your dry-cleaning fluid.
Oil, Butter, Grease, Lipstick-Using paper towels blot up excess then sponge with dry-cleaning fluid working from edges to center.
Dry Paint, Shoe Polish, Ink-Dab spot with paint remover, or my favorite painting helper "Goof Off", available anywhere paint is sold and only costs a few dollars. If that fails use the old faithful dry-cleaning fluid available at most hardware stores and some supermarkets.
Drinks, Drinks Everywhere--Including your carpet!
You know the scene...it's the Holidays and you just had your beautiful two-year-old carpet cleaned and Uncle Harry's had alittle too much to drink. Before you know it he and his drinks are on the floor. The kids are having a sugar buzz from all those holiday sweets they ate and are running around the house while you're busy entertaining or cleaning up after Uncle Harry. Suddenly several drinks are spilled and you swear you'll never have the WHOLE family over to your house again.
There are wonderful new products for spot cleaning in the stores these days but unfortunately right now they're not in your house, so try these simple solutions for:
Soft Drinks and Fruit Juices- First blot excess with paper towels. Next mix a solution of one teaspoon powdered laundry detergent and one teaspoon white vinegar dissolved in one quart of warm water. Mix well. Using a sponge work your homemade solution into stain.
Beer, Coffee, Milk- Blot excess with paper towels. Scrub the stain with a water diluted carpet shampoo. Cover the area with several layers of paper towels and weigh down the towels with something flat and heavy. Leave it for 2-3 hours.
Wine- A good commercial stain remover made for wine may work, but ordinary cooking salt works well on red wine too. Blot with paper towels. Wet remaining stain with a sponge and cold water. Pour on a generous amount of salt and scrub with a soft toothbrush. Vacuum up.
Although there are many home and store bought remedies for pet stains, being a life long multi-pet owner I have found the best product out there is "Nature's Miracle". Over the years I've tried a lot of products and I haven't found anything that works on both pet stains and odor better. It is available at most pet supply stores.
If you are doing any furniture rearranging over the holidays to accommodate your decorations or guests and find furniture indentations in your carpet, you can remove them or at least lessen their appearance. Start by combing the dent to loosen the rug's fibers.
Next hold a steam iron over the dent long enough to soften the fibers. Finish by brushing the dent out with a toothbrush.
Be careful not to touch the carpet with the iron because you may burn the rug or melt the fibers if they are synthetic. If you have done this or have other burns on your carpet, read the following:
To remove any surface burns you may have on your carpet take a sharp pair of scissors and snip off the tips of the burnt carpet threads. Next take an old toothbrush and brush around the area to feather out and blend the carpet threads.
Next time you vacuum dampen the rollers and beater brush with a light solution of one-pint warm water and just one drop of glycerin. You'll be amazed at how much easier it will be to pick up lint, hair and dust!
By: Lisa Alexander
Certified Eco Broker
