Professional Carpet Cleaning: How Often Should Carpet Be Cleaned?
0 comments Posted by ariya at 06:36When was the last time you had your carpets professionally cleaned? If you’re like the average American household, it was probably some time in the last year – and you will probably wait at least another year to get them cleaned again. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends carpets in residential homes are cleaned every 6-12 months if 2 or fewer people live in the home who is non smokers. For larger families with both kids and pets, the EPA recommends a professional carpet cleaning every 3 months [U.S. EPA letter, January 1989].
Recommendations like this are based on the indoor air quality in homes. Dust, dander and a multitude of soils collect on carpet, which acts as filter as air circulates through vent systems in a home. For persons with allergies, asthma, and even pregnant women and the elderly, having clean carpets can make a big difference in their quality of life indoors.
Having your carpet cleaned every 3 months can be very expensive. A market check of professional carpet cleaning prices showed that among both national brand names and smaller local carpet cleaning companies, the average cost for a 3 room, two hallway carpets cleaning at about $125 after coupons and specials were applied. If a homeowner has a carpet cleaner visit 3 times a year, the total cost of carpet cleanings can really add up.
Some families are choosing the do-it-yourself route to cleaning their carpets. Depending on where you live, grocery stores are offering cleaning machines and a multitude of carpet cleaning solutions for purchase. This may be another good way to keep your carpets cleaned. The drawback is that homeowners must do all then tough work themselves – lugging the machine to their cars and moving their own furniture. There are also some inherent risks with do-it-yourself methods that include:
- Over saturation of the carpet. If too much water or solution is applied, the glue that holds carpet fibers together can separate and ruin carpet
- Misapplication of cleaners. The incorrect cleaning solution applied to certain stains can permanently bleach or discolor carpet.
One thing is clear, indoor air quality is affected by the frequency with which your home’s carpets are cleaned, so professional carpet cleaning companies are finding unique ways of providing less expensive cleanings. Some offer new and improved package pricing to their customers. Customers who combine carpet cleaning with other services like Oriental rug cleaning can sometimes save upwards of 60% off their total bill. This allows homeowners to save some money and gets both carpet cleaning and rug cleaning taken care of in one visit. Other carpet cleaning companies are selling professional-grade carpet cleaning sprays and solvents, so that customers wanting to take care of their carpets themselves can do so without some of the risks associated with over-the-counter products. Another unique approach by professional carpet cleaning companies is to offer a stain removal only service. Here, customers pay only for the stain removal and not an entire carpet cleaning. Kiwi Carpet Cleaning offers this with a One Year Carpet Cleaning Warranty, where entire rooms are cleaned at a low price throughout the year. While you might have to move furniture yourself and vacuum before the carpet cleaning technician arrives, the low price may offset any minor hassles.
With all the dust, dander, dirt and soot collecting on the surfaces in your home, it is important to remind yourself that what you collect on a dust towel is just a small fraction of what ends up in your carpet. Take inventory of how often your carpets are walked on in your home and make carpet cleaning decisions that help you and your family breathe easier this year.
Published At: www.Isnare.com
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Carpet Installation Is No Easy Feat – Should You Engage Carpet Installers Instead?
0 comments Posted by ariya at 22:44Carpet installation is the process of laying the carpet on the floor. Easier say than done, this job is always advisable to be done by a professional, especially for large project like laying a large carpet. For a large carpet to be installed well it has to be stretch properly and there are many knotty gritty details to look out for.
If you insist on doing the carpet installation on your own, these are the things that you should look out for.
1. For even wear, the floor has to be perfectly clean and smooth. All loose floorboards must be fixed, planed or covered with plywood. All solid floors must also be level and dry.
2. With a rough solid floor, you can use a floor leveling compound to level it. With an even wooden floor, should cover it with sheets of plywood or hardboard, nail or stapled to the floorboards.
3. Before installing the carpet, leave them unwrapped for 24 hours to adjust to the temperature and humidity of the room – this will ensure a better fit when you lay them on the floor.
When installing carpet tiles, these are the things to look out for:
1. When laying carpet tiles, calculated and measure the length and width of the room at its widest point and divided it by the tile size to find out how many tiles you need in the longest row. Remember to count any part tiles as whole tiles and to buy 10 percent extra to factor in for mistake in cutting, fitting or replacement.
2. It is highly likely that the carpet tiles to not fit the room exactly. Lay the carpet from the center of the floor outwards to the walls so that any part tiles end up around the edges.
3. To cut a carpet tile, a cutting board, a sharp cutting knife and preferably a steel ruler is required. Always cut the carpet tile from the back of the tile. Make one firm careful stroke, then bend and cut the tile along the cutting line. If the knife gets covered with the tile backing and becomes sticky, clean it with a cloth and mineral spirits to keep it sharp.
Carpet installation is not an easy task and should be left for a professional whenever possible, especially so if you want complicated carpet flooring designs to spice up your room. Professional carpet installers also have the proper tools to power stretched your carpets so wrinkling and rippling will be minimized. Nevertheless, if you choose to do-it-yourself, there will certainly be a sense of accomplishment when the job is done properly.
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Clutch bags are the new fashion statement of today’s women as these bags can be easily carried in hand and women can put their valuables and accessories in it. There are a wide variety of clutch bags available in the market.
Clutch Bags are stylish small purses that can be clutched in hand during any special occasion. Some clutch bags have detachable chains, which can be used according to the requirement, and the bag can be easily hung on shoulder. These bags are used for carrying some personal accessories like keys, pen, mobile and other items. Clutch bags come in different shapes like square box, heart and triangle with studded beads in brocade and satin fabric. Now-a-days leather clutch bags are in good demand as it shows the standard and class of today’s women.
Colored Bags
Clutch bags can be found in different colors. With time, trend changes and so is the color of accessories that people want. From the nineties, when bags were available in neutral colors like brown, black, beige, navy and tan, color trend has changed with women preferring to have bold colors with patterns and contrast piping. Now there is wide option of colors for clutch bags according to the dress and occasion.
Size Of Clutch Bags
There is a wide range of clutch bags available. Some women prefer to have a small clutch bag, which can be easily placed, inside any big bag and valuables can be placed in it, whereas the large sized clutch bags are favorites of fashionable women.
Different varieties of clutch bag
Black clutch bags are appropriate for daily usage as these bags are made up of high quality leather that is available in customized sizes. Metallic clutch bag is also available that is bright metal colored and looks very beautiful. Ladies can also use clutch wallet for holding mobile or cosmetic items in snazzy way.
This wallet is made up of Italian sheep leather so it’s very delicate to touch and also light in weight. The snap clutch bag is available in attractive shapes, colors and designs for the clients. The sequin trim clutch bag comes in simple design with bright colors to give a good feminine look to the wearer. There are also some nice looking clutch bags for parties like black colored clutch bag with gem covered over it. There are styled clutch bags like glitter ball clasp clutch bag that has front glitter ball clasp clutch which gives a dazzling look to the wearer.
Importance of bag
Clutch bag is very convenient to carry while going on any dinner or lunch as ladies can keep the bag in their lap and take meal comfortably. Clutch bag can be comfortably carried in a nightclub and women can dance without removing the bag from under their arm or hang it around the wrist. This bag looks good with a pair of pointed toes with little or high heel shoes.
There is wide variety of clutch bags in the market and one can also log on to various websites to shop online for these bags. As these websites have detailed description of various clutch bags along with the photos so the client can easily select the bag.
By: Phil87 Cotton87
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You need to know that it seems that seams are inevitable. Carpet comes in widths of 12’, 15’ and even sometimes 13’. So if the room that you are having carpeted is not narrower than these widths the carpet will be seamed. There might be a visible or peaked seam if you choose a looped or low-profile patterned carpet. The texture, color, lighting, and furniture placement will all play a role in the visibility of seam.
You need to know that as carpet bends over stairs it is possible for its backing to show. This also depends on the texture and the color of the carpet that you choose. If you are going with a looped carpet you should know that it can snag, particularly at the seam or at a carpet transition.
With all carpets you should know that the nap runs in one direction. Many cut pile style carpets have a pile reversal, or shading, which is a normal characteristic. When using plush carpet this can be particularly apparent.
You should remember that quality equals durability. With higher quality carpet you will usually have a greater pile density, and a tighter twist construction, which in turn will result in a better durability. It is also easier for you to update your homes décor with carpet compared to other hard surface options. Dollar for dollar carpet can offer significant styling advantages and can also add value to your home. Carpet also feels warm underfoot and reduces household noise.
When you add color it has a big impact on any room in your home. You should keeps some basic rules in mind when you are selecting carpet for your home since it does cover a large area of any room. As far as carpet color you should know that once a carpet is installed in a new home the carpet can often look lighter than the sample that you saw. This is a natural effect and you need to be aware of this when you are making your carpet color selection.
You should also keep in mind how the color of the carpet affects the apparent size of the room. If you are looking to visually expand the room size you should go with a lighter colored carpet. With darker colored carpet it can seem to bring the walls closer together, and can create a more intimate feeling.
If you are expecting to change your decorating scheme often or you are trying to incorporate a lot of existing furniture you should go with neutral colored carpet. Using a neutral colored, good quality carpet is a good idea if the home will be resold any time soon. It’s easier for a prospective buyer to imagine their furniture in a room that is decorated with neutral colors.
By: Tiffanie Angelo
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If you have kids, pets, or just a lot of traffic going in and out of the house and going across the carpeting all the time, then it is a sure thing that even brand new carpets will start to look dingy and drab before you know it, if you don't have a good routine for carpet cleaning and maintenance. The good news is that there are some simple carpet cleaning strategies that will help restore the beauty and appeal of your rugs and carpets, from wall to wall carpeting, to area rugs such as Oriental carpets, Persian carpets, and other specialty carpeting.
As carpet cleaning tips go, the one that is probably the most basic and the most important is to vacuum all of the rugs and carpets regularly. This means that you should vacuum at least once a week even if it doesn't appear that the carpeting is dirty. You should vacuum even more often if your carpet receives lots of foot traffic everyday.
Regularly vacuuming the rugs and carpets in your home is the first line of defense and will help to minimize the amount of dust dirt, and microorganisms that naturally collect in carpeting from getting ground into the fibers. When these elements get ground into the fibers it makes it more difficult to get them out no matter what type of carpet cleaning service or equipment you use.
The next important tip for cleaning carpets to keep them looking new and fresh is to routinely rent a carpet cleaning machine or hire the services of a professional carpet cleaning service. If you don't have too much traffic or commotion on and around your carpeted areas, then you should plan on doing a carpet cleaning twice a year for the best benefits. However, if you have pets and children that spend a good deal of time on the carpets, then it is a good idea to have them cleaned quarterly.
Following these simple carpet cleaning tips will help keep the carpeting in your home in the best condition possible. Regular vacuuming and deep carpet cleaning will add to the life of your carpet and keep it healthy because microorganisms will not be able to thrive. Best of all, the carpet will look great and it will feel great under your feet when it is cleaned routinely.
By: Michael Selvon
As carpet cleaning tips go, the one that is probably the most basic and the most important is to vacuum all of the rugs and carpets regularly. This means that you should vacuum at least once a week even if it doesn't appear that the carpeting is dirty. You should vacuum even more often if your carpet receives lots of foot traffic everyday.Regularly vacuuming the rugs and carpets in your home is the first line of defense and will help to minimize the amount of dust dirt, and microorganisms that naturally collect in carpeting from getting ground into the fibers. When these elements get ground into the fibers it makes it more difficult to get them out no matter what type of carpet cleaning service or equipment you use.
The next important tip for cleaning carpets to keep them looking new and fresh is to routinely rent a carpet cleaning machine or hire the services of a professional carpet cleaning service. If you don't have too much traffic or commotion on and around your carpeted areas, then you should plan on doing a carpet cleaning twice a year for the best benefits. However, if you have pets and children that spend a good deal of time on the carpets, then it is a good idea to have them cleaned quarterly.
Following these simple carpet cleaning tips will help keep the carpeting in your home in the best condition possible. Regular vacuuming and deep carpet cleaning will add to the life of your carpet and keep it healthy because microorganisms will not be able to thrive. Best of all, the carpet will look great and it will feel great under your feet when it is cleaned routinely.
By: Michael Selvon
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
A list of the benefits of all natural carpet cleaners would be endless. To name just a few, though...
Oxygenated cleaning: 100% Environment friendly
Rather than supporting heavy polluting chemical factories and creating hazardous by product to add to landfills, all natural carpet cleaners are created from 100% biodegradable materials, create no harmful by products whatsoever, and don’t contribute to the problem of chemical factory pollution.
A Faster Drying Solution
Since soaps and detergents can be thick and sticky, they tend to take a lot longer to evaporate than the oxygen and water based methods and products employed by oxygenated carpet cleaning companies. Oxygenated cleaning shouldn’t take more than an hour to dry, assuming the room is well ventilated.
No after-cleaning, at all
When you use traditional, soap based methods of carpet cleaning, you may look at all the ugly residue and chunks of dried up detergent on the floor and wonder why you bothered shampooing in the first place when it seems to have made as much of a mess as it cleaned up. Since there are no chemicals or soaps employed in the oxygenated cleaning products, there is no residue. Your carpet will be perfectly clean the minute the water dries.
Oxygenated Cleaning Companies Provide Pet Friendly Carpet Cleaners
Another benefit of all natural carpet cleaning services: It’s better for your pets. Even if you shampooed your carpet months ago, hazardous chemicals can still leave a dangerous residue behind. This can be inhaled by pets or give rashes to bare feet. The best way to eliminate this risk? Don’t use harmful chemicals. Oxygenated cleaning uses absolutely no harmful chemicals in their carpet cleaning process.
So What is a Green Carpet Cleaning Company?
A green carpet cleaning company is a company that employs only environmentally safe and sound products and methods when cleaning carpets. The reason so many carpet cleaning companies have been reluctant to adapt to this change generally has to do with the fact that, well, soaps and detergents are a tried and true method, and most people are unwilling to commit to new ideas until they’ve been just as proven as the standard. Rest assured, though, that green carpet cleaning methods can be just as effective, if not more effective, than chemical based carpet cleaning.
All natural oxygenated cleaning companies like OxiFresh make efforts to ensure that every product and service they employ is safe for the environment, safe for your pets and family, and just as effective as traditional methods.
Where can I find an All Natural Carpet Cleaning Business?
Unfortunately, not a lot of cleaning businesses have taken the leap of faith into all natural methods yet. Before long, we will probably see all natural carpet cleaning becoming more and more common. Until that time comes, we still do have a few options at least, and companies like OxiFresh are sparing no effort to make sure that the environment conscious consumer has the option of a more earth-friendly cleaning alternative.
By: oxifresh
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Always consider how the room will be used before decorating it. I see so many people who do not take this into consideration, they purchase carpet that they find eye-catching and never consider its practicality. It may be wise to purchase a more durable carpet for high-traffic areas of the home. That is unless you are willing to go through all the trouble and expense of having it replaced way before its time.
The best carpet for high traffic areas is a loop. The carpet is more durable when the loop is smaller. Now you may not want this type of style for your carpet, but it is important to at least find a happy medium between style and practicality.
The third thing to keep in mind is the color. Many people use light or even white carpet that doesn't stay looking new too long. The paler shades are quite good looking and have the effect of making a room seem bigger, however in the majority of cases they're impractical. If you're going to have white carpeting, you better be ready to ask visitors to take off their shoes at the door.
When choosing new carpeting, it is always a good idea to consider how easy it may be to clean. You want to purchase something that can be easily maintained. Maintenance is very important so consider using nylon and staying away from your olefins and wool.
Don't get your hopes up just because it comes with a warranty. Carpet warranties do not always live up to their reputation. Warranties are, for the most part, worthless--never let a carpet salesman sell you carpeting based on this alone.
Carpets are made from many different materials. In addition, along with style and color, your carpet's fiber content needs to be kept in mind. The following are some types of fabrics carpets are made from.
1. The fabric most often used to make carpet is nylon. There is a simple explanation for this; it's the carpet fabric with the highest durability and also comes in a vast array of colors and styles. Nylon is also easy to clean.
2. Olefin - is another very durable fiber. The problem with olefin is that it is not easy to keep clean. Olefin only comes in a limited amount of styles and is not nearly as soft as nylon.
3. Polyester - is also a very popular carpet fiber. The main problem with polyester is that it does not wear well. The carpet will quickly flatten down and stay that way although it looks great at first.
4. One of the most luxurious fabrics in top of the line carpeting is wool. Wool is one of the most resilient fabrics and is problematic as it is difficult to clean and more costly than other carpet fibers.
There are many aspects to weigh when purchasing new carpet. You want to find the right carpet that not only looks nice, but also goes along with your lifestyle. Be absolutely certain what you want so a salesman can't persuade you. Carpeting is a major purchase and should be chosen carefully.
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As these microscopic organisms build up in your carpeting because cleaning carpets has not been high on the priority list, they can cause a great deal of problems for people who are sensitive to dust mites and other tiny creatures in your carpets. Many people are allergic to these microorganisms and if they are allowed to flourish they can start to create an unhealthy environment in the home, even for those who are not particularly sensitive to such things and who don't have allergies.
Experts say that one of the best ways to keep these minute dangers from thriving and getting a strong foothold in your rugs and carpets is to have carpet cleaning done at least two times each year. There are various types of cleaning carpet methods available to homeowners and which method is best will depend on a number of factors.
One of the first things that should be evaluated, when deciding how to handle the cleaning of your carpets, is the amount of foot traffic that regularly passes through the carpeted areas of your home. The more people and pets that are going in and out of the house and are traipsing around on the carpeted area or oriental rugs and other area rugs, the more quickly the dirt, dust and microorganisms will collect and start to thrive. A lot of foot traffic in heavily used areas will also serve to grind in the dirt, debris and dust mites deeper into the carpet, making them harder to remove by vacuuming alone.
When cleaning carpets of any type or style, you must also take into account the kind of material that the carpeting has been made out of. Using the wrong cleaning carpet method can damage the rugs and ruin your investment.
This is one reason why is it such a good idea to call on carpet and rug cleaning professionals who have experience and expertise. While hiring professional carpet cleaners will cost more than if you were to do it yourself, you won't need to worry about destroying your new carpeting or expensive Oriental rugs.
Carpet cleaning companies typically offer five different types of carpeting cleaning; bonnet cleaning, dry cleaning, foam cleaning, shampooing and steam cleaning. The professional cleaning service can check the materials that your carpeting is made of and let you know the best method to use. You should get estimates before hiring a service to clean your carpets and ask for references as well.
By: Michael Selvon
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
