Common Carpet Treatment Methods
Carpet cleaning unfortunately requires regular maintenance, especially if children live in the residence. To keep carpets sanitary, there are a few common treatment methods you can follow. These include:
• Vacuuming regularly
• Using dust mats
• Treating spills
Vacuuming Regularly
Although this is not an ancient remedy, homeowners still tend to forget to complete this task on a regular basis. They simply wait for a spill or until the carpet looks bad. By vacuuming regularly, you are sucking up almost all the dirt, grime, dust and bacteria that leave within the strands. This will help you keep the carpet looking good and sanitary at all times. To help you stay on track with carpet maintenance, its advantageous to create a cleaning schedule that includes how often you plan to vacuum, your treatment system and who will be completing the task.
Using Dust Mats
A less common method of keeping the carpets tidy is to place a dust mat at entrances to all carpeted rooms. This will capture any excess dust from the feet of those entering thus making your routine vacuuming much easier and keeping the carpet looking presentable at all times.
Treating Spills
Once a spill occurs, it is beneficial to remove it immediately. First soak up the spill with a paper towel or rag (do not grind into the carpet). Next, dampen the carpet with a wet rag and spray or sprinkle carpet treatment on the stain. Then let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes and vacuum it up. Then rinse and repeat until it disappears. The longer you let it sit, the more difficult it will be to remove from the carpet.
Cleaning Systems
There are two primary carpet treatment systems that will help you cleanse your carpet more effectively and in a shorter amount of time: steam treatments and dry carpet washing. When performed properly, each of these will effectively remove grease, oils, dirt and whatever else stains the carpet.
Treating the carpet on a regular basis is an essential aspect of house cleaning. Creating a schedule will help you fall into a routine and be diligent with this chore. Also, using dust mats is a great way to drag less scum onto the carpet. Finally, removing spills immediately after they occur will leave less of a stain after. Carpet treatment can be a daunting task but having a plan will make it much more streamlined.
Labels: carpet, carpet treatment, cleaning
Carpet Squares - What You Absolutely Need to Know Before Shopping
0 comments Posted by ariya at 21:59Carpet squares and tiles, manufactured from carpet goods, are used most commonly in the Do-It-Yourself market segment. A very typical use is in a playroom. Other areas that you will see carpet tiles installed are bonus rooms, basements, and spare rooms. Almost anyone can install these themselves with a level, clean floor and a sharp carpet knife!
Many tiles and squares now have an integral padding with an underside that has a tacky finish to keep the tile in place. To install, you simply start with a level layout and work your way throughout the room. Not only are they easy to put down, but if one ever gets soiled enough that needs changing, you simply pull it up and replace it with a spare (hint, buy extra when you purchase to have extras later on down the road, you will thank me later!).
The most predominant and popular carpet squares come in 18"x18" tiles and have a residential look and feel of a cut pile or trackless design carpet. You will see a variety of different yarns used in manufacturing ranging from Nylon to Polypropylene. Another type of square available is a commercial loop design. This commercial style will usually come in 3'x3' squares and have a little heavier rubbery backing than the residential styles. You can use either one depending on the look and style you like.
If you are using a solid tile, consider doing a checkerboard design! A checkerboard design looks great when down and can give a room a little more flair than just a solid square. If you don't like the uniform look of the checkerboard layout, try mixing two colors in the squares to create a contemporary design. You can do this by using a primary color square for about 60-70 percent of the room and then randomly use another contrasting colored square every thirf or fourth tile you install.
When shopping for carpet squares and tiles keep in mind this hint, convert the price per square foot to price per square yard (take the price per square foot and multiply by 9). The price per square foot may be a little deceiving. For example, if the tiles are $3.00 a foot, that's $27.00 a yard! For $27.00 a yard you can get much better carpet and padding including installation for less money. Just keep a watchful eye out for the discounted deals under $.99 cents or so per foot if you are looking for an inexpensive solution. The concept of using carpet squares centers around being able to do it yourself, not necessarily saving a lot of money on the materials. Don't get me wrong, you can find great deals out there, just be sure you make an informed decision when looking at options.
Labels: carpet, Carpet Squares, Shopping
Carpet Stretching - All You Need to Know (To Not Do It Yourself)
0 comments Posted by ariya at 22:02Carpet stretching is, generally, done in two different situations: During the initial installation and for a carpet repair. The initial stretch, during installation, ensures that the carpet is taught, secure, and even across the entire floor covering. Taught carpet will stay in place and stay smooth and flat to the floor where it belongs.
What causes carpets to ripple or buckle:
Poor installation: The carpet may have been improperly installed. In most cases of a bad installation the installer didn't use a power stretcher properly or at all.
Excessive wear due to traffic: Sometimes a carpet will need to be re-stretched because of wheelchairs, walkers, tricycles, etc. Even when installed to perfection it can become loose from excessive wear.
Sliding heavy furniture: carpet is made of layers of fabric. When heavy furniture slides across the carpet it's likely that it will cause rippling.
Latex: if the latex holding the backing together deteriorates it's called delamination, the carpet essentially loses its grip on itself, resulting in buckling and loss of fiber.
Improper padding for carpet type. Certain pile types require specific padding types; if these are paired improperly, the right amount of grip and support may not be present, resulting in carpet buckles. Make sure you consult a trained professional or manufacturer's guide when purchasing carpet so you get the right padding to accompany it.
If your carpet is Rippling:
(to stretch or not to stretch)
If you have carpet that looks more like the ocean than a flat carpet, you may have a problem. As soon as it begins to loosen up and become rippled, it wears faster. The bigger the ripples, the faster the ripples grow. This is because carpet is designed to lay flat and not move at all. When you walk on carpet ripples it causes the carpet to move up and down, further loosening it.
If your carpet is loose it's time to take action. In most cases, carpet stretching can fix the ripples and buckles, and there's no need to waste money replacing the carpet because of how it lays.
Carpet stretching is a common type of carpet repair that essentially involves pulling the carpet up from around one or more edges of the room, re-stretching it to proper tightness, cutting the carpet to the proper length, tacking back down into place and finally tucking it in along the edge.
Like any type of carpet repair, stretching carpet is more involved than it seems to be. stretching carpet isn't just a matter of smoothing out ripples and re-securing, or pulling at the edges by hand as you would a bed sheet. Carpet stretching comes with its own tools and techniques that help you do the job right.
Essential Carpet Stretching Tools
A professional who repairs carpet for a living will have all of these tools on hand. If you decide to try and stretch carpet yourself, most or all of these tools should be available for rental or purchase at a relatively reasonable price. Even contracting out your carpet stretching is far more cost-effective than replacing the carpet, so either way, these tools, in your hands or someone else's, save you quite a bit of money.
Partial list
Knee stretcher. A knee stretcher, also known as a kicker, is a special tool that has a grip on one end, to attach to the carpet, and a pad on the other end, for you to 'kick' with your quadriceps, (do not kick with your knee!)
Power carpet stretcher. In the trade we usually call this too our stretcher. The stretcher is the most important tool for stretching carpet. It's specially designed to adjust to any size room and help stretch carpet much more effectively than anyone could do by hand (or by knee). A power carpet stretcher features a very long pole with a carpet grip on one end, a wall brace on the other, and a handle lever in the middle. Don't even try to stretch a carpet without one. This is the most expensive tool most of us carpet people have.
Carpet or slotted blade knife. Involved in almost every carpet repair task you can imagine, a good carpet knife will never let you down. In the case of carpet stretching, the knife is used to trim excess carpet from the edge after it's been pulled tight.
Staple gun. An industrial carpet staple gun isn't a regular staple gun. The staples are far narrower so that they fit between the nap. carpet staple guns aren't always necessary for carpet stretching, but it's good to have on hand just to make sure. Because a properly stretched carpet is pretty tight, the tack strip alone may not hold it down satisfactorily, in which case the staple gun eliminates any doubt.
Stair tool. A chisel like tool used for tucking carpet in after cutting it to the right size.
Awl. Looks like an ice pick, used to dis-attach carpet from the tack strip
Hammer.
Carpet stretching: Do Your Homework First
It's important to keep a few other things in mind when your carpet repair task is to stretch carpet.
Just as carpet manufacturers specify the appropriate padding type for individual carpet types, so they also specify appropriate carpet stretching methods and amounts. What's right for some types may not be appropriate for others. For example, tufted carpet with a jute fiber backing needs to be a bit tighter than tufted fiber with a synthetic fiber backing. And some woven carpets will stretch in one direction but not the other. Consult manufacturer instructions or a carpet repair specialist so you have all the facts before you get started. After all, knowing what you're working with is just as important as knowing what you're doing.
The following is an over-simplified tutorial. If you don't already know what you're doing then you will be better off just hiring a pro. If you decide that you want to tackle stretching your own carpet I suggest that you take your time, use your head, keep your blades sharp, don't try to just kick it tight with a knee kicker and most of all be careful.
carpet stretching Technique
The first step is to empty the room of furniture. If you really know what you're doing then you can probably work around some furniture but if you're a novice I suggest that you do yourself a favor and empty the room.
Determine which direction the carpet needs to be pulled. In most cases the carpet only needs to be pulled one direction.
Remove any metal strips that will be in the way. Some flat metal strips need to have nails removed. Another type of metal strip is called a clamp down metal. To free the carpet from the clamp down metal, pry it open (just a little bit) with a flat chisel or a stair tool. There are too many different types of metal strips to describe here so you'll just have to figure it out.
Use an awl to lift the edge of the carpet. Go to a corner of the room and poke the awl right through the carpet about 6" from the wall. From here you will be able to pull the carpet up. If you don't have an awl you can probably use a pair of pliers.
Now it's time to unpack the carpet stretcher. Set it up so that the foot end is up against the baseboard and the head is a few inches from the wall that you are stretching towards. The power stretcher is more than strong enough to rip carpet so be careful to only stretch the carpet just enough to remove the wrinkles (and maybe just a little bit more). Over stretching carpet isn't a good idea because you will create ripples going the other direction. So again, only stretch the carpet as much as you need to in order to remover the ripples.
Use the kicker to make small adjustments.
Start at the center of the room and stretch the carpet at a slight angle towards the corners. Each time you push on the handle of the power stretcher you will pull the carpet.
Cut the carpet from the back using the slotted blade knife. You should cut it so that it is still going to belong enough to tuck into the groove between the tack strip and the wall. If you cut the carpet a little bit too short, you can probably stretch it a little bit more. If you cut it too long to tuck it in properly, then just cut some more.
Before moving on to the next area, push the carpet into the nails that stick out of the tack strip. If the carpet is hard to get it to stick to the tack strip then use the carpet staple gun.
If you use the staple gun, be sure to get the point of the gun down between the nap so that you are only stapling the backing to the tack strip and not stapling the nap down. Continue across the room stretching, cutting, tacking and tucking. Replace any metal transitions and viola!
Labels: carpet, carpet stretching
How is it possible? The explanation is that carpet can "catch" dust, everyday debris, pet hair, and other pollutants. Smooth floor surfaces such as marble or wood just bounce off allergens and spread them around. Internationally recognized studies of homes, schools, and communities show that less airborne particles were distributed into the breathing zone with carpeted areas than in non-carpeted ones. But the carpet cannot do this itself. To make sure the particles do not get redistributed, homemakers need to vacuum regularly to trap these pollutants and permanently remove them from the room.
Make sure you use a machine that is certified by the carpet and rug Institute (CRI) with its Seal of Approval for vacuums, steam cleaners, and other cleaning equipment. This guarantees effective removal and entrapment of the dust and dirt.
When vacuuming, make sure to use slow, repetitive, and overlapping strokes that will effectively extract all the germs from any given area. Give special attention to hard-to-reach areas to make sure that no dust balls or dirt are left in the nooks and crannies. Vacuum machine accessories, such as bags and filters also require their own rules for effective cleaning. So make sure you use them correctly also. For example, vacuum bags should be replaced once they are half-filled.
Also, make sure your cleaning products and solutions are effective and safe to use. The CRI Seal of Approval also applies to these items; so make sure to look for it when shopping for cleaners and other products. Many times products that promote improved air quality are also environmentally friendly. They use ingredients that are non-toxic and safe for houses with children, pets, and people with medical conditions.
Finally, a thorough, professional cleaning, done once a year, is essential to removing all the dirt and debris that can still easily accumulate in your carpet even with routine maintenance. With the right carpet cleaning habits, you can breathe in good air easily.
Tag : carpet,carpet cleaning,air filter
When you are choosing a carpet for your house, what do you look for? Many people dream of having a quality carpet in their home, but tend to stick with synthetic versions. Synthetic carpets are indeed generally cheaper and can be very useful, particularly if you have children and are worried about a good carpet being destroyed. Having a quality wool carpet, though, is a wonderful thing and they are perfect for use in any home. Here are some of the best reasons for having one.
Firstly, if you choose to have a wool carpet, you can be assured of excellent quality. If you go to top quality hotels and other places of luxury, you will often find that they use wool carpets. Having a beautiful, top quality carpet underfoot is a brilliant way of adding a bit of indulgence to your décor. This makes them especially excellent for bedrooms and lounges, where you'll be able to best enjoy their benefits.
As well as looking beautiful, the fact that carpets are of very good quality means that they are very durable. So, even if you are a little worried about them being more expensive than some other forms of carpet, the fact that you will get excellent wear out of them means they are more than worth what you pay for them. Just consider some of the oriental wool carpets you see in stately houses and museums: a lot of them are many hundreds of years old, proving that if you buy a good carpet, it will serve you well. Wool keeps its appearance better than manmade fibres. Tiles can be supplied in manmade and wool.
Oriental wool carpets are also proof that a carpet can be both durable and beautiful. Choosing a wool carpet opens many options that you simply don't find if you have a synthetic carpet. Wool is able to take a great range of dyes than other carpet material, meaning that you can achieve great subtlety of shading and even choose patterned carpets that will stand the test of time. This is perfect for the home: after all, if you are planning to build a life around your house, you want to know that the items you choose are going to last while maintaining their beauty. Wool carpets are the perfect way of doing that.
Another reason to choose a wool carpet for your home is the fact they are easy to clean: the wool has a greater absorbency than synthetic carpets, which means when you apply moisture (either water or steam) to it the wool fibres expand and release their dirt more easily. This means there is less reason to worry about accidentally staining your carpet, as long as you manage to remove the stain as soon as possible.
Wool is also warm underfoot, which makes it a great way of adding a little extra insulation to your flooring. Wherever in your house you choose to have wool carpets, you can be certain that you will have made the right choice. With their fantastic quality, durability and choice, you are sure to love your new wool carpets.
Tag : carpet,wool carpet,wool
Steam Carpet Cleaners - The Experts in Carpet Cleaning and Maintenance
0 comments Posted by ariya at 21:29Carpets can add appeal and elegance to any room. This is why most businesses choose carpets to make their facilities appear more welcoming for customers. However, to maintain the beauty of carpets, it is very important to implement appropriate cleaning methods to keep the carpets clean, well-maintained, and odor-free. The most effective method is the use of carpet cleaners or carpet shampooers.
Contrary to what most people believe, rigorous vacuuming will not suffice for keep your carpets clean. Regular vacuuming is, of course, an effective method to eliminate surface and dust particles. However, vacuuming will not eliminate stubborn stains, dirt, and grime on the carpet surface, fibers, or base. For comprehensive and deep cleaning of carpets, it is best to utilize steam carpet cleaners. Carpet cleaners utilizing heat are growing in popularity due to their ability to deeply clean carpets more effectively, while leaving them drier.
Benefits of Commercial Carpet Cleaners
Commercial carpet cleaning machines are second to none when it comes to effective carpet cleaning. These carpet extractors can achieve superior cleaning results that often surpass the cleaning services offered by carpet cleaning professionals.
Commercial carpet cleaners utilize the power of steam to provide thorough cleaning results. These cleaning machines allow you to eliminate dirt, dust, stains, and oil from deep within your carpets in a way vacuuming will never do. The advanced cleaning technologies present in the new versions of carpet shampooers are powerful enough to dissolve even stubborn stains caused by blood, coffee, tea, wine, or lipstick.
The super-heated steam temperatures generated by these cleaners can attain temperatures of up to 210º F, allowing you to dissolve stubborn stains more readily for easy extraction. For best results with an carpet cleaning machine, pre-spray the carpet with a green carpet cleaning solution. You may also wish to use a carpet cleaning solution in your machine as well.
The innovative low-moisture low-flow technology featured in these carpet cleaning machines enables quicker drying of cleaned carpets. In fact, while most traditional carpet cleaning machines require you to leave carpets out for drying for about 24 hours, low-flow commercial carpet cleaners available from top suppliers will clean and dry your carpets in as little as 1-6 hours.
The use of low moisture not only leads to shorter drying periods but also lower risk of nasty odors, mold, or mildew. In addition, low-moisture technology of these carpet cleaners ensures that the use of water is kept to a minimum during the carpet cleaning process.
The carpet cleaners offered by reputed suppliers will be high-quality, durable, and powerful with top-grade components and materials. These carpet cleaning machines can also feature solution tanks and recovery tanks of great capacity, so that you can use it continuously for long periods across large carpeted areas.
Another outstanding feature of the top carpet cleaners on the market today is that the temperature levels are adjustable. This is true for heated units and it means you can easily adjust the temperature sot that it becomes the safest and most effective level for your particular kind of carpet.
With proper care and maintenance, it is easy to extend the life of carpets. Try using carpet cleaners and you will be surprised at the ease with which they keep your carpets looking as good as new.
Tag : carpet,carpet cleaning,steam carpet,cleaners,maintenance
Carpet Pad Guide - Why You Need Good Padding to Protect Carpeting
0 comments Posted by ariya at 23:44A lot of people know that carpets feel comfortable to lie-down on and provide a nice texture for your feet to walk on. However, you may not be aware of the fact that having a good carpet pad underneath your carpeting makes all the difference in the world in determining whether or not your carpeting feels soft and comfortable or hard as a rock. There are unquestionably some things you should know about your carpet pads in order to ensure that your carpeting provides you with a maximum level of carpet.
First of all, think about carpets that are void of all carpet padding. If you laid down carpeting on a hard floor with no pad between the carpet and the floor, there are a number of unfavorable things that would happen. Most likely, you would quickly notice that your carpeting does not feel comfortable to walk on, let alone lie-down on. There are some carpets designed for little or no padding underneath, but these are not types that are meant for your home. In fact, carpets without padding have are comparable in hardness to hardwood floors; they are both extremely tense.
If you buy a normal living room carpet without the carpet pad to go under it, then it would not take much walking on in order to really wear-out the carpet. Your carpet would wear-down very quickly because it would be rubbing directly on the cement underneath. In order to ensure that your carpet lasts as long as possible, it is recommended that you buy the proper-fitting carpet pad to accompany it.
If you want a carpet that feels comfortable to your friends and family, you will need to get a durable set of carpet pads. The purpose of installing carpet pads along with your carpet is in order to increase the overall durability of your carpet as well as to minimize carpet damage and maximize the comfort-level of people who are walking on the carpet or want to lie down on the carpet. Choosing a good carpet pad is also helpful because it serves as a buffer that allows your furniture to be set on top of your carpet without causing your carpet to damage.
If you are currently looking for a new carpet, you should always make sure that you are able to find good-quality carpet pads to go along with it. You don't want to ever make a big investment in new carpeting only to find out that you are not able to find any good carpet padding to put down before you install it. Always ask the carpet-company for good quality carpet padding to go along with it. Most people are so focused on how their carpet looks when they buy it that they completely forget about getting good carpet pads. They usually opt for having the standard carpet pads installed with their good looking carpet. If the standard pads are of relatively low quality, the carpeting is surely going to wear out much more quickly than it would have if you had remembered to pick out a better carpet pad.
Tag : carpet,carpet pad,protect
It seems it is that time of year again. We always dread it. It's time to clean the carpeting. Well, I have a few tips for you that will hopefully make your carpet cleaning chores a little less of a head ache.
The first thing is to gather all the chemicals tools and equipment you may need. Here's a list of the things I gather to get the job done as easy as possible.
- A carpet steam cleaner
- Carpet cleaning chemicals and shampoos
- A small hand held scrub brush
- A pail and sponge
- Gloves and a respirator
A carpet steam cleaner
Getting a good quality carpet steam cleaner is essential to the cleaning process. Make sure you have one that is of good construction. It is very frustrating to keep fixing a machine that keeps breaking down throughout the process of trying to get the carpets clean.
A good carpet steam cleaner should also provide enough suction to pick up most of the water put down in the process. Your carpeting should be damp, not wet when the entire cleaning process is done. If your carpets are wet it will take a very long time to dry and it is also an indicator that the carpeting is not as clean as it could probably be.
The last thing to look at is the scrubbing action. Most new models of a carpet steam cleaner either use a rotating roller scrub brush or spinning scrubbers. I believe either is good, but I prefer the spinning brushes, because they seem a little easier to remove for cleaning. If you have pets that shed, you will probably be cleaning them several times throughout the project.
Carpet cleaning chemicals and shampoos
There are several good shampoos on the market, depending on the type of carpeting and how dirty it is. There are many different brands and options out there, so I really can't give a good recommendation as to which one is best, but I would start by reading customer reviews.
There are some things to consider that is being considered more and more in the cleaning industry and that is the harmful chemicals that are used many of the traditional carpet steam cleaner shampoos.
The two main ones to be conscious of are Perchlorethylene (PERC for short) and Naphthalene. PERC as a popular solvent used in carpet cleaning solutions and in larger exposure amounts can cause dizziness and nausea, can lead to kidney and liver damage, and is possibly linked to cancer. Naphthalene is also commonly found in carpet cleaners and has been known to harm the kidneys and liver as well as the central nervous system. Both of these chemicals are harmful if the fumes are inhaled; not to mention bad for the environment.
Becoming very popular on the market are nontoxic alternatives that do not contain these chemicals. Make sure you know what is in the products you are buying if you are concerned about possible health problems through exposure to these chemicals.
I would also recommend a good spot cleaner in a spray bottle to help remove stubborn stains.
A small hand held scrub brush
The small scrub brush is to help loosen stubborn stains that the machine has a hard time tackling. I would definitely recommend going over the entire area with the machine before determining the need for scrubbing. Getting on your hands and knees to scrub out a stain is not much fun, so I would avoid it if at all possible.
A pail and sponge
A pail and sponge is usually necessary to clean up small spills and messes.
Gloves and a respirator
If you do decide to use traditional carpet cleaning chemicals, a pair of rubber gloves and a respirator should be used to protect you as much as possible from exposure.
Getting Started
You should start by retreating any areas that you think will be a problem. Coffee or juice spills, heavy traffic areas, or pet mess areas are all potential areas for pretreatment.
One thing to note about pet messes; there are many good enzyme based cleaners that can be purchased at your local pet store that are great to clean pet messes. This usually involves cleaning the area several days or even weeks ahead of time to allow the enzyme formula to work. This schedule should be planned around the date you need to clean the carpet by.
If you really think some areas may be a problem, a little scrubbing with the brush to help release some stains would not hurt.
Be sure and read the mixing direction on the back of the product you purchase. A solution that is too diluted will not clean, and too much soap will leave your carpeting full of suds and will not extract properly.
The nice thing about many new carpet steam cleaner machines on the market is their ability to mix the correct amount of soap right onboard the machine, so you don't have to worry about measuring.
Cleaning furniture and small rugs
I would recommend cleaning furniture, drapes, and small area rugs first. Any over spray from cleaning these will end up on the carpeting and will be extracted later anyways.
Always check labeling before cleaning furniture to make sure that it can be cleaned with water. Also steer clear of soaking down furniture too much with the solution. Because furniture is contoured and uneven it is difficult to create a good seal on the extraction wand which can limit the water removal.
Be prepared, furniture can seem to take quite a while to dry.
Cleaning carpeting
Most carpet cleaners on the market today require a two step process to the cleaning action. Since the solution sprayers are located behind the agitating brush and the extraction head, the solution needs to be laid down first in a forward sweeping motion. Pushing down slightly and squeezing the dispensing lever, dispense the solution along the desired path you wish to clean. Then, following the same path in the return stroke, release the solution dispensing lever and pull the machine back to the point to where you first started the stroke.
The extraction head is in front of the agitator, so on the return stroke the fibers in the carpet are being scrubbed, then the excess water is being sucked up by the extraction head.
Many carpet cleaners intentionally make the front of the extraction tool clear so you can view how mush dirt you are pulling out of your carpeting.
Some people believe it is necessary to clean the carpet in two different directions to make sure that the carpet fibers are being scrubbed from various directions to insure to extract as much dirt from the carpeting as possible. That is really up to you how clean you really will need your carpet.
Caution! Carpet cleaning problems
Here are a couple things to really look out for when using a carpet steam cleaner. especially for the first time.
- Over soaking your carpeting- Be careful not to over soak your carpeting. While getting caught up in the frenzy of getting you carpets as clean as you would like, you may want to go over spots several times until the water extracted will virtually run clean. The problem with this can sometimes be getting too much water soaked into the carpet pad which can then easily mold or mildew. Depending on several conditions that vary from house to house, drying can be a problem for some and not others. I would suggest, if you would like to get your carpets as clean as you can, breaking up the project into two different weekends to allow the carpet ample time in between to dry.
- Loose fibers in the carpet- Watch out for loose fibers in the carpet. These can get snagged on the rotating brush roller and rip apart you carpet; or clog and damage the roller on your machine. If you know you have loose fibers in your carpet the easiest solution is to take a scissors and trim off the loose fibers as close to the base of the carpet as possible. This will hopefully prevent any snagging of the fibers on the roller.
- Have a plan of attack- Planning your route or order of carpets can save some headaches at the end of the project. Carpet cleaning professionals have done this enough times that it becomes second nature, but you should plan your route so that you do not need to walk across already cleaned carpeting until it is completely dry. I usually plan my base of operations as the kitchen and work the entire project to end in the kitchen.
- Cleaning your carpet steam cleaner- It seems one of the biggest problems I see with machines breaking down or not working after the first or second use is not taking the time to properly clean out your machine after use. It is very important to flush out the entire machine with clean water to ensure that no soap ends up clogging the solution discharge system, especially the discharge nozzles. Many manufactures view lack of cleaning as neglect and are hesitant to warranty any mechanical problems that arise because of it.
Carpeting is a nice way to decorate or make your home feel cozy and warm, but an occasional deep cleaning is necessary to keep it looking beautiful. Hopefully by following the list of above steps, your carpet cleaning experience will be a little less aggravating if not even a little pleasant.
Tag : carpet,steam cleaner,cleaner
