Thursday, October 23, 2014

Burnaby Carpet Cleaning Tips

When it comes to maintaining your carpet, one of the most critical areas of focus is the traffic areas. If ground in soil is not removed regularly, the traffic areas will begin to wear excessively. The second area of focus, of course, is spot removal. You must react to “danger” spots immediately. Red wine, red beverages, urine, blood stains can be permanent if not treated immediately by a professional carpet cleaning company in Vancouver, BC.



Warranty

Copies of specific warranties on your carpet purchase may be available from your carpet retailer. Stain resist            warranties can vary from 5 to 20 years. ALL STAIN RESIST WARRANTIES REQUIRE REGULAR CLEANING AND IMMEDIATE SPOT REMOVAL.

Vacuuming

Vacuum your carpet often. Once or twice a week at least. Vacuuming removes the sharp soil that can cut and slice the fiber causing premature wear. Much of this soil is not visible to the eye. Vacuum before the carpet looks soiled. Remove any loose particles such as loose food, leaves, pieces of crayon, bugs, etc. as these items can cause a spot on the carpet.

Professional Cleaning
Professional cleaning by a certified firm should take place about once per year. For extremely heavy traffic areas, cleaning may be required more often. Proper professional cleaning will not leave a sticky residue behind and can be done as many times per year as needed.  Professional cleaning removes the damaging soil from the traffic areas that vacuuming has not been able to remove.

Spot Removal and Interim Cleaning
Immediate spot removal is key to a clean carpet. Great care also must be taken in how spot cleaning is performed. When a carpet is new, or has sufficient protector on it, plain tap water will remove many spots. However for those spots that will not move easily with water, you must use a spot cleaner. Select a spot cleaner that is recommended by the carpet manufacturer or your trained, certified professional cleaner. Most spot removers that are purchased over the counter leave too much soap residue and can cause yellowing. Apply spot cleaner sparingly to white terry cloth and gently massage spot causing it to transfer into the cloth. Never pour spot cleaner directly on carpet. If the product that you are using seems to cause the spot to re-soil over a few week period, discontinue use. Any spot that you are not able to remove, and for pet urine or feces, call your professional cleaner immediately.

Protective Coatings

Residential carpets are treated with stain resist properties and soil resistors known as Dupont Teflon or 3M Scotchguard. After a period of 2 to 3 years, some of the soil-resistor wears off. At that point you should consider having a professional carpet cleaner re-apply the treatment after professional cleaning. The soil resistor will help the soil slide off of the carpet easier when vacuuming, spots will be easier to remove, and professional cleaning will be more effective.

For more information on carpet cleaning tips in Burnaby, BC call 604-839-9008.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Dark Edge Carpet Cleaning In Burnaby BC

What are those dark greyish/black lines around my baseboards, on my staircase, and under my doors?
This condition is known as “Filtration Soiling” and it is caused by dust, smog, and air pollution found in our air. As air flow passes through these areas, these pollutants are deposited in the carpet, similar to an air filter in your car. Air flow is created by heating systems, air condition systems, and natural convection currents where hot air is attracted to cold and vice versa. It can take weeks, months or years to develop. On a light coloured carpet it will show up faster.
dark edges(filtration soiling)Filtration soiling is difficult to remove from carpet because the soil particles found in air are much smaller than something that is spilled on the carpet. To clean the dark edges we use a safe solvent like odourless mineral spirits, citrus solvent, or citrus gel like hand cleaner mechanics use, and hydrogen peroxide. This mixture is applied to the dark edges and agitated with a narrow edge nylon brush and then flushed with specialty crevice tools, high heat, and vacuum that are available in professional carpet cleaning equipment. Challenges around the perimeter room with baseboard include scratching baseboards because of agitation and swelling of baseboards because of moisture. This being said we always explain the possible risks in attempting to clean dark edges.
To lessen chance of heavy build up would include changing heating and a/c filters, vacuuming edges with the crevice tool attachment, leaving doorways open, and sealing off air flow source using caulking at bottom of walls where they meet the floor and stairways prior to carpet installation. Also hire a carpet cleaning company who knows how to handle cleaning dark edges on carpet in Burnaby, BC.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Water Stain Removal From Carpet In Vancouver, BC

If you've ever over watered a plant , left a door or window open, had a flood of some type you will have experienced a water stain. As an owner of a carpet cleaning company I am frequently asked about water stain removal in Vancouver, BC.

The best way to tackle this stain is to first absorb as much water as possible with a wet vacuum or place white towels down and step on them to draw moisture into the towels. If it is a large volume spill its best to call a professional carpet cleaning or restoration company that has heavy duty equipment that can extract the water and dry the area properly.

Next you need to you an oxidizing agent like hydrogen peroxide that you can find at your local pharmacy. Use 1 part hydrogen peroxide (3.5%) and 1 part water. Pour it in a thoroughly rinsed empty trigger sprayer bottle. Mist the solution onto the stain from the outer diameter inward. The stain should disappear fairly quickly. You can leave it on for about 10 minutes.  You can increase the mix to full strength if there is still some yellowing/browning still remaining. If you want to buy an over the counter product look for one that says “oxy” or the power of “hydrogen peroxide” on label or ingredients on back.

To dry use your wet vacuum or white paper towel or white towel and step on it to absorb mixture into it. Hope this helps and remember First Class Carpet Cleaning is known for all types of stain removal including water stainremoval in Vancouver, BC. Call us today at 604-839-9008.