First, do you know what your floors are made of? Many assume that all tile is roughly the same, but not so. The most common tile used is ceramic and porcelain. These are man made floors and very resilient. They now come in more and more styles and patterns so much so that sometimes they are hard to distinguish from stone. The other material seen more and more is natural stone. This can be travertine, slate, marble, or granite. There are other less common stones as well used for a variety of things in the house.

Second, what should you use on the floors to clean them? Knowing what you have is extremely important as using the wrong thing can cause costly and unsightly damage to the floors. Ceramic and porcelain are the easiest. You can use virtually any household cleaner and not cause any problems. That being said, you should not use just anything on them. As far as stone, it is imperative that you follow the instructions you got when the floor was installed. If you do not have that, go with a neutral ph cleaner as acids (even as common as vinegar) will begin to dull and etch travertine and marble floors.

Third, what is the process for maintaining the floors? The most important aspect of cleaning is dry soil removal. How you do this is very important on tile and grout. Your best means is to vacuum! This lifts the soil off the floor and out of grout lines. A distant second is sweeping. The last thing, just slightly better than nothing at all, is dust mopping. Why? You are pushing the dirt into the grout lines to stay for all eternity! Well at least until a professional cleaning. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum regularly.

Next comes wet cleaning. Here is where knowing what material your floors are made of is so important. If you are unsure, just use warm water. Even if you do use a cleaner, use it sparingly. Sometimes we treat the floors as if we are scrubbing a greasy fry pan, putting way too much soap in the water. All you need us just enough to help break up the soil, nothing more. The long term effect is that soapy water sits in the grout lines and dries. Grout can become like a dirt magnet in this case. Look at the edges of the room and compare the color of the grout with the color in the center of the room. Darker? It could be that you are using too much cleaner.

Follow these simple steps and keep that floor looking good!

Have you used Scotchgard? It has been around a long time and is now featured in quite a few other products other than fabric and carpeting. It truely is a remarkable product and ,yes, it does really work! Unfortunately, our offer of Scotchgard protection is often declined anymore. Many people used to have the extra application of Scotchgard applied after their carpets were cleaned; not so much anymore. Consider a few reasons we have heard:

1. “We are going to replace the carpet eventually.” – While this may be in the offing, when will this actually happen? Even if it happens within a year, what about the time leading up to the replacement? Clearly a person who says this cares about the appearance of their home. Why not protect what you have? Honestly, we have cleaned carpets for “the last time” multiple times! Take care of what you have; you never know what the future holds. It may be that the replacement happens further into the future than you anticipate.

    

2. “The carpets are old” – This is actually a powerful incentive to have the Scotchgard treatment! As carpets age it is true that they tend to soil faster. Think of your non-stick pans. As you use them inevitably the finish wears and things start to stick more and more. If you could recoat the pan would you? Sure!. But there is no product right now to do that. But there is for carpets! The Scotchgard helps to make the carpets more resilient and renews the original protection.
3. “We are trying to save money” – Yep, Scotchgard costs more money.; but often not as much as you might think. Maintenance on anything costs but prevents larger amounts down the road. People who protect their carpets with Scotchgard often comment how the carpet does not seem to age. It cleans up well and spots are easily removed. Although protecting your carpet costs more do you know what really costs a lot? Brand new carpet. Protect what you have!
4. “The carpets were cheap” – Even “cheap” carpets are still expensive. And replacing them is still a pain.So, is this really a reason to let it go? Not really. Take care of inexpensive carpets and you may be pleasantly surprised how long they last and how good they look.

In summary, take another look at Scotchgard. Don’t quickly refuse the offer. If you have never tried it, do so! Either way you will not be sorry you took care of what you have.

Spots on your carpets can be likened to minor injuries (cuts, bruises, scrapes, etc.) to your body. They can happen without warning, need to be handled properly, and if left, can cause bigger problems. You are no doubt a pro and handling these things on yourself and your children. One of the kids comes in with a skinned knee and *WHOOSH*, you are right to the medicine cabinet and return with bandages, ointments, pain relievers, etc. When something happens to our carpets, though, often we are stunned a bit, not knowing what to do. We reach for whatever cleaner(s) is handy, whether it is the right one or not, and begin pouring and scrubbing; we grab another random cleaner and begin squirting and rubbing until frustration takes over and we give up. Often when we are called in literally everything under the kitchen sink has been used. So…, let’s prepare and do this right.

1. BE PREPARED!
We all invest money in cold/flu medicine, pain relievers, bandages, ointments and many other products that we think we may need. Do the same with your carpet. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ cleaner out there. Some are good cleaners, some good deodorizers. some good spot removers. Have a variety on hand and learn how to use them. Every product will advise you to test it on your fabrics to see if it is colorfast. This is not a process that can be done properly in the heat of the moment, for instance when someone spills red wine on your light carpet. Get the cleaners and test them out long before you have to use them. Make sure they are in an easily accessible spot. If you have home carpet cleaning machines, keep them in good running order and ready to be used. Why? Because you have to…

2. GET TO IT QUICK!
The faster you get to a cut or scrape, the better it will heal. In the same way get to spots right away. Every minute counts. Usually once dry the damage is done. When wet, many things can be removed with relative ease. So don’t wait, but…

3. TAKE YOUR TIME!
When treating a cut or scrape you don’t rush so as not to hurt the person or make the injury worse. That is smart thinking! So, don’t rush when spotting your carpet. It takes time to remove things properly. Be patient and BLOT don’t scrub. Use your body weight; you can be down on your knees or put the towel down and step on it using your body weight. Repeat this over and over again until the spot is gone or not changing anymore. It takes a moment to make a spot, but a lot longer to remove it, perhaps 10-20 minutes. Carpet cleaning takes time. We cannot overemphasize this. Not only will scrubbing push the spot deeper, but it can also permanently change the look and feel of the carpet. Nothing worse that getting the spot out but still having a constant reminder of it because the carpet was damaged.

4. HAVE AT LEAST A ROUGH IDEA OF WHAT WORKS!
We know that Advil works differently that Tylenol. Neosporin works differently that Hydrogen Peroxide. A fever is different than a headache, a bruise that a cut..Spot cleaning can is similar. Different products work differently on different carpets. Experiment and have a variety on hand. Also recognize that different carpets react differently to the same cleaner. If you have rugs made of wool or cotton, carpets made of nylon, a room of olefin berber, they will all clean differently and may need special cleaners. Be ready.

Hopefully these tips will help you out the next time you have the relatives over or have a dinner party, No need to stress; YOU WILL BE READY!

Why are pet accidents (urine) so hard to remove? When the accident first happens urine is in a liquid form and quite easy to remove; just vacuum or absorb it up, and the problem is solved. The trouble begins when it dries. Urine that dries forms urine salts, crystals that form on carpet strands. (Imagine rock candy: sugar is dissolved in hot water and strings are placed in the water during the cooling process. The sugar collects around the strings in the form of sugar crystals. This process is similar to what is happening in your carpet, but not nearly as desirable.) Bacteria begin to feed on the dried urine and cause the unpleasant smell that prompts the opening question. Why not just clean the area? The issue with this is the urine salts will not clean off with detergents and water. They must be dissolved off with other types of cleaners and deodorizers. A cleaning will remove temporarily remove the bacteria but not the urine. Immediately bacteria begin to grow again.This process of removing urine is much slower and involved than a simple cleaning for soil, grease, food, etc.

Second, the pet accidents are often complicated because a pet may start to develop a bad habit in an area we may not see. Cats, for instance, may start spraying a wall behind furniture or in a corner in a lower level. A dog may start lifting it’s leg in an out of the way place. If the bad habit begins in drier months like winter it may not be noticed. As the warmer, humid air of spring and summer come, the problem seems to suddenly appear, the moisture triggering the smell. By the time the problem is noticed many ‘deposits’ may have been made, sometimes dozens! At this point the urine has penetrated the carpet, carpet backing, and padding. The tackless strip may be affected, trim may have absorbed urine, furniture and walls may have urine dried on them. While the carpet may be the most obvious source of odor it is by no means the only one.

So the bottom line: there is no simple spray. But it can be treated! We can discuss options that may work in your situation. Part 2 will discuss some of these.

Green – it is a word that seems to be attached to more and more things. Manufacturing processes, fuel, cars, chemicals, cleaners, etc. (and the list could go on) are labeled as “Green.” No doubt, all of us want to take care of the planet and do what we can. But doesn’t it seem at times that the term ‘green’ seems to fit the money we spend and that companies make in the process? Home cleaning is no different. There are plenty of ‘green’ cleaners out there and you may have a few in your home. Let’s talk about some things that you almost certainly have in your house that are often overlooked as excellent cleaners:

Hot Water: You can’t get any more environmentally friendly than this. So often when we want to clean or spot something we immediately think of detergents. Without a doubt, there is a place for those (i.e. grease, waste, etc.) but why not try water first? One of the things you can do is to heat the water first. The closer it is to boiling the better cleaner it becomes. When we clean carpets, we clean near 200 degrees! At that temperature you don’t need much soap.

White Vinegar: This is a great cleaner for windows, floors, and carpets. It dissolves urine, sweat, and other organic sources of odor. It also dissolves mineral buildups around sinks and faucets. It won’t leave a residue and is not harmful or toxic. Check this site out for more uses: http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/cleanorg/vinegar.html

Hydrogen Peroxide (3%): This is the same stuff that you get at the supermarket or pharmacy. It works great to get out naturally occurring dyes and stains like wine or fruit juice. It can remove coffee stains, vomit stains, and may help with the stain left from feces.

Ammonia: This is also a very good all around cleaner for floors, kitchens and baths, carpets, and more. Check this site out: http://www.thriftyfun.com/Cleaning-With-Ammonia-1.html

Club Soda: I have been told by many people that they have gotten stains out of their carpets with this old remedy. I have not personally tried it, but it certainly is worth a try.

Hopefully, you get a sense that some of these old remedies still carry a lot of merit. Give them a try next time. It saves money and the environment. Hard to argue with that.