Carpet Tech's Floor Care & Restoration Blog

The Importance of Upholstery Cleaning

It's funny how fastidious some of us are about cleanliness in our homes. We work hard to scrub the bathroom, we keep the kitchen clean, we vacuum the floors every week and call our carpet care professional to schedule a cleaning every year. But for some reason, we always forget about cleaning the upholstery in our homes.

Think about it - when is the last time you had your couch professionally cleaned? Last year? Five years ago? Never? Most families spend a great deal of time on the couch, eating, watching TV, playing, sleeping, reading... just how much dirt and grime have you left behind? Is your yellow couch supposed to be white?

Though it's not nice to think about, it's a fact that our favorite couches and chairs accumulate a great deal of dirt, body oils, sweat, food spills, dust mites, pet dander and who knows what else. What's worse, the sweat and body oil that is left behind on your couch cushions acts like a glue that binds dirt to the fabric, making it difficult to remove.

Upholstery requires special methods to clean both because it attracts different types of dirt than your carpet, and because it is made from different materials. Some fabrics can be easily damaged (resulting in color loss or frayed fibers) if not cared for properly.

Don't worry! Your carpet cleaning professional has the products and tools necessary to clean your favorite pieces of furniture. We've got what it takes to break down the worst dirt and grime and make your furniture look like new. Give us a call today!

Carpet Cleaning Basics

The beauty and life of a carpet depends largely on the care that it is given. Proper maintenance can add years of attractive life. For carpeting, proper maintenance includes regular vacuuming and periodic cleaning by a professional.

Regular vacuuming should be done every 1-2 weeks, and even more often in high traffic areas.  It is important to use a well-maintained, good quality vacuum.

Professional cleanings are essential to maintain the life and beauty of your carpet and should be done every year. But before having a carpet cleaned, you may find it helpful to understand a few of the carpet cleaning methods.

• Hot Water Extraction or "Steam" Cleaning. In this method, hot water mixed with cleaning solution is sprayed on the carpet and immediately extracted (along with the dissolved soil) by an extraction machine. Hot water extraction is often referred to as "steam" cleaning. Most carpet manufacturers reccomend this method to sustain the life of your carpets. Carpet Tech utilizes this method as well.
• Shampooing. In this process, a cleaning detergent is whipped into a foam against the carpet by a floor machine. This suspends the soil, and the wet/dry vacuum removes it.
• Bonnet Cleaning. A special detergent is applied to the carpet, then agitated and absorbed, along with the soil, into the padding of the machine.
• Encapsulation Cleaning. An encapsulant is sprayed onto the carpet and then agitated by a machine. The encapsulant suspends dirt and soil, and then dries to a brittle crystal that is vacuumed off later - taking the dirt with it!

Keep Your Carpets in Great Shape: Stop Carpet Abuse!

Your carpets take a lot more abuse than you realize, and we're not just talking about the occasional spots and spills. Daily wear and tear can really take its toll on your carpet and shorten its life. Carpeting is an expensive investment and we want to help you protect that investment. Here are a few signs your carpet is in trouble and how to rectify the problems. As always, make sure to have regular professional cleanings at least once a year.

• 1) Sprouting: Shoe nails, pet claws or defective cleaning equipment can pull tufts above the level of the carpet. To prevent additional problems, use a sharp pair of scissors to trim the excess tufts as soon as you notice them.
• 2) Shedding: These short, broken fibers can be trapped during the yarn-making process. After your carpet is installed, they may show up as fuzz. While some is normal in high quality spun yarn, it's best to get these fibers up and out by vacuuming to eliminate the problem.
• 3) Shading: Heavy traffic causes carpet pile to lie in a variety of directions, so tufts remaining upright appear darker than compressed fibers. A thorough vacuuming or combing will rectify the situation so pile wears uniformly.
• 4) Pilling: The small, fuzzy balls that stick to carpet surfaces are caused when strong, unbroken fibers cling to weak ones. Most often, the cause is using old cleaning equipment, so ask your carpet care professional to inspect your vacuum and other cleaning tools. Pets may also be the culprits, too.
• 5) Furniture dents: Finally decided to rearrange the living after 20 years? You can try getting rid of those unsightly dents by holding a steam iron over (never against) the indented pile, then gently brushing the area.