Cleaning Permanent Marker Stains from your Carpet

If you have little kids, chances are they are going to get into crayons and markers. And it is likely that they will not always be writing in coloring books. Little kids may take to any surface that will absorb the ink. This can unfortunately include walls, rugs, and carpeting. As with most stains, if you see it and act fast enough there is a good chance you will be able to clean and remove it.

Our video today is one from YouTube, if features a solution to our problem of the day. There is fairly large permanent marker stain on the carpet and the goal of the video is to show you how to remove it. The methods described in this video recommend the blotting of the stain with rubbing alcohol. Dabbing the stain with a alcohol dipped paper towel will absorb the ink up from the carpeting. As mentioned in previous stain removal posting, never rub the stain as that will just spread it out. Blotting lifts the stain up from its location without spreading it out too much. After blotting the stain, the woman in the video recommends spraying hairspray on the stain and brushing it with a toothbrush. This is said to lift out the stain further. This is another repeat as much as necessary process. In other words, keep going until the stain is gone or as gone as it can be.

Destroying Mold by Green Methods

The best way to avoid most problems is by taking preventive measures. But the usual scenario is that something happened and now it must be dealt with. This is usually the case with mold in your carpeting, showers, walls, and so on and so forth. Commonly the methods used to kill mold and bacteria was with bleach. While bleach is an effective killer, it is a caustic and dangerous chemical to handle. Finding more natural ways to excise mold has become a part of the green movement.

Pretty much any natural cleaning book will tell you that vinegar and water is the only cleaner you need. A solution of vinegar and water is said to clean just about anything, and can replace your commercial bought cleaners. There is no doubt that a vinegar solution is on the list of natural methods to kill mold and mildew. On the more fancy and expensive side is the use of solutions of Tea tree oil and solutions of Grape seed oil. Both solutions are tried, tested, and known as fungus killers.

The most common and quickly remedied mold is mold found in the bathroom. Your bathroom is full of pipe work and water. This gets splashed around and does not always make it down the drain. This leads to excess moisture and can cause the growth of mold and mildew. The aforementioned solutions can easily kill off fungal growth in your bathroom.

Again prevention is the key. Before your house starts growing mold, check your home for damp spots, leaking pipes, and extra humidity. Consider getting a room dehumidifier for overly humid rooms in your house. If you have leaky pipes, have them fixed. If your Air Conditioning condenser is producing too much moisture, have it inspected. The earlier any issues are identified and handled, the less likely the chance your home will need a mold remediation service.

Tips For Choosing a Shop Vacuum

Another great vacuum choice is the Shop Vacuum. These are mainly sold as vacuum cleaners for the garage and workshops, but they can easily be used for messes inside of the house as well. The majority of them look like buckets on wheels with a long hose attachment coming out.

If you are considering getting one of these vacuums, decide on what the main use of it will be. Shop vacs come in a wide variety of sizes and specializations. The tanks come in gallon sizes from one on up. Smaller vacuums will be more mobile, but you will have to empty the tank more often. The bigger machines are good for more stationary jobs and may offer more power. Some machines can also reverse the airflow and be turned into blowers.

Like regular house vacuum, there are a variety of attachments to choose from. Such as hose extenders, brushes, and crevice tools Shop Vacs are also equipped with filters and may be customizable to the job you intend to use it most on. If you are going to do a lot of wood working you will want a filter than is good for wood dust. They are also great for small construction products in the house, or vacuuming out the car.

There is also the Wet Dry Vacuum, which is designed to handle water and wet surfaces in addition to dry areas. These units require more power, and tend to be on the larger side of the vacuum units.

All in all, they will do the job you get them for. As long as you get one that is suitable to your needs.

The Benefits Of Carpeting Over Hardwood Flooring

Though everyone will have their own personal preference, there are some advantages of having carpeting in you house versus hardwood or laminate flooring. Some of those benefits are:

1.     Insulation- Having carpeted floors helps to keep your house a little warmer and not lose heat too fast. And as such, it is warmer to walk on than a hardwood floor. This can save you energy and reduce your heating bill.

2.     Cosmetic Uses—Carpet can be used to cover up old or damaged flooring in your home or apartment. It can be a less costly fix than having the floor replaced.

3.     Noise Dampening- Carpeting is great at absorbing sound and keeping noise levels down. The sound of walking on a carpet is nothing to that of the noise of echoes created by walking on a hard floor surface.

4.     Potential Safety- Carpet can be safer in some situation, since it is not slippery like a hard floor surface. It also provides some traction. Since there will be a little padding, any dropped dishes will be less likely to break.

5.     Easy to Clean- Many carpets are now stain resistant to some level and can be easily cleaned. If a spill soaks into your wood floor, it is likely to be permanent.

6.     Keeps the Air Clean- This may be debatable. Carpet does trap dust and allergens, but they can be easily launched back into the air while vacuuming. So actually the amount of times you clean and vacuum your carpet will affect the air quality in your home.

Easy to Install- Carpet has a relatively easier installation process than hardwood flooring. In many cases, installing carpeting will cost less than flooring. And in that respect would also be easier to replace than a hardwood floor wood.

Tips for caring for your leather upholstery

Leather upholstered furniture always looks elegant and classy. But it does wear out over time and needs some revitalization. Here is a collection of cleaning care tips for your leather furniture.

• To help your leather last, do not place your furniture in direct sunlight. And keep a safe distance from fire places and heating vents.
• Check the tags on your furniture for any cleaning instructions or recommendations.
• To clean your leather regularly. Create a mixture of distilled water and mild soap. Soap like a facial wash. Lightly wash your leather with the solution and a rag. After washing do rinses. After you have removed any soapy residue, use a clean white cloth to buff out your leather and give it a shine.
• If you don’t want to use home made solutions, you can get leather protectant from furniture stores. Or you might want to do this after you have given your leather a light cleaning.
• Clean up any spill on your furniture as fast as you can. Leather’s nature is to absorb, especially liquids.
• Avoid using saddle soap, bleach, varnish, and cleaners containing ammonia. They can discolor and damage your leather. Do not clean with oils.
• Vacuum regularly to keep the dust and crumb levels down.

What is the best way to remove old carpeting?

If your carpeting is beyond cleaning and you have decided to replace it, the old carpeting must come out. Some would leave this for the installers of the new carpet, but some places won’t handle the removal. They leave the job up to you. But if you do it yourself, you can save some money on labor and on installation time for the new carpet. In most cases the removal can be relatively simple. Usually you just need to use a tool to loosen the carpet from one of the corners of the floor. Some use screw drivers or small pry-bars. I like using a pair of pliers to just grip the carpet.

Once you loosen the carpet from the edges of the floor, you can try to roll it up for removal. If that would be too big to handle, you can always get a utility knife and cut up the carpet in to smaller manageable sizes. On a side note, if you have any outdoor pets, a square of old carpet makes for a nice bed. When the carpeting is out, you can do the same process to remove the carpet padding, if any. After the carpet and pad is gone, you have to focus on removing all of the old carpet tacks and nails that may be in your floor. You may also want to pull up the old floor stripping and tack boards the carpeting was attached to. It depends one whether or not you play to have new pieces installed or just reuse the old pieces.The nails are small and don’t always have a head you can grip with a hammer, so you may have to work out some of the nails with a pair of pliers.

Some Tips for Hiring a Maid Service.

If you have a busy work schedule and don’t have time to clean your home, or you just don’t want to bother with it. You might want to consider hiring a maid or maid service to come clean your home. You know you would feel better coming home to clean house than to a cluttered messy house. As with hiring any cleaning service, there are some details to consider when choosing the company for you.

While you are researching Maid Services, keep these questions in mind:

1. Make sure the company is insured for any mishaps that might befall their employee. They shouldn’t rely on your home insurance, which might not cover accidents by maids. The liability should fall on the company and not on yourself.
2. Ask about the company’s employee screening practices. Are the maids that come to your house company employees or contract workers? This might affect the insurance responsibility. Were there any background checks done? You don’t want known thieves in your home.
3. Ask for company referrals and/or referrals for the employees they will send to your house.
4. Ask about any Satisfaction Guarantees. If they do a horrible job, you don’t want to pay them. Or the whole amount due anyways. Find out the complaint procedures for the company.
5. Check the company name with the Better Business Bureau.
6. Do they bring their own cleaning supplies or do they use yours?
7. Do they have their own equipment, or do you need to supply it?
8. Find out what types of cleaning services they will provide. Such as vacuuming, dusting, laundry, polishing, etc.
9. Ask about the scheduling options. Do they come everyday, every week, every month, etc? Is it a schedule you can set or something they have preset?

Your curtains and drapes collect a lot of dust over time and also need to be cleaned. If your vacuum has a furniture attachment you can use it to remove the dust. Or you can take your drapes and curtains outside and shake out the dust. Then you can vacuum up what remains. If your curtains and drapes are small enough, you can probably put them in your washing machine. Just do it on a light and gentle setting. You can also employ the aid of a small steam cleaner. Like the ones they sell for shirts. This would kill off the dust mites and any bacteria that may be living on your curtains.

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of cleaning things yourself, you can always hire a company to come clean your drapes and curtains. But of course, hiring services to do this for you can get expensive and adds up over time.

Regular vacuuming will help keep the dust levels down. And help you avoid breathing in allergens. There are various styles of curtains and drapes and the fabrics they are made of influence the best method for cleaning them. I won’t go into those here, since I wanted to focus on the vacuuming aspect.

Throw rugs need to be cleaned every now and then, but a vacuum might be too rough on them. So it is usually suggested to wash them. How you wash them is up to you, but here are some basic tips I’ve come across.

If you choose to clean your rugs in a washing machine, do it in cold water for a short cycle on the delicate setting. Using a light setting will help prevent extra wear or damage to the rug. If your rugs are too big for your home washing machine, go to a Laundromat.

They should have a larger machine to accommodate your needs. And whatever you do, don’t put your rug in the dryer. It would be bad. Let your rug air dry outside or somewhere where it will be safe.

The most effective, yet most expensive method is by dry cleaning. Take your rugs down to your local cleaners and let them handle it. This requires the least work on your part, so the convenience comes at a monetary cost.

If you don’t want to deal with washing machines, you are not alone. You can also use the tried and true methods of washing them in a tub of water. A little soap and warm water and you can easily wash and rinse out your rugs. And in a similar fashion, you can just take your rugs outside and hose them down. This method will rinse them out, but to get them extra clean pre-treat the rugs with a solution of soapy water.

Welcome to our first blog.

In this blog we are going to focus on Carpet Cleaning and Carpet Cleaning Services.

We want to explore vacuuming , dust and dirt damage prevention , self cleaning options,shampooing , and hiring cleaning services.