What is living in your carpets?

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So, you do your best to keep up with everyday life and maintaining a clean house, right? Yet somehow, nothing ever seems good enough! You dust your window sills, clean your windows, potty train your pets, get non-spill cups for the kids (and possibly even your husband), spot clean that wine you spilled (oops), vacuum, take your shoes off before you come in the house and yet STILL your carpets look dirty! It looks like it’s time to get the carpets cleaned again, but how can I take care of them between cleanings so that they don’t get so soiled looking?

It turns out carpets act like a giant filter which trap indoor air pollutants such as dust, dirt, pet dander, moisture and pests! Apparently wiping your shoes before entering is not enough to keep those carpets clean. Dirt and soil is not the only thing cohabitating with your carpet fibers, it is common for many microorganisms and bugs to live in carpets! Bugs such as dust mites, ground beetles, potato bugs, carpet mites and more could be snuggling with your carpet fibers. If carpet cleaning is neglected your indoor air quality will decline and your carpets can turn into a breeding ground for contaminants and pollutants.

So, what can I do between steam cleanings to protect my carpet and keep them clean?

Carpet is damaged by soils not visible to the human eye, so how are we supposed to protect them? High traffic areas create ground in soil which needs to be removed on a regular basis. Dirt is extremely abrasive against the fibers of carpet and will wear the carpet excessively if not properly maintained. Make sure to vacuum regularly, even if it does not appear to be dirty!

It is recommended to steam clean your carpets professionally every 6 months – 1 year. To get out embedded soils or bugs it is important to have a steam cleaning at a high heat to kill any contaminants or bugs hiding in the carpet fibers! Also, to maintain a longer life span of the carpets and have the carpet looking as good as possible, it is recommended to have it cleaned before it starts to show sign of wear! Soils that embed into the carpet fibers can cause the carpeting to break down, making it look worse and shortening its life span.

Spots and stains will act as a dye if not treated immediately or the carpets are unprotected. Most over-the-counter stain removal products will make a stain worse, thus it is recommended to purchase a stain removal product from your carpet manufacturer or certified professional cleaner. To prevent a stain from embedding into the carpet, when you have your carpets cleaned you should get stain resistance on your carpets. Each time your carpets are steam cleaned this removes any stain resistance that was on the carpet. Stain resistance forms a topical barrier on the fibers of the carpets in order to repel liquids and dry soils. Therefore, any dirt, spots and stains will lay on the top of the carpet fibers instead of embedding into them so they do not become a dye to the carpet fibers.

After everything you’ve been doing around the house to keep those carpets cleaned, turns out you could be doing more! Who knew? Moral of the story… vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, clean, protect, repeat! http://alpineclean.com/carpet-cleaning/

 

 

Show some love to your beloved furniture!

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People always think of cleaning their carpets, but have you ever really thought about cleaning your furniture? I know that I never really did! My furniture gets a lot of use between movie nights, lazy days on the couch and my dog thinking the furniture is her own personal bed; so, I figured that my furniture gets a lot of use. People invest a lot into their furniture and should properly take care of it. Here are 5 ways to keep your furniture looking newer longer:

 

  • Fluff the Cushions-In order to maintain the shape and comfort of your cushions fluff the cushions regularly. There is nothing worse than a lumpy couch or chair where no matter where you sit, there is no comfortable spot. Keep your furniture feeling nicer by fluffing the cushions regularly. This will help to protect your investment.

 

 

  • Flip and Rotate your Cushions- Depending on the piece of furniture, everyone has their favorite spot. On a couch, most people prefer to sit on one side or the other, rather than in the middle. Because of this, it creates a permanent wear on the furniture. To prevent wearing of certain areas, rotate your cushions and flip them regularly. By rotating the cushions, it will make them last longer. By also flipping your couch cushions over, it will help preserve the life of the couch up to twice as long.

 

  • Vacuum your Furniture-  It is easy to forget about vacuuming your furniture because we can’t always tell that it is dusty; but just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean the dust is not there. Vacuuming regularly helps to get rid of dust that can accumulates and helps with allergens.

 

  • Steam Clean-   It is recommended that you steam clean your furniture regularly. This process can help extend the life of your furniture. Over time your furniture picks up dust, dirt, pet hair, and food stains. Steam cleaning can give your furniture a fresh new, look and help improve the cleanliness of your home. If left alone, many pieces of your furniture can fall victim to dust and grime. Not getting these pieces cleaned can increase allergens and health issues which may pose an issue if you are sensitive to dust. Steam cleaning can help deliver health benefits and keep your furniture lasting longer.

 

  • Re-protect it with an All-Natural Stain Protectant- All in all, people invest a lot into their furniture so it may take a little investing in to upkeep it. It will be worth it in the long run when you can enjoy your favorite couch or chair for many years to come.After steam cleaning your furniture, you will want to keep it looking and feeling clean as long as possible. To help with this, you may want to invest in an all-natural stain protectant. During the steam cleaning process, it removes the natural stain protectant that is on your furniture when you buy it. So, it is recommended that you re-apply the stain protectant. That way if you spill anything or track any dirt or soil on it, it’s adhering to the stain protectant rather than the furniture itself, thus keeping your furniture cleaner longer and making it easier to clean next time.

           All in all, people invest a lot into their furniture so it may take a little investing in to upkeep it. It will be worth it in the long run when you can enjoy your favorite couch or chair for many years to come.