The Carpet Cleaners Blog of Elk Grove

The Carpet Cleaners Blog of Elk Grove

A Few Words About the Importance of Maintaining your Vacuum Cleaner.

by David Buck on 12/27/12

Vacuum cleaners are very much like cars because they require regular maintenance.  Most newer dirt cup type vacuums have at least 2 and many have 3 or 4 filters that require very regular cleaning.   Most vacuum cleaners also have a rubber band type of belt that requires friction to turn the brush roll.  These belts stretch out approximately 10 % after just a few hours of operation and the brush roll begins to slip under a load.   The overall effect of these two factors is severely reduced efficiency. 

Fortunately this is very easy to fix.  I vacuum carpets every day and use a variety of different vacuums cleaners.  On average it takes me six minutes to replace a belt and three to five minutes to clean the filters . . . but I do this very regularly.  The more you get to know your vacuum the faster you will be at maintaining it .

A few tips.

 

When you buy belts, buy five at a time.

Pay very close attention when you take your vacuum apart, then it will be much easier to put back together.

For peak performance, change your belt every six months, but at least once a year.

All vacuum cleaners and vacuum filters are different.  Some require a lot of cleaning, especially the dirt cup type. My cyclone type vacuums don't get dirty as fast.  Get used to the requirements of your vacuum and give it what it needs.

Slow down when vacuuming  in the high traffic areas . . . it makes a huge difference.

 

 

Three Things That You Need To Keep Away From Your Carpet

by David Buck on 06/20/12

1) Yellow Mustard . . . or as I like to call it yellow carpet dye.  It never fails . . . I get invited to someones house for a BBQ and the the first thing I see is pickle relish, diced onions and French's yellow carpet dye sitting on that little part of the kitchen counter, you know the one . . .  that sticks out right in front of the ivory white carpet.

The first thing I do is discreetly grab the mustard, move it to the back counter and inform the home owner how important it is to keep the mustard as far from the carpet as possible.  Ususally it only takes a few minutes before someone puts it right back out on the edge of the counter just barely in reach of the four year old who is jumping up to grab it.  Can you guess what happens next?  It always goes somthing like this . . . " Oh don't worry about it . . . daves here, he can get anything out of the carpet". 

Then I have the unenviable task of explaining that yellow mustard contains tumeric and vinegar and how that makes a very effective yellow acid dye . . . the same type that is used by manufactures to dye carpet.

 

2) Bleaching agents like liquid acne/pimple removers and plant fertilizers.  Most people already know that you can not put clorox bleach on your carpet or the next day you will have a bright yellow spot.  What they typically don't know is why.

With very few execptions, the colors used to dye carpet contain all three primary colors in varying amounts.  Bleaches like Clorox will remove the red and blue dye, leaving behind the yellow dye in all its blazing glory.  Then the only way to get the carpet back to it's original color is to neutrilize the bleach and add back the red and blue dye. . .  which is pure art and extremely difficult to do.

In addition to clorox one of the worst offenders I have seen is the liquid pimple removers that come in a jar and have a little pad inside.  These are just begging a teenager to walk around the house while rubbing the pad on their chin; all the while dripping this liquid as they go and unaware that there will be little thumbtack sized bleach stains on the carpet the next day. In the last 23 years as a professional carpet cleaner I have seen it over and over and over again.

 

3)  Combinations of cleaning agents.  I got a call back in 2001 from the company that makes simple green.  they asked me to investigate a situation in Carmichael where a guy had used it in his home carpet cleaning machine and claimed to have green stains all over his carpet.  Sure enough I arrived at his house and he had about ten 4-6 foot areas of green all over his lving room and family room carpet.

First I tryed to clean out the green but it wouldn't budge so I tryed to duplicate the problem using his bottle of cleaning solution.  After using various dilution ratios that were much higher then the suggested 1 to 64, I finally poured it onto his carpet straight out of the bottle and let it dwell for about 15 minutes.  In every single case it rinsed out of his carpet with ease and was clearly not the problem.

Well long story short . . .  he got home around midnight and found his dog had suffered from diarhea all over his carpet.  He grabbed his cleaning machine out of the closet which still had another brand of cleaning solution in it.

The morel of the story is that Product A combined with product B Combined with what ever made the dog sick, created a new compound that permenently dyed this man's carpet green.  So remember . . . anything that gets in your carpet whether you put it there or your dog put it there, don't forget to rinse it completely out of your carpet before you add a differnt product and end up mixing the two together in your carpet.

Five Things You Can Do To Extend The Beauty Of Your Carpet.

by David Buck on 06/08/12

  1. Vacuum your carpet sloooooooooooowly.  I exaggerate the word slowly because it feels weird and takes longer to write but there is a noticable difference between the two.  It's the exact same way with vacuuming your carpet; going slow feels weird but the difference between the two approaches is unmistakable. Most people see vacuuming as a chore that can be done faster by simply speeding up the tool but removing soil from deep down in the carpet, definitely requires a deliberately slow pace.                                     
  2. Vacuum more often.  This goes hand in hand with #1.  If you only vacuum once a week then soil that gets tracked in your house or blown through your windows has four, five even six days of foot traffic to work its way down to the base of the carpet fiber where it is much, much harder to remove.
  3. Make sure your vacuum cleaner is working properly.  Belts should be replaced every 12-18 months and since they only cost a few dollars it's a good idea to get 3 or 4 at a time.  When vacuum cleaner belts start to stretch out (and it becomes noticable within a few months), the vacuum cleaner becomes much less effective at removing deep down soil. The same is true of the vacuum cleaners air path.  If you have a bagged vacuum cleaner, change out the bag when it is no more than half way full otherwise the air flow slows down so much that you are simply not picking up the dirt that you are working so hard to remove.  likewise if you have a vacuum with a dirt cup, make sure you know where all the filters are (some eureka vacuums have four) and clean them out regularly to maximize the air flow.
  4. Spot cleaning.  Alway begin by blotting the spill unless the dog threw up, then gently scrape off the residue first and then blot gently with an old cotton towel.  Or if that is just too gross then you can spot clean the way I do at my house.  I keep a small wet and dry vac in the front clost of my home so that it is very handy to use.  Each time there is a spill I just grab the vac and a pitcher of warm water.  I start first by sucking up as much of the spill as I can while being careful not to scrub the carpet aggressively with the hose.  Then I pour a little warm water from my pitcher into the carpet and gently extract the moisture and the residue; repeating these two steps until I am satisfied with the results.  Then I fold up a clean, old, white towel, place it over the spill and stand on the towel until it is saturated.  I will usually repeat that a few times with several towels.  I have found that this simple spot cleaning technique using just warm water, will remove 90% of the things that get spilled on my carpet.  The best part is that if you follow these instructions you wont be applying any chemicals that might set the stain permenently. (DONT FORGET TO HOSE OUT YOUR WET AND DRY VAC AND LET IT DRY BEFORE YOU PUT IT AWAY)
  5. Regular professional cleaning.  All of the above are important to the maintenance of your carpet but they will not take the place of a regular professional restorative carpet cleaning.  I have seen so many people lose the warranty on their carpet because they did not not understand that regular professional HWE (Hot Water Extraction) carpet cleaning is a requirement of their warranty and usually required every 18 - 24 months to keep the warranty valid.  Most of the time makers of stain resistant fiber will not recognize any warranty claims against their product with out proof of this professional service by way of a receipt.  So make sure that you have a regular schedule for your professional carpet cleaner, a solid spot cleaning procedure and slow deliberate vacuum strokes with a well tuned vacuum cleaner and you can add years of beauty to  your carpet right now.

I Would Like To Have My Carpet Thoroughly Deep Cleaned Using The (HWE) Hot Water Extraction Method Required By My Carpet Warranty, But I Don't Want It Wet For Two Days . . . What Should I Do?

by David Buck on 05/26/12

Every professional carpet cleaner faces the same dilemma . . . how do I flush out all of the contaminates and get the carpet really clean, all the way down to the base of the fiber . . . but also have the carpet pretty much dry by the time I leave my clients home???

Up until just recently, carpet cleaners only had a few options to help solve this age old problem.  Some carpet cleaners have chosen to use (VLM) Very Low Moisture cleaning methods to help eliminate any excessive amounts of water in the carpet right from the start.  I have found that on lightly soiled carpets, the best carpet cleaners are getting some excellent results, especially those employing the newest Crystallon 3, crystallizing polymer and (OP) Oscillating Pad Machines.

Other carpet cleaning companies are bringing in the newest Airpath Dryers to help remove any excess moisture as quickly as possible.  These new air movers have the unique ability to dry a carpet in all directions at the same time and they have made a huge impact on the professional carpet cleaning industry over the last two years.

As Truck Mounted HWE Machines became more powerful over the last decade, with more vacuum capacity and higher heat, several independent carpet cleaners began increasing the size of the jets on their cleaning tools to allow more water to flow through the carpet, thus flushing out more of the contaminates at a faster rate.

High Flow Carpet Cleaning Was Born.

The newest technology being championed in HWE carpet cleaning is an offshoot of the High Flow movement and centers around an adjustable high sheer angle for the jets.  When combined with a High Flow setup, this user selectable, high sheer angle allows a highly skilled operator to pass high volumes of water through the carpet; flushing away maximum amounts of soil and other contaminates, without over-wetting the carpet.

2012 is like a new era for the conscientious carpet cleaners who are striving to provide their clients with an extraordinary cleaning experience.  So if you are looking for a deep, thorough cleaning of your carpet but would like your carpet dry in hours not days, then seek out carpet cleaners on the cutting edge of their industry who are using these new techniques everyday, in places like Elk Grove, Wilton and Ranch Murieta . . . and enjoy a superior level of carpet cleaning in your home today.

How Often Should I Have My Carpets Professionally Cleaned in Elk Grove?

by David Buck on 05/08/12

Most synthetic carpet attracts dust & dirt and then holds onto it with a magnet like grip. These properties of synthetic fiber make your carpet the largest and most effecient filter in your home.  However, when abrasive dust & dirt are allowed to sit on the carpet for long periods of time, these contaminates begin to behave like sandpaper under your feet.

Some of the nicest carpets in Elk Grove are made of nylon and nylon is very shiny and beautiful to look at.  But when nylon carpet fibers get scratched by people walking across its soiled surface, they become permenently altered and begin to look quite dull in appearance.  These dull, scratched fibers are ususally found in the highest trafficked areas of the home like hallways.

To exasperate the problem, the carpet fibers within six to eight inches of the wall never get walked on and so they continue to look shiny and new year after year.  With scratched and dull fibers in such close proximity to shiny new carpet fibers, these high traffic areas can begin to look ruined in just a few short years.

The need for regular, professional carpet cleaning is made clear in DuPont's StainMaster Carpet Care FAQ's, it States; "Frequency of cleaning should be determined based on household conditions.  We recommend a professioanal cleaning at least every 12 months. (Professional steam cleaning / hot water extraction at least every 24 months is required to maintain your texture retention warranty)."

 It is Imperitave to have this abrasive dust and dirt removed from your highly trafficked carpet fibers as often as is possible.  This is why a regular carpet cleaning schedule by a professional carpet cleaner is essential to the beauty and longevity of your carpet

 

Is Professional Carpet Cleaning in Elk Grove Really That Much Better Than My Bissell

by David Buck on 05/01/12

I have been asked this question several times by some serious Do-it- Yourselfers. These guys are dead set on figuring out how to get results that are similar to what professional carpet cleaners in Elk Grove are charging hundreds of dollars for.

My answer to them is this: If you have a very lightly soiled carpet and at least one hour per room to be cleaned then the answer is a cautious yes; your bissell machine can produce results that are similar to what a professional carpet cleaner is able to do. And then I tell them this story to help them visualize the process of cleaning carpet and removing soil.

If you wanted to put a swimming pool in your backyard, you have the option to go down to your local home improvement center and for the sum of about $50.00 you could own the most exquisite shovel ever made.  But when you return home you will quickly discover that the amount of energy required to operate that shovel is just not reasonable for the amount of soil that must be removed.  You will quickly realize that for even an average sized swimming pool it is much better to hire a professional who will bring in a backhoe that is designed to remove large amounts of soil very quickly.

On the other hand if you wanted a concrete pathway that meanders through your backyard and the preperation required just a few inches of soil to be moved in a few places, then with that same shovel, alot of sweat, and a few new blisters; you will be able to accomplish what any professional landscaper would charge hundreds of dollars to do.

It is exactly the same thing with your carpet in Elk Grove.  An Average soiled carpet is like a pool, it requires a professional carpet cleaner with heavy duty specialized equiptment to remove that soil in a reasonable amount of time.  A very lightly soiled carpet is like the meandering pathway. It only requires the removal of some surface soil that is easy to get to.

 

Cruise The Delta And Come Home To The Freshest Smelling Carpet You've Ever Had

by David Buck on 04/26/12

Have you ever lingered at the majestic beauty of wild flowers growing near stone lake?  Did you ever tip your hat to the good ole Delta Blues as you turned south onto the river road?  Have you ever imagined elves and fairies scurrying through the forest-like pear fields of Courtland?  Have you ever turned off the river road at the Ryde Hotel and wandered out to Hog Back Island or rode the ferry across Grand Island Road?

Well now you have an Excuse!  When I am cleaning my clients Carpets in Elk Grove, Wilton or Rancho Murieta, I always encourage them to do something fun while I transform their home back into the castle they once knew. 

Imagine how you will feel . . . going out for a drive on a warm spring day, the windows down and the perfume of spring blowing through your hair.  Imagine the beautiful sights you will see that are practically sitting in your own backyard.  Now imagine returning home in Elk Grove, Wilton Or Rancho Murieta to the brightest and freshest smelling carpet you've ever seen.

I guarantee that if you take along someone special, it will be an adventure you won't soon forget!  And the joy for me will be that every time you look down at the gorgeous carpet cleaning job I have performed, it will flood you with memories of a very special day indeed.

All Carpet Cleaning In Elk Grove Is Not The Same

by David Buck on 04/25/12

The fact is that out of one hundred or so Carpet Cleaners you would probably have a hard time finding even three that clean carpets exactly the same way.  So if you are researching Carpet Cleaners in Elk Grove be aware of the old axiom . . . You Get What You Pay For.

Many time residents of Elk Grove fall into the trap of focusing so much of their attention on the price of carpet cleaning that they lose site of the value of quality carpet cleaning and as a result, they end up with a poor cleaning job.

Even if everything else were exactly the same, a carpet cleaner who spends just fifteen minutes pre-vacuuming a carpet and then twenty minutes drying that same carpet with a $600.00 Airpath dryer, is going to provide Elk Grove residents with a far superior carpet cleaning job.  

So then if you take into consideration his choice of pre-spray (the best DfE certified green pre-spray is over $50.00 a Gallon), a high flow wand ( $800.00 to $1200.00) or rotary cleaning tool ($2000.00 to $3000.00), and a powerful truck-mount ($20,000 to $30,000.00), you start to see that the "Extra" money that a top notch Elk Grove Carpet Cleaner charges, does not go into his pocket . . . it goes right back into his clients cleaning job.

 If you live in Elk Grove and have ever replaced your carpet then you know what kind of investment it is and you probably get an uncomfortable feeling that comes over you at the thought of subjecting all the time and money you have invested in your home to someone who doesn't care as much about your home as you do.  That is why it is so important to read reviews and seek out someone who is passionate about cleaning carpet in Elk Grove and really cares about his clients and community's best interest.

Remember this . . all companies know what their service is worth and they charge accordingly, so the old saying is just as true today

as it was a thousand years ago . . .

You Get What You Pay For.

Spring Introduces The Benefits of High Flow Carpet Cleaning, With Elk Grove's Voracious Delta Breeze

by David Buck on 04/20/12

On those warm days ahead when all the windows in the house are open, Delta Steam-Way brings Elk Grove residents some of the highest water flow rates around.  This type of extremely effective flushing with its higher shear angle, gently removes more contaminates out of your carpet by using more pure water than the lower flow rates that most other Carpet Cleaners use.

When considering High Flow Carpet Cleaning in Elk Grove, it is important to understand that the Cleaning Technician will spend more time than normal by performing slower  passes with his wand.  In addition, more time will be committed to using Special AirPath Dryers and moving them regularly throughout the cleaning process.  This will ensure that inspite of the additional flushing that removes the maximum amount of soil and sticky residues from drinks that get spilled, most of the Carpet will still be dry enough to use by dinner time.

All the wonderful benefits of High Flow Carpet Cleaning and the additional time it requires to perform this gentle but extremely thorough type of cleaning will certainly need to be taken into consideration when Elk Grove residents are ready to decide what level of cleaning they really want for the carpets in their homes.

Then as a final recommendation, I always incourage my clients to open up the windows and let that Delta Breeze flow through the house so that Elk Grove will have not only the cleanest carpets . . . but the driest as well.

 

 

Delta Steam-Way
The Premier Carpet Cleaners In Elk Grove