Paint can be one of the most difficult and frustrating stains to remove from carpet. It should also be noted up front that not all paint can even be removed. When the paint hits the carpet fibers, the fibers can easily become dyed, changing color regardless of whether the actual paint is cleaned up or not. The longer it sits, the more damage can be done in this way.

Here are a few important things to note up front:

• Once the paint dries it becomes exponentially more difficult, time consuming, and potentially dangerous to remove.
• The solvents used to remove paint can also remove the glue from the backing of the carpet (delamination) and cause buckling and further damage.
• Never apply solvents directly to your carpet.
• Try to get up as much paint as possible prior to beginning the actual process of cleaning your carpet.
• Paint will ruin rental steam units and, worse, the units won’t clean them up adequately to begin with.

While homeowners and landlords can do well for themselves by learning to clean up messes, the process can also cause more harm than good. Hiring a processional to clean up a paint spill is going to require much less hassle than replacing your carpet because you accidentally dissolved the backing trying to clean that spill up by yourself to begin with.

Cleaning Up Small Spills

A drop or two of paint, even a small smear, is usually something that can be handled by the homeowner. It is essential, however, that you begin the cleanup process as soon as the spill occurs and do not wait for it to dry. For spills larger than the size of the palm of your hand, see the cleanup procedure below this one.

Here is the process to cleaning up small paint spills on your carpet:

1. Get a clean white cloth and some spotting solvent, ideally isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). White vinegar will also work for this, though it can cause an unpleasant odor if not cleaned up properly afterward.
2. Apply the solvent to the white cloth and begin to blot (not rub) the affected area, working from the outside of the stain toward the center.
3. Repeat the procedure with clean portions of the cloth until no more paint is coming up.
4. Moisten a new clean white cloth and go over the area to get up remaining paint and solvent.

It is very important not to use too much solvent during this process or, again, there is a risk of damaging the carpet. Once the paint has dried, it is highly recommended that the only action you take is to call a professional, as the job will have become much more difficult.

Cleaning Up Big Spills

Cleaning up larger spills is largely a process of ensuring the stain doesn’t set while a professional is called.

Here are the recommended steps for cleaning up larger paint spills:

1. Using a large spoon (that you don’t particularly care about), skim as much of the paint as you can. Do not use much pressure or smear it. Skim it toward the center and into a container or trash can.
2. Once you have removed as much paint as you can, get two large towels and moisten them. Moisten, not soak. You will place these towels over the stain to keep it moist.
3. Cling wrap can be placed over the towels for added protection, but is not always necessary.
4. Call a professional to come out and clean it. If the professional cannot get there within 12-24 hours, call someone else who can. It is essential to have it cleaned prior to it drying.

Larger paint spills are going to require a professional for a true cleaning. The damage that can be done by homeowners and renters looking to solve the problem themselves simply cannot be overstated. What was a nasty stain can quickly turn into permanent damage. If you are on the fence about the size of the stain, just call someone.

Bon-Care Custom Cleaning is a professional carpet and upholstery cleaning company operating out of the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia, servicing Hampton, Newport News, Yorktown, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and the surrounding areas. For a free estimate or advice on what to do, email info@bon-care.com or give us a call at 757-715-0503.

The things that tend to stain carpet the most, greases, oils, starches, sugars, and others, are often not the ones which cause damage to the carpet itself. What does cause physical damage to the carpet fibers, however, are particulates like sand. Sand is, ultimately, tiny pieces of silicate which resemble glass. Imagine rubbing your feet all over tiny shards of glass and grinding them into your carpet fibers every day. Unfortunately, that mental image is closer to the truth than most homeowners would like to admit. During the winter, salt from roads and sidewalks can cause the exact same problems as sand, though often compounding them and making them even worse. Just like the silicates that comprise sand, salt is made of a sharp crystalline structure as well, causing damage for exactly the same reasons.

Counteracting the Negative Effects of Sand in Carpeting

Vacuuming on a regular basis is essential for the local area. Additionally, consider having both an indoor and an outdoor mat (which should also be cleaned regularly) in order to catch anything on your shoes without allowing it to track into the home. For people interested in even more “carpet protection”, it may pay dividends to remove shoes once in the house and place them on a rack. That will prevent anything from being tracked in and will also prevent the carpet from wearing faster in high traffic areas.

It pays to have your carpets professionally cleaned at least once every 6 months, more often if your carpet sees heavier traffic. A good maintenance program can extend the life of your carpets by decades. One final thing to note: while rental steam units do clean better than simple household vacuums, they do not have the suction or power necessary to do a true deep cleaning or remove all embedded particulates in your floors. They may be less expensive but you pay for the low cost in other ways, unfortunately.

For residents of the tidewater region in Virginia, regular carpet cleaning and maintenance is even more important for the longevity of flooring than it is in other areas. Protect your investment by scheduling regular cleanings and considering a floor maintenance plan.

Bon-Care Custom Cleaning is a professional carpet and upholstery cleaning company which has been serving the people of southeastern Virginia since 1975. For a free estimate and inspection, call Alex at 757-715-0503.

Here are 5 important differences in carpet that looks clean vs. carpet that actually is clean.

1. Clean carpet won’t have anything lurking under the surface – Carpet that looks like it is clean is typically only truly clean on the very surface where the carpet fibers are visible. Generally, the tops of the carpet fibers get the most wear and they will display signs of being dirty the fastest. However, anyone who has come home from the beach covered in sand knows what can be invisible underneath. Dust, skin cells, residue from food or drinks, or small particulates filter down to the bottom of the carpet, invisible to the naked eye.
2. Air filtration is maximized with clean carpet – Carpet that isn’t actually clean will have an impaired ability to filter the air. Like it or not, your carpet is the largest air filter in your house, as evidenced by the dark filter lines under many doors. A truly clean carpet will maximize clean air throughout the house and improve indoor air quality significantly.
3. Bacteria are not removed with vacuuming alone – Bacteria can only be removed through chemical extraction, heat, and pressure. They aren’t coming out with a vacuum, and you can’t see them. Children, pets, and even adults use the carpet on a day to day basis without thinking of what may be in there.
4. Odors can only be eliminated or removed by professional cleaning – You can’t see smells, obviously. Over the counter products mask smells, but they do not remove them. Even if they were to remove the smells, you would be left with the broken down enzymes and the cleaning solution still in your carpet. A clean carpet has no residues, has no broken down enzymes or bacteria,
5. Home cleaning products, including steam machines, simply don’t remove enough – Perhaps the biggest crime against clean carpets is the sale of over the counter cleaning products. Consumers are fooled into believing that home steamers are strong enough to do the job. They aren’t. Not only that, but they don’t pull out enough water and can lead to mold and mildew. Home spot cleaners cover up problems and leave residues in the carpet, they don’t actually remove Home cleaning solutions make your carpet look clean without actually cleaning it.

Keep these things in mind when determining a cleaning schedule for your home. A professional cleaning is usually recommended every 6 months to 1 year, depending on use. For stains and high traffic areas, it may need to be done on a more frequent basis. If you are considering a rental steam unit, get a professional cleaner to come out and take a look first. The units will often cause more trouble than they can solve and, as always, you get what you pay for.

For cleaning in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, consider Bon-Care Custom Cleaning. Give Alex a call at 757-715-0503 for a free estimate!

There are very few things that the eye will catch more than red wine stains on a carpet. In a time when many people opt for white, beige, or tan carpets, a red wine stain stands out like nothing else. Most wine stains are, obviously, accidental. They are usually limited to either a drop or two that spilled out of a glass or, at worst, an entire glass that spilled onto the floor. And the biggest problem with these stains? They can seem impossible to get out. Presented with a situation in which there is a glaring red stain on a pristine piece of carpet, many people will turn to friends and family and (perhaps) various chemicals under their sinks in order to try and remove these stains.

How Stains Affect Carpets

The dyes that are contained within red wines are extremely strong. They are easily absorbed by fabrics and carpet fibers (and even your teeth, as some heavy wine drinkers can attest). Once a medium has been exposed to red wine, the red wine begins to work its way into it and will, if given time, set. Once set, red wine can become extremely difficult to remove. It is important to try and clean up any spilled red wine as quickly as possible to avoid this situation. Similar to fabric dyes, red wines have a pigment that is derived from grape skins. That pigment is part of a food-coloring family of chemicals that are collectively known as anthocyanins. These chemicals are quickly and easily absorbed by fabrics through attachment of the anthocyanins to the fibers that those fabrics are composed of.

Red Wine Removal from Carpets and Fabrics

There are a few tried and true methods for the removal of red wine stains from carpets:

• White wine – It may seem counterintuitive to try and clean up one wine stain with another, but white wine is one of the best ways to remove red wine from fabric. Pour a small portion of white wine onto the red wine stain and blot with a clean and absorbent cloth. It is very important to blot and not to rub or wipe. Wiping or rubbing will spread the stain.
• Peroxide – Mixing common 2% hydrogen peroxide half and half with dishwashing soap in a bowl and applying it to the stain can help to remove red wine stains. Let the mixture sit on the stain for up to two minutes, then scrub the affected area with water and a cloth and apply a clean cloth to the area to soak up excess liquid. Repeat until the stain has been removed. Again: remember to blot and not to wipe or rub.
• Salt – Adding salt to a fresh red wine stain will help to absorb some of the stain and will help to prevent the stain from setting and/or spreading. Vacuum the salt and stained area after allowing the salt to sit for a couple of minutes.

One thing not to try is using bleach. Bleach may get rid of the red wine stain, but it will take all of the color out of the carpet (including white carpet) right along with it. Never use bleach to remove a carpet or upholstery stain.

Solutions exist for removing red wine stains somewhat easily at home. These solutions are often best utilized as quickly as possible after the stain has occurred (prior to any drying). While these stains can be removed from carpet by individual homeowners, it may be a good idea to consult a professional cleaning company in order to make sure you are not going to either damage your fabric or simply to review your options. Many companies offer quick and easy solutions for removing red wine stains from carpet and will often include that service along with their other carpet and fabric cleaning solutions.

A high traffic area on a carpet is an area that sees much more use than the rest of the carpet. Think about areas that you utilize in your home. The pathways leading to those areas are very likely going to be the high traffic areas of your carpet. This could include entryways, stairs, hallways, and areas around furniture that is used often. Anywhere on the floor that sees a lot of foot traffic is going to be a high traffic area. Generally, in residential homes especially, you can walk around the house and follow the traffic patterns on the floor as if they were designed to be there.

How Do High Traffic Areas Affect My Carpet?

There are a number of problems that are often associated with high traffic areas. The first of these problems is the carpet pile. Often, the areas that are the most used on the floor will have had their fibers crushed and will not sit as high as most of the rest of the floor. If you find yourself walking through your home and you come across areas that look flat, dull, or worn, then you have very likely found one of the high traffic areas of your home.

The second problem with high traffic areas, and the more important of the two, is that these areas see a bad combination of two things: extra wear due to increased foot traffic and extra soil. The more soil is in a carpet, the more quickly the fibers will wear down from particles grinding them underfoot. In high traffic areas, the increased foot traffic acts as a force multiplier and will do two things: soil the carpet deeper and more quickly and grind the soil and particulate matter harder into the carpet fibers. The other side effect is that the dirtier an area of carpet is and the flatter the fibers in that area, the more easily that dirt can be transported underfoot to other areas of the carpet and, thus, soil even more of the carpet than otherwise would be.

How Can I Help Maintain My Carpet Health?

There are a few ways that you (or, more likely, a professional) can help maintain the health and durability of your carpet:

• Regular cleaning of high traffic areas – Generally, it is recommended that the entire carpet be cleaned once every year and that the high traffic areas be cleaned every six months (or more often, depending on exactly how much traffic the area sees.
• Steaming flattened pile – There are two ways of doing this: Either brush the pile after a regular steam cleaning using a thick bristled brush in the opposite direction the pile is laying to raise it or lay a damp wash cloth on the affected area and heat the cloth with an iron and use the brush. If you opt for the iron method, be extremely careful that you do not accidentally melt the fibers. They are heat resistant in most cases, but it is better to be safe than sorry
• Raking flattened pile – Some carpet professionals will be able to rake the carpet with a specialized tool in order to restore carpet pile that has been flattened. Ask about this service if you have a professional in your home. Any company worth their salt will either do this as a part of their service or will offer it for no additional charge upon request.
• Utilize mats – This one is obvious. Use a mat and wipe your feet prior to entering the home. This will help prevent the carpet from soiling to begin with.
• Remove shoes – Removal of shoes is sometimes seen as a sign of respect or a cultural thing, but it can help reduce carpet wear and will greatly reduce the amount of soil being tracked throughout the house.

There are a number of issues that can arise in areas of the carpet that see more foot traffic than others. These areas are more likely to wear and, if not kept clean, can increase the risk of tracking dirt and particulates onto the cleaner areas of the carpet. Keeping your high traffic areas clean and durable will lead to keeping your entire carpet looking healthy and extending its life.

The answer to the question “how do allergens get into carpet” is simple: the carpet is a giant air filter. Allergens will be caught by some kinds of carpeting more efficiently than others. It is important to follow this to its logical conclusion: if the allergens are being trapped in your carpet, then they are not floating around in the air where they can have an effect on you.

Allergens get into carpet through the movement of the air in and around carpet fibers. Allergens are also tracked into homes on the shoes of people coming in. Dust mites can never be completely eliminated from the home and will get worse if regular cleaning is not being done. The human body, as it grows, sloughs off millions of dead skin cells which can get into the air as well. Any pets will also be releasing dander into the air.

What Are Some Common Allergens in Carpet?

Some of the most common allergens that are the following:

• Dust mites
• Dead skin – Without regular cleaning, human skin will build up in the carpet, on furniture, and in the air. The amount increases based on
• Pollen
• Animal hair
• Pet Dander – These proteins are secreted by the glands of pets and then are released into the air as dander.

Again: remember that allergens being trapped in your carpet is, primarily, a good thing. It helps keep your air clean and breathable. Regular carpet maintenance and cleaning will ensure that the allergens are regularly removed from the carpet so that they do not get disturbed and redistributed through the air. Contrary to popular belief, your air quality will be higher overall with carpet than without carpet. Using hardwood or linoleum floors is often suggested to help with allergies, but that removes the possibility of filtration and, thus, indoor air quality lowers and allergies get worse.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has some recommendations for helping to minimize allergen risk in carpet:

• Use low pile rather than high pile carpet – Low pile carpet, obviously, sits lower on the ground. It filters less particulates and allergens from the air, but it is also less likely to release them upon being disturbed.
• Vacuum regularly – Vacuuming should be done at least three times a week.
• Professional cleaning – Regular professional cleaning is recommended in order to remove particulate matter and allergens that have worked their way deep into the carpet fibers.
• Use air filters – Though carpeting helps to filter the air, the job that it does can be multiplied through the use of the household air filtration system and standalone air filtration units (both of which should also be regularly cleaned).

A carpet, just like an article of clothing, needs to be regularly used, washed, and maintained in order to stay clean. Regular professional cleanings for residential homes is generally recommended every 6 months to 1 year. Cleaning of high traffic areas is generally recommended every 3 months to 6 months, depending on use. Consult a professional cleaning company for information regarding your specific situation, as the time frames will vary depending on both use and type of carpet fiber.

References:

Allergens & Irritants. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Web Access: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/asthma/allergens/

We have all seen them. There you are, driving down the street and you pull up to a stoplight and see a cardboard sign that offers a whole house cleaning for $50. You think to yourself: “That is too good to be true.” The truth of the matter is, you are correct. Most of the companies that you see offering deals like that are too good to be true.

Bait and switch is a form of fraud that is often found in retail and service sales environments. Typically it consists of two steps. The bait is when a customer is shown an item or a service at a very good price through advertising or marketing materials. When the customer either visits the store to inquire about the item or the company arrives at the customers’ home, they find that either the item is not available or the service is not what they expected. They are then offered similar, but more highly priced items or services (the switch).

With carpet cleaning services, this is all too common. You will set up a cleaning for a house and be given a finite estimate over the phone and, upon arrival, the technician will inform you that your house has “unusual corners” in some rooms or that closets do not count as part of the house. Another typical trick is to advertise cleaning “five rooms” or so for a certain price and then informing you that your dining room actually counts as two rooms because it is too large.

Other common tricks can include the following:

• Charging extra for vacuuming
• Charging extra for pre-spray treatments
• Adding an upcharge for deodorizer which usually comes standard
• Upcharging for each additional spot in each room
• Not telling you about extra charges until after the cleaning is finished
• Not including carpet pile raking as part of the price

How Can I Tell if an Offer is Legitimate?

There are a few ways that you can tell if a company or an offer is attempting a bait and switch tactic:

• Offering very cheap services (well below the average going rate)
• Cheap flyers with spelling or grammar mistakes
• A non-professional looking website
• They are unprofessional when answering the phone
• No uniforms (usually jeans and a T-shirt upon arrival)

What Do You Recommend?

Should you suspect a company or an individual is trying to trick you once they are already inside your home, there are some simple things you can do to find out:

• Review their credentials – They should have records of training available upon request (maybe not on them at the time, but they can provide information about their training).
• Ask about the process – They should be able to explain the process in full.
• Ask how long the drying time is – Again, this is something that they should (at the very least) have a ballpark figure.
• How many years have they been in business? – The longer the better.
• Find out if they have any references you can call – A company that has been in business should be able to provide at least one or two referrals for their services if pressed.
• Find out if they have the proper paperwork – Insurance, business license, etc.

The first (and best) solution is always going to be avoiding these companies to begin with. Usually these types of tactics are combined with high pressure sales techniques and a lot of smooth talking. There is nothing wrong with being offered additional services when you are getting a cleaning done, this is very common. There is, however, an issue when you start being pressured to order services which you either do not understand or do not need. The best bet when looking for a legitimate company is to check for reviews on that company, see if the company has a good standing with the Better Business Bureau, and to look out for warning signs. A good professional cleaner is going to offer services that are worth the perceived additional cost (when compared with cheaper, less qualified companies).