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.

Vacuuming, unfortunately, is usually seen as a chore. It is something that we do because we either have to or because our carpet has become dirty with all that nasty stuff that is being tracked in from the front porch. So the question is: Why is it actually important?

This question, also unfortunately, is often overlooked by many people. When asked, they flounder about trying to find an answer to the question. Usually the result is: the carpet is dirty. It needs to be cleaned. A solid answer. There are, however, many things that are being discarded to come up with a simple answer like that. The logic doesn’t naturally flow to the consequences of not vacuuming on a regular basis.

Here are a few of the reasons why vacuuming is important for any carpet (and for under cushions and in crevices of upholstery as well):

• Not vacuuming can lead to carpet damage – If you don’t vacuum up sand and dirt that collects in your carpet, then continued use of the carpet will grind those particles together with your carpet fibers, leading to damage. Vacuuming, thus, extends the life of your carpet.
• There are invisible dangers in your carpet – Allergens, bacteria, dead skin cells, and many other particles that are often invisible to the naked eye are collecting in your carpet all the time. Vacuuming will remove these. Make no mistake; even if you do not see these things in your carpet they are
• Not vacuuming could lead to higher soil distribution – First we step in the entryway. Then the hallway. Then the stairs. Then the upper hall. Then the bedrooms. By the time we get to the bedrooms, all of the dirt on our shoes is gone. But where did it go? A lot of it went into the entryway, the hallway, and the stairs. When you don’t vacuum on a regular basis, you risk heavily soiling those areas and then re-tracking that dirt from those areas to the cleaner areas of your home.
• Pride – We are all proud of our homes. Not vacuuming has a very real and obvious effect on our carpeting. Nobody wants their friends, family, or visitors to see a dirty carpet when they walk in.

Differences in Vacuums

The type of vacuum that you are using can make an enormous difference in the quality of cleaning that you are doing. First of all: you want a powered vacuum (that you plug in). The manual ones that work with brushes and have no actual suction look nice sometimes and they are relatively inexpensive, but they simply aren’t going to get the job done. You want a powered vacuum with rotating brushes on the bottom to agitate the carpet and one that has good suction in the vacuum. Try a few out. Ask for recommendations. Don’t settle for something because it’s cheap. You know what they say: You get what you pay for.

Recommendations

I usually recommend vacuuming the whole house once every week or once every two weeks, depending on traffic, and vacuuming the high traffic areas (hallways, stairs if you can, entryways) at least twice a week. Cleaning the high traffic areas more will lead to less requirements for the rest of the carpet. Don’t make things complicated for yourself if they don’t have to be.

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).