Have you ever thought about the conditions your carpet is subjected to here in Roseville, Ca? Your carpet acts like a sump. It collects every spilled material, airborne contaminant and tracked soiling that enters your home. Your carpet is designed to hide soiling. By the time a carpet “looks” dirty, it can have a great deal of contamination collected in it.
Quite simply, if your carpet acts like a sump, then it filters and collects sources of soil, bacteria and pollutants from the indoor environment. These contaminants are part of what makes your carpet soiled. This collection and filtering process allows carpet to trap contaminants within the carpet. However, hard surface floors may allow these contaminants to continue to “roam” throughout the indoor environment. So, like any filter, your carpet needs to be periodically cleaned.
Having your carpets professionally cleaned regularly will not only vastly improve the appearance of the carpet and provide cleaner indoor air, but because soil in the carpet is what wears it out, regular cleaning will also extend the life of your carpet and protect your investment in Roseville, Ca.
Natural Fibers Natural fibers offer excellent comfort because they breathe naturally and absorb perspiration easily. However, these features also mean that they stain easily.Natural fibers are hydrophilic – they have a natural affinity for water and all water based products. They are also very susceptible to oil and grease stains, including stains caused by the fatty acids in perspiration. Unprotected, these fabrics have a short life span and are difficult to maintain.
Fabric protection is vital for natural fibers.
Fabrics made from natural fibers should be protected before use. Some fabrics have protection applied as part of the manufacturing process, but not all. It is always a good idea to speak to your furniture retailer to find out if protection has been applied to your furniture. If you are unsure, apply fabric protection.
Fabric will need to be re-protected occasionally. Prolonged use or intense cleaning, such as steam cleaning, will cause the protective lay to wear away.
Synthetic Fibers Many fabrics used in furniture manufacturing today are synthetic. Synthetic fibers are hydrophobic (they repel water) and inherently non absorbent, so they don’t absorb stains in the same way that natural fibers do.
Fabric protection is not necessary for synthetic fabrics.
It is important, however, to regularly clean synthetic fabrics. The majority of these fabrics are oleophilic – they have an affinity for oils and greasy dirt. Synthetic fabrics need to be cleaned regularly to prevent the build up of oily substances, such as perspiration, which may stain or damage the fabric. This is critical even if an application of fabric protection had been applied.
Blended Fibers Many upholstery fabrics are blends, commonly cotton blended with a synthetic fiber Blended fibers display the properties of all the fibers in the blend, and respond to stains accordingly. So if the fabric is a blend containing a natural fiber it is a good idea to protect it.
Fabric Care Labels
By law all fabrics, including upholstery fabrics, must have a Fabric Care Label. This label is similar to the care labels you find on clothing. The Fabric Care Label may be attached to the furniture (a hang-tag or a label sewn onto the furniture) or it may be given to you separately by the furniture retailer.Different fabrics need different kind of care. The Fabric Care Label will give you the correct instructions for caring for the specific type of fabric used to upholster your furniture. ALWAYS consult the care label BEFORE attempting to clean your furniture yourself, or see your local upholstery cleaning company.
Berber carpets are beautiful, but probably the hardest to maintain and clean.
The carpet pulls dirt towards the bottom of the fibers and keeps it there because the loops, twists and lumps in the weave makes it difficult to extract dirt with a vacuum.
It’s even difficult for professional carpet cleaners that have special cleaning equipment to clean in Roseville, Ca.
Vacuuming
Vacuum Berber frequently. Do not use a vacuum cleaner that has a beater bar on it. This will cause fuzzing, fraying, tearing and shredding and will ruin your Berber carpeting.
A beater bar can even snag on a loop and pull the entire string out of the carpet.
The carpet should be cleaned with vacuum that uses suction only. (the more suction the better) And don’t be super aggressive or rough when vacuuming to avoid damaging the fibers. Slow, steady and thorough suction vacuuming is the best way to vacuum this carpet.
Vacuum heavy traffic areas 2-3 times a week, and the rest of your carpet once in a week.
Use both indoor and outdoor mats at each entrance to reduce the amount of dirt tracked into your home.
In a pinch, make your own spot remover by mixing 1/2-teaspoon baking soda and 1 cup cold water.
Over time, the protection on stain-resistant carpet wears down. For optimum performance, have a protector regularly applied after cleaning.
Stain-resistant does not mean stain-proof. Be sure to act immediately to prevent spots and spills from causing permanent damage.
Before using any spot removing product, test for colorfastness in an inconspicuous area.
Test area rugs for colorfastness before placing over carpet since some rugs may tend to bleed.
Vacuum under area rugs periodically to remove loose dirt that may have filtered through the rugs to your carpet.
To avoid color transfer between furniture and flooring after a professional cleaning, leave the protective blocks in place until the carpet is completely dry.
Your furniture collects everyday dirt and soil just like your carpet. For convenience, have both professionally cleaned at the same time in Roseville, Ca.
