why carpets resoil faster after cleaning by Omar Khabat

This is a seriously good article by omar Khabat just wanted to share it with every one
http://ezinearticles.com/?Reasons-Why-Carpets-Re-Soil-Faster-After-Cleaning&id=7443184

cleaning upholstery DIY or pro

This article had a good approach , but how do you feel about these articles can more damage than good be done read it and let me know
www.cleanbrightcarpet.eu

UPHOLSTERY CLEANING TIPS: DIY OR GO PRO?

Spills, stains and normal wear and tear can leave your upholstered furniture looking less than fresh. Should you clean it yourself or leave the job to the pros? That depends.

While manufacturers often recommend professional cleaning, many spots and stains can be treated at home without risk to the furniture. To help you decide, consider three main factors:

1. Fabric type

2. Size and location of stain

3. Type of stain

First, look at the manufacturer’s label to identify the fabric content. (If necessary, ask your retailer or check with the manufacturer). If the fabric is synthetic, you can usually safely clean it at home, since synthetic fabrics were designed for ease of care. If the fabric is a natural/synthetic blend, however, use caution and test a small, hidden patch first. If the upholstery is more than 50% cotton, professional cleaning may be your best bet if the stain is large, dark or in a very noticeable area.

The easiest upholstery stains to clean are those that are treated while they are still fresh. The hardest to clean are grease and oil. Any very large stain may be best left to a professional. Some tips on increasing your chance of successful results:

1. Moisture is not your friend. Use as little water as possible to clean upholstery. Try a spot remover first, but if you must use a water-based approach, use it sparingly for best results.

2. Upholstery sprays are inexpensive and often work well on organic stains, but they are ineffective on grease or oil.

3. Baby wipes are surprisingly effective for cleaning upholstery because they deliver the right amount of soap and water, are quite gentle, and evaporate quickly.

4. Coffee Stains: Combine a small amount of dish detergent, water and vinegar and dab sparingly until coffee disappears.

5. Mold or mildew: Mix a quarter cup of hydrogen peroxide and a quarter teaspoon of color safe bleach. Lightly rub the stain with a clean cloth dipped in the solution. Rub area with fresh water applied sparingly and let dry.

6. Stubborn Stains:

CRAYON: Try using non-gel toothpaste to remove crayon marks from water-safe upholstery. Rub it gently on the surface, a small section at a time, then wipe off with a damp cloth.

GREASE OR OIL: Sprinkle salt, cornstarch or talcum powder on the spot as soon as you discover it. Rub in carefully, allow grease to lift off upholstery and absorb into spot remover. Brush off grease and powder and wipe with a damp cloth.

Did you know you can reduce overall grime and soiling of your upholstered furniture by vacuuming it regularly? Special upholstery attachments for your vacuum system can make it easy to reach small corners and creases, and are safe for use on fabrics. Vacuum furniture at least every two months, or weekly if you have pets or allergies.

Carpet cleaning myths exposed

i thought this was a good article and wanted to share it, i find alot of the assertians made in it are a common enough occurance read and let me know what you think

Most people have already formed certain assumptions about carpet cleaning and professional carpet cleaning companies. As are many assumptions lingering out there in the world, many of them are either incorrect or misguided. It is important to go into any situation being armed with the knowledge to get you the best service for the best price. If a consumer is unaware of what to look for and just is not armed with the proper knowledge to negotiate and make sure the carpet cleaning company they choose will do the job right, then there is a chance they could get hustled by a less than reputable business.

After all, there are unsavory people working in every industry, so even in the professional carpet cleaning industry you may run across a few companies that allow these people to work there. These crooks love to find a consumer who does not know how much a service should cost or what steps should be taken to make sure it gets done right. They will overcharge them, cut corners on the job and pocket the extra cash they make. This is why it is important to operate with knowledge in hand, rather than misguided assumptions.

For that reason and many more, here are some common myths about carpet cleaning, and what the real truth behind them is.

1. MYTH: Professional Carpet Cleaning is Too Expensive; I can Do a Better Job Myself, and For Less Money! – It is highly unlikely that a person with little to no knowledge of how to professionally clean a carpet will be able to do a more efficient, better job for less money than a reputable and professional carpet cleaning company. These companies have permits and wholesale pricing to get equipment, industrial cleansers and unique patents on better cleaning products that an individual just does not have access to. By the time the consumer has rented the proper vacuum, bought the right cleanser, moved all the furniture out of the house and tried to figure out how to operate the vacuum, more time would have been spent than would have been worth it. On top of that, it is much simpler to make mistakes as a novice, and mistakes in carpet cleaning can cost a lot more money than an original professional carpet cleaning job ever would have.
   
   
2. MYTH: Professional Carpet Cleaning Companies Use Far Too Many Harmful Chemicals on Carpets. I Don't Want to Get Sick! – Although there are some companies that use harsher chemicals than others, many professional carpet cleaning companies have been transitioning as the "going green" movement has gained strength. If a professional carpet cleaning company does not offer any non-toxic environmentally friendly cleansers, then just call another company because there are plenty of professional carpet cleaning companies out there that support the "going green" movement and protecting homes with safe cleansers.
   
   
3. MYTH: If I Just Vacuum My Carpet Regularly, I Do Not Need To Have It Cleaned Professionally – It would be great if this were true, right? Be diligent about keeping your home clean, and you'll never need any professional cleaning services. However, it just isn't true. Dust, fibers and dirt can build up in air ducts, in carpet pads and in plenty of other places a person just never thinks to check. As these harmful things build up overtime, they can make everyone in the household sick with respiratory problems and other health issues. That is why it is important to have the deep clean that only a professional carpet cleaning company can provide, at least every once in a while.
   
   
4. MYTH: My Carpet is only a Year Old; It Does Not Need to Be Cleaned Yet – This is an assumption that most homeowners make, and it is unequivocally false. Operating under the false assumption that a carpet does not need to be cleaned until it actually looks dirty is a poor way to go about carpet cleaning. Most of the harmful dirt, dust, mold and other toxins are hidden deep down in the carpet pad. The only way to get them out? A professional carpet cleaning job. So just because the carpet is relatively new, do not assume that it does not need to be cleaned yet.
   
   
5. MYTH: I Can Buy Spot Cleaners For My Carpet At The Store and They Are The Same Thing! – No, not really, not even a little bit, not even at all. Once again, carpet cleaning professionals are able to have access to products and equipment that someone outside of the industry would not be able to purchase in a mainstream store. Even if they were able to get their hands on some professional grade spot remover for carpets, it is unlikely that it will come cheap. Industry professionals are able to pass on a better price for the use of those products because they buy in bulk for their business and get a wholesale discount. Many store bought spot removers either do not work, or have bleach in them, which can leave a darker carpet completely ruined.

These are only a few of the many, many myths that most people believe about carpet cleaning and professional carpet cleaning services. Be sure to keep these things in mind before attempting to clean a carpet without the assistance of a professional carpet cleaning company. It will be worth any extra money to have the peace of mind that the carpet will be cleaned swiftly, and without any unexpected issues.

www.cleanbrightcarpet.eu
the dublin carpet cleaners

Every one thinks there way of cleaning is the best and off course if you have invested thousands in your equipment or a franchise then thats what will happen you will promote your sysytem , how do they compare, here is an interesting item i picked up , let me know what you think

Comparison of Carpet Cleaning Methods

Most carpet manufacturers recommend professional cleaning versus “Do-It-Yourself” for a variety of reasons. Your own, or rental, equipment may not be properly adjusted or cleaned and could cause problems such as the wrong proportion of detergents or cleaners which can leave residue and cause re-soiling, over wetting, damage to rug fibers, yellowing, etc. Many rental units do not clean adequately and may actually damage your carpet. The consensus of manufacturers and professional cleaners is that do-it-yourself methods work best as temporary treatments for high traffic or spill areas between professional cleanings.
In general, there are four basic methods for cleaning carpet:

* Carpet Shampooing
* Dry Chemical or Foam
* Bonnet or Adsorbent Pad
* Hot Water Extraction or Steam Cleaning.

Which system you chose depends on factors such as the carpet material, type of pile, wear, tear and the amount of soiling. Some systems leave residues which promote re-soiling and defeat the whole purpose of cleaning. Some methods can actually damage the carpet fibers and shorten the life of the carpet. Check with the carpet manufacturer for recommendations. For a typical household most manufacturers recommend that carpet be professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months depending upon the number in the household, amount and type of activity, and whether the carpet is light or dark. You should try to clean the carpets before they become too heavily soiled. In spite of beliefs to the contrary, frequent cleaning will not cause the carpets to re-soil faster unless you use a method which leaves a dirt-attracting residue.

Shampoo:

A wet shampoo/detergent solution is scrubbed onto the carpet through openings in a rotary brush, whose turning converts the solution into foam and works it into the carpet. Once dry, most residue containing loose, encapsulated soil is vacuumed to remove it (although often dirt attracting residue remains). Chemicals may be added to the shampoo solution to reduce odors, retard soiling, brighten colors and/or speed drying which may also leave a residue. Sometimes this method is combined with Hot Water Extraction using water rather than a detergent solution to remove shampoo. Although more expensive this method is especially effective for cleaning highly soiled carpets, with heavy oil/soil build-up. Self-applied aerosols foams are a variation of shampoo. The foam is usually sprayed onto the carpet and worked in rubbed in with a sponge or cloth. When dry, the residue containing suspended soil is vacuumed up. The foam uses little water and usually does over wet the carpet. Generally the foam does not clean as deeply as a wetter method and some foams may leave a difficult to remove residue which could cause problems with subsequent wet cleaning.

Dry Methods

Dry methods use dry chemicals or dry foams and are generally best for public or high traffic areas where a more thorough wetting could be a problem and they are typically used with periodic with deep cleanings. “Dry” is often a misnomer since quite some dampness may be involved. The process is fairly simple. First, because this method does not reach as deeply into the carpet fibers as a wet method, vacuum thoroughly. You might consider renting a commercial vacuum if yours is not very powerful (not only to pre-clean, but also to extract the dried foam and soil). If the carpet is heavily soiled you may wish to use a pre-conditioner to help clean it. Then the chemicals are dusted into the carpet and worked in by brushing a number of times in different directions with a brushing machine. After a short period of drying, usually about an hour, the entire carpet and floor surface are vacuumed. The process can be repeated, if necessary, without damage to the carpet and will remove most surface soil. When using a dry foam machine always brush with the grain or flow of the pile if there is one. This could entail turning it off and returning to the original edge of the carpet to foam an adjacent area going in the same direction. When foam is dry vacuum it and the soil out. As potential drawback is that if not properly applied and removed the dry materials can act as dirt attractants.

Bonnet or Adsorbent Pad Method

The Absorbent Pad method of cleaning (often called bonnet cleaning) is similar to the Shampoo Method. It uses an absorbent pad ('bonnet') attached to the bottom of a rotary machine. A detergent solution is sprayed onto the carpet and the rotary pad is used to agitate and remove the soil suspended in the solution from the carpet. When one side of the pad gets soiled it can be reversed. And when both sides are soiled, the pad can be replaced and later cleaned. Often, his method is used in regular maintenance of commercial buildings. Like the dry methods, Adsorbent Pad cleaning does not wet the carpet fibers completely and dies relatively quickly. For the same reason the method does not clean as thoroughly or deeply as wetter methods and may leave residues. This method may not be effective for carpets with a distinct grain or flow to the carpet pile.

Hot Water Extraction or Steam Cleaning

As with other methods you’ll get the best results if the carpet is thoroughly vacuumed and pre-treated, if necessary, prior to cleaning. In recent years the most effective steam cleaning method appears to be truck-mounted units. Either portable or truck-mounted equipment is used to spray heated detergent solution into the carpet pile at a high pressure and immediately extracted along with the suspended soil particles. The machine may employ rotary brushes or another agitating device to work the solution into the pile and loosen soil. Results may vary. One reason truck mounted units function more effectively than portable units do is that they are powered by the truck's engine and not your residential electric supply. Other reasons are that they provide higher solution temperatures and spray pressures as well as more vacuum power for full extraction. This method wets the rug and you must wait for it to dry completely before normal use.


www.cleanbrightcarpet.eu

Carpet Cleaning and Traffic Wear: 6 Steps to Maintaining Your Carpet

Everyone loves the feeling they get right after a professional carpet cleaning. It looks clean and almost new again, it smells good and it feels good. After a carpet cleaning I often hear my clients say, “now I just have to try to keep it this way,” which is always the biggest challenge in keeping a clean home. The most frequently mentioned concern I hear from my carpet cleaning clients is how to prevent ugly traffic wear patterns from returning after the carpet has been cleaned. The solution to the traffic wear problem is both extremely simple and extremely complicated, but we’ll get into that later.

The Problem

To find a solution we need to examine what causes ugly traffic patterns. The simple answer is dirt, but there is more to it than that. Synthetic fibers make up over 90% of the carpet in our homes today. Nylon takes the lion’s share of that 90% with polypropylene (olefin) and polyester filling out most of the rest. All three of these materials have different pros and cons when it comes to their use in carpet but the one thing they all have in common is that they are all plastic.

Plastic and dirt don’t mix.

Dirt, dust and soil when examined under a microscope look like shards of broken glass. Plastic surfaces such as a Plexiglas window are very smooth and easily scratched. When you combine broken glass with smooth plastic and a catalyst such as friction you get gouged, scratched, unsightly plastic.
Anyone with kids has seen the difference between a new plastic sand toy, and an old one that has been thoroughly enjoyed at the beach and in the sand box. The harsh grains of sand scratch and abrade the plastic making it appear dull and faded.
The very same thing is happening to synthetic carpet the world over. Between the dust that settles on the carpet from the air and the soil we track in on the bottoms of our shoes, the cards are definitely stacked against our carpet. All of that soil on the carpet gets moved across the surface of the carpet fiber whenever we walk on the carpet and abrades the fiber just like the aforementioned sand toys and Plexiglas. This abrasion causes the carpet fiber to become dull in comparison to the less traveled on areas near the walls and – voila! -the traffic wear pattern is born.
Unfortunately just like the used sand toys, no amount of carpet cleaning will restore the damaged carpet fibers to their like new condition. The good news, however, is that a professional carpet cleaning will improve the appearance of the carpet and further damage can be prevented. This is where the dichotomy of the solution to this problem comes in. As I said before the solution is both extremely simple and extremely complicated. On the one hand all you need to do to prevent the wear on new carpet and further wear on older carpet is to simply keep the dust, dirt and soil off the carpet. Therein lies the complication; how to do that. The answer requires a bit of a commitment by you and the other members of your household.

The Solution

1. The first thing people usually do to combat the traffic wear problem is to buy a mat or a runner to put down at the entry point to the carpet. This is a good idea but it is not enough by far. It takes approximately 27 steps to walk off all of the soil from your shoes. To do this effectively you would need a runner about 100 feet long. Not practical. A mat or small runner will help to keep soil off of the carpet but it is only part of the solution.
2. The next step is to remove your shoes before coming in the house. It can be a little inconvenient but it will become like second nature after you get used to it. The key here is to put your shoes on when you go back outside. It does no good to take your shoes off when you come in and then go outside in your socks or bare feet and only to come back in the house with dirty socks or feet.
3. The worst traffic patterns occur at transition areas between carpet and a hard surface like tile or wood because while carpet has the ability to hold on to soil, hard surfaces do not. The soil sticks to the bottom of your shoes or feet and is then transferred to the carpet. Keeping the hard surface clean is a very important part of the process. So important in fact, that I would tie it with step 4.
4. The most important step is regular vacuuming. Frequent vacuuming is the single best way to remove soil from your carpet and prevent ugly traffic wear patterns. More than half of all the soil in your carpet can be removed through vacuuming alone. When you consider the cost of your carpet compared to the cost of a vacuum it’s a no brainer. Spending a little extra time every week to vacuum your carpet will extend the life of your carpet and improve the overall air quality inside your home which will make for a generally healthier environment for your family.
5. The rest can be removed through carpet cleaning. Regular carpet cleaning will be more effective when all of these other steps are implemented and adhered to. If you choose to perform your own carpet cleaning it will be easier to clean and take less of your valuable time. If you hire a professional carpet cleaning company they will be able to use a less invasive interim carpet cleaning process and it will save you money if they don’t have to use a restorative carpet cleaning process every time they clean your carpet.
6. After the carpet cleaning, carpet protector should be applied. A good carpet protector, properly applied, will prevent food spills from staining as well as protecting the carpet fiber from dry soil abrasion. It will coat the carpet fiber and prevent soil and spills from ever touching the fiber thereby preventing dry soil abrasion and staining.

Environmental Benefits

In addition to saving you money, keeping your home looking beautiful and making your indoor environment healthier, following these 6 steps will also benefit the environment.
By keeping the hard surfaces and carpet in your home clean you will extend their life by many years. If they continue to look aesthetically pleasing you will continue to enjoy them and not be tempted to replace them as often. This will keep the used carpet, padding, wood, tile, vinyl, linoleum, etc. out of the landfills.
Maintaining your flooring instead of replacing it will also save you thousands of dollars over the life of your home. In this economy and even in a better economy I’m sure we can all find better things to do with our money than spend it on floor coverings.
When your carpet is properly maintained it will not require extensive restorative carpet cleaning. This means that fewer chemicals will be needed. Fewer chemicals, no matter how green and environmentally friendly they are, are always a good thing. It’s better for you, your family your pets and the environment.
A good maintenance plan applied to anything will cut costs, reduce waste, and save time in the long run. In these hard times that is more important than ever before and now is the perfect time to start from the floor up to make your plan for cleaner carpet and cleaner living.

www.cleanbrightcarpet.eu

Busy day ahead

Its good to be busy, In the tough economic climate we live in it seems that on a daily basis companys go under . hopefully all you out there are still working talk soon
www.cleanbrightcarpet.eu
The Dublin carpet cleaner

Carpet cleaning -dangerous- Misinformation

I read this article with interest the other day, and it got me thinking
http://www.babycenter.com/0_clean-carpets-without-dangerous-chemicals_3651159.bc

What are peoples opinions of Carpet cleaning chemicals, as a child i remember the noxious odour that came of carpet cleaning chemicals ..
Today though we know things have changed , there are ranges of eco-friendly chemicals on the market, enzyme based etc.
Still though there seems a body of opinion that seems suspicous of what we clean carpets with.
What have you found in this regard?