Should I Clean My Carpets Before Moving Out Of My Rental Unit?
Searching online for the best “carpet cleaners near me”? No doubt A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning will be at the top of your results, and for good reason. Our talented carpet pros have vast experience in cleaning and repairing carpet, as well as answering questions like, “Should I clean my carpets before moving out of my rental unit?” Carpets and Rental Units The best answer to the question of “To clean or not to clean my carpet?” is that you should consult with your landlord. The vast majority of rental leases contain a list of move-out stipulations, stating what you need to clean and what the landlord’s expectations are with regard to cleaning. Often times these stipulations are tied directly to your deposit, and failure to meet the landlord’s expectations results in a reduction in your deposit return. Specific to carpet, your responsibility to clean/repair/replace it before you move out is sometimes tied to the size of your apartment complex. It’s more likely that the landlord of a large complex will ask that you clean the carpet, and in some cases pay for any repairs or a full-scale replacement if necessary. The bigger the complex, the less time a landlord can dedicate to individual units, and the more expensive it becomes to ensure every tenant’s carpet is in good shape before they move out. It’s not unheard of for a landlord to hire his own cleaning company to deep-clean a unit before a new tenant moves in, a stipulation that should be mentioned in the lease. In this case, one of two scenarios are possible: the landlord pays for the cleaning out of his own pocket or an “upkeep fund” that every tenant gives a monthly amount too, or the landlord expects the outgoing tenant to pay for the deep-clean. The upside here is that you won’t have to lift a finger, but the downside is you’ll get less of your deposit back. In the majority of cases, a lease will call out what the landlord’s expectations are regarding move-out condition, and include a note regarding how your deposit-return could be lower if the unit isn’t cleaned to the lease’s expectations. Thus, you’ll have the option to either clean the unit yourself or hire a cleaning company, which comes down to whether you prefer to spend time or money. Other Items/Areas To Be Cleaned In addition to cleaning your unit’s carpet and other obvious tasks like wiping down the kitchen counters and scrubbing the toilet, here are some other areas that will require your attention: Tile grout The entire toilet (top, bottom, and back) Oven (some ovens have an auto-clean feature, but these don’t always do a complete, “landlord-friendly” job Cabinet shelves and all drawers, along with the tops of cabinets Refrigerator and freezer, and the top of the fridge We Have Your Carpet Cleaning Covered Rather than leave your deposit to the whims of your landlord, contact A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning and utilize our professional carpet cleaning services. We’ll have your carpets looking great, giving you peace of mind and a better chance of getting your full deposit back. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
What Stains Are Going To Stick Around?
Some stains are candidates for DIY removal, while others will require the expertise of our professional carpet cleaning company to ensure they don’t stick around forever. Which stains fall into this second category? A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning discusses the worst offenders. Ink Most of us, at some point in our lives, have gotten ink on our clothes. Not fun. Equally annoying is when ink gets on the carpet. Not only is it one of the hardest-to-remove stains, it can also destroy your carpet if it isn’t dealt with promptly – and more importantly, thoroughly, because with ink, even a 95 percent success rate isn’t good enough. Bodily Fluids Another entry in the “Remember when…” file, bodily fluids – often in the form of human vomit or a pet’s accident – present a double-whammy of stain + odor. Many of our customers are familiar with the “baking soda stopgap” that helps remove moisture and abate the smell, but fully removing a vomit or excrement stain requires a professional’s steady hand. Blood Stains While we’re on the subject of stains that sometimes churn the stomach, blood stains certainly fall into this category. And not only are they unseemly, they’re virtually impossible to remove without an expert’s help. Similar to juice, blood quickly soaks into the carpet/carpet fibers and leaves a dark stain, no matter how many off-the-shelf products your throw at it. The best you can do is to try and remove as much blood as possible from the carpet’s surface before calling our local carpet cleaners. Grape Juice & Wine Combining these two because grapes are of course the key ingredient in wine, and both are equally diabolical when spilled on carpet. This is the substance that gets most of the publicity in terms of which stains are the hardest to remove, and for good reason: like blood, but faster-moving because it isn’t as thick, wine/grape juice spills often lead to permanent damage if a professional isn’t called in immediately. The liquid’s red/purple colors quickly overtake carpet fibers, and hydrogen peroxide (which most people don’t have under their sink) is really the only substance that can at least slow the stain’s progress. But by no means is it a cure, which is something only a professional team like A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning can provide. Coffee It’s too bad that coffee has to be on this list, since for many people it’s a daily staple that’s tasty and a great pick-me-up. Alas, coffee’s high acidity facilitates the yellowish-brown stains that result when java is spilled on a carpet – and this acidity is a big reason why coffee is prone to staining quickly and permanently. A mixture of dishwasher detergent and vinegar can function as a temporary deterrent, but one that will require the support of our professional cleaning tools. Contact The Carpet Lifesaver If you’ve searched online for a “carpet cleaning service near me”, no doubt you’ve seen A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning atop the list. Contact us today, whether you have a stain that needs tending to, or for helpful tips on controlling a spill until we arrive. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Nine Carpet Cleaning Mistakes To Avoid
When you search online in Littleton for “carpet cleaners near me“, you’ll find A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning at the top of the list. That’s because thousands of local homeowners trust us to keep their carpets clean and healthy. We also know all about the mistakes that can happen when people try to DIY their own carpet cleaning. Here are nine of the most common. Using The Wrong Spray Cleaner Some organic spray cleaners are effective in combating stains, but the majority of store-bought household cleaning products are bad news. These items contain bleach and caustic chemicals that will ruin and permanently discolor your carpeting. Trusting a Rented Carpet Cleaner Every homeowner wants to save money wherever they can, including on their cleaning needs. However, it’s a bad idea to rent a carpet cleaning machine from a local store and expect it to work wonders. These cleaners aren’t always serviced regularly, which means that the last two renters’ dirt might soon be in your home. Clogs and internal damage are also common, compromising the machine’s efficiency. Many people who go this route end up dissatisfied, and want their carpets professionally cleaned. Not Removing Stains Promptly All stains require prompt attention, especially from acidic liquids like coffee, pop, and red wine. But the longer you wait to act, the more likely it is for the stain to become permanent, or at best be a real bear to remove. Also, some substances will stain the carpet and erode the carpets fibers. Misusing Carpet Deodorizer A common misconception is that carpet deodorizer powder can help remove a stain and clean up dirt. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do either. Even worse, a standard vacuum struggles to collect this powder, meaning it will accrue in the carpet until it’s professionally removed. Over-Shampooing It makes sense that a novice carpet cleaner would err on the side of caution when shampooing his carpet. However, too much shampoo leaves a build-up of soapy residue that’s extremely difficult to wash away and whose sticky texture attracts dirt like a magnet. Over-Wetting Often going hand-in-hand with over-shampooing, using too much water when cleaning a carpet will result in water soaking through the fibers and the pad, and into the backing. This raises the possibility of mold/mildew problems in the carpet, and in some cases will cause the carpet to shrink and pull its backing free from the floor. Replacing Furniture Before The Carpet Dries Even if you’ve done everything else right, a DIY carpet cleaning job can still come undone when furniture is put back in place before the carpet dries. Many wood furniture items contain dyes that will stain a wet surface. Also, furniture with metal/partially metal feet can leave a rust stain in the carpet. Ignoring Routine Vacuuming Carpet should be vacuumed at least once a week, and more frequently depending on pets/kids. Not sticking to a weekly vacuuming routine gives dirt, dander, and other material to get comfortable in your carpet, where it will begin eroding the fibers. Avoiding Professional Carpet Cleaning Carpet should be professionally cleaned at least once a year, or more frequently depending on how many pets and/or kids live in the house. Not hiring a professional cleaner might save money in the short-term, but the long-term risks outweigh any savings. Make The Right Call and Hire a Pro New carpet can cost thousands of dollars and cause big inconveniences. Don’t roll the dice and risk DIY mistakes – instead, contact A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning and utilize the carpet cleaning services of an experienced professional. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
How Often Should You Have Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned?
It’s one of the most common questions we get from our customers: “How often should I have my carpets professionally cleaned?” So it makes sense for A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning to cover this topic in a blog. Read on to learn how frequently you should engage the services of our professional carpet cleaners for a general cleaning. Check Your Carpet Warranty If your carpet came with a warranty and you want to keep it valid, take it out and review the fine print. Most carpet manufacturers’ warranties stipulate that the carpet should be cleaned once a year. Note: the language in the warranty might refer to a carpet cleaning/professional steam cleaning as a “hot water extraction”. If your carpet did not come with a warranty, then it’s up to you to decide how often you’d like your carpets professionally cleaned. That said, we encourage you to contact our local carpet cleaners for an onsite consultation. Here are two key areas of consideration when evaluating how frequently you should engage our services. Foot Traffic The more people who live in your house, the greater the foot traffic your carpet endures. So when thinking about getting your carpets professionally cleaned, it goes without saying that a family of two or a person living alone won’t require carpet cleaning as often as a family of six. A home with low foot traffic typically requires professionally-cleaned carpets once every two years or more, depending on the type of carpet. On the flipside, a large family should consider hiring A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning every nine months, or more frequently if there are children in the house. Running, playing, and tracking in dirt, grass, and other stuff is grounds to pay closer attention to your carpet. Pets The presence of common indoor pets such as cats and dogs in most cases necessitates that a home’s carpets be professionally cleaned every 6 – 12 months. The more pets you have and the more your pets shed, the more frequently you should have us out for cleaning. Homes that are “potty training” pets should consider having the carpets cleaned at an even faster rate, at least until the pet is housebroken. Animals shed dander and fur that nestles into the carpet and destabilizes the fibers. It’s a good idea to vacuum regularly in order to keep the dander/fur from building up. You may need to vacuum three times a week just to keep up with your pet’s shedding, which is another reason why frequent professional carpet cleanings are essential. What Happens If I Don’t Have My Carpets Professionally Cleaned? If you don’t have your carpets professionally cleaned, the soil that accrues on your carpet will settle into the fibers. The more soil that integrates with the fibers, the higher the probability that your carpet will break down well before it should. This is because the soil takes on a quality not unlike sandpaper. It grinds way at the carpet fiber until the carpet is too weak to withstand foot traffic, leading to tears and holes. Littleton Trusts A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning For decades, Littleton and Denver homeowners have enlisted our professional carpet cleaning services to keep their homes clean and healthy. Call or email us today for a quote, and be sure to ask about our service specials. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
The Most Common Causes Of Carpet Damage
Everyone wants their carpet to last forever, but even the most durable products wear out eventually. Sometimes, damage can hasten the need for new carpet or carpet repair, and in this blog we look at the most common causes of carpet damage. Dirt Dirt, along with mud, grime, and general debris, is a big contributor to carpet damage. Dirt is a year-round problem, tracked in on shoes spring, summer, fall, and winter. Over time, dirt build-up will stain and discolor carpet, working its way into the fibers thanks to constant foot traffic. Ultimately, dirt is a prime reason why some carpet doesn’t last as long as it should. Spills A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning has helped a lot of customers in need of carpet and area rug repair because of a spill. Beverage spills, especially drinks with a high acid content like red wine, coffee, and soda, can permanently stain a carpet if they aren’t addressed immediately. Meanwhile, chemical spills (bleach, oil, etc.) can quickly discolor and/or damage carpet, creating a problem that can’t be fixed no matter what cleaning mixture is used. Homeowners have no choice other than to tolerate these kind of lasting stains and damage until they’re ready to install new carpet. Furniture The heavier the furniture, the more likely it is to cause long-term damage to your carpet’s back-weave and fibers. At best, a weighty dining room table will leave permanent dents in the carpet. At worst, heavy furniture will eventually bore holes in the carpet which sometimes can be remedied via patchwork or sewing. As long as the furniture remains in place, the hole is covered – but when you decide to rearrange the room or sell the house, the damage will require addressing. Foot Traffic Foot traffic is the bane of homeowners everywhere. And not matter how many times we tell people to take their shoes off, it’s certain that a carpet will endure wear and tear. How much wear and tear depends on the size of your family, the frequency with which you have guests over, etc. All shoes, even slippers, cause carpet to wear down over time: the worst culprits are dress shoes and high heels. Additionally, all of these feet/shoes track dirt, dust, and debris into your home, causing your carpet to wear out even faster. Odors The longer your carpet is exposed to a pungent odor, the greater the opportunity for the scent to work its way into your carpet. If you’ve ever been inside the home of a smoker or cat owner who doesn’t prioritize odor removal/air fresheners, you know what we’re talking about. If ignored long enough, these odors will become a permanent part of your flooring and remain as such until you replace the carpet. Pets Here we’re referring to common household pets like cats and dogs, who have a propensity for periodically scratching furiously at the carpet because of something they saw, heard, or smelled. Eventually this habit can lead to serious wear and tear, possibly resulting in rips and holes. Trust The Experts For all of your carpet repair and rug repair needs, trust A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning. Our many years of experience, coupled with our state-of-the-art cleaning tools, are a boon to homeowners throughout the Denver metro area. Call us today at (720) 344-2870 for your free quote and consultation. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Are Your Carpets Making Your Allergies Worse?
Whereas wood floors and area rugs were the norm in the first half of the 20th century, a marked shift in tastes and costs has greatly increased the popularity of wall-to-wall carpeting in apartments and homes. Carpet is a great insulator and it cuts down on slips and falls, but it can also make allergies worse. Our Littleton, CO carpet cleaning company looks at how. Mold and Mildew Wherever there is unattended water or moisture in a home, mold or mildew is sure to follow. These allergens are equally amenable to growing upon wood and paper as they are in promulgating within a damp carpet or carpet pad. Mold and mildew allergies are two of the most common possessed by human beings, so if you’re wondering why your allergies are acting up while you’re sitting on your living room couch, the presence of mold and mildew could be the answer. If you’ve experienced flooding, a burst pipe, or the like, the affected area needs to be dried immediately before mold and mildew can set in. This is where the carpet cleaning services provided by A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning will really come in handy. Carpet Is an Allergen Trap The very nature of carpet makes it a natural trap for all sorts of allergens. Mold and mildew as mentioned above, but also pollen, pet dander, insect debris, and cigarette smoke. The level at which these things can become trapped in your carpet depend on the type of carpet you have and the thickness of the pile, but even the thinnest carpet contains fibers that accrue allergens. Over time, these substances can cause big problems for people with allergies, even if you vacuum frequently. If you suspect that your carpet is exacerbating the symptoms felt by your home’s allergy sufferers, we recommend contacting our local carpet cleaners and making an appointment for a professional steam clean. In fact, this is something we recommend our customers do at least once a year, regardless of whether allergies are involved. Dust Mites Dust is right up there with mold and mildew on the list of “most common allergies”. Dust is everywhere, and it’s especially prevalent in carpet. Of course, this creates the perfect breeding conditions for dust mites, which multiply quickly and can cause big problems for allergy sufferers. The longer you go without cleaning your carpet, the more likely it is that dust mites will become a major source of coughing and sneezing in your household. Tips For Keeping Allergens In Check Vacuum Regularly For households with pets or kids (and by extension, discernable high-traffic areas), we recommend vacuuming daily. Carpeted areas that see medium traffic should be vacuumed a couple of times a week, and even low-traffic zones require vacuuming at least once per week. Minimize Dirt Dirt is a carrier of allergens, and so the less dirt on your carpet, the better. Make sure you have doormats at each of your home’s entrances so people can wipe their shoes. Or even better, ask people to take their shoes off before walking on the carpet. Clean Non-Carpet Allergen Sources Along with maintaining a clean carpet, make sure to clean other allergen sources in your home: upholstery, drapes, blinds, and the like. Schedule a Professional Carpet Cleaning Carpet can be tough on allergy sufferers, but proper maintenance and cleaning go a long way towards alleviating many symptoms. Contact A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning and learn more about protecting your family’s health and well-being. Call us today at 720.344.2870 or use our online contact form to request your free estimate. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Tips for Sanitizing Used Furniture
Lots of people enjoy shopping for used furniture at estate sales and flea markets. After all, there are some great deals to be had. However, before you enjoy your latest find, you’ll want to sanitize it so that it’s free of any odors, bacteria, or allergens which could harm you or your family. Clean First – Then Bring Inside One of the most overlooked upholstery cleaning tips pertaining to used furniture is, “clean first – then bring inside”. We understand the excitement that comes from finding the perfect used couch or easy chair that finally ties your den together. However, temper your excitement long enough to keep the new furniture outside of your house until it’s cleaned. If you move it in too soon, you risk exposing your home environment to whatever might be lurking in the cushions, armrests, etc. If it’s nice outside, the experienced team at A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning in Littleton recommends cleaning used furniture outdoors. After all, sunlight is good for killing certain germs. If the weather isn’t great, do your clean-up in the garage or a shed. You definitely want to avoid having the used furniture get wet before you clean it, since moisture exacerbates many bacteria and potential allergen issues. Disinfect Before addressing stains and odors, the first step when sanitizing used furniture is to disinfect the item. Addressing other issues before disinfecting leaves you open to the possibility that something harmful may be lingering while you’re preoccupied with a spot or a smell. The level at which you should disinfect your used furniture depends on the age of the item and whether anyone in your home has a lowered immune system, i.e. a baby or an elderly person. In this latter instance, you should consider contacting our upholstery cleaners serving Denver to ensure that your used furniture is 100% germ-free. If everyone in your household is healthy, there are specific used furniture cleaning products that we can recommend. Or, if the item is small and easy to clean, you could create your own blend of warm water and vinegar, and use it as a disinfectant. Deodorize Once your used furniture is thoroughly disinfected, you can move on odor removal. Not surprisingly, a musty or moldy scent is the most common odor associated with used furniture. These smells originate from moisture in wood or fabric. Sometimes the moisture is trapped in cracks and pockets, and other times it’s leftover from a time when the furniture accidentally got wet. Either way, for these types of smells we recommend covering the affected area with baking soda, letting it sit for an hour or two, and then cleaning it up. Where odor removal gets pricklier, and where you’ll want to enlist the services of A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning, are when the odor is due to pet urine, spilled paint, and other more noxious substances. Stain Removal Minor stains can be removed with a combination of soap and water, or vinegar and water. Difficult stains may require stain removal products used by A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning. In all cases, be sure to test the mixture/product in an out-of-the-way spot to ensure it doesn’t damage the furniture. Should you find yourself struggling to remove especially entrenched stains, don’t hesitate to contact our cleaning experts. Trust a Professional Cleaner In addition to providing furniture sanitization, our local cleaning company offers solutions for carpet repair, bed bug eradication, and tile/grout cleaning. Visit our cleaning services page to learn more about our expertise. Call us today at 720.344.2870 or use our online contact form to request your free estimate. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Should I Clean The Carpets Before I Move In?
Moving into a new home is exciting, but it’s also a lot of work. Packing and unpacking, painting, arranging your new rooms – there’s plenty to do. But this is also the perfect opportunity to have the carpets in your new place cleaned, and A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning in Littleton is the company to call. Why Clean Your Carpets Before Moving In? There are a few things better than moving into a new home that looks and feels clean. A fresh coat of paint on the walls, Spotless tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom, and professionally cleaned carpets that look and feel great. From a functional perspective, having your carpets cleaned before moving in means you don’t have to hassle with cleaning around your furniture after you’re settled. Also, the absence of anything on the carpet or mounted to the wall is assurance that the entire carpet, even the most difficult-to-reach nooks and crannies, will be cleaned. Utilizing our carpet cleaning services near Denver prior to moving into your home is also a smart move if the house was previously lived in. We like to think that everyone is as clean and sanitary as we are, but why take the chance? A pre-move-in carpet cleaning ensures that your home’s carpets are fully sanitized and devoid of germs, dirt, pet dander, food crumbs, and bacteria. And if your house was previously occupied by residents who smoked or owned pets, cleaning the carpets is a must in order to eliminate any lingering stains and odors. What To Do Before Our Carpet Cleaners Arrive Before our carpet cleaners arrive, there are a few things you should consider doing. For example, a little vacuuming never hurts, especially if you’ve been in and out of the home several times since the purchase. Removing stray debris or dirt on the carpet’s surface allows our expert carpet professionals to focus on any dirt, dust, or detritus that’s found its way deep into the carpet’s fibers. Another thing to do is check the home’s baseboards and HVAC vents. If these items weren’t dusted and cleaned by the outgoing residents, it’s a smart move to take care of it yourself. That way, there’s no danger of a dusty baseboard or dirty HVAC vent affecting your freshly cleaned carpets. If you’ve moved anything into your home, even small items, make sure they’re moved to a different location so that our team can work quickly and efficiently. Also, if you’ve already identified a place or two on the carpet that’s worn down or has a stain, be sure to point these out to us so we handle them appropriately. Lastly, on the day that the cleaning is scheduled, make sure that there a spot in the driveway for us to park, and that there’s a clear path in and out of your home. We’ll need to move machines in and out, run hoses, etc. Easy ingress/egress makes the process run even smoother, saving you time and money. Schedule a Professional Carpet Cleaning Moving into a new home means a fresh start, and you’ll want to hit the ground running with clean walls, floors, and carpet. Before you unpack, contact A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning and make an appointment to have your carpets professionally cleaned. You’ll love the way your carpets look, feel, and smell, and you’ll be especially happy with how clean they are. Call us today at 720-344-2870 or use our online contact form to schedule an appointment for expert water damage restoration near Littleton. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Repairing Pet Scratches on Upholstery
If you have a pet, chances are your favorite furball has shown a proclivity for scratching the upholstery in your home. A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning in Littleton offers some insight into how we repair these scratches to keep your furniture looking good. Assess the Extent of Damage Over time, small snags, nicks, and shredding can easily turn into full-blown tears and holes. And of course, the more your cat uses your furniture as its de facto scratching post, the faster the small problems will become big ones. Our local furniture repair team will assess the extent of damage to your furniture, noting the quantity of damaged areas and the severity of each. Option 1: Covering If the damage is not significant in terms of large holes and tears, but instead consists only of scratches, covering is the best option. Even if there are scratches on many parts of your couch or easy chair, covering is still more budget-friendly than reupholstering the damaged piece. The easiest solution, depending on the amount of area covered by scratching, is to conceal the damage with a pillow or throw. If the furniture is something slipcovered, i.e. a futon or sofa, we can apply an elasticized slipcover – or, we can cover the entire item with a fabric “cover” that gets tucked into the furniture’s crevices and is held in place with PVC piping or something similar. Another solution to consider, especially if the damage is restricted to a specific part of the furniture piece (armrest, leg, etc.), is reupholstering just that part of the item. If we were to go this route, we would use a contrasting color for the freshly upholstered section, since trying to match patterns/color is difficult with furniture. Option 2: Patching a Hole When patching a hole in upholstery, the approach taken by A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning is similar to our approach to patching carpet. Specifically, we’ll take a piece of fabric from an area on the item that is out of the way (invisible to the eye), and use this piece to patch the hole. The process requires a steady hand: first we’ll need to hold the torn area aside and put the patch underneath it, and right afterwards we’ll use pins to hold the patch in place. The next step is especially tricky, because it involves spreading fabric glue gently along the tear’s edges and atop the patch, and then affixing the patch to the torn area without dribbling glue on the fabric or causing air bubbles to form. When the glue is dry, which typically takes a few hours, we remove the pins and voila – the hole is “gone”. Option 3: Remedying a Rip Though less egregious than holes, rips are still unsightly and annoying. Our furniture repair experts in Littleton will remedy your upholstery rips with needle, thread, and a protective sealant. This last item is applied first, to the edges of the rip, to eliminate the chance of further ripping. When this is done, we pinch the two ripped edges together and stitch them up, being careful to first replace any filling that may have fallen out due to the rip. For more tips on upholstery cleaning and everything carpet-related – stretching, repair, cleaning, and more – contact our professional carpet cleaning company serving Denver. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Five Simple Upholstery Cleaning Tips
Tip #1: Know Your Upholstery Cleaning Codes Before you set out to clean your upholstery, it’s important to know the applicable upholstery cleaning codes. These codes are attached to every piece of furniture, and they offer direction regarding how each piece should be cleaned. There are three codes to be aware of: “W” means that the upholstery can be cleaned with a water-based cleaning product. “S” states that the cleaning product should be water-free: for example, a dry cleaning solvent. “X” confirms that the piece must be cleaned by a professional, lest you risk damaging the upholstery. Tip #2: Vacuuming Though it might seem strange at first glance, vacuuming your upholstery is a terrific idea for ensuring your upholstery always looks good. Vacuuming isn’t labor-intensive and it shouldn’t take too much time, and the reward is the removal of dust, dirt, allergens, bacteria, and microbes that naturally accumulate in places where people (and sometimes animals) are present. To ensure access to the folds, tight spots, and crevices inherent to most furniture, put an upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner. And if you have a pet, consider purchasing pet hair-removal attachments that are specifically designed to deal with pet hair and dander. Tip #3: Blot Fresh Spills Immediately It’s a common belief that coffee, juice, and wine spills are unsalvageable. However, if you act quickly you can remove even these tough stains. The key is to blot the stain right after it happens. Wet some paper towels or a clean rag/cloth and begin blotting until the stain is saturated with water. Be careful not to scrub or rub the stain, since this will only enlarge it. Tip #4: Create Your Own Cleaning Mixture Sometimes the best solutions for easy, inexpensive upholstery cleaning are already in your home. Such is the case when you create your own cleaning mixture by using four-parts lukewarm water and one-part laundry detergent. After you’ve mixed these ingredients together in a bowl, test out the mixture on a hidden couch cushion or dining room chair stain. Just dip a sponge into the mixture and rub it into the stain. Wipe the spot and let it dry for a bit, and when you return to it check for any discoloration or damage. If everything looks good, your mixture is safe to use. In fact, you might find that this solution is just as effective as over-the-counter cleaning products. Tip #5: Salt, Baking Soda, and White Vinegar Baking soda is a very effective upholstery cleaner. Just mix it with cold water and you can conquer virtually any stain, especially one that’s new/relatively new. Meanwhile, a mixture of salt and cold water is great for combating red wine stains. As for white vinegar, consider it for stain elimination on your white upholstery. Call the Professionals Our professional carpet cleaners serving Denver are always ready to lend our customers a hand. Whether you’re seeking cleaning tips and advice, or require our expert services in carpet care, spot removal, tile/grout cleaning, and more, feel free to contact us today for insights and a free quote. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”