How Often Should You Clean Your Furniture?
Keeping your furniture clean is important for maintaining its looks and longevity, as well as ensuring your couches and chairs don’t become havens for dust mites and allergens. So how often should you seek out professional upholstery cleaning near Littleton? Let’s discuss. How often should you clean your furniture? Although carpet, purely through its ubiquitousness in the home or office, gets more attention from a cleaning point of view, your furniture requires periodic cleaning too. Spots and stains caused by pets and children are a fact of life, as are the attraction of allergens and dust, and general soil buildup. The quantity of these issues, and other problems like fading, will vary depending on a piece of furniture’s placement and frequency of use. But rather than creating a “cleaning calendar” for each individual furniture item, you should have all of your furniture cleaned simultaneously. Our carpet cleaning experts suggest having your furniture professionally cleaned at least once a year, which is the same frequency at which you would have a pro clean your carpets. An annual deep-clean will keep your furniture clean and healthy, devoid of visible setbacks like stains, spots, and marks, and clear of invisible problems like allergens and microorganisms that can exacerbate the allergies and breathing problems suffered by family, friends, and co-workers. It’s also helpful to vacuum your furniture on a weekly or biweekly basis, but an annual deep clean should be conducted by professionals. What’s entailed in a furniture cleaning? Before we begin cleaning, we inspect each piece of furniture in your home or office and create a customized cleaning plan. Don’t worry about any unusual or exotic upholstery: our experienced cleaning pros are familiar with almost every upholstery type you can think of, including velvet, Jacquard, and Haitian cotton. In most cases, furniture upholstery is more delicate than carpet. Thus, furniture upholstery is more susceptible to damage and/or faded colors if the right approach isn’t used. Depending on the material, our professional furniture cleaners near Denver will either steam-clean your upholstery or use a special dry-cleaning solvent. In both cases, our #1 priority is to ensure the solution we use maintains your furniture’s look and feel while helping it to last longer. We don’t use any harsh chemicals, soaps, or solvents that leave behind a “sticky” feeling, and everything we utilize is healthy, so you needn’t worry about your kids or pets being around the furniture after it’s cleaned. Our cleaning methods are safe for the entire family, they dry fast, and they naturally resist re-soiling. And of course, we don’t use anything that could damage or discolor your furniture’s upholstery. Similar to having your carpet cleaned, an annual furniture clean will improve your home’s air quality. Allergens, mildew, and mold can affect furniture in the same manner that they do carpet, and these things are especially prevalent in furniture that sees a lot of use. Through deep-cleaning your furniture, these irritants are completely removed from cushions, lining, and fabric, thus maintaining fresh, healthy air throughout your home or office. For any questions regarding furniture cleaning and upholstery treatment, contact A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning in Littleton. We’re happy to visit your home or office, review your furniture cleaning needs, and provide you with a competitive quote. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
When to Hire an Upholstery Cleaning Specialist
Sometimes it’s tough to know when a certain substance can be cleaned with off-the-shelf cleaning supplies, and when it’s best to summon an upholstery cleaning specialist. A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning seeks to shed some light on a situation that many homeowners in Littleton will face at least once. Upholstery Cleaning Tags Chances are that when you spill something on your couch, or your child decides to jump on the living room loveseat in muddy shoes, your first reaction is something other than “Let me check the upholstery cleaning tag”. But these tags exist – either sewn under cushions or available in online form at the manufacturer’s website – and they’re a big help when deciding what you can and can’t clean on your own. Code W The W stands for water, meaning that any upholstery with a Code W can be cleaned with water-based cleaning products. This is the code that is most agreeable to DIY cleaning efforts. Code S Upholstery marked “Code S” must be cleaned with a solvent or a water-free agent, i.e. a dry-cleaning solvent. If you attempt to use water in an effort to erase a stain on a Code S sofa, there’s a good chance you’ll end up fading the sofa’s color, or embed the target area with a permanent water ring. Also, since we’re talking about chemically-based solvents, make sure to read the instructions before using since certain solvents can be hazardous. A Code S should at the very least give you pause before attempting to clean a stain yourself, and more often than not you’ll want to call our upholstery cleaning professionals. Code WS Code WS (sometimes written “Code SW”) upholstery can be cleaned with dry-cleaning or water-based cleaning products, but with the caveat that doing so could damage the fabric. If you’re 100% confident in your cleaning chops and you want to try cleaning a Code WS item yourself, we recommend conducting a spot test in a concealed area (i.e. a cushion bottom) before moving forward. However, any homeowner having doubts about self-cleaning a Code WS should call a pro. Code X Whenever you see something marked “Code X” – on your cable bill, in a webpage error message, etc. – there’s always a hint of the ominous. Such is the case with upholstery marked Code X. If you see this code on any to-be-cleaned upholstery in your house, it means that dry-cleaning solvents and water-based products are a no-go. In fact, some Code X jobs pose a challenge for seasoned professionals. In a Code X scenario, let the stain be and call A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning right away. Other Scenarios While the code system is the most common reason why you would hire an upholstery cleaning specialist, another scenario involves uniquely-shaped furniture whose various seams, nooks, and crannies can only be cleaned with special tools. These tools are expensive, which is why you’ll only find them in the possession of professional cleaning companies. Also – and this only happens rarely – there are occasions when a stain is so deep, or a fabric is so exotic, that our team will need to take the soiled item out of your home and to our workshop in order to clean it properly. Contact us today and we’ll be happy to provide a competitive quote for any cleaning project that’s on your to-do list. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Can You Re-stretch Carpet with Furniture in the Room?
We welcome questions from our customers, and the titular query – “Can you re-stretch carpet with furniture in the room?” – is a common one. Here’s a look at how A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning approaches carpet re-stretching when furniture is present. Overview The short answer is yes, we can re-stretch carpet with furniture in the room. However, there are some variables that could change this answer to a “Yes, but…”. For example, the exact amount of furniture will certainly affect the job, as will the weight of the furniture and the size/shape of the room where the carpet is. Another thing to consider is the location and layout of the ripples you want to remove from the carpet. Our Approach Using a power stretcher, our standard approach is to stretch the carpet away from the door/entryway and towards a wall that runs parallel to the ripples. This results in carpet that stays tight in the face of repeated cleanings, foot traffic, and repeated cleanings. When the wall is reached, our technician takes the following steps: Pull the carpet up from the tack-strip at the base of the wall Stretch the carpet until all ripples are smoothed out Reattach the newly-stretched carpet to the tack-strip Trim the carpet as necessary Tuck the carpet in to establish a seamless look In the optimal scenario – say, a room with several lightweight pieces of furniture (i.e. a standard bedroom or a study) – we can do all of this without moving the furniture because a) there’s no danger of anything falling over and/or breaking, and b) we’ll have enough room to maneuver around the furniture, access the ripples and have a clear path to the wall we need to stretch toward. And even if a clear path isn’t available, we can easily slide any impeding furniture out of the way. When must furniture be moved? There’s an industry rule of thumb that says in order to properly re-stretch a carpet, 50 percent of the room must be clear of furniture. Thus, a small room containing lots of furniture will require some moving before we can re-stretch. Also, if a room contains electronics, a curio with fragile items inside, or anything fragile for that matter, these items must be removed from the room and put in a safe spot until we’re finished re-stretching. Our state-of-the-art power stretcher can re-stretch carpet even when items like beds and couches are present. However, things get dicey when we need to work around very heavy pieces like pool tables, treadmills, and big fish tanks. Items like these are so heavy that they can cause the carpet to rip while we’re engaged in re-stretching. One solution is to do a “partial re-stretch”, which means stretching areas of the carpet that are unaffected by large objects. However, a partial re-stretch requires more work (and at times, a seam because we’ll need to reattach the re-stretched carpet to the un-stretched areas) and is consequently more expensive. Therefore, we recommend relocating these cumbersome objects before we arrive at your home. We understand that some things are too heavy to move without professional help, so if necessary we’ll work around these pieces. A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning provides expert carpet re-stretching and carpet repair in Littleton. Contact us today to discuss our rates and schedule an appointment. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”
Protect Your Furniture: Four Expert Tips for Upholstery Cleaning
For more than 30 years, A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaners has provided expert carpet cleaning to customers in Littleton, CO and the greater Denver, CO area. We’ve successfully completed thousands of upholstery projects, so we think we’re qualified to provide our many loyal customers with expert tips for upholstery cleaning. Without further ado, here are four things you can do to ensure your upholstery looks pristine year-round. Address Stains Immediately Whenever something spills on your couch, loveseat, etc. it’s critical that you take care of it post-haste. Grab a paper towel or clean white cloth and blot (don’t rub) the spill, working from the outside to the center. Rubbing a spill could make the stain bigger, an effect known in the upholstery biz as “blossoming”. Keep blotting until the stain is completely dry. Also, be sure not to over-wet the upholstery, as this could not only enlarge the stain but also dampen the padding beneath the cover, leading to mold or mildew. Regularly Clean Your Upholstery A pinch of prevention is worth an ounce of cure, and most things can be kept looking good (upholstery, floors, your car) with regular cleanings. Every week, pull out your vacuum, engage the upholstery attachment, and vacuum your soft furnishings. Of particular use is the angle-tipped “crevice tool” – if your vacuum comes with one of these, it’s perfect for cleaning folds and creases where dirt and crud collect. We also recommend taking your cushions outside once a month and hand-beating them. This keeps dust from getting too comfortable within the cushion fibers. When you’re done, flip the cushion before putting it back – this helps maintain even wear on both sides. Invest in Extra Protection Home furnishings often constitute a significant investment – and like any investment, you want to keep it well-protected. To this end, consider buying and applying a professional-grade upholstery protector. These products don’t guarantee 100 percent protection, but they will drastically reduce the chances of permanent damage from spills and discoloration. Our upholstery cleaning experts are happy to provide you with a quote for this service, and talk further with you about the cleaning products we recommend. Treat Your Upholstery to a Deep Clean Just like your body benefits from a yearly massage, your upholstery will benefit from a yearly deep-cleaning treatment. If your cushion covers are removable and machine-washable, throw them in the washing machine and put the water setting on cold. To prevent fading, turn the covers inside-out before washing. If your covers are “dry-clean only”, or are particularly dusty/dirty, we recommend having them professionally cleaned. This is the best way to ensure everything is cleaned thoroughly and correctly, especially when dealing with big spills that may be even larger in the padding beneath the cover. A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaners brings a friendly, knowledgeable approach to upholstery cleaning near Littleton, CO. No job is too big or too small, so contact us today for a free quote.
Moving Season is Upon Us!
Moving season is here. March and April bring warmer weather, spring flowers and houses hitting the market for sale! Are you looking to sell your home? You’ll want your carpets in great shape when prospective buyers start looking at your home. The housing market in Littleton and the surrounding area is hot, so you’ll want to pull out all the stops to get your home to show as best as it possibly can. This means cleaning your carpets, upholstery and fixing those snags, ripples or bare spots on your carpet. Why you should clean your carpets before selling your home Dust, dirt, pollen and other allergens can collect in your carpets over time. This buildup can also cause odors, which may be a turnoff to prospective buyers. You’ll want your home to smell clean and fresh and professionally cleaned carpets can do just that. Professional carpet cleaning can also remove those spots and stains that may cause buyers to think they have to replace their carpet. New carpet is expensive, so bringing in a professional to clean your carpets can be a lot less money. Adding carpet protection spray can help keep stains from setting in. Think of it as an invisible shield for your carpet! Carpet frays, ripples and seam repair If your carpet is fraying, rippling or showing splits or tears at the seams, then you’ll need our expert carpet restoration service. Carpet damage may turn off prospective home buyers. A Personal Touch recommends repairing split seams, carpet tears and ripples before putting your home on the market. Our expert carpet repair services can make your carpets ripple-free, remove burn spots and apply transitional strips to help restore your carpet to nearly new condition! Wool rugs If you have wool rugs but don’t want to clean them before moving due to high traffic of buyers viewing your home, then you’ll want to utilize our pickup and drop-off service for your wool and area rugs. On moving day, we’ll come get your wool or area rugs, clean them using our Rug Badger technology, and hold your rugs until you’re moved into your new home!* Call us today at 720.344.2870 or use our online contact form to request your free estimate or to schedule your carpet cleaning, carpet repair or wool rug cleaning service appointment. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.” * Delivery and drop-off within our service area only.
Frequent Cleaning, Vacuuming, and Spot Cleaning Will Extend the Life of Your Carpets and Upholstery
If you have kids, pets, or a household full of people then you know how hard it is to keep on up cleaning! Maintaining and keeping a clean carpet is more than just cleaning and prolonging the life of the carpet; it’s about being healthy too! Did you know that allergens can get trapped and live in your carpet fibers? If you have just laid carpet then you are already aware of the expenses involved with doing so. A clean carpet will add value to the home if it is well maintained, and it will also help to protect your new carpet investment. Regular vacuuming and spot cleaning will also help keep odors to a minimum, and it will help to make a comfortable and allergen-free home for your friends and your family. How often should I deep clean my carpets? Make sure that you get a deep cleaning of the carpet at least every 6-12 months. To achieve a deep cleaning for your carpet, you’ll need to have it cleaned by a professional, such as A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning. Clean up spills as they happen Keep your eye out for spills and take care of them quickly to keep your carpet clean. For most stains, blotting it with water should do the trick. For tougher stains or stains that have been sitting, you can try a mixture of water and vinegar on the stain. Apply the mixture, let it sit for 1-2 minutes then blot it out. By taking immediate action you can prevent spills from becoming stains that leave you with a permanent stains, messes or odors. Vacuum regularly in between deep cleanings You should vacuum your carpets weekly. The best method for vacuuming is to go over the carpet in several different directions to allow the vacuum time to pick up all it can. High quality vacuums are the best for picking up the most dirt, dust, and pollen and you can find some more vacuuming tips here. Stop the dirt at the door Keep from tracking dirt, soil, and mud into your house by using a single entrance and remove your shoes at the door to keep most of the tracked soils off the surface of the carpet. Put entrance mats outside of your doors and make sure that anyone who enters your home use the mats to help get debris and dirt off of their shoes before they enter. You can also take off your shoes and request that guests do the same, prior to entering your home. Around 80% of the dirt that enters your home are dry. The remaining 20% are greases, oils, and starches. The dry soil types are easily removed by vacuuming. As long as they are removed on a regular basis, it will help to minimize the damage to the carpet. Protect your carpet and upholstery investment with a call to A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning Services today. We can’t wait to help you say goodbye to dirt, dust, soil and allergens! Call us today at 720-344-2870. Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.” Refer a friend and receive a $25.00 gift certificate for your next cleaning.
Top Reasons to Clean Your Carpets Before the Holidays
The holidays are coming and will be here faster than you think! This brings parties, family, guests and more parties. You’ll want to have your carpets and upholstery cleaned to help remove dirt, stains, odors and germs from all your carpets, rugs and upholstered furniture. Fall Snow, Dirt and Mud Indoors Snow and slush means dirt and grime on your carpets and rugs! Help protect your investment by leaving your shoes at the door and asking your guests to do the same. This will help cut down on water, snow, slush or ice-melt being tracked indoors and onto your carpets. A Clean House and Healthy House Germs and bacteria, dust and pollen can accumulate in and under your carpets without regular maintenance. Consider removing your shoes at the door or leaving them outside on a mat just outside your door to help prevent these nasty bugs from being brought into your house. Regular maintenance is a must to keep your carpets, rugs and upholstery germ free! Consider vacuuming carpets and rugs on a regular basis to pick up dirt and debris and have a professional clean your carpets and rugs at least once every year. Protecting Your Investment Regular deep cleaning can increase the longevity of your carpets and rugs and help protect your investment for years to come. Cleaning up spills and stains as soon as they happen will make them easier to remove and more likely not to stain. Holiday Guests and Family You’ll want your carpets and upholstery to look amazing for your guests, plus a deep cleaning by a professional in the fall or winter will make your spring cleaning a breeze in 6 months! We are your Carpet Care Experts. 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.”
Protect Your Furniture Investment with Regular Cleaning
Aside from your home or your car, buying furniture may be one of the biggest investments you’ll make. You’ve found the perfect furniture for your home and invested the money to buy quality furniture, but that’s only one part of the equation. The other? Cleaning the upholstery on your furniture to help safeguard your investment and keep your furniture looking beautiful for years to come. Fabric / Upholstery Types Whether you’ve bought a new piece of furniture or you’re having an existing piece of furniture reupholstered, it’s important to consider fabric type and the amount of usage it will receive. For example, if you have small children or pets, it’s probably not a great idea to select a brocade or other richly decorated fabric as they are likely to wear with heavy use. It’s a much better bet to select a tightly woven fabric that will withstand the dust, grime, and friction of daily use. For well-used furniture such as loveseats and couches, it’s also a good idea to add a stain-resistant treatment to the fabric. While this treatment won’t make the pieces waterproof, it can help increase the longevity and beauty of the furniture. Furniture Care It’s important to clean or wipe up any spills or stains as soon as they occur. It’s much easier to remove a stain if you can get it as it occurs. Vacuuming your furniture and upholstery once per week will help prevent dirt and grime from building up between the fibers of the fabric, and can help extend the life of your upholstery. Turning the cushions on your couch once a week will help them retain their shape and wear evenly. You should also keep your upholstered furniture out of direct sunlight as the the ultraviolet rays from the sun can fade the colors of your furniture and cause the fabric to deteriorate prematurely. Professional Furniture Maintenance The final piece to safeguarding the investment you make in your upholstered furniture is to make sure to have it professionally cleaned once each year. Although it may be tempting to try upholstery cleaning yourself, resist the urge. Fabrics are generally labeled with “cleanability codes,” namely W, S, WS, and X. These codes relay information about the type of cleaning products that can be used on the fabric. However, if your sofa is covered in a microfiber fabric or leather then you should leave maintenance and cleaning to a microfiber sofa cleaning or leather furniture cleaning expert. We Are Your Expert Furniture Cleaners A Personal Touch prides itself on our upholstery cleaning services and network of furniture cleaning experts who will provide you with quality, affordable upholstery furniture cleaning. When you schedule an appointment for upholstery cleaning, you can expect one of our friendly Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) trained technicians will come to your home and inspect your furniture for potentially permanent stains or damage. We will typically vacuum the upholstery first then will perform the upholstery cleaning according to the fabric care specifications, and perhaps even speed drying time with a blow dryer. At the end of the process, our technician will talk to you about the cleaning and allow you to inspect their work. Remember, upholstery furniture cleaning helps preserve your investment. Relying on an expert will ensure that the upholstery in your home receives the care and maintenance it deserves. 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.”
Freshen Your Home with Upholstery Cleaning By A Personal Touch
LITTLETON, CO—The holiday season is drawing to a close, and if your furniture’s upholstery is a little worse for the wear, A Personal Touch can bring those soiled fabrics back to life. Whether Uncle Bob’s eggnog toast from the living room sofa got a little too enthusiastic or the pooch followed a New Year’s firecracker explosion with one of it’s own in your favorite easy chair, a quick call to A Personal Touch will have your upholstery looking like new in a jiff. Each element is cleaned individually by IICRC-trained technicians who are experts in the proper way to clean all fabric types, from canvas, cotton, and corduroy to silks, linens, and velvet. Even delicate lace and tricky surfaces like leather are no match for our experts, each one of whom is personally chosen and trained by owner Phil Dreesen and his son Ben to assure that the company’s high standards of service and quality are met on every appointment. And we back it up with a 100% money-back guarantee. Every square inch of your upholstery is meticulously cleaned with particular attention paid to delicate and easily overlooked parts such as piping, decorative fasteners, buttons and pleats. Spills, smudges, stains and ground-in dirt are carefully and gently removed, then all your furniture is treated with soil protectors to preserve its fresh new look. Odors from pets and airborne contaminants can’t stand up to our double-edged attack of carefully selected cleaners and technicians who know how to use them. We also recommend a professional application of fabric protector to extend the life of your upholstery and keep it looking fresh between cleanings. Your home is full of upholstered furniture and pillows that are subjected to all kinds of wear and other indignities during the holidays and throughout the year. They represent a sizeable investment on your part, and regular care and cleaning will ensure that they return many years of beauty and enjoyment. Call A Personal Touch at 720.344.2870 to schedule an appointment anywhere in our Front Range service area. Or use our online contact form for any questions you may have. There is also a form on the page to request a free estimate. We’re available for emergencies, too, night or day and on weekends. You’ll be served by our courteous and knowledgeable staff that is eager to show you that our motto “We don’t cut corners, we clean them” is more than just a slogan.