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Cleaning Red Wine Out Of Carpet

One of the most dreaded stains on carpet has to be red wine. It sets quickly, and if not tended to immediately can prove a great adversary. Cleaning red wine can be relatively easy, and there are several ways in which to remove the stain. Depending on whether the stain is still wet or if it has set can alter the treatment method. Natural products like peroxide, vinegar, and baking soda can be great stain removers. Red wine has also been removed with club soda and white wine. Other products can also be used, chemical products designed remove tough carpet stains can also prove useful.

When a red wine stain first appears the most important thing to do is to blot up any and all wine possible. As soon as the stain has been identified it is important to remove all excess liquid first. It is also important to note that the stain should be blotted, not rubbed so that the liquid is not further ground into the carpet.

After blotting, household products like hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, and baking soda can be used to remove the remaining stain. When white vinegar and baking soda are combined they will fizz, creating a bubbly lifting effect on the stain. Peroxide can be diluted with water in order to apply over the stained area and then blot up with a towel.

Some other effective methods of red wine stain removal are pouring white wine over the red to neutralize the red wine. Club soda can also be applied to a red wine stain. The sodium in the club soda helps to keep the red wine stain from setting in the carpet fibers. One last option is a commercial carpet cleaning spray. These products also claim to neutralize the red wine making it easy to blot up and remove forever.

Red wine stains are no longer something that will just have to be covered and hidden. There are many tried and true methods to red wine stain removal.

Photo courtesy of ryasaurus on www.sxc.hu

Carpet Cleaning Tips for Spring

It seems like cleaning during the winter months is an uphill battle. Mud and moisture are being constantly brought in on the bottom of little feet. With no place else to go, family members and pets are constantly underfoot. Worst of all, the months of gloom have a way of sapping the will from even the most fastidious hearts. Luckily, it usually only takes a single sunny day for most people to catch spring cleaning fever.

It is generally best to start any spring cleaning project by focusing on floors and carpets. Unfortunately, this is no easy task. Cleaning floors is not a quick process. This means that family members or customers have to be kept off of the area for extended periods of time. However, a clean floor can make a world of aesthetic difference.

First, remove as many obstructions as possible from the area to be cleaned. Constantly moving around furniture and other fixtures is a hassle. However, constantly cleaning around things means that the space beneath the furniture is going to wear unevenly. There is nothing worse than moving a couch and discovering that the carpet underneath it is three shades lighter than the rest of the room.

For carpeted floors, the next step is to remove as much surface dirt and debris as possible through simple vacuuming. Unfortunately, this often means vacuuming the same area more than once. This is annoying but necessary. Once the area has been sufficiently vacuumed, the carpet is ready to be deep cleaned. Often times, this means hiring a company to perform a deep level extraction.

Luckily, cleaning floors that have not been carpeted is a slightly easier task. When it comes to hardwood or linoleum in a commercial setting, most of the dirt and debris accumulate on the surface of the material. This makes vacuuming or sweeping a much less involved task. However, using the correct equipment and cleaning supplies can often be an issue. Many surfaces can be permanently damaged if the correct chemicals are not expertly applied.

When incorrectly mixed, degreaser and other cleaning supplies can also pose a threat to the cleaning crew. Even the most benign cleaning products can leave behind unsightly residue when not removed correctly. Additionally, many people lack the knowledge and experience necessary to safely use an industrial scrubbing machine. In most cases, a mop and bucket are just not up to the task. Based on these issues, many people simply opt for professional cleaning services. Call Renew Carpet Care for all your Pittsburgh professional carpet cleaning needs.

Image from Nick in exsilio via Flickr

Cleaner Carpets Prevent Allergies

Carpet Cleaning Pittsburgh PA When you make a point to keep your home clean, it can help reduce the incidence of allergy and asthma. The carpet in your home can be one of the biggest triggers in your home, and also one of the hardest areas to clean. Animal dander can quickly build up in a home causing a potential problem with allergies.

There are many different allergens that can be found in the home environment. There are some things you can do to help ensure that you eliminate as many allergens as possible from the home.

Vacuum Often

A vacuum is an area where you should not try to purchase a cheap model. You want to make sure that you are using a vacuum that has a HEPA filter. This will help prevent allergens from being stirred up into the air. If you are the person that has allergies, you will want to use a mask while vacuuming.

Control Animal Dander

It may be possible to eliminate pets from the home, and this is the best case scenario. If you are unable to eliminate pets, you can keep pets in certain rooms in the home. There are certain breeds that may be more of a fit for those suffering with allergies.

Eliminate Dust Mites

If you have many things throughout your home and clutter on tables, this can create a place for dust. You can begin to eliminate items that will acquire and accumulate dust. There are covers you can use for your mattress and pillows to keep them free from dust mites.

Keep Mold And Pollen Out

You should keep the windows and doors to your home closed. You should make sure that the air filter in your home is replaced regularly also. Moisture should not accumulate in the home, and you will need to take measures to prevent moisture buildup in the bathroom and kitchen.

For Professional Carpet Cleaning in Pittsburgh, PA, contact Renew Carpet Care today!

Carpet Cleaning Tips Little Known Tips

Having carpet in your home shouldn’t be a concern for homeowners who want to maintain the carpet areas as clean as possible. Although carpets tend to be a little more difficult to clean, there are many ways that can get rid of the stains once and for all. Very often, accidents happen where someone may spill unwanted substances on the carpet like coffee or tea. Unfortunately, accidents can happen to anyone especially in homes where families have young children.

The first step in maintaining your carpet clean is by vacuuming at least once a week and more repeatedly in areas of high traffic. It is important to put great emphasis in areas where people sit. Use baking soda if you want to get rid of bad odors in your household as a cause of carpet wear. The key is to be patient and not become frustrated if it takes extra effort on your part in getting rid of heavy, resistant to be cleaned stains. Luckily, there are a few tricks that can be used to maintain your carpet spotless.

When someone spills the carpet with any substance, it is always advised to test the cleaning solution of your choice in an area that is not highly visible. The reason for this is to prevent that your carpet suffers from any further damage in case the cleaning solution causes a discoloration, which may create you an additional problem. When using a cleaning solution, it is best to work from the outside of the stain to the inside to avoid making the stain bigger. If the carpet stays wet with remains of the solution, it is recommended to use a white towel for drying it. Because many spots respond more favorable to certain cleaning solutions, it is important to know what works best in getting rid of a particular spill.

For crayons and glues, it is good to use undiluted vinegar applying it evenly to a toothbrush. When it comes to getting rid of grease in your carpet, try to sprinkle cornmeal and let it rest for approximately 5 minutes. Next, use a sponge with vinegar and water to wash the area affected. If that wasn’t convenient enough, utilize vinegar and water solution to get rid of the most common stains such as: ketchup, chocolate, red wine, and coffee.

However, some stains may require the help of a professional carpet cleaning company to restore the carpet back to its original state.

How Does 3M Carpet Protector Work?

3m carpet protector Over the years, 3M has been serving the consumer with great innovative products, and one of those products is Scotchgard. Scientists had discovered an exclusive formula that resists stains on furniture, carpets, and clothing. Back in the 1950’s 3M scientists developed a Fluor chemical spray. Uniformly sprayed on fabric, it surrounds each fiber of fabric protecting it from oil or water-based spills that will not soak into the fabric, blot it, and Scotchgard prevents the fabric from staining.

Now that fabrics are changing, 3M Scotchgard needed to change. 3M has devoted its time in maintaining an ecological balance, by not using PFOS compounds in its products, anymore. 3M is environmentally conscious, and wants to help make the earth a better place to live. The newly formulated 3M Scotchgard provides equal or better protection, and has a favorable environmental, health and safety profile. 3M Scotchgard is safe and effective when applied accurately. It will generate a protective guard against dirt, grime, and liquid, giving you time to clean it before it stains. It prolongs the beauty of your carpet, furniture, and clothing.

3M Scotchgard is known world wide for its safe technology, and innovative development. Scotchgard works with natural and synthetic carpet fibers. 3M works closely with carpet mills to ensure they are in agreement with high quality standards of the Scotchgard brand and 3M. All Scotchgard carpet protection products are significantly tested and safely used in homes for more then 20 years. When the consumer buys Scotchgard protection, they expect the best, and that is why 3M works closely with the carpet mills. They want to make sure the consumer is buying the best product on the market. That is why 3M does its best to give you the best. When you spill something, immediately blot the spot and it will clean right up. The 3M Scotchgard Stain Release Warranty hot water extraction, requires that professionals clean your carpet at least every two years.

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The Quickest Ways to Dry Wet Carpet

wet-carpet-by-bookgrl You come home and all of a sudden disaster strikes, the whole floor of your living room is wet due to leaving a window open during a rainstorm. There are many ways to dry your carpet, but not all of them are applicable given the circumstance. You must act fast or your carpet will deteriorate quickly due to being over saturated. The good news is that in most cases you can dry your carpet faster than this will happen.

1. Call in the Professionals
This is the recommended option for high risk cases. For example, a flood comes through your town and soaks your entire living room. Professional carpet cleaners can use machines that suck the water out of your carpet and have them dry in no time at all. Depending on your home owners or renters insurance, this may even be covered at no extra charge to you.

2. Rent a Wet Vacuum
It is also possible to use your own wet vacuum if you have one. This is a great option when you have just a section of the carpet that is soaked. The vacuum will soak up all of the moisture right out of the carpet and then you just have to worry about the padding.

3. Dry the Padding
Carpet sits on a padding that is just underneath your carpet. If the padding gets soaked, it is imperative that you dry out the padding as well. In the case that you leave the padding saturated, the carpet will get wet and you will most likely get that rancid mildew smell. You can dry the padding with a fan by lifting up your carpet and placing a fan to blow over the area. The padding can get a little wet and you won’t have to lift up your carpet to dry it off. When in doubt, dry it off by lifting up the carpet and using the fan technique.

4. Dry the Floor
As with the padding, water that remains on the floor can also cause damage to the above layers. You should take care of this after you dry the padding and this can be done with a mop if you remove the padding.

A wet floor that isn’t properly cared for can result in secondary damages that will ultimately bring much more headaches and costs. Act quick and smart to take care of your property.

Have any other carpet drying techniques? Let us know.

Truck Mounted Carpet Cleaner Vs. Portable Unit Carpet Cleaner

When trying to decide which of these two carpet cleaners are better, you are going to see that the truck mounted carpet cleaner will work the best. Both of these machines use hot water to clean a carpet and no matter which machine you are going to use, carpets will always need to be cleaned yet again after twelve or eighteen months. There are many differences between these two carpet cleaners.

The portable unit carpet cleaner does a great job in cleaning a carpet but when using this machine you will find that you have to use a lot more cleaning solution. It will take a lot more time to clean the carpet and you will see that it’s going to take a lot longer for the carpet to dry. When using the portable carpet cleaner you must use hot water and the only hot water you are getting is from the faucet. That water isn’t going to be super hot but you are going to use it to clean the carpet. With using the cleaning solutions on the carpet, it needs to be rinsed out as well as you can. Whatever is going to be left in the carpet will collect soil and you will see that the carpet will get dirtier faster. Using the portable carpet cleaner, it is going to take a lot longer to dry the carpet.

With the truck mounted carpet cleaner, the water you are using is heated constantly and the temperature of that water will go over one hundred twenty degrees. The hotter the water the better so when using this carpet cleaner your carpets will be getting super clean. The heat of the water breaks down the grease and dirt off the carpet making the carpet exceptionally clean. You will also use less cleaning solution with this carpet cleaner. The water pressure between the two machines is very different and when using a cleaning solution, it has to be rinsed out thoroughly.

The truck mounted carpet cleaner is more capable of rinsing away all the solutions on the carpets, making it cleaner. The vacuum powers behind the truck mount cleaner is more powerful and this will leave the carpet less time to dry and no time for dirt to get back into the carpet. The hot water, the water pressure and the vacuum sucking up all the dirt makes the truck mounted carpet cleaner the better of the two every time.

Affordable Carpet Cleaning Remedies for the Home

In order to keep carpets clean in the home, it is important to routinely maintain them. If you have the privilege of getting new carpets, it is worth the effort to spray them with a commercial stain blocker. This will prevent stains from penetrating the fibers and make cleaning much easier, prolonging the life of your carpet. In addition, it is important to vacuum carpets weekly to remove dirt before it works itself down into the pad.

In addition to everyday wear and tear, pet stains and stains from spills are the most common areas of concern among carpet owners. Regardless of the type of spill, it is important to address it immediately. The longer the stain sits, the more difficult it will be to remove. First you should blot the stain with a clean towel or cloth. Rubbing the stain will only spread it to other areas on the carpet. While each individual stain can be addressed in different ways, a general rule of thumb is to use baking soda and club soda. In many situations, a mixture of baking soda and club soda will lift part or all of the stain, as well as neutralizing odor.
For pet stains, since odor is the main concern, the following procedure should be followed. Blot up as much urine as possible. Liberally cover the stain with baking soda. Cover the stained area and baking soda with some kind of plastic sheeting such as a plastic bag. Apply something heavy, like a stack of books, on top of the plastic in order apply additional pressure to the carpet. After 24 hours, remove the plastic and vacuum up the baking soda.

While there are countless home remedies for carpet stains, the best option is hire a professional carpet cleaning company. A professional will have powerful vacuums and chemicals that will be able to lift older stains and restore carpets. In addition, the job will be done quickly. Contact us today at (412) 573-9291.

What are the most difficult carpet stains to clean?

When deciding to use carpet as your flooring option there are many things you must know. Carpet is the cheapest form of flooring for the most part but will need an occasional carpet cleaning. There are many things that will stain and ruin your carpet if it is not cleaned properly.

One of many difficult to clean carpet stains would have to be red wine. You can go about trying to clean this one up on your own but you probably will not be very successful. Another hard to clean stain is grass. When your lovely children come in from soccer practice your carpet is guaranteed to get wrecked if they forget to take off their soccer cleats. Grape juice is another scary substance when it comes to carpeting. You will try all day to remove this and it will still be slightly visible. These are just a few out of many substances that can and will easily stain your carpet.

When your carpet gets all stained up, it doesn’t look very attractive to company. There are many things you can do to prevent this. Hiring a carpet cleaner is one of the best options you can go with. Professional carpet cleaners are trained and certified to do what they do. They know how to get almost every kind of stain out with that special carpet cleaning product. When getting your carpet cleaned by a trained carpet cleaner it will save you hundreds of dollars over having to replace your carpet. If you leave your carpet stained and unattended the only option you will have left is to replace your carpet. Carpet cleaners also have professional grade carpet cleaning machines. You can purchase basic carpet cleaning machines but they do not get up a forth of what a commercial grade machine does. These are just a few reasons out of many that you should get a hold of your local carpet cleaner for any unwanted stains.

It is almost impossible to keep your carpet completely stain free. Since it is almost impossible we will need to frequently hire a trained carpet cleaner. This will save you tons of money over having to completely replace your carpet. Keep in mind how beneficial hiring a carpet cleaner is next time you get a horrible stain on your carpet!

How to Clean Old Pet Stains from a Carpet

After trying various methods, many pet owners are still wondering how to remove pet stain from their carpets. The fact is that pet stain removal can be a difficult procedure if you don’t know the proper removal techniques.

Pet stains can quickly embed deep inside your carpet fibers, and can also change the colors of your carpet. Since urine is acidic, it can destroy many types of carpet fabrics and leave a horrible odor. This can lead to hygienic issues, and cause homeowners to worry about how their carpets will look to guests.

One thing is for certain, if pet stains are not removed quickly from carpets, it can cause permanent damage.

Simple Steps on How to Clean Old Pet Stains from a Carpet

You might not be able to remove some stubborn old stains from your carpet without the services of a carpet cleaning company. It depends on how long they have been in your carpet, and the type of carpet you have. Some stains can be removed by following these important steps.

Use Hand Protection – You should always use rubber gloves or other hand protection when you decide to clean old pet stains from a carpet. Also, make sure you wash your hands when you finish for extra protection.
Blot Don’t Rub – It’s possible to use some dry paper towels to absorb as much of the stain as possible. It’s important to blot the stain and don’t rub it, because you could cause it to get deeper into the carpet fiber. After that, you can use a 4 to 1 solution of water and white vinegar (4 cups of water for every cup of vinegar). Pour the solution over the stain, let it soak for a couple of minutes, and then blot it up with more dry paper towels, and then rinse it off.
Carpet Cleaning Pet Stain Products – There are numerous products on the market that are specifically made to remove pet stains. It’s probably best to ask your friends and family what products they use to get rid of pet stains and odors. Just follow the directions, and make sure you blot it out before rinsing it.
Use Enzymes – There are specific pet stain products that contain enzymes that actually go to work and begin eating away the carpet stains. These products remove the stain, instead of just covering it up like some products.
Use UV Light to Detect – A UV light (also known as a black light) can easily detect old pet stains in the dark. Just turn out the lights in the room and turn on the UV light. The pet stains will be lighter in color. Newer pet stains will be bright, but older stains will have a more faded appearance. Once you locate the area, you should clean them immediately.

These are just a few simple ways that focus on pet stain removal from carpets. Whatever you try, make sure you test a small patch of the carpet first, just in case the detergent, or other cleaner, discolors the carpet. Remember, Renew Carpet Care, a professional carpet cleaning company, is always a phone call away (412-573-9291), and they can help you get your carpet looking like new again.

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