 A Typical DIY Carpet Cleaning Machine So DIY Carpet Cleaning seams like a pretty good idea, right? Well if you’d witnessed what I have then you might not think so. Here’s the Top 5 Reasons DIY carpet cleaning can be a disaster for you and your carpet and why it may cost you. Big Time! So do the hire machines suck? Well the short answer is not very well. They can put water into your carpet but they aren’t very good (and that’s being kind) at removing it because they have tiny vacuum motors not very suitable for removing the water. That’s a big potential problem! Over wet carpet causes the following problems: 1. Would you like Mould Spores with that ???In short, mould is really (and I mean really) bad for your health. Not to mention anyone who may have a predisposition to bronchial issues. Mould spores can germinate within 12 hours and some grow in 24 to 48 hours. Once mould is in your carpet it’s a general consensus within the industry that they should be replaced immediately. That’s costly for even 1 room of carpet let alone a whole house full.  2. The Law of Attraction. Dirt Attraction. So with a limited ability to remove water from your carpet because of a tiny vacuum motor in DIY Carpet Cleaning Machines comes the inability to remove detergent residue as well. Oh well! So What? You may say. Well any detergent residue left in the carpet settles onto the fibre surface of your carpet and creates a sticky residue. You may not even feel it. But it will absolutely be there. This sticky residue attracts dirt like a magnet and will make your carpet even dirtier than it was before within weeks. I can always tell a carpet that’s been DIY cleaned because the soiling is so consistent across the carpet because dust and allergens have attached to most of the exposed fibres. Not to mention the amount of foam that I pull out. I once had to reclean a carpet for a tenant twice because they had left that much residue after their DIY attempt. 3. I hope you like Brown ??? In short if you over wet your carpet because you can’t extract what you’ve put in then there is a high chance that your carpet will turn brown. Why though? Well on the backing of most carpet is a brown hessian material. Its what holds everything together. You’ve most likely seen it. When the brown hessian is wet, it releases the brown dye colour that sits in the bottom of the carpet. But! When the carpet dries it dries on the top surface of the carpet first and basically drags the water up from below up to the top like a drinking straw. You guessed it. It also drags the brown dye and it stays on the top giving you what we call Cellulosic Browning. In most cases this can be rectified by a professional carpet cleaner but unfortunately it won’t be cheap to do.  Here is an example "Cellulosic Browning" as a result overwet carpet 4. You Google it. We’ll fix it. Maybe !! Oh my goodness! Have I seen some horror stories from people that Googled home carpet cleaning remedies and tried to remove stains from their carpet. Anything from using the wrong chemistry on the wrong fibre and ruining their carpet to my old favourite Bi-Carb Soda. There’s a thousand different home remedies publicized by a million different websites who really have no idea about what they’re advising you to do. Not to mention they aren’t going to pay for your carpet replacement or a professional clean. I get why people do it. But seriously if you’d seen some of the stuff I have you wouldn’t do it. Trust me they exist. Not too many people put a FB post of their home remedy gone wrong and the fact it cost them $5K to replace their carpet. 5. Do you know what your carpet is made of ?? So why in the world would you care what your carpets made of? Its true you don’t need too. Most people don’t. Until…… The day you decide to clean your expensive carpet (or worse) the land lords carpet with something that shouldn’t be used on it. Something that can cause permanent damage. The worst case I’ve seen was someone that used the wrong chemical on a wool carpet to spot clean over 30 spots throughout the house. That resulted in permanent, unfixable chemical burn on the fibres. End result was total replacement at a very pretty penny. So there you have the real low down on the risks of DIY carpet cleaning & stain removal. Hopefully you don’t spill anything on your carpet and just need a routine clean every 12-18 months. But either way we can assist with carpet cleaning and/or stain removal for clients in the Newcastle & Lake Macquarie NSW area.
TIP 1: Pet urine on wool carpet will cause irreversible damage to wool carpet within 48 hours. TIP 2: Dragging Furniture on Polypropylene carpet can leave permanent friction burn marks because Polypropylene has a low melting point.
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This is article is kindly written Phil Mathot from Mighty Clean Carpet
Pets are our friends, and sharing your home is often part of the companionship we have with our pets. However, like anything, this can have it's challenges. For many people, it's not a particularly pleasant topic to talk about, but today we are going to discuss pet urine, how it affects carpet, and how your professional carpet cleaner A-Team Carpet Cleaning Newcastle, can help. So what really is urine? Urine is biological waste that includes urochrome pigment, lipids, uric acid and creatine. Generally it is excreted in a slightly acid state, but as bacteria develop, urine begins to become alkaline, off gassing ammoniated odours. Pet urine in carpet presents three challenges. 1) Odour 2) Contamination (health hazard) 3) Visual urine stain Pet behaviour changes depending on breed and sex amongst other things. Some animals will mark perimeters, others will return to the same spots. Multiple surfaces are often affected by pet urine, and it's extremely important to understand this point. A carpet is made up of the face pile (what we see and can touch), a backing and the underlay. All of these surface can be affected by pet urine, but that's not the end of it. Urine can penetrate into the flooring substrate, and often we find that skirting boards and walls, and other soft furnishings such as curtains can be affected. So what can A-Team Carpet Cleaning Newcastle do for pet urine in carpets? Firstly, we will determine what your concern is. For visual stains, we need to determine what type of fibre your carpet is made from. This often governs how successful the urine stain removal will be. As an example, woollen carpets are much more sensitive to treatment than nylon, and nylon more so than polypropylene. The fibre type you have, the length of time the stain has been present and previous treatment attempts all can affect the outcome of a urine stain treatment. Typically speaking we can successfully treat 50-60% of visual urine stains, using a specialised thermal transfer process and mild oxidising agents. Odour and contamination from pet urine presents their own challenges. If you are only concerned about the bacterial action in the face pile of the carpet, we can treat this with an anti-microbial treatment, clean your carpets, and then re-apply an anti-microbial effectively sanitising the face pile of bacteria. If pet urine odour is your concern, the challenge is determining the extent of surfaces affected. A-Team Carpet Cleaning technicians carry black light urine detecting equipment, which can indicate where urine is located. The extent of affected surfaces will then govern what the best course of action will be. Sometimes pet urine odour removal is a process of elimination. Although the simple answer may seem like carpet replacement, and sometimes this is part of the solution, without determining whether the urine has penetrated into the subfloor, or exists on other surfaces such as wall, skirting boards, curtains etc, the problem will continue to linger (pardon the pun). What ever your challenge may be with pet urine and carpets, A-Team Carpet Cleaning Newcastle are here to assist you. A note from Jamie @ A-Team Carpet Cleaning Newcastle If you have any friends or family who are looking for professional carpet cleaning in Penrith or carpet cleaning in the western suburbs of Sydney please pass on Phil's website www.mightyclean.com.au he is a highly trained carpet cleaning professional who always looks after his customers which is why we are glad to have him on board. Tips for Stain Removal on Carpet
So you’ve spilled something and stained your carpet. Don’t worry! Thousands of your fellow Newcastle residents do the same every year, and yes you guessed it, that includes me. What matters most is! What you do next? Or in some cases, What is it you’ve done already? Here are the tips for dealing with spillages. WARNINGS: If you have wool carpet or if you’re unsure if its wool, don’t place any chemicals on the area (this is very very important). Wool is a natural fibre and reacts to anything that is high pH (alkaline) or low pH (acid). And when I say reacts, it generally means it will permanently bleach the carpet. In fact as a rule it is better if you don’t place any chemicals on the spill no matter what carpet you have and no matter what the chemical's packaging says). The reason is simply that you can permanently set the stain or limit the potential for a professional carpet cleaner to remove it, if you can’t. Also be careful with rugs as they may not be colourfast and spot cleaning can remove or spread colour. Step 1: IF THE SPILL IS LIQUID: Immediately blot & absorb the liquid with a towel or tea towel (preferably clean and preferably white if possible) until no more moisture can be absorbed. Immediate action is necessary to avoid the liquid penetrating beneath the carpet to the underlay. Do not rub or scrub the stain as this can distort the carpet pile and leave a fuzzy section in your carpet (Now go to step 3) IF THE SPILL IS NOT LIQUID: Scrape up the spill with a spatula or a spoon and remove any excess. Work back into the middle of the stain to avoid spreading it. (Now go to step 2) Step 2: Using a clean white towel or tea towel blot up any of the excess material. Do not rub or scrub the stain as this can distort the carpet pile and leave a fuzzy section in your carpet. Step 3: Using a spray bottle of clean water apply a very small amount directly to the stained area (avoid this step if it is an oil based stain). This will hopefully suspend the particles allowing easier removal. Using a clean white towel, blot up any excess moisture and hopefully more of the stain. Work back into the middle of the stain to avoid spreading and as mentioned already Do not rub or scrub the stain (It is also important in this step to avoid over-wetting as it will only soak through the carpet and wet the underlay, so go easy). If the stain has disappeared then job well done. If the stain remains you will need to call a professional IICRC accredited Carpet Cleaner to remove the stain and get your carpets freshened up at the same time. Check out Carpet Cleaning packages for Newcastle residents. Did you know that the Newcastle and Hunter regions have the highest proportion of children suffering from asthma in the state. The 2007-2008 NSW Report on Child Health shows 25.6% of 2-8 year olds and 39.8 per cent of 9-15 year olds living in the Hunter New England Health area have been diagnosed with asthma. This is an alarming statistic. So how can we help the situation? Here's some interesting information. Did you know that having carpet in your house can actually reduce the prevalence of asthma and allergies? This is shown in the European Community Respitory Health Survey which was an 18 nation study of nearly 20,000 people showing a statistical relationship between carpeted bedrooms and reduced asthma symptoms and improved bronchial responsiveness. In fact a 15 year Swedish study conducted by Swedish Environmental Protection Agency found when carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70% , allergy reactions in the general population actually increased by 30%. How is this so? Carpet actually acts as a filter for allergens and airborne pollutants keeping them away from the breathing zone so they can be removed with proper vacuuming and professional carpet cleaning. Carpet is like any filter it gets full, so regular professional carpet cleaning (every 8-12 months on average) is necessary to ensure your carpets filtering characteristics can continue to be effective. Watch the video below that was put together by the Carpet & Rug Institute of America that is aimed at Doctors and Physicians working with asthma and allergy sufferers; it will shed a new light on the debate of hard floors vs carpet in combatting asthma. At A-Team Carpet Cleaning Newcastle we are professionally trained and fully IICRC accredited carpet cleaners. For all Newcastle residents who mention this article you will receive 10% off your carpet & upholstery cleaning. So give us a call on 0415 228 599 to discuss keeping your carpet clean.
Are you currently selling your house? OR are you just thinking about it at the moment? Is it the first time you have sold a house? OR are you a real estate veteran? Either way there are tried and true ways of getting the best price for your house or investment property. They are not rocket science but they do require some time and effort to do yourself or co-ordinate professionals to do it for you. I’m betting that selling your house is not the only thing you have on your agenda. What with work commitments, family commitments, domestic duties, your friends and god forbid you have a social life. So maybe a combination of DIY and professional help may be the answer. Here is a Checklist for Presenting your Property from the guys at www.RealEstate.com.au This simple checklist has helped many a vendor get more money for their property and assist in selling them quicker. 1. Pavement Appeal: Make sure the front of your property looks appealing and inviting. A weed-free garden and some attractive pot plants – borrowed or hired – can make all the difference. 2. Clean & Bright: Before every viewing give your property a once over, ensuring that windows are clean inside and out – it’s surprising how much difference it makes to the light. Also cleaning your carpets not only makes your house smell much better but provides a great first impression for prospective buyers. Nothing puts off a women buyer more than a small kitchen & bathroom and uncleaned carpets. You may want to think about cleaning your upholstery as well. 3. Cut the Clutter: You want the prospective buyer to be able to imagine their own belongings in the property, so de-clutter to keep things tidy. Less clutter will also help make the size of each room appear larger. 4. Fix It: From leaking taps to a broken bulb, make sure the minor repairs are taken care of. A lick of paint will freshen scuffs and scrapes in the woodwork. There’s no need to redecorate, just some basic maintenance work will help to ensure buyers don’t find any faults. Why let a small thing jeopardise a big deal? 5. Freshen Up: Get rid of smoke or pet odours. Open the windows, brew some fresh coffee, and brighten the place up with fresh flowers. If you’re burning incense, make sure it is subtle. In the kitchen, hand-pick herbs and place them in a glass of water. 6. Light & Magic: Increase the sense of space with mirrors and lights and leave all internal doors open. 7. Pets: Always clean and tidy up after your pets and take them out of the property during open times. To get rid of pet odour professional carpet cleaning is the best option. Ever walked into someone else’s house and smelt their pets? Don’t make that mistake it can be very off putting to prospective buyers. 8. Warmth: Create warmth by preparing your home to suit the temperature of the day. If it’s cold, light fires, turn on patio heaters and heating. If it’s hot, turn on fans and cooling systems. Let us know what your tips are for selling a house? Anybody who leaves a comment gets 10% off their carpet cleaning in the Newcastle and Central Coast region |
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