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Getting Summer Stains Out of Your Carpet

Summer in Connecticut is here! It’s hotdog and hamburger season (with lots of ketchup!) It’s time for strawberry margaritas, blueberry pie, and smores. Unless you’re keeping your family and guests outdoors all summer, chances are many of these things will also wind up on your rugs and carpets. You may also find that since it’s barefoot season, your floor coverings have taken on the distinct odor of feet. Eww.

The following are some tips to help you keep your rugs and carpets clean, even through the busy, sometimes messy summer season.

Take your shoes off.

Many other cultures do it, but Americans are less likely to remove their shoes when they enter a house. It’s a wondrous way to keep carpets clean, however. When a majority of the people come through your home shoeless, it can greatly reduce the amount of grime, dirt, grass, allergens, germs, and moisture that gets tracked into your carpet fibers. Provide a selection of inexpensive slipper-socks for visitors. Make sure everyone in your family has a good pair of indoor-only slippers.

Regular vacuuming and spot-cleaning.

Regular vacuuming removes dust, dirt, and allergens from your rugs and prevents excessive wear on the carpet fibers. Occasionally sprinkle some baking soda onto the carpet before vacuuming. Vacuum at least once a week and more often if you’ve entertained recently, and use a spot cleaner to remove any dropped food, dirt or liquid.

Use area rugs and runners.

If you are getting a lot of traffic through your home in the summer, consider buying some runners for high-traffic areas to protect the carpet underneath. Runners in hallways year round can reduce carpet wear in this high traffic area. Putting doormats at entrances gives residents and visitors a place to wipe shoes off before they enter. (Though continue to hope that they’ll actually take their shoes OFF.)

Encourage kids to play outside.

They may be the Digital Generation, but outdoor play is important to their development. Encourage kids to spend more time outside, and make a rule that any messy toys or art projects must happen outdoors.

Hire a professional carpet cleaner.

While all these things can help, they’re no substitute for a professional carpet cleaning. Hire Always Clean to clean your carpets at least twice a year to keep them fresh, extend their lives, and protect their beauty. We service customers in New London, Middlesex, and New Haven counties. Contact us for an estimate!

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Keep Seasonal Allergies at Bay with Carpet Cleaning

If you experience seasonal allergies in the form of hay fever or even hives, your allergist has probably already told you that it’s important that you rid your home of substances that will set off an attack. This may include anything that retains allergens such as dust, mold, pollen and pet dander. Unfortunately, rugs and carpets are some of the biggest repositories of allergy-causing materials (along with books and papers, knickknacks and clutter).

Since few of us want to live in a home with completely bare floors, the next-best thing to do is ensure that rugs and carpets are cleaned regularly to remove allergens.

How Do I Keep the Allergens at Bay?

The Mayo Clinic has some recommendations for allergy sufferers who have rugs and carpets in their homes. They include:

  • Use low-pile instead of high-pile carpeting. Deep carpeting pile collects more allergens.
  • Vacuum weekly with a vacuum cleaner that has a small-particle or high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.
  • Shampoo the rugs and carpets regularly.
  • Wash area rugs and mats weekly in the washing machine.
  • Keep animals out of the bedroom to avoid animal hair and pet dander on carpets.
  • Use HEPA-rated air filtration systems throughout your home, and change the filters regularly.
  • Remove your shoes at the door and leave them on a mat. This way, you’ll track fewer outdoor allergens into the house.

Choose Hypoallergenic Rugs and Pads

Some people’s allergies are set off by chemicals called “volatile organic compounds,” or VOCs. If you’re one of those people, look for carpeting and padding that contains low levels of VOCs such as formaldehyde and benzene, which can get into the air and make you ill.

If you have mold allergies, choose carpet and rug pads that have been treated to fight microbial growth. Also pay attention to what the rugs are made out of when you purchase them. Nylon is one of the most effective allergy-controlling carpet fibers since it repels some allergens. Wool should be avoided because allergens and mold can thrive in it.

Call a Professional

It’s worth calling a professional carpet cleaning service to regularly come in and deep-clean rugs to remove allergy-causing substances. Professional rug and carpet cleaners like Always Clean have proprietary materials and processes that can remove allergy-causing pollen, mold, pet dander and other triggers from rugs and carpets.

Contact us today for a free in-home consultation.

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How to Remove Easter Egg Coloring from Carpets and Rugs

It’s Easter egg season and – let’s face it – children aren’t often famous for their neatness when it comes to handling messy holiday projects. The vegetable dyes used in egg coloring can be surprisingly permanent: even kitchen counters aren’t immune to stains. Carpets and rugs, often the recipients of drips and spills, can become permanently stained. Improper or delayed cleaning can spread the stains and make them worse.

Act Immediately

If the egg coloring does find its way into your carpet, resist the temptation to wipe or scrub. Treat the stain immediately (the longer it sits, the more it will set) using the following steps:

  • Using a clean, dry cloth, blot the stain gently to absorb any excess liquid.
  • Mix one quarter teaspoon of some mild soap that does not contain dye — dishwashing liquid is a good choice — with a quarter teaspoon of white vinegar and one cup of warm water.
  • Using a light-colored cloth or paper towels, gently apply the liquid detergent mix to the stain. Allow the mixture to saturate the stain for a few minutes, then blot gently until the egg dye no longer transfers to the cloth.
  • Use a cloth and warm water to rinse the detergent from the carpet completely. You may need to repeat this step more than once to completely remove the stain.

If the Stain is Stubborn

If some remnant of the dye remains after the carpet has dried, moisten the spot with a little three percent hydrogen peroxide. Allow the peroxide to stand for about an hour. Blot and repeat as necessary. (Important tip: try this on a hidden part of the carpet before you apply it to the spot to ensure the peroxide won’t remove the color from the carpet).

Call a Professional

If the stain remains, or you’ve significantly cleaned one spot and the rest of the carpet now appears dirty by comparison (a common result of intensive spot cleaning), consider calling a professional carpet cleaner. At Always Clean, we have proprietary materials and processes that can remove even the toughest stains from rugs and carpets.

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7 Holiday House Cleaning Tips to Get Your Home Ready for Guests

holiday table place settingHere in Connecticut the leaves have already turned and the weather is getting chillier every day. That means it’s time to break out the rakes and winter coats—not to mention that the holidays are just around the corner!

For many, the holidays are a time for visiting family and friends. That’s one reason the season is so beloved, but it can also mean quite a bit of stress for those who play host.

Getting your home ready for guests is almost never an easy task, but during the holidays it can be even tougher. (We all have a loved one whose standards for cleanliness are well beyond our own.)

With that in mind, here’s a list of holiday house cleaning tips for anyone expecting guests—or even anyone who wants to get a jump start on their spring cleaning! Read more

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Fall Cleaning Checklist: Getting Your Home Ready for Autumn & Winter

When it comes to seasonal cleaning, spring is usually what most people will summon to mind. But the fact of the matter is, cleaning is a year-round obligation, and every season has its own set of essential chores. Fall is no exception, especially here in Connecticut.

Labor Day has long passed and it’s now officially autumn. That means it’s time to start thinking about fall cleaning!

Not sure what fall cleaning entails? Don’t worry! Here’s a fall cleaning checklist to get you started on the path to a happy, healthy home that’s more than ready for autumn—and the winter that follows. Read more

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Can Oriental Rugs Be Cleaned At Home?

If you’ve got an Oriental rug in your home, odds are it’s one of your most cherished possessions. Oriental and Persian rugs are timelessly stylish, soften our floors, and tie our rooms together. There’s nothing quite like having one underfoot to make a house feel like a home.

Like anything else worth cherishing, Oriental and Persian rugs need regular maintenance and care. They get walked on, spilled on, and more every single day. Overtime, even routine use can take its toll on a good Oriental rug. Regular cleaning is key.

So—can you clean your favorite Oriental rug at home, or do you need a professional?

It depends. Read more

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Spring Allergies in Connecticut: Causes & Remedies

flowers in springtime

Spring is here in Connecticut!

That means rainy days, baseball, budding trees—and for many the start of allergy season.

Allergies in Connecticut can be a minor annoyance or a major affliction depending on how severe they are. That will vary from person to person and year to year, but there are usually common causes and solutions to springtime allergies.

If you’re an allergy sufferer in the Nutmeg State, learn more about common causes and remedies with Always Clean, LLC. Read more

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How to Clean Rock Salt Off of Your Home’s Floors in Winter

dirty snow bootsThere’s a lot to love about living in Connecticut, but dealing with winter definitely doesn’t make the shortlist.

Apart from all the obvious reasons to dislike our New England winters (cold weather, heating bills, etc.), there are countless small inconveniences that get taken almost for granted. Among these is the mess that gets made from tracking rock salt residue into the house from treated roads, sidewalks, and walkways.

Cleaning the rock salt off of your home’s floors in winter can be a pain, but it’s something that has to get done, otherwise it can lead to permanent damage. Not sure how to clean rock salt off your floors? The best way will depend on what kind of floors need cleaning. Read more

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