Choosing the best carpet for your home can ensure a comfortable and welcoming living space. It can be a retreat for your feet, and a pleasant sight for your eyes for years to come, but only if you keep up on carpet maintenance. And while it’s true that carpets are not forever, you don’t want to have to buy expensive carpeting every few years. Vacuuming your carpets and doing nothing else is likely not enough to keep your floors as neat and clean looking as you’d like, so what else should you do?
If you’re tired of battling damages and stains, read on! Here are five tips for treating high traffic areas of your carpet flooring in South Amboy, NJ:
Use the right type of vacuum: The most used areas in your home are going to get dirty and worn more quickly than the areas that are less frequently traveled. If you recently installed brand-new carpeting or bought a home with wall-to-wall carpet that’s still in good condition, this may be the ideal time to purchase a new vacuum cleaner. Many vacuums have rotating bristles and HEPA filters, as well as tool attachments for multiple functions. These types of vacuums are great for carpets overall, and especially for high traffic areas—just don’t forget to clean the bristles and filter from time to time.
Vacuum often: Some rooms and areas of your home won’t need as much vacuuming as others. The more heavily used areas, like hallways and living rooms, tend to need a good vacuuming a couple times a week. Make sure to vacuum often, and always do multiple passes over high traffic locations.
Rethink the no-shoe policy: Asking family and friends to remove their shoes at the door may seem like a good idea, but is it really? On the one hand, no shoes on the carpet can prevent transfer of debris (dirt, sand, rocks, pollen, etc.). Unfortunately, the oils that transfer from bare feet to carpets are a main cause of dirty-looking floors, which can make the cleaning process more complicated.
Blot, don’t scrub: It’s important for every homeowner to know how to treat stains the right way if having healthy carpets is the goal. Let’s say a food or liquid spills onto your carpet. Your initial reaction to a spill on your carpet might be to grab a towel or sponge and scrub it out. However, scrubbing is a common carpet cleaning mistake that must be avoided. Instead, blot the stain with a clean cloth, then apply the proper cleaning solution for that particular type of mess.
Neutralize pet odors: Household pets may have favorite spots on the floor where they like to hang out. Unfortunately, carpets absorb bad orders from dogs and cats. Try this trick to neutralize pet smells for up to two weeks: mix a half cup of white vinegar with lukewarm water and blot with a soft, clean cloth.
Want to hire a professional to come clean or spot clean your carpet flooring in South Amboy, NJ? Call Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center today to schedule an appointment!
Just like not all carpet cleaning services in South Amboy, NJ are created equal, neither are all carpet stain removers. While some work really well, others are ultimately a waste of money. At Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center, we expect a lot from our carpet cleaning solutions. The products we use to clean your carpets have to be safe for you, and safe for your carpets, but still do a jaw-dropping job of getting your carpets clean.
That’s a tall order for any cleaner, but there are a few brands that we stand by. If you are wondering which carpet stain removers really work, here’s what we recommend.
Carbona Oxy-Powered 2-in-1 Carpet Cleaner
The key to removing any stain is to act fast, and this powerful cleaner allows you to do just that. The scrub brush is attached to the bottle, so you just need to apply the solution and clean. The brush is soft, but effective, and the cleaning formula contains a mild oxygen-based bleach that actually breaks down the stain on a molecular level. You only need a small amount of this cleaner to remove even some of the most worrisome stains.
Folex Carpet Spot Remover
The bottle may be small, but the cleaner inside is not! This spray solution is powerful enough to tackle a wide variety of stains, including pet messes, wine, makeup and everyday dirt and grime, yet it’s gentle enough to use on most carpet fibers and even laundry stains and upholstery. As an added bonus, this product is made right here in the U.S.
Hoover Platinum Collection – Professional Strength Instant Stain Remover
We all know Hoover makes powerful vacuums, but did you know they make powerful cleaners too? The Hoover Platinum Collection includes a lot of great cleaning solutions, but the Professional Strength Instant Stain Remover is our favorite. It’s safe to use on most carpets and upholstery, but it’s still super tough on stains. It can remove everything from wine to grease in just a few minutes without a lot of manual labor required. This product can even remove older stains that have already begun to set in.
Good Life Solutions Professional Strength Stain and Odor Remover
This product is non-toxic cleaner has been deemed safe by OSHA standards, and has no Proposition 65 chemicals on its ingredient list. While all the products on this list are safe, this is the safest. The quality of this cleaner is still top notch as well. The enzyme-based cleaner literally eats away most stains and odors. If you are looking for something that is non-toxic and super safe, but that will still get the job done, this is a great option.
While these are all great cleaners, for some stains, you just need to call in the experts. That’s where Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center, your local provider of carpet cleaning services in South Amboy, NJ, can help. We offer superior carpet cleaning services that are safe and affordable. To schedule your carpet cleaning service, give us a call today!
“What do I do about this stain?” was the frantic question on the other end of the line. This wasn’t the first time we received a call from a customer asking for advice on how to remove a stain in their carpet, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last!
At Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center, your local carpet cleaning specialists in South Amboy, NJ, we pride ourselves on making even the dingiest carpets look new, so it doesn’t really surprise us when customers call in for emergency carpet cleaning tips in between their regular carpet cleanings. We’re always happy to share our carpet cleaning tips with our customers, which is why we decided to share the following three steps to achieve the best spot cleaning possible.
Remove the excess
The fastest way to avoid a permanent stain is to remove excess spill as quickly as you can. For dry spills, vacuum up the excess. For gooey or sticky spills, try to scrape up the excess with a spoon or knife. For liquid spills, blot up the extra fluid with a damp cloth. Work fast and do your best to avoid rubbing the spill in deeper or spreading it around.
Use a stain remover
Once you’ve removed excess spill, you can use a stain remover to lift what’s already begun to absorb into the carpet fibers. Just be sure that the stain remover you have is safe for the type of carpet you’re attempting to clean. In case you don’t have a stain remover on hand, you can make your own by mixing together ¼ teaspoon of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of mild dishwashing soap and a quart of warm water. You should apply the stain remover to the stain, but be careful not to soak the stain. Too much liquid can cause its own damage to your carpeting.
Here are a few other stain removers you can try to remove some common stains:
Wine: Spray with club soda and blot clean.
Urine: Use an enzymatic cleaner, which can be found at most pet stores.
Blood: Apply club soda and cold water, then blot clean.
Blot the stain
Once you’ve applied the stain remover, you can dampen an absorbent cloth with cold water and use it to soak up the remover and (hopefully) the stain. Then, use a dry absorbent cloth to blot away any excess water. If the carpet still feels wet to the touch, cover the area with a dry cloth or paper towels and press down on it with a heavy object for a few minutes.
While these steps likely won’t remove every stain completely, they can definitely help to minimize the damage. For really tough stains, you’ll want to call on your local carpet cleaning specialists in South Amboy, NJ at Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center. We are not only the experts when it comes to removing stains, but we can also help protect your carpet from future spills. To learn more about our services, give us a call today!
The internet can be an invaluable resource for learning and researching a variety of different topics. One of the most commonly searched topics, in fact, involves cleaning tips. Folks across the globe want to know how they can keep their home clean without constantly hiring carpet cleaning specialists in South Amboy, NJ.
The only problem with the internet is that you never know who’s actually writing and posting these “tips.” Even if the writers have good intentions and just want their readers to have a clean home, their online advice can end up making your carpeting worse. Here are a few common pieces of carpet cleaning advice that you might want to stay away from:
Vinegar: Chances are, you’ve read somewhere that vinegar can remove any stain just as well as a professional cleaning product. While vinegar can be a useful natural disinfectant, it’s proven time and time again to be a fairly useless carpet cleaning product. Vinegar may help remove surface-level stains, but it won’t do anything to remove those deep-down stains and ground-in dirt that cause long-term damage.
Ammonia: Though it’s not quite as common of a cleaning tip as vinegar, many folks recommend treating carpet stains with ammonia. Our advice? Stay away from it! Ammonia isn’t just an unhelpful cleaner—it can flat out ruin your carpet or hardwood. On top of that, ammonia is toxic and potentially harmful for your kids and pets.
Hairspray: Applying hairspray in the morning will keep your hair looking great all day. Applying hairspray to a carpet stain, however, will do much more harm than good! Instead of removing that stain, hairspray will leave a firm, sticky residue that’s tough to remove and attracts dirt and germs.
Water: At first thought, water probably seems like the safest possible cleaning solution there is. We drink it every day, so it must be harmless to clean with, right? Not quite. Instead of cleaning stains, water can actually make them worse. Water can make some stains bleed deep down into the carpet, causing potentially permanent damage. Instead of using tap water to clean stains, opt for club soda or seltzer.
Dish soap: When it comes to removing grease and grime from plates and pans, nothing beats dish soap! However, we advise you to leave that dish soap under the kitchen sink where it belongs. A drop or two of dish soap will quickly remove surface stains, but that’s only if it’s completely rinsed out afterward. Since that’s nearly impossible to do, you’re better off avoid using dish soap altogether.
Hydrogen peroxide: Most of us have a bottle of hydrogen peroxide sitting in our medicine cabinet to help clean out wounds and prevent infections. Take our advice and save it for that purpose! Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent, which means it can permanently fade the dye in your carpet if you use it to try to remove stains.
If you need a deep clean or just someone to help remove a stain on your carpet, be sure to call Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center. Our team of carpet cleaning specialists in South Amboy, NJ can remove any stain and have your home looking as good as new in no time at all.
Anyone with hardwood or vinyl flooring understands the importance of area rugs. In addition to looking great and adding a sense of style to the room, a nice rug helps create a warm and cozy feeling in your home. There’s only one downside to these rugs though: they tend to get dirty very easily and eventually start to look ragged.
It’s true that calling rug cleaning services in South Amboy, NJ can eliminate these ugly stains and preserve the life of your rug. But rug cleaning isn’t always the least expensive service, and it’s certainly not something you want to pay for regularly. The good news is that you can take care of your rug by following some helpful tips. Continue reading to learn some best practices for caring for your rug:
Vacuum often: Just like with a carpeted room, your area rug should be vacuumed on a regular basis. Vacuuming pulls up dirt and debris, helping to ensure none of it gets ground in and causes permanent staining. Vacuuming also helps stimulate the fibers in the rug, keeping your rug looking fresh and new for years to come.
Buy the right cleaning products: Going to the store and buying the cheapest rug cleaner will certainly save you a few bucks. However, in doing so, you’re playing with fire! Those products aren’t made for every type of rug, especially precious and expensive ones. Instead, talk to a cleaning professional about which rug cleaner is best for your rugs. Additionally, always test a new cleaner on the corner or a hidden area of your rug before using it to clean the whole thing.
Use shaving cream: A spilled glass of wine or cup of juice can ruin a rug in the blink of an eye. For that reason, you’ve always got to be vigilant and clean up stains as soon as possible. One of the best ways to treat stains—even if they’re not fresh—is to use shaving cream. Lather your rug with a bit of shaving cream and let it sit on the stain. After a few minutes, remove the shaving cream with a damp rag, and that ugly spot should be gone.
Try white vinegar: You’ve probably heard this one before, but white vinegar is practically a cure-all when it comes to rug cleaning. It removes stains, odors and even bacteria from rugs and carpeting. Just like with cleaning products, apply a little vinegar on the corner of your rug first to see how your rug reacts to the vinegar.
Call a professional: Last, but certainly not least, hire an expert to clean your rugs! Professional cleaning will remove all of those nasty stains and give new life to your rugs. On top of that, a professional can clean all of your carpeting, too!
When you need to hire rug cleaning services in South Amboy, NJ, look no further than Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center. In addition to fast and friendly service, we offer our services for some of the most competitive prices in town. Give us a call today to get a quote or to schedule a cleaning.
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