Fabric Protectors, They Work

Dirt and Spills Destroy:
If you have children and/or pets, spills and possibly permanent stains will end up on your carpets, rugs and/or upholstery. It is a good thing to consider a professionally applied fabric protector. The reason is dirt and spills cling to untreated fabrics and quickly become embedded in the fibers. The result is stains that may not be removed. Fabric protectors provide a repellent characteristic, allowing spills to be removed before absorption and staining can occur. They also make vacuuming more efficient which will allow you to get more dry particle dirt out of your rug, carpets or upholstery.

Protectors Have Improved Over the Years:
Over the past 40 years the applied fabric protectors have progressed nicely. The early products were simple protectors that worked well for water based spills. Some were petroleum, some were silicone and some were solvent based. Because of space age technology, flourochemicals, such as Teflon and Scotchgard, were introduced which allowed oil and water to mix and stay suspended. The result is protectors that are good for both water and oil based spills.

Protection Against Sunlight Fading
Another current advancement in the fabric protection field is fabric protectors that protect against fading and damage caused by ultraviolet rays from the sun.

Fabric protection is like an insurance policy. You hope you will not need it but glad you have the protection when an accident happens.

To learn more about fabric protectors visit our website at www.graysoncleans.com

Door Mats are Very Important

Protecting Your Carpets

The two most important aspects of carpet care are regular vacuuming, especially the traffic patterns, and walk off mats. With respect to walk off mats, there are 2 areas to address. Mats for the entrance and exits from your home and internal mats for those transitions from a hard surface to a carpeted area.

Doormats are very important for keeping the outside dirt from tracking onto your carpets. They should be placed both at the outside entrance to your home and at the inside entrance. The outside mat's purpose is to scrap debris off shoes and to hold it. Therefore, they should be made of a more abrasive material. Also, many people do not purposely stop at an outside mat and wipe both feet. Therefore, the doormat should be the width of the door and deep enough that both feet land on the mat during walking, approximately 3.5 to 4 feet. The inside mat's purpose is to remove the smaller particals of dirt as well as oils and other liquids that can be tracked from the outside. An area rug can work well for this purpose but make sure there is a non-slip pad underneath. Once again, it should be the width of the door and deep enough that both feet land on the rug during a natural walk.

Internal mats are good wherever there is a transition from a hard surface to a carpeted area. Internal matting addresses two cncerns. One is the differenc in height between a carpeted area and hard surface. Typically, the carpet fibers are a little higher than the hard surface and as a result, feet scrape across the fibers creating excessive wear. The other consideration is oily and loose particles on the hard surface being carried onto the carpet fibers. This is especially important if the hard surface is the kitchen. An internal mat, whether on the hard surface or the carpet, can minimize both concerns.

While the function of doormats and internal mats within the home is beneficial, they can sometimes create a conflict with the visual presentation and feel you want to achieve. However, outside door mats should never be a problem. Remember, anything you can do, with respect to walk off matting, will help prolong the appearance and life of your carpets.

Pet Hair in your House, Tips to control it

Cats and dogs are nice around the home but they shed. Shedding cannot be eliminated from a home, but it can be reduced.

The first thing you can do is to try and reduce the amount of pet hair that sheds. Animals shed seasonally, and indoors animals may shed more because their systems can't detect changes in the seasons. Also, unexpected temperature swings may cause pet hair to shed and grow back more often. Daily brushing removes loose hair before it sheds and helps keep your pet's coat healthier. Bathing your dog also reduces loose hair.

However, some animals may have hair loss from reasons beyond seasonal changes. If your pet is shedding excessively, try changing their diet. If they are under stress, try alleviating the stress. There could also be medical reasons, so you might take them to your veterinarian to be checked.

To remove the hair that has shedded, you can use lint brushes and lint rollers to remove hair from clothing. Also, masking or packing tape wrapped around your hand or rolled into a ball can be used. Make sue the sticky side is out and rub it along the fabric grain.

For furniture, remove as much of the pet hair as possible by vacuuming it with the hose attachment of the vacuum cleaner. After vacuuming, put on rubber gloves and dip them in cold water. Shake your hands so that the gloves are damp but not dripping water. Then, wearing the dampened rubber gloves, run your hands across the furniture fabric in one direction. This should gather the pet hair together in a little roll that you can easily pick up and throw in the trash. Keep wiping all of the fabric in this manner until it is free of pet hair. For more information, visit our website at www.graysoncleans.com

Sisal Rugs - The Do's and Don'ts

Sisal rugs are woven from natural plant fibers. They are strong, durable and due to their unique advantages, can be a lasting addition to a living room, bedroom, office or hallway. However, moisture and humidity can be very hard on sisal rugs. If a large amount of liquid is introduced to the rug, the rug may actually shrink and distort. Also, the penetrating liquid can result in a large stain. For this reason, a sisal rug should be used in a dry place which is unlikely to be subject to spills.

It is also important to keep this in mind when you clean a sisal rug. Be very careful with the amount of moisture used. If liquid is spilled onto a sisal rug, it needs to be removed immediately. To remove the liquid from a sisal rug, blot the rug with a dry cloth and keep blotting with dry parts until there is no more transfer of liquid to the cloth. Also, make sure not to rub the spill because this can drive the liquid into the fiber. If possible, you may find it helpful to lift the rug up and blot from the underside as well. If a staining liquid such as juice is spilled, clean a sisal rug with one-half white vinegar and one-half water solution. Dip a cloth in the solution, blot the rug and then blot with a dry cloth. You may need to repeat this, but remember to use a small amount of the solution to clean a sisal rug so that the rug does not absorb the liquid.

For dry materials, you can scrape it off with a blunt edge, such as a wooden knife. Finally, the sisal rug should be vacumed regularly to take up accumulated dirt. If you vacuum a sisal on a frequent basis, you will also prolong the life of the rug, since embedded dirt tends to damage its fibers.

Do-It-Yourself Cleaning, Concerns with Home Cleaning Equipment

If you have ever purchased or rented a residential carpet cleaning machine, this information is for you. This equipment can be of a benefit for interim spot cleaning between professional cleanings. However, if your are not careful, the Do-It-Yourself machines can do more harm to your carpets than good.

If the machine's directions have you adding a shampoo to your water tank, I suggest not using it. The suction on these machines is not strong enough to rinse out the shampoo and as a result, will leave a residue on your carpet. The residue will then act as a big magnet pulling dirt from the bottom of your shoes. The result is you will have clean shoes and even dirtier carpets. Straight water is a good cleaning agent and should be used without any shampoo.

Over wetting of carpets is another potential problem. Depending on how wet the carpets get, the subfloor (especially if it is hardwood) can be damaged, carpet pads can prematurely fail due to getting wet and the carpet itself can be damaged and fail prematurely due to over-wetting. The impact of these issues shows up later by reducing the life of the carpets or seeing the damage to the sub floor when you replace the carpets. Also, if it takes more than 24 hours for the carpet to dry, then the possibility for mold and/or mildew to begin greatly increases.

Once again, if you decide to use a Do-It-Yourself carpet cleaning machine, be wary of adding a cleaning product to the reservoir and be careful of overwetting.

Taking Care of Your Upholstery

Upholstery dirt is much different than carpet or rug dirt. Upholstery dirt is primarily made up of people and pet issues. People shed dead skin cells, hair and hair dander along with sweat and body oils through exposed skin. Cosmetics, hair sprays and other beauty items also get on upholstery. Plus, children and parties increase the likelihood of spills. If there are animals, their hair, body oils and dander are probably getting on the furniture. Over time, all these tend to accumulate into the fabric. Regular vacuuming and prompt attention to spills is the best method of home maintenance (see earlier blog for good tips on upholstery spills).

If you have furniture you are planning on keeping, periodic professional cleaning is recommended. However, be careful on who you hire. Furniture designs and styles have different degrees of difficulty in cleaning based on the types of corners, edges and firmness of the upholstery. Also, upholstery uses many different types of fabrics ranging from natural materials like silk to synthetics like nylon as well as the new micro-fiber materials. Hiring a cleaner with skill and experience who knows what they are doing is important. For example, if silk is not cleaned properly, you have the potential for splotching or streaking to occur. Also, if not cleaned properly, white furniture, especially cottons and wools, can turn brown.

While cleaning is typically for appearance, if done properly, it also gets imbedded dirt out of the fabric. It is like your clothes, even though they may not look dirty, you still wash them after use to remove the dirt and soil.

Tips for buying new carpet

Coming from a person who is trying to maintain your carpets appearance for a living, here are some considerations when buying new carpets.

First, Do you have pets or small children and are you able to keep up on the housework. For example, do you or your housekeeper vacuum regularly. Also, do you respond to accidents on your carpets promptly? If the answer is yes to both questions, you should consider buying higher grades of carpets (more fiber content per square foot). With proper care, the higher grades of carpets should last longer and provide a better return on your investment. If the answers above were no, a higher grade carpet will probably not last very long and you might want to look at lesser grades of carpets.

Sculpted carpets (carpets with high low patterns) are quite attractive but should be used in rooms that are not high use rooms. These types of carpets will show wear patterns quicker due to the high low nature of the fibers. The high spots do not have the support of neighboring fibers and will get worn down to the level of the low fibers resulting in a visible wear pattern.

Finally, Berber carpets are also quite attractive but once again should be considered for rooms that are not high useage. A Berber carpet, by the nature of its weave, is hard to clean when dirt gets into its fibers. Also, they can unravel if the loops get damaged (cats or dogs scratching can create damaged loops) and the less expensive Bebers tend to show wear patterns quicker.