I can not begin to tell my readers how often I go to customers’ homes, led to believe that I am “freshening up” their carpets, only to see 20 paint spots cemented into the carpet. Paint removal is not carpet cleaning. Paint removal is paint removal. It’s time consuming, the chemicals are very abrasive to both the cleaning technician and the homeowner. This is so prevalent when dealing with our contractor accounts. It seems that the “professionals” are the ones that get the most paint on the homeowners’ carpet. They think that steam cleaning will remove the paint quickly and inexpensively. It will not. The best remedy to paint removal is any preventive measure taken to protect your carpet from paint coming into contact with it. It’s painful for both myself and my customer when I advise them to purchase a new carpet because the paint removal service will cost more than a replacement. But any company sending a technician that will spend 4 hours breathing in acetone fumes will expect to be paid a lofty amount.

I may have gone a little off track there but I need the reader to understand the difficulty in paint removal. Water based paints are the easiest to remove. A little soap and water (1 TBs of dish washing detergent mixed with a cup of warm water) should take this out easily. If you have a few spots, here’s how to remove paint from carpet. First try rubbing alcohol. Scrape the paint off with a metal spoon. I’ve heard of people using vodka to remove paint. The alcohol in the vodka is what is doing the trick.

If rubbing alcohol works unsuccessfully move on to the dreaded acetone (nail polish remover). Scrape with a metal spoon. Acetone will work most of the time but I must warn the reader of the dangers of acetone. It’s highly toxic. It will give you severe headaches if you are exposed to it for a long period of time. It will agitate your skin. It can also make you extremely light headed. Please take care in using acetone. This is one instance where I will almost always advise my clients to hire a professional rather than do it themselves. I care about your safety. Please be careful.

Steam Pro Carpet Cleaning New York is happy to answer any questions you may have regarding paint removal services by calling (718) 606-0549.

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I must admit that the mustard stain is by far the most difficult stain to remove. The reason is the time. I can not accelerate the stain removal process like I can red dye stains. Ammonia is a big NO NO when trying to clean mustard from any fabric or surface. It will definitely set that mustard stain in permanently. I advise to attempt to remove the mustard with traditional cleaning methods first (white vinegar and water) so you are removing all but the yellow pigment left behind. From experience, I can almost promise you that cleaning (with any soap or cleaning solution) will be unsuccessful in completely removing the mustard stain. So what now?

In the Kool Aid Stains on Carpet article I explain the use of oxidation treatments in stain removal when dealing with red dye stains. Similarly for mustard, using a small amount of peroxide on the mustard stain, place a small ultraviolet light over the stain (they’re not expensive). The UV light should sit a full 24 hours. Monitor your results. If it’s gone great! If not, rinse with water, blot dry with a white towel and repeat the process again, only this time using either Oxiclean or Clorox 2 (test all bleaches in an inconspicuous area prior to applying to the mustard stain). This should work. If not, it’s there for good. A small repair may be necessary. Call your local carpet cleaner for any guidance or questions.

Do you live in NY? Contact Steam Pro Carpet Cleaning New York for all of your carpet and upholstery cleaning needs. Or call us at (718) 606-0549.

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Before and After Carpet Cleaning

I have so many before and after pictures on my camera that I’ve used for years to explain the carpet cleaning process to my clients. I’m going to try to start posting them more often, being that this blog has been getting more and more popular lately.

What you are looking at here is the problem with polyester carpet. Believe it or not, this carpet is only two years old. You can see that the polyester has responded well to the cleaning. What you can not see is the damage that the dirt has done to the carpet fibers. This particular customer has about six people living with him in his home so the dirt is understandable. The wear and damage is not acceptable.

The moral of the story - pay a little more for your carpet. Buy nylon. It took me over two hours just to clean about 250 square feet of carpet. The customer paid a premium for this backbreaking work as well. Next time you go shopping for carpet. Pay a little more now and save with your carpet cleaner later.

As a professional carpet cleaner I constantly have to explain why and how pet odors occur in my customers’ homes. Many seem to be under the impression that simple steam cleaning or carpet shampooing will remove the bad pet odors in their homes. It won’t (most of the time). Here’s the proper method to complete odor removal.

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When a pet urinates on your carpet the actual urine does not have too bad of an unpleasant odor. It’s when bacteria begins to grow on the urine, feeding off the proteins, that the odor occurs. To properly remove pet urine odor you must first identify exactly where the odor is coming from. If you are unsure, you may need to ask your local pet odor removal specialist to use a black light in your home. Once you find the source you must ask how deep the urine spot has traveled down your carpet. Is it just on the surface? Has it migrated down to the padding or even the flooring?

Enzymes work wonderfully. Enzymes will digest the proteins in the urine. I personally like to use an enzyme digester afterwards to be sure that I do not have any additional odor from the enzymes several days later. I’ll use this process on the front and back of the carpet and completely replace the small area of padding underneath the carpet. If the urine odor has gone as far as the hard flooring, I will completely disinfect and seal the floor to assure myself that the odor will not ever return. I’ll finish the job up with a nice smelling deodorizer and be on my way.

For the non professional, pet odor removal from carpet can seem a bit overwhelming and complicated so do not feel the need to tackle this alone. Contact your local carpet cleaning company for assistance if needed. Good luck.

Household Cleaning Tips

One question that I hear almost everyday as a professional carpet cleaner is how my clients can prepare their homes prior to me visiting them for their carpet or upholstery cleaning. This article aims to provide some very simple household cleaning tips to make your home carpet cleaner friendly. It won’t take long and in many case you won’t have to do anything. Here goes…

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1. The first of three household cleaning tips is pretty obvious. Please pick up all toys and clothing from the carpet. Sometime I spend up to a half hour in a home just picking up toys and clothing. I always include furniture moving free. To move a sofa, table, or drawer is a gratuitous service. It’s done as a thank your for allowing us into your home. But expect to pay more if your technician has to go beyond this. This goes for any carpet cleaning service.
2. Clear a path in your staircase equal to at lease 36 inches. You carpet cleaning technician has to carry up to 200 pounds of equipment upstairs to your home. Cluttered stairs makes it impossible for your carpet cleaner to get into your home. If you only follow one of these three household cleaning tips, let this be it.
3. Unplug and remove all electronics that you would like your carpet cleaning technician to clean under. For example, if you have a desktop computer and you’d like the carpet cleaner to clean under your desk, be sure to unplug all cords and cable, and keep them out of reach. You carpet cleaner will be happy to move your desktop around to get under it but will be very apprehensive about unplugging any of your electronics or appliances. If you have a stereo that sits on your carpet, please remove it from the ground and place it on your drawer, bed or any other area above the floor.

These household cleaning tips will keep your carpet cleaner very happy when he or she visits your home. Your carpet cleaner is many times on a very tight schedule. If you take the time to follow these household cleaning tips prior to your carpet cleaning technician visiting your home your carpet cleaner will have much more time to devote to giving you a better cleaning. And if you live in New York, please visit Steam Pro Carpet Cleaning New York for a free phone quote on you next carpet cleaning hire.

Deep Cleaning Checklist

1. When making your hire for your next carpet cleaning service there are a few small To Do’s that must be complete in order to accurately say that you have had a deep cleaning. Here is a deep cleaning checklist so you know that your carpet cleaning technician has performed the proper dirt removal processes. Some of the dirt may not be visible to the eye, but this checklist will ensure that no filth can even be left for the imagination.

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2. First be sure that your carpet cleaning technician vacuums thoroughly. It is estimated that as much as 70% of carpet soil is dry soil and can be picked up with a good thorough vacuuming. Slow vacuuming strokes are a must. Vacuuming a 10×12 foot room should take no less than 15 minutes to ensure a proper deep cleaning.
3. The next item on our carpet deep cleaning checklist is to be sure that your carpet cleaner is using enough prespray to allow the cleaning chemicals to do their job. Take a look at your technician’s pump sprayer. As a rule of thumb, 1 gallon of carpet prespray should be used to saturate approximately 160 square feet of carpet. Any less is not acceptable.
4. Proper agitation is key when dealing with a deep cleaning and our checklist wouldn’t be complete without it. Just like you massage shampoo into your hair when you shower, your technician must agitate the carpet prespray into the carpet. This is one of the most important steps towards proper soil removal during the deep cleaning process.
5. Next on our checklist is simple - let the prespray do it’s job. The technician has already agitated the prespray into your carpet and now it’s time to wait. Dwell times ranch between 5 and 20 minutes depending on the type of carpet cleaners that the technicians is using. If your technician starts steam cleaning immediately, stop him and reminded him of the importance of patience.
6. Finally it’s time to steam clean. Here you should be looking for long, slow passes with the carpet cleaning wand, followed by dry passes to expedite drying times. Make sure your technician gets the corners of your rooms and along the walls. Many carpet cleaners tend to dismiss carpet an inch or two from the wall. It’s not proper deep cleaning so it’s important that this is included in this checklist.
7. After all this work it’s finally time to groom the carpet so that the pile all faces the same direction. This will help the carpet dry quicker and also looks more pleasing to the eye than a bunch of drag marks from the carpet cleaners wand. This is the final step to the deep cleaning checklist.

Follow this deep cleaning checklist and you will be thrilled with you next visit from your carpet cleaner. Remember that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Let it be known that you know exactly how a carpet should be cleaned and you will accept nothing less. If you are located in the five boroughs of New York you may visit Steam Pro Carpet Cleaning New York or call (718) 606-0549 to schedule an appointment for your next carpet cleaning hire.

Steam Carpet Cleaning Coupon

How many times have you, your spouse, or someone that you know jumped up in the air in excitement about how happy they are because they just made a purchase and it was “On Sale”. “I had an 80% Off coupon , it was only $100” (80% off of what? A 400% markup?). How many times have you alone said this…I know I have. This is very common in the carpet steam cleaning industry as well. How do you know if you are really getting that great deal that you think you are getting? Here’s how to know so…

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There is no carpet cleaning coupon in the world that justifies paying double the service charge on an order. The simple solution for this is Do Your Homework. Always ask pricing prior to redeeming your carpet cleaning coupon. If you tell the person who answers the phone about your coupons it is very easy for a representative of the carpet cleaning company to state a 25% inflated price, then give you a 20% discount. You are getting no bargain here. But if you ask price first, then redeem your coupon, you save.

Do not be fooled by bait and switch carpet steam cleaning companies either. Get all of the details that are stated on the coupon explained prior to the technician coming to your home. Many unscrupulous carpet cleaning firms are known for send over an aggressive bait and switch salesman to your home to pressure you into accepting a much higher price. And for those of you who continue to hire that $9 per room guy, you will continue to be disappointed. Carpet steam cleaning companies are in business to make money. If you don’t believe me, let’s do some math. The average home is located approximately 15 miles away (in the NYC market anyways). That’s 30 miles round trip. A standard loaded van may get about 8 miles per gallon conservatively. If a carpet cleaner is traveling 30 miles at 8 miles per gallon, the trip will take about 3.75 gallons of gas, or about $10.50 (assuming $2.80 per gallon). How can a carpet cleaning company stay in business if the cost to come to your home exceeds the price of your order. An no, we don’t make it up on volume if you have multiple rooms. Cleaning chemicals are expensive too.

And when a cleaner says that “the price is X, but I’ll have to see it”, expect the price to be X+++ when he gets into your home. I’ll tell you what the above statement means. It means that the technician won’t be judging his price on the difficulty of your carpet cleaning but that the price will be based on how much he can ask, demand, and/or intimidate you into giving him. If a carpet cleaning company asks you “what do you want to pay?”, hang up. Desperation is the easiest way to spot an poor carpet cleaner. If he or she were a skilled technician, their clientele should keep them busy enough for them not to have to play these games.

To wrap this up: get the price first, then show your steam carpet cleaning coupon. Get all the details of the coupon up front and get a concrete price first (very few jobs are so complicated that there will be a different in price above 20% between the phone estimate and in home proposal). Most importantly, don’t believe the hype. Understand that, although you are using carpet cleaning coupon, the company is in business to make a profit and deserves a profit. A good deal is only a good deal if it’s a good deal for both parties, both the customer and the carpet cleaning company.

If you live in New York, take a look at our steam carpet cleaning coupon page or call Steam Pro Carpet Cleaning New York at (718) 606 0549 for a Free Phone Quote.

Although rust may seem impossible to remove at first, it really isn’t all so bad. But first I’d like to ask you a quick question that for some may sound odd? Are you sure it’s rust? As a carpet cleaning professional, I go into many homes under the impression that I am cleaning a rust stain only to find out that it really is a wood shellac bleed from a piece of furniture that use to be there. Most of the readers are confident in their stain identification ability, but be aware that the two stains may look similar.

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Rust stain removal is accomplished by using very acidic ingredients. When I clean rust my rust removal chemical states it’s a 3 pH (very acidic). Using household ingredients, this is how you do it.

• Start with a lemon. Squeeze out a liberal amount of lemon juice onto the rust stain and agitate with a metal spoon. The citrus acid in the lemon will help remove the rust stain. Let it sit for 1 hour, blot with a white towel, rinse, and dry. How much of a transfer did you get? Did you get all of it? No…try this.

• Take some cream of tarter and mix it with a little water to form a paste. A quick note about cream of tarter is that it also can be used to clean brass and copper cookware. Spread on the paste onto the rust stain, agitate using a metal spoon, and again let sit for one hour. Blot, rinse, and dry.

• If all else fails go with vinegar. It smells terrible but I’ll show you how to use it to remove that rust stain on your carpet and how to get rid of the smell afterward. As usual pour or spray the vinegar onto the rust stain, agitate using a metal spoon and let sit for one hour. Blot, rinse and dry. To get rid of the vinegar smell afterward, just throw some baking soda onto it. Baking soda is an alkaline; and vinegar, being acidic, will neutralize along with its odor.

Do you need a carpet cleaner? Call Steam Pro Carpet Cleaning New York at (718) 606-0549 Now for a Free Price Quote. We guarantee the best carpet cleaning you have ever seen or You Pay Nothing!

A lot of our clients and prospective customers ask all the time, “what is the difference between hot water extraction and steam cleaning?” To some it may sound obvious so I will be getting slightly technical with my answer. Hot water extraction is defined as carpet cleaning using hot water under 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius). Steam cleaning using water over 212 degrees Fahrenheit (boiling).

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As far as usage, natural fibers are frequently cleaned using a hot water extraction method to prevent shrikage. Upholstery too is frequently cleaned using hot water extraction. When attempting to remove a stain, steam cleaning is also avoided because heat will set in a stain. Steam cleaning is great for synthetic carpet and is the prefer method of choice for most carpet cleaners. High heat greatly improves cleaning carpets.

Remove Ink Stains from Carpet

Like all other stains, you must hurry to make your best attempts to remove the ink stain immediately, before the stain sets into your carpet. Ink stains may be either water based or permanent. Permanent ink stains may be a bit difficult to remove from carpet. Water based ink stains are fairly easy to remove though. Here’s how to completely remove either stain…

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Remove Water Based Ink Stains

If you are faced with a water based ink stain first blot whatever ink residue you can absorb. Do not scrub the carpet. You will only dig the ink stain deeper into the carpet fibers. Next simply mix a teaspoon of dish washing detergent with a cup of water. Lightly douse the ink stain. Using a white terry cloth to lightly blot the ink stain from your carpet. It is important not to use a scrub brush. A scrub brush will only distort the carpet fibers and dig the ink stain deeper into the carpet filaments, making removal close to impossible.

Remove Permanent Ink Stains

Please note that permanent ink stains can be very difficult to remove from your carpet using domestic cleaning products. If you find that the ink stain is permanent and does not respond to water based cleaning methods, you next option is to use rubbing alcohol on your carpet. Be sure to first test the rubbing alcohol on an inconspicuous area prior to using it on your carpet. Add the rubbing alcohol to a white terry cloth and slowly blot the ink stain and check for ink transfer. If you see an ink transfer, continue to blot your carpet until the ink stain is completely gone or there is no more ink transfer.

At the point where there is no ink transfer onto the terry cloth, nail polish remover works wonderfully. First, completely rinse your carpet with water and blot dry. Apply a small amount of nail polish remover onto your terry cloth and, just like the rubbing alcohol, blot the ink stain until there is no more ink transfer.

Bleach - When All Else Fails…

If all else fails, mild bleaching techniques are very successful to remove ink stains from carpet. DO NOT use Clorox bleach on your carpet. Nylon and wool carpet will completely dissolve in sodium hydrochloride (Clorox) and olefin carpet may be stripped of its color. I’m talking about 3% peroxide. We all have it in our bathroom cabinet. Peroxide is an oxidizer. It will not remove the ink stain from your carpet but it will make it unseen to the eye. Pour a conservative amount of peroxide onto the ink stain, place a damp white terry cloth over the carpet and wait a full 24 hours. This last ink stain home remedy should do the trick over 90% of the time.

As a professional new york carpet cleaning technician., I used this method of ink stain removal for the first five years of my career and it works great. If for any reason you are unable to remove the ink stain from your carpet using these methods hire a professional nyc carpet cleaning company to remove it for you. He or she will use slightly more aggressive cleaning techniques to remove the ink stain.