Friday, February 11, 2011

Five Reasons Not to Home Clean Your Wool and Silk Area Rugs

(Originally published by Keith Andrews EzineArticles.com Expert Author)

If your rugs are an investment, the biggest predictor of their value will be how you clean them: with in house methods, or through a company that performs factory cleaning. While having your wool and silk area rugs cleaned in house versus in factory might seem negligible to their condition, only the latter guarantees a carpet will keep its original look and condition over time. If you need area rug cleaning and you're trying to decide between in house and factory cleaning, below are five reasons to choose the latter over the former.

1. Leaves Dirt in your Rug that Can Damage its Weave
Home cleansing methods, particularly steam cleansing, only clean your rug's surface, leaving dirt and grit embedded in its deepest layers. Over the course of time, that grit is ground against the warp and weft that hold your carpet together, weakening it beyond repair. Even you have vanity rugs that seldom receive footsteps, in house methods leave behind dirt and moisture that creates a perfect sanctuary for mold and dust mites, two pests that no one wants in their home.

2. Causes Mildewing and Dry Rotting
In most cases, the greatest damage done by in home methods is the moisture that they leave behind, moisture that fosters mildew and dry rotting. When your carpet is factory cleaned, it's hung in a dryer that emits a warm down draft that quickly dries your rug's fibers, preventing the discoloration and premature breakdown caused by mildewing and dry rotting.

3. Leaves Behind Soap or Other Residues that Attract Dirt
If your rugs seem to get progressively dirtier after being cleaned in house, there's a reason why: in house methods don't provide thorough rinsing to remove the cleansing agent, causing it to leave behind a residue that attracts dirt, a phenomenon that gets worse over time. If in home cleaning rinsed your rugs as thoroughly as factory cleaning, your home's under floors and basement would flood.

4. Can Shrink Your Rug Over the Course of Time
The last way you should clean fine carpets is by applying intense heat during. But that's exactly what steam cleansing does. They steam your rug, causing its fibers to permanently tighten. On a synthetic rug or secured carpet, intense heat doesn't have the same impact. But on organic materials such as silk and wool, the shrinkage can grow progressively noticeable.

5. Doesn't Clean the Fringes at All
Most fringes become at least as dirty as a rug's body, but home cleansing methods seldom address fringes differently than they do the rest of a carpet, simply guiding the same instrument over the fringes that cleans body. Factory cleaning, on the other hand, includes a cleansing and drying process specially designed for your rugs' fringes.


Apex Carpet Care has the ability to clean your area rugs offsite and eliminate the above problems and potential problems.  Let us help you make your rugs beautiful and longer lasting!  http://www.apexcarpets.com/ or 843-769-7445

Friday, February 4, 2011

Does the groundhog really mean what he says?

As most of us are sitting here on this dreary, rainy Friday.....How many of us wonder if the Groundhog really is a predictor of weather and such?  As most here know, we were supposed to have a mild winter due to La Nina.........that so far has not been the reality!   (Just ask those people who have outrageous electric bills!)   Well, here is some more fodder for you all to read and ponder as we get ready (supposedly) for an early spring (thanks Phil??) but wait til you see what they "predict" for the next FEW winters!   Figured this would give the reader a chance to see if anything needs extra insulating or other repairs before next winter!

http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/45220/bastardi-three-of-next-five-wi-1.asp

For all of you out there, have a great Superbowl weekend!  May your team win and the food agree with you!

Gigi