Apex Carpet Cares Discusses Problems Caused byMan's Best Friend

DID YOU KNOW that man’s best friend can actually become your worst nightmare? That’s right. He’s cuddly, cute and you love him, but sometimes he has a problem with “accidents” and pretty soon, you start to notice the… ummm… odiferous situation. Besides the obvious occasional accident from Fido, his hair can also be an issue. Once he shakes a bit off, it goes into the carpet and furniture and sticks to it all and it can be quite a problem. Then you have the issue of “I want in. I want out. I want in.” You know it… Fido is always on the move and the constant going outside and then back inside brings in all kinds of dirt. What can you do about all this? 1.    Clean messes up quickly. Once you discover an “accident,” it’s important to grab a few paper towels and blot up the mess before it sinks down into the padding of the carpet. A good enzyme deodorizer like you might get from the vet helps with lingering odors, but of course it’s best to have a professional carpet cleaner come over to handle these odor challenges. Apex Carpet Care in Charleston, SC specializes in pet stain and odor removal. “If you don’t absorb the stains quickly, it could result in replacing the carpet, pad and sealing the subfloor. 2.    A hairy situation can be tamed by brushing your dog often. Loose hair that’s about to go into the carpet and furniture can be easily pulled from Fido with a good grooming brush. And guess what? He probably likes the attention! It’s difficult for the best beater-bar vacuum cleaners to pick up hair and dander imbedded in carpet fiber. 3.    While you may not have the time to wipe off Fido’s muddy paws each time he wants back inside, it is a good idea to place mats inside and outside the door. When Fido want’s back inside, let him beg a little bit on the outside mat because some of that dirt is definitely going to come off. In addition, vacuum those pet traffic areas regularly to head off the dirt accumulation. Do all of this and man’s best friend is going to be a dream to live with, not a nightmare! But if you need help, call Apex Carpet Care.

A Weekend Lost … Save it by Using Apex Carpet Care in Charleston, SC

You work hard all week and look forward to the weekend, a time to relax, go to the beach, float down the river, barbecue and enjoy family and friends (but you still have to mow the grass!)

You work hard all week and look forward to the weekend, a time to relax and enjoy family and friends (but you still have to mow the grass!)

But, sometime during the week, you look down. You aren’t happy with the condition of the carpet. So you make a decision to rent a do-it-yourself carpet cleaning machine from your local grocery store. That’s right… you are going to clean your own carpet. Your goal this weekend is to create a nice, fresh and clean carpet and enjoy a healthier home.

Friday evening arrives. Off you go to your grocery store and you find yourself in front of a bunch of do-it-yourself cleaning machines and the various cleaning solutions available. There are products to put on the carpet before you clean it. There are products to put in the machine with the water. There are other types of products for all kinds of spots and stains. Still others for pet odors. You aren’t sure which ones you will need, so you grab a selection of them and take them to the front of the store to pay. It’s already cost you more than hiring Apex Carpet Care.

At the register, while paying for the daily rental of the carpet cleaning machine, you discover the cost of all those cleaning products is about what you spend on food for the family for an entire week. But you aren’t deterred!  You are going to clean your carpet. Nothing will stop you.

So you go home with all your cleaning stuff and get started. It takes all your Saturday and, sad to say, part of your Sunday as well. It’s backbreaking work. You had no idea what sweating was really like. Yet… it looks pretty good when you are done. The bad part is it takes a few days to dry and you yell at the kids to not walk on the carpet. Maybe you thought they could float over it?

Within two weeks, though, the carpet starts to look worse than before it was cleaned. Uh oh… what happened? It’s called resoiling and you didn’t use carpet protector

You didn’t call Apex Carpet Care! You know, those who have the training and the very best equipment and cleaning solutions to get the job done right. They have high- heat, truck-mounted equipment run by Certified Master Technicians who know what they’re doing.

Don’t ruin another weekend. Do the smart thing and hire a professional to do what he does best: Clean your carpet.

Guilty! (but it will be OK) -- Red Stains, Apex Carpet Care to the Rescue

DID YOU KNOW that the devastation of spilling something like grape juice, Kool-Aid and other fruit drinks doesn’t have to be that… devastating?

So you have kids, grandkids, or some other kids come over, and they want something to drink. They surely don’t want water from the tap. That’s pretty boring stuff. They want something fruity, sweet, and with lots of color. Like deep blues, or reds. You know, the stuff that can really stain a carpet or piece of furniture.

And the inevitable occurs. The kids enjoy what you give them, but after all, they are kids. So something gets spilled. For some weird reason, this never happens on a hard, tile floor. It happens right on the carpet.

What to do?

Call Apex Carpet Care in Charleston early at 843-769-7445 or online at http://www.apexcarpets.com. On it’s website, Apex Carpet Care illustrates the initial cleaning process.

Do It Yourself

Step #1
First of all, don’t panic. Gather your senses and realize this isn’t the end of the world.

Step #2
Start blotting. You want to use white cotton or paper towels, with no print or dyes, and blot – blot – blot! Most of any spotting or staining substance will come right out because the towel you are using is more absorbent than the carpet the drink was spilled on.

Step #3
It may be appropriate, with some coaching from your carpet cleaning pro, to do some spotting. Use a spotting product, like a mild neutral detergent spotter, recommended by your carpet pro. Apply a small amount to the spot and keep blotting. Never scrub. Scrubbing can damage the carpet fibers and you can’t fix that. Keep blotting.

Step #4
Did we say keep blotting? Keep it up! You may need to apply more approved mild detergent spotter. One thing you do not want to do is apply too much moisture, as that gets into the backing of the carpet and into the padding, creating additional problems.

Step #5
Once the spot is gone, it’s time to dry the carpet. How to do this? Keep blotting, of course! But also aim a fan on the spot and let the air current remove more moisture.

Is the spot still there? It may be a stain, very tough to remove. It is definitely now time to call your carpet cleaning pro! Apex Carpet Care of Charleston, SC uses heated chemicals that transfer the remaining stain from the carpet to a clean towel. It takes a long time to remove remaining stains.

Best case scenario
When anything happens, like spilling grape juice, red wine, mustard or other tough-to-remove substances, call your carpet and furniture cleaning professional. He has what it takes to get the job done right the first time.

Make that phone call (843-769-7445 or online http://www.apexcarpets.com , especially for pet “accidents.” Apex Carpet Care technicians know exactly what you need to keep your home spot and stain free!

Helpful hints on vacuuming your carpeting!

Vacuuming 101

Proper vacuuming is the easiest and most effective way to keep your carpet clean.  It may come as a surprise that something as simple as regular vacuuming can also have the largest impact on the air you breathe.  Removing loose soil while it remains on the carpet surface prevents dirt from being ground into the carpet pile and can help preserve the cushiness of your carpet. Keep in mind green cleaning starts with vacuuming.

Read more at the Carpet and Rug Institute site!  http://www.carpet-rug.org/residential-customers/cleaning-and-maintenance/basic-cleaning/vacuuming.cfm  

For those of you asking about carpeting and allergies...........

Childhood Asthma Study Published in The New England Journal of Medicine Concludes: No Difference in Allergen Levels in Carpeted vs. Uncarpeted Homes
Contact: CRI Communications Department, 706.428.2103

Dalton, GA. (April 15, 2011) - A major study of inner city children with asthma concludes that positive environmental interventions in the children's homes, such as improved cleaning and the elimination of tobacco smoke, will result in a lessening of the children's asthma-related symptoms and an increase in their symptom-free days. Further, the Inner-City Asthma Study found no difference in the improvement experienced by children who lived in homes with carpet versus children from homes with other types of flooring. In addition, no difference was found in the levels of allergens measured in carpeted homes compared to homes with hard surface floors.

An article describing the study, titled, "Results of a Home-Based Environmental Intervention among Urban Children with Asthma," is published on the website of The New England Journal of Medicine. Based on years of research and independent testing, the carpet industry has long maintained that carpet does not contribute to allergy symptoms or poor indoor air quality. However, this is the first peer-reviewed study confirming the industry's position from a prestigious medical journal.

The study followed 937 children from seven major U.S. cities over the course of a year. Of the participants, more than 50% of the children, aged 5-11 years, had positive skin tests to three or more allergen groups. Other common elements of the group were that they were from families whose incomes were at or close to the poverty level, as well as these factors: Cockroaches were reported in 58% of homes, wall-to-wall carpeting in the child's bedroom in 55%, a smoker in 48%, mice or rats in 40%, and furry pets in 28%.
At the outset of the study, researchers sought to remove carpet from the children's bedrooms, but factors such as rental agreements kept them from it. Still, family members were instructed to remove the carpet from their children's bedrooms wherever possible.

Family members were given HEPA-filter vacuum cleaners and cleaning products and educated about various allergens and how to remove them from the home. Children's beds were encased in dust-mite-blocking covers, and professional pest exterminators were called in where needed.

The study found that children in the intervention group missed fewer days of school, slept through the night more, and made fewer trips to the emergency room. Contrary to researchers' expectations, children with carpet in their bedrooms improved as much and did just as well as children who had hard surface floors.
The interventions also produced marked declines in the measured levels of allergens in the home. Again, in contrast to predictions, no difference in allergen reduction was found between homes with carpets and those without carpeting.

The Inner City Asthma Study was sponsored in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health. According to published disclosure statements, none of the researchers or institutions were affiliated with or sponsored by any representative of the carpet industry.

The findings of the Inner City Asthma Study refute the widely-held notion that patients with asthma and/or allergies must remove their carpet, and according to Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braun, the study confirms the carpet industry's assertion that clean, dry carpet is a healthy flooring choice for everyone, including children and adults with asthma and allergies. "CRI's position is based on a body of sponsored as well as independent research, but the Inner City study is significant in that it comes from the medical community," Braun said.

Since we get asked about it a lot and people are trying to save $$$....DRY CLEANING AT HOME

Many people opt to dry clean at home because they cannot afford to pay others to dry clean their delicate clothes, or because they do not trust others to do it properly. But when you opt to do it at home, you need to understand the process so as to get the best results.

The first step is to always look for the label on the article of clothing to be cleaned, and look for the care instructions emblazoned on the label. You need to find the words "Dry Clean Only" on this label. This means that the clothes cannot be dumped inside a regular washing machine and washed with detergent and water.

Why is it important to dry clean such clothes? Well, if you don't, you may wind up doing irreparable damage to the fabric. Examples of fabrics that require these methods are silk, rayon, and wool blends. The damage these would suffer when cleaned the wrong way are shrinking, bleeding of colors, and warping of their shape.

The process requires the use of a chemical solvent (known to most people as "dry cleaning fluid".) The most common chemical solvent required is perchlorethylene (otherwise known as "perc".) Experience has shown that this solvent is quite effective at removing grease-based and oil-based stains from clothes. However, you have to be cautious when using the solvent because inhaling its fumes can make you very sick. This is also why it is quite important that all the perc be removed from the clothing after cleaning because some people find even trace amounts of perc to be quite irritating to the throat, nose, and eyes.

If you opt for dry cleaning your own clothes, there are some home kits available to the public. These kits do the same job that commercial shops do, but their ingredients may be different from the solvents used by commercial dry cleaners. Generally, the home dry cleaning kits contain a reusable dryer bag, dryer activated cloth, and the stain remover. Others may also include pads that absorb stains.

Before you can dry clean, you need to pre-treat the clothing fabric with the stain remover. The stain remover is often water-based so any stains that are water-based (such as soup) are easily removed. There may be some detergent and/or petroleum ingredients in this stain remover as well. Though it may seem funny to use a water-based solution for pre-treating clothes, there is only a small amount of water so it won't damage your clothes.

Solvent will be necessary if the stains on your clothes cover quite a large area. But apply only a small amount of solvent on a hidden part of your clothing first - this will show whether the fabric is durable enough to withstand the use of solvent. Then you can go about the dry clean process indicated on the box of your home kit. Bear in mind you may need to own a dryer if you opt to dry clean at home.

What if you just don't have enough money to get your clothes professionally dry cleaned? I know how hard it can be to come up with the extra money to do it, but luckily there are dry clean at home options out there that will prevent you from having to spend a fortune on dry cleaning. Don't give up hope on having professional looking clothes, it's NOT impossible. Or if you'd rather not tackle it yourself and would rather have a professional do it, learn more about how to find the best dry cleaners by clicking the link. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Lindsey

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