Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Area Rug Cleaning Utah

Have you ever had a carpet cleaning company clean your expensive area rugs onsite? This is a big mistake because even though the area rug may look good when they are finished,dye migration usually does not happen until the area rug is just about to dry. Fine wool area rugs should be picked up and cleaned or washed in a closed environment. This allows the technician to dust the rug, (one of the most important steps in area rug cleaning) dusting the rug allows the cleaning to be more effective and does not create mud when doing a final cleaning or washing. Some rugs can be cleaned on site such as nylon, polyester and olefin these area rugs are very stable and dye migration is very rare. Another reason it is important to clean or wash your fine rugs in a facility is that we can get them dry very quick and this allows us to monitor your fine wool area rugs very closely and any issues can be dealt with right away. Please do not allow your expensive fine wool are rugs to be cleaned like your wall to wall carpet, look at these rugs as important investments.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Have you ever woke up and said "what's that smell?"

Have you ever woke up and said "what's that smell?" It could be dog pee or cat pee if you are an animal owner. My company Carpet Care and Repair of Utah specializes in removing cat pee and dog pee from your home, but I want to talk about how to prevent dog pee and cat pee from ever getting into your carpets. I have had dogs all my life and I have 2 right now a Weimaraner and a Golden Retriever and they are not allowed to urinate in my home. Have there been accidents? Sure, but with further investigation there was always a reason. Now I don't own a cat and never will but being in this business I have learned a lot about cats.
1. Never use pee-pads. All you are teaching the animal is its okay to use your home as a bathroom.

2. Get a dog door or a cat door. This is the best investment you can make. It does take some training but worth every minute you spend training your dog or cat to use it. There even window companies that can install them in sliding glass doors. I can't tell you how many people call me for pet urine removal and blame it on the animal but all the urine is right next to the door and sometimes on the door. These animal are telling their owner that they need to get out but cant. What about security? If a thief can even fit through a doggy door he's probably going to the next house because they do not want to meet up with your big dog.

3.Clean your litter box daily. Cats are very clean desert animals and do not walk in their own cat feces or cat urine. Because cats are desert animals they retain water and this is the reason their urine is so potent. Maybe get 2 boxes and a cat door and put the cat litter box in your garage so you don't have to smell their cat urine. (Just a thought)

4. Feed your cat or dog premium dog food. Why would this matter? Because if they can digest more food there's less waste to clean up. Look at the label on your dog food and at the first 3 ingredients, they should be chicken, beef, fish or any kind of protein this tells you if you are feeding quality food. I even supplement my dog food with a product called Dinovite. When dog food or cat food is made most of the beneficial enzymes are cooked out of it Dinovite adds these essential additives back in my dogs love it and thrive on it.

5. Get your animal spayed or nurtured. This will help stop your dog or cat from marking it's territory in your home.

So the next question is how did I train my 2 dogs Cooper and Chloe not to use my home as a toilet?
Well they are both rescues and it just took time. First my Weimaraner Chloe. You must understand the breed you are getting and in fact the Weimaraner is #1 in returned dogs in the United States. People just don't understand what they are getting with this breed. They are high strung and need to be social with their owner and will not do well just being left in the backyard by themselves. Training her was tough and took about 2 weeks. You need to purchase a crate.  She was not aloud out of my sight and if she left my sight she was crated which she hated and figured out quickly not to leave my side. First thing in the morning we went out to use the bathroom and yes i stood and watched her and when she went I threw a party I mean jumped up and down and ran around with her and praised her over and over again. She soon figured out that this made me very happy and wanted to please me. I would let her out after she got a drink and after she ate and never left her unattended for those 2 weeks and Wallah she was potty trained.
Cooper the Golden was a rescue and he was a little easier and only took 2 days, Why? well if you know a Golden Retriever you know they are an awesome family dog and their whole goal in life is to please their owner. They love praise and he understood the first day what I wanted.
I hope this helps in some way and if you are going to get an animal please look at your local shelter there are so many great animals out there looking for a home.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Who is the best carpet cleaning company or carpet cleaner in Utah?

Who is the best carpet cleaning company or carpet cleaner in Utah? This a great question and I will do my best to answer it. First, if you have a carpet cleaner you like and trust stick with him or her. If its not broke don't fix it. But here are some questions you can ask if your looking for a carpet cleaning company in Utah.

1. Trust: Ask your friend, family and neighbors who they use for carpet cleaning and are they happy? Next read reviews and call around and ask questions. What questions do I ask? I will tell you how to screen a carpet cleaning company in Utah and what questions to ask.

2 Experience: How long has the carpet cleaning company been in business? But more important how long has the carpet cleaner they will be sending to your home been cleaning carpets? This is crucial because it takes time to learn the correct way to clean carpets. Isn't just a menial task that anyone can do? Actually your carpet cleaner is dealing with one of your most expensive purchases (after your home and vehicles) and to have a carpet cleaner come to your home and ruin your investment, and it is an investment, is just sad but it happens every day. This mostly happens because some carpet cleaning companies do not understand the science and chemistry of carpet cleaning which brings me to my next point.

3. Education: I believe this is the most important question to ask, Why? Because really great carpet cleaning companies spend a lot of time and money to go to school to learn the right way to clean carpets. The certification you are looking for is the IICRC The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. Ask on the phone if the carpet cleaning company and carpet cleaner coming to your home is certified by the IICRC.

4. Systems: Some carpet cleaning companies carry 1 or 2 products to do all their carpet cleaning. What if its wool their cleaning and their 1 product has a Ph of 12 and you are never supposed to put a Ph above 8.5 on wool. Well guess what? They just ruined your expensive wool carpet. Lets say you've spilled grease on your carpet. Do they carry a safe solvent made from citrus or do their solvents have carcinogens in them? Or do they just leave your home because that's the best they can do with what they have. Take a walk out to the van is it leaking oil on your driveway? When was the last time their truck-mount was serviced, it should be displayed on the truck-mount.

5. Guarantee: Why would you choose a carpet cleaning company or any company that does not give a 100% money back guarantee? This tells me that they are not confident about their service and not a very good company.

These are the 5 things to look for in a carpet cleaning company in Utah. I hope this helps you find your carpet cleaning superhero, he or she will become an important part of your maintenance team.

Steve Heller is the owner of carpetcareandrepair.com

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Do-IT-Yourself Pet Urine Removal

I have clients ask me all the time "What is the best way to treat fresh urine spots?" First if it is fresh and you catch sparky in the act, the best thing you can do is get a white (Not Colored) absorbent terrycloth towel and quarter it and stick it on the fresh urine. Then take a empty gallon jug or laundry detergent bottle and fill it with fresh water. Now put the jug or bottle on the terrycloth towel for weight and walk away. What happens is the carpet fiber dries like a candle wick from the bottom up. As the urine dries it wicks up into the towel. wait 3 or 4 hours then lift the towel you will be amazed at how much urine is wicked up into the towel. Now grab a fresh white towel (You can dedicate these towels for this purpose either wash them or throw them away) and a cup of water with a tablespoon of vinegar (I like apple cider vinegar) and pour it on the spot, then re-apply the towel and weight and let it set for another 3 or 4 hours. Why would you put vinegar on urine isn't that an acid on an acid? Actually as the the urine dries it turned into salt crystals and these crystal are very alkaline, so you need to return those alkaline salt crystals back to an acid to remove them. Now if you have a home cleaner or spot machine just clean the area if not you will still be o.k. After all this you can add your enzyme while it's still wet the longer the better the enzymes thrive in moist dark places. These enzymes will populate and digest any residue left. A note on enzymes such as Natures Miracle found at most pet stores, see if you can find out how long they have been on the shelf, I have found that a lot of these products are expired before you even get them out of the store. What about older urine spots? In this case just go right to the water/vinegar mixture first. If you live in Utah and would like a FREE pet urine inspection just call me at 801-716-0363 as usual no pressure and no obligation to use my service.