Upland Steam Carpet Company

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Lazy Dog

Man’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.

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!

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.

Do all of this and man’s best friend is going to be a dream to live with, not a nightmare!

Stain & Odor Removal

There’s nothing like putting on a new item of clothing only to spill something on it right after. Or, that proud feeling of showing off a brand new rug only for a beloved pet to make their mark on it. But fret not — where there’s a will to get a stain out, there’s a way. An expert in cleaning says to dab a solution of water and bleach alternative on the stain and follow up by dabbing it with a towel of clear hot water. Then, use a clean towel blot up the wet area. “If your carpet is white or a light color, it will appear bleached but If you leave it for a few weeks the color will even out once again,” he says.

While we make every effort to remove all spots and stains it’s important to remember that not all spots or stains are removable without potential color or fiber texture damage. Rest assured we will make you aware of any spots or stains during our inspection that may present one of these issues.  Mix baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to form a thick paste the consistency of peanut butter. Spread the mixture about one-fourth inch thick over the stain and cover with plastic wrap. Tape down the edges of the plastic wrap to hold it in place. Allow the mixture to remain on the stain for 24 hours. Remove the plastic wrap and allow the mixture to dry completely, then wipe away. Repeat as needed until the stain is gone. After cleaning, the stained area will need to be resealed to prevent further staining. You can look for more tips on how to clean your carpet or contact a professional for help, The benefits of hiring professional carpet cleaners outweigh doing it yourself and you can assure you will get the job done !

Removing odors from your carpeting is just as important as removing stains and spots. We always include a deodorizer in our standard service. All of our deodorizers are non-toxic, non-flammable and environmentally friendly.

What is Filtration Soiling?

According to author Michael Hilton in the “Carpet Buyer’s Handbook, Filtration soil is a term used to describe dark, grayish lines that may appear on carpet. This is not a carpet defect, but a situation in which dust and other airborne pollutants can accumulate on the carpet face fibers in areas with a concentrated flow of air over the carpet or through tiny cracks or other open areas under the carpet. The soiling condition can occur quickly, or it may develop over a period of months or years. The level of soiling is dependent upon the volume of airflow and the level of pollutants in the air. Filtration soiling is not a result of the quality of carpet selected. The condition will obviously appear more pronounced on lighter colorations than darker colorations. Filtration soil areas may appear around baseboards, under doors, along the edges of stairs and possibly away from walls where plywood sub flooring materials have been joined. Generally, the concentrated air flow will be from an upper level to a lower level of the home.

There are several way to help reduce the excess build up, along with regular cleaning by us.

Give Diane a call 909 946-1886

 

Carpet “What’s in their?”

It’s not everyday that someone looks down at their carpet and wonders what might actually be in their carpeting? If they’re the one who purchased it then they are most likely aware of the type of fabric(s), pre treatments and padding or cushioning that is used, after a time when dirt and debris starts to make their way indoors and into the carpeting how many people honestly give thought to the material that is now inside their carpets? For starters, if you have a pet guess what is there? There will be pet dander (dandruff which is the animals skin), hair, musty hair, saliva, fecal matter, urine (not great if you have a cat), food (pet and human), other pets dander that your pet has associated with, grass, dirt and mud.

If you have children you can count on them providing you food stains, drink spills, possible toilet type accidents on the carpeting, paint, markers, clay, mud, dirt, rocks, ink, saliva, hair, and a myriad of other items. From yourself you are contributing large amount of dead skin, your own spills and accidents with food and drink. Not to mention random soil and debris from a day of walking in various places as you go about your business. Also different bacteria that you come in contact with and this list can only get better.

You can be sure that there are dust mites and possibly fleas and their larvae if you have the aforementioned pets.

These are just a few (a few you may say in astonishment) of the many different type and manner of materials, organism and particles that are in your carpeting as you are reading this. And they will reproduce and more dust is falling there now and more dander is leaving you and your children’s and pets bodies right now.

Don’t fret too much, everyone has this, save maybe one or two if they are pet free or don’t have children, but any way you look at it, they are there.

While you still might be pondering all of the gross and worrisome materials and critters that are roaming around in their floor level city, don’t let yourself get too bothered. It is not the fact that others also have these problems but the fact that they can not harm you unless you let it get out of hand and abstain from at least a bi yearly carpet cleaning that will sanitize and freshly clean your carpeting. Learn when to clean your home air ducts to avoid having health risks.

Give Diane a call 909-946-1886

It’s like using laundry detergent? Bill Yeadon, IICRC –approved instructor Although there may be some products used in carpet cleaning that people should be cautious with, most carpet cleaning chemicals are similar to detergents that would be used to clean clothes, says Yeadon and Dr. Aziz Ullah,president of FABPRO, Inc. in Baltimore. “In most cases, I think water-based products are relatively safe, as most of the dangerous chemicals used by carpet cleaners in the past are no longer used,” says Ullah. “The chemicals used in carpet cleaning are very similar to those used to clean your clothes.” Hill says while there are people who may have reactions to even the most basic of chemicals, most cleaning chemicals that are used in carpet cleaning are less toxic and dangerous than what a consumer can actually by and put under their sink for their own cleaning chores at home. Commercial products are formulated in professional strength, but then they are not significant in regards to chemical sensitivity, according to Hill.

Dr. Michael Berry, in his book “Protecting the Built Environment: Cleaning for Health,” says that most indoor cleaning problems are related to dirty carpets, but this problem can be solved through maintenance and restoration. Carpets act as a sink to collect pollutants of all kinds from indoors and out, according to Berry. As the sink gets filled up (the carpet gets polluted), it stores more and more dirt, dust and contaminants. When the sink is full, it needs to emptied. If a carpet is not cleaned on a regular basis, it can become a breeding ground for biopollutants, Berry says. We recommend you to check here this website to find the best cleaning service company near you.

It is crucial to regularly empty the sink and make sure that you carpets are cleaned properly. Berry says that the medical community recommends that people remove carpets from buildings and homes, but it is wrong to assume that all carpet will become contaminated and affect people’s health. Rarely do people clean theirs carpets in an effort to protect their health, Berry says, but cleaning carpet regularly can improve indoor air quality. Some of the benefits of extracting pollutants from carpet include: Reducing health problems from loose particles; reducing cases of biologically induced illness, reducing lifetime cancer risks, reducing complaints for building owners and managers, and reducing liability for building owners and managers.

The carpet cleaning industry does not debate the medical community’s point about carpet acting as a sink (as Dr. Berry likes to refer to carpet) to hold dust, dirt and pollutants, but it says that the sink-like qualities of carpet help to protect people from getting sick; there is nothing in hardwood floors that can trap the dust and dander the way that carpet can. (See “ The benefits of carpet cleaning”.) Carpet works much the same way as a furnace filter, Braun says, as the particles filter down through the surface of the carpet, and then are no longer inhaled or get into the eyes, You need to empty the sink when it gets filled up too much with dirt, he states, just as you would do with a furnace filter, because you want the car0pet to continue to pick up pollutants and contaminants so that it is not in the air available to be breathed in.

Bill Yeadon, IICRC –approved instructor If people do have reactions to the chemicals used in carpet cleaning’ part of the reason may be that customers let their carpets get too dirty before cleaning them. This causes the carpet cleaner to have to use more chemistry when he cleans the carpet’ Yeadon says, but this could easily be avoided. The rule of thumb’ he states, is that if a carpet looks dirty, then it is probably very filthy! If the average consumer would just religiously vacuum their carpets and then take some very simple precautions with spotting, then the chemistry level of the next cleaning would be lower!

The CRI began one year ago to provide the asthma and allergy community with solid, proven information about the benefits of carpet—as opposed to hardwood floors. The urban legend of taking out carpet is “alive and well in the asthma and allergy physicians community,” says Braun. The CRI asked a group of doctors and allergists this question: “Thinking specifically about carpet, do you believe that asthma can be triggered by carpet?”

  • In March, 2003, 56% of respondents said yes.
  • In December, 2003, after the CRI conducted an intensive marketing, program with the respondents to provide them with studies of the health benefits of carpet, the number had dropped to 42 %.

Braun says that the CRI is going to continue its efforts because it is the right thing to do and is going to make a big difference in the quality of life of people who suffer from allergies and asthma.

Werner Braun (president of CRI…. Carpet and Rug Institute) says that allergic asthmatic reactions are caused because pollutants get into people’s eyes, nose, and lungs.

If you have the same number of allergens in a room that has carpet, he says, your exposure is going to be dramatically less because the carpet acts as a beneficial filter.

But with the room with the hard surface, particles easily become airborne,

“The doctors are flat wrong, and we are in the process of trying to convince them that their recommendation (to rip out carpets) is actually hurting their patients as opposed to helping them if they are telling them to take them out,” say’s Braun. “There are dramatic differences between the numbers of materials that are released into the air from people walking on carpet as opposed to walking on hard surface.”

Carpet cleaning is important, he say’s because you want to refresh the filter-like properties of carpet so that it can continue to improve and create a healthier breathing environment.

In one study on the Carpet and rug Institute’s website, carpets were removed from commercial buildings in Sweden in the late 1970’s and replaced with hardwood floors. Researchers attempted to determine whether the removal of carpet would result in a decrease in allergy levels of occupants of the buildings, but the opposite was found to be true. Over a 10-year period, allergy levels went up in the buildings, not down, as there was nothing in the hardwood floors that could trap the dirt, dust and contaminants that float through the air. Regarding the types of the flooring that can be put in homes and buildings, Dr. Berry says that allergic reactions can occur at the some frequency in any type of environment if it is not effectively cleaned on a regular basis and managed with regards to pests and rodents. “Most advice to remove carpeting is a well-intended prudent avoidance measure,” say’s Berry. “However, all too rarely is it properly advised by medical authorities to clean effectively on a scheduled basis… if that is done, there is no need to replace anything because there is limited exposure to allergens” He believes that effective cleaning in the form of maximum extraction and minimum residue reduces exposures to concentrated allergens and other pollutants that in turn reduce risks of adverse health effects. According to Hill, there have been measures taken by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the CRI to determine the contamination in carpet before, during and after cleaning, and it has been found that carpet cleaning greatly reduces the contamination level of allergens and other pollutants. “The allergists are a very big part of the staunch medical community and their party line is to rip it (carpet) out, because they haven’t read the latest data,” says Hill. “They’re not up to speed on the facts.”