Floor Maintenance
Tips On Proper Floor Care

Carpet

Vacuuming

This is the most important step for prolonging the life and appearance of your carpet.  Vacuum frequently in light traffic areas and even more often in high traffic areas.  This is because when a soiled carpet is walked on it drives the soil particles deep into the carpets fibers where it will damage it and make it harder to clean.

Tips on vacuuming

Light traffic lanes- twice weekly
Heavy traffic lanes- daily

Vacuum the entire rooms with lighter traffic once a week and the areas and rooms with heavier traffic twice a week.  To vacuum effectively you must you must give a lightly soiled area at least three passes and a heavier soiled area at least seven.  It is also good to change the direction occasionally in which your vacuum is passing.  This will help the carpet from matting. 

Some of the large carpet manufacturers recommend a vacuum with rotating brushes or  any kind of beater that can agitate the carpets pile.  This loosens the soil and particles to be sucked up by the vacuum.  However you should not use this type of device on all types of carpet, such as berbers with thick loop pile.  This will ruin the carpets material by pulling it apart and will make it look very bad.  You should use either a suction only vacuum or one that is adjustable enough to keep the brushes or beater bars away from the carpet.

Make sure to periodically check your vacuum closely. Check the belt for wear and make sure there is no strain or entangled threads around the beater bar or brushes.  Also make sure your vacuum is at the correct height setting for your type of carpet.

Common Stain Removal 

  • First pick up anything solid that was involved.  If the spill is very large use a wet/dry vacuum before attempting to clean it up by blotting.

  • Now blot the spill area until the liquid is soaked up as much as possible.  Your best bet is to use something such as paper towels.  Never rub the area as this will only work the liquid deeper into the fibers and distort the texture of your carpet.

  • On a white towel or a paper towel use warm water to to blot.  Repeat for as long as needed.  Press firmly to get up as much moisture as possible.

  • If this is not working it will be necessary to use a mild mix of dishwashing detergent.  Mix one teaspoon of mild detergent with approximately one quart of warm water.  Apply the solution over the are and let it soak for five minutes.

  • Blot up all the water and detergent now.  Make sure to get all the detergent up.  Rinse area with warm water and put towels over the area overnight for maximum effectiveness.  Put some weight over the towels to help get maximum absorption. It may be necessary to change the towels a couple of time over the first few hours. 

  • Once the area is completely dry give it a good vacuuming.

 

Spot Removal

Removing spots from carpet can be simple or tedious depending on how long it has been on the carpet, so attend to spills and accidents immediately. When cleaning a spill never use a circular motion to remove a spot as this destroys texture.

 Step 1.

1. Use a spoon or dull knife to remove solid materials.

2. Blot up liquids with a white towel or paper towel.

3. Mix a solution of 1/4 teaspoon of clear hand dishwashing detergent with 1 cup of
    water. Stir gently.

4. Apply detergent solution directly to a white cloth. Dampen the carpet fibers in the
    stained area with the cloth. Avoid saturating the carpet.

5. Wipe gently. Turn cloth frequently. Never rub, scrub or brush. This may damage 
    carpet fibers.

6. If necessary, use your fingertips to work the solution to the base of the stain.

7. Wet the stained carpet fibers with clear, lukewarm water to rinse.

8.  Cover the spot with an absorbent white towel or paper towel and apply pressure
      to blot.

9.  Repeat the rinsing and blotting procedures until you are sure all traces of the
     detergent have been removed.

10. If the stain is gone, place an absorbent white towel or paper towel over the area 
      cleaned, and weigh towels down with a heavy, color-fast object, such as a weighted
      plastic wastebasket.

11. Change towels or paper towels until carpet dries.

12. If the stain remains, proceed to step 2. (For coffee, tea or urine, skip step 2 and
      proceed to step 3.)

 

Step 2.

1. Do not use on coffee, tea or urine stains.

2. Mix 2 tablespoons of non-bleaching, non-sudsing household ammonia with 1 cup of 
    lukewarm water.

3. Apply ammonia solution, rinse and blot as outlined in step 1.

4. Do not dry with paper towels.  Proceed to step 3 to neutralize the ammonia solution.

Step 3.

1. Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of water.

2. Apply vinegar solution, rinse and blot as outlined in step 1.

 

Wood Floors

  • Use Chair Glides - Some wheels and sharp wooden, or metal furniture legs can scratch and dent hardwood flooring . Any furniture that rests directly on top of a hardwood floor should have felt protectors, or furniture coasters, under all it's legs.  Remember to check the condition of the chair glides and replace when they are warn.Purchasing chair glides is a very cheap insurance policy for your hardwood flooring.
  • Vacuum Regularly - Small stones, mud, and gritty dirt tracked in from outside can actually destroy your floors finish.. To help against this use long bristle welcome mats placed at all outside entrances.  Another good idea is to vacuum using a soft bristle brush attachment.

With laminates, or vinyl floors avoid adding too much cleaner to your water. If your mix contains too much cleaner it will leave streak marks on your floor as well as leaving a sticky residue.  If this happens wash your floor with ammonia and warm water to remove the excess cleaner.

These simple steps will help to keep your floor looking newer, longer.

E-mail us: Sales@CarpetmaxofWhitman.com 
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