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Caring For Your Carpeted Flooring
Keep your carpet looking good longer.
Keeping your carpet clean. The most important care you can do for
your wall-to-wall carpeting is to vacuum it regularly because frequent
carpet vacuuming will remove dirt particles and landed mold spores
and thus reduce abrasion and mold growth that can dull and wear out carpet
fibers and cause unhealthy mold infestation in the carpeting and
padding.
Carpet treated with Scotchgard protection should stay clean 2 to 3
times longer. When professionally cleaning your carpet, use hot water
extraction rather than shampooing. The shampoo will leave a soapy
residue that actually holds dirt.
Vacuum Regularly
Use a vacuum with a rotating brush. This loosens the dirt making it
easier for the vacuum to remove soil.
Clean Spots and Spills Immediately
Blot up liquid spills with a white towel.
Use a spoon or dull knife to remove solid materials.
Never rub, scrub, or use a brush. This may cause damage to carpet fibers.
Use a cleaning agent and procedure appropriate for the type of stain
being removed.
Apply all cleaning agents to the cloth rather than directly to the stained
area to avoid saturating the carpet when spot cleaning.
Clean the fibers, not the backing.
Work from the outside to the center of large stains. This prevents
spreading.
Most household stains can be removed using the Scotchgard "Easy as
1-2-3" method. Oil based stains, however, will require the use of a
dry cleaning solvent prior to using this cleaning method.
Use the "Easy as 1-2-3" method to remove these stains as outlined
below:
Water-based stains
· Alcohol
· Baby formula
· Beer
· Blood
· Candy
· Catsup
· Chocolate milk
· Clay
· Coffee (omit step 2)
· Cola
· Cologne
· Cranberry juice
· Felt tip marker
· Food stains (general)
· Fruit juice
· Fruit punch
· Furniture polish (water based)
· Grape juice
· Graphite
· Gravy
· Ice cream
· Jelly
· Latex paint
· Liquor
· Milk
· Soft drinks
· Soil spots
· Syrup
· Tea (omit step 2)
· Tomato juice
· Urine
· Vomit
· Water colors
· Watermelon
· Whiskey
· Wine
Use Dry Cleaning Fluid to remove these stains:
Greasy, oil-based stains
· Butter
· Calamine lotion
· Chocolate
· Cooking oil
· Cosmetics
· Crayon
· Furniture dye
· Furniture polish (oil-based)
· Glue**
· Grease (black)
· Gum**
· Hand cream
· Ink
· Lipstick
· Margarine
· Mascara
· Mayonnaise
· Nail polish
· Ointment
· Oil
· Oil paint
· Peanut butter
· Rouge
· Salad dressing
· Spaghetti
· Tar
· Varnish
· Wax**
If the stain persists, add the vinegar/water solution outlined in
Step 3 with the detergent solution outlined in
Step 1. Follow Step
1 procedures.
Freeze and remove solids before cleaning with dry cleaning fluid.
Step 1: Detergent Solution
· Use a spoon or dull knife to remove solid materials.
· For large stains, work form the outside of the stain to the center to prevent
spreading.
· Blot up liquid spills with a white towel or paper towel.
· Mix 1/4 teaspoon of clear hand dishwashing detergent with 1 cup of
water. Stir the solution gently.
· Apply detergent directly to white cloth, dampen the fibers in the stained
area with the cloth. Avoid saturating the carpet.
· Wipe gently. Never rub, scrub or use a brush.
· If necessary, use your fingertips to work the solution into the base of the
stain.
· Re-wet the stained carpet fibers with clear, lukewarm water.
· Cover the area with an absorbent, white towel and apply pressure to the
blot.
· Repeat the rinsing/blotting procedures until you are sure all the detergent
has been removed.
· If the stains are removed, place white paper towels over the stained area.
· Weight the towels with a heavy, colorfast object, such as a plastic
wastebasket with a weight inside.
· Change the paper towels as stains wick up until the area dries.
If stains remain (unless they are from coffee, tea or urine) proceed
to Step 2. For coffee, tea and urine stains proceed directly to Step
3.
Step 2:
Ammonia/Water
· Do not use on coffee, tea or urine stains
· Mix one (2) tablespoon of non-bleaching, non-sudsing
household ammonia
with 1 cup of lukewarm water. Apply
this solution as
outlined in Step 1, rinsing the area in the
same manner.
· Do not dry with paper towels.
Note: Even if stains disappear after using the ammonia
solution, it is necessary to use Step 3-the vinegar solution-to
neutralize the ammonia solution.
Step 3: Vinegar/Water
· Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of water.
· Apply solution, rinse and blot as outlined in step 1.
Allow carpet to
completely dry before walking on carpet surface.
Note: you must use Step 3 if you first used Step 2. it is
important to neutralize the ammonia solution.
Here are some tips to keep your carpet looking its best.
If loose ends extend above the rest of the pile, trim them off evenly
with the pile surface. Never try to pull them out. After clipping,
smooth the area with your fingers.
All carpet fibers will crush under heavy, stationary loads. This can
be reduced by shifting furniture regularly. Crushed areas can usually
be restored by covering the area with a damp, clean white cloth and
then very carefully applying heat to the cloth with an electric iron
on a low setting.
Remove the cloth and restore the pile while it is
still hot by brushing it lightly. Keep traffic of the carpet until it
is dry.
After certain carpet styles have been subjected to traffic, you may
notice areas that appear lighter or darker than other areas. Brushing
the pile all in one direction may temporarily correct shading;
however, shading is part of the carpet styling and should be expected
in varying degrees.
Caring
For Your Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is tough, durable, and very easy to clean. Some
simple preventative protection will keep your laminate floor looking great for
many years.
· Place mats at outside entrances to prevent dirt, grit, and
soil from being
tracked onto the floor.
· Cover furniture feet with felt
· Install soft rubber casters to mobile furniture.
· Wipe up spills as soon as they happen.
· Sweep dirt and grit regularly.
· Wipe off shoe scuffs with damp cloth.
· For regular cleaning and maintenance use laminate floor
cleaner, (do not
use other cleaners, may leave a dull film
on the floor) but
do not saturate the floor with water.
· Do not use wax or polishes, they are not needed and will
stick to the
floor.
· Never use steel wool or scouring pads, they will damage
the floor.
Caring
For Your Vinyl Flooring
To ensure a proper seam bond, be sure not to disturb the sealed seams
for at least 16 hours after the seam sealer has been applied.
Permanent damage may result if sealer is disturbed before completely
dried.
Keep traffic to a minimum the first 48 hours to allow the adhesive to
harden.
Do not place furniture on the floor until the adhesive has had
adequate time to dry. Approximately 24 hours.
A good preventative measure to avoiding dirt, grit and soil from being
tracked onto your floor, is to place mats outside the entrances.
Dirt, grit and soil can be abrasive. They may dull or scratch your
floor. We recommend you use floor polish as part of your regular
maintenance.
To prevent permanent stains, wipe up spills immediately with a mop or
damp cloth.
Vinyl flooring can sunburn if exposed to sunlight for a long period of
time. During peak periods of strong sunlight, close your drapes and
blinds.
How to Treat Stains, Spills and Scuffs
Stains and Spills
· Acids, Alkalis
· Blood
· Catsup, Mustard
· Cleaners, Strong Soaps
· Dye, Dye Markings
· Food, Candy
· Fruit and Fruit Juices
· Grass
· Iodine, Mercurochrome
· Rust
· Urine, Excrement
Remedy
Treat stubborn stains by rubbing the area with a 10 to 1 dilution of
water to liquid bleach.
Paint and Solvent Spills
· Dry Cleaning Fluids
· Lacquer
· Latex Paints
· Nail Polish
· Solvents
· Oil-Based Paints
· Wood Stains
· Varnish
Remedy
· Blot up excess at once.
· Rub lightly with mineral spirits or paint thinner.
· If paint is dry, gently peel it from the floor.
· Clean area with cleaner.
Stains that wont wipe up
· Adhesives
· Asphalt
· Chewing Gum
· Oil
· Grease
· Candle Wax
· Tar
Remedy
· Remove excess with a dull kitchen knife.
· Rub lightly with lighter fluid on a clean cloth.
· Clean area with cleaner.
Scuffs and Smudges
· Rubber Heel Marks
· Shoe Polish
· Scuffs
· Smudges
Remedy
· Spray Cleaner on the scuff. Let stand for 10-15 seconds, then rinse with a
sponge or cloth.
· Using a damp sponge, rub scuffed area with a polishing cleanser, then
rinse with a sponge or cloth.
· Wipe scuff with lighter fluid applied with a clean cloth.
· Remove scuffs with a mechanical buffer equipped with a lamb's wool pad.
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You can also email pictures of your mold problems
in jpeg file format as email attachments. |
