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James C's Articles in Home Improvement Show All|Display Category|Title|Newest|Oldest Do You Know How To Vacuum? You are probably reading this and thinking, "Of course I know how to vacuum." After all, how hard is vacuuming. You turn your vacuum on and move it around the room. Simple, right? Well if you want to vacuum efficiently, it isn't quite that easy. This article will tell you how to vacuum your carpet properly so that you remove the maximum amount of soil. Improper Vacuuming Steam Carpet Cleaning Equipment Carpet steam cleaners use a variety of different carpet cleaning equipment. There are gas powered truck mounted machines, electric truck mounted machines and electric portable machines. This article will provide you with the basic differences between these machines. The first machine is a gas truck mount carpet cleaner. This is one of the most common machines used in the carpet cleaning industry. This machine uses either the trucks engine or a separate gas engine to drive a vacuum blower and water pump. These machines have the capacity to provide the greatest amount of vacuum and the highest heat. They are the preferred piece of steam cleaning equipment because of their power, speed and efficiency. With this machine, the cleaner only needs to bring 2 hoses into your home. This eliminates the need to bring bulky equipment into your hose and decreases noise in your home. Making Your Carpets Last Carpet is an extremely expensive investment to make. You can spend thousands of dollars to re-carpet even an average sized house. Besides money, you will also spend lots of time choosing the right kind of carpet and the perfect color but how much time have you spent to make sure that it lasts. This article contains a few tips to help you make your rugs last. The single most important thing you can do to make your carpeting last is vacuum it on a regular basis. This is also probably the most neglected step in carpet care. By vacuuming your carpet, you will be removing dangerous soil from your rugs. Soil that would otherwise wear and abrade the carpet fibers every time you step on it. If you do nothing else to increase your carpet life, vacuum. Cleaning Your Own Carpeting Cleaning your own carpet can be a great way to save money. If not done properly however you can end up with quite a mess. This article will give you some tips on using a carpet cleaning rental on your home's carpets. The first thing you need to do is find a good carpet cleaning machine. You can find them at most home improvement and grocery stores. Look for one in good condition that isn't too beat up or old. The older the machine, the weaker the vacuum and water pump probably is. Find a machine in good condition and also purchase the carpet cleaning shampoo that is sold with the machines. Do not even think about using dish soap or any other homemade concoction. Don't Get Taken By A Carpet Cleaner ethical people. Like every other profession on the planet though, there will be some bad apples. This article will give you the knowledge to identify theses bad apples and see through their carpet cleaning scams. The Scam Choosing A Vacuum Cleaner You see vacuum cleaners advertised everywhere. Every manufacturer claims that there's is the best. One claims that their filters don't clog, one say theirs is the lightest, another one is commercial quality and look that one can pick up a bowling ball. So how do you make your choice? Do you just buy the most expensive one that you can find? Read on and I will tell some things to consider when choosing a vacuum. First, lets look at the vacuums motor. The vacuum motor is of course a very important part of the vacuum. It is also the most confusing part. Many manufacturers will state the amp draw of the motor. This doesn't necessarily measure the power of the vacuum but instead the amount of electrical amps that it uses. If you can find information on the air watts or horsepower of the motor, you will get a much better idea of the power of the motor. If you can find that information, choose the one with the highest air wattage or horsepower. Removing Wax From Carpeting Candles do wonders for setting the mood on a romantic night or at a dinner party. But what happens when that wonderful romantic candle gets dumped over? You end up with a mess. Wax is a very difficult stain to remove but is not impossible. Read along and I will tell you how to take care of a wax stain. First, you need to gather the supplies that you will use. You will need a steam iron, a dull instrument (like a spoon) and several white terry cloth towels. Fill the iron with water and set it on the lowest steam setting. Now take your towels and soak them in water., Wring them out so they are just damp and you are ready to begin wax removal. The Different Methods Of Cleaning Carpet With the great variety of carpet cleaning methods out there, it can be hard to decide which method is best for you. In truth, they all work well but some have advantages over others. This article will go over the various different methods of carpet cleaning so that you can decide for yourself which method you like the best. Steam Cleaning The Importance Of Maintaining Your Air Conditioner The summer has finally hit and now you are spending more time indoors with the air conditioner on. You have the thermostat set on 75 degrees and are feeling pretty good until you realize that its getting hotter inside. Before you know it, it is 90 degrees in your house and you are calling the air conditioning repair company. Problem is that it is the busy season and they may not be able to get to you for a week. What a disaster. The sad thing is that this could have probably all been prevented with a little maintenance. To have a smooth running HVAC system, you need to have a program of regular maintenance. Before every cooling season, have an air conditioning service come check your system. It is usually a minimum charge and can save you hundreds of dollars by catching problems early. It will also prevent the aggravation of having no air conditioning. Painting Over Existing Wallpaper If you have ever removed wallpaper in the past you know that it can be a nightmare. It never simply peels off like it does on those home improvement shows. There are many products available to you to supposedly make it easier. You can buy special tools to score the wallpaper, wallpaper removal chemicals and even special scrapers. They help a little but usually do not work as well as advertised. Even a small room can take hours, even days to strip the wallpaper from. What choice do you have though, it must be done if you are going to paint that room. Well maybe not, you might just be able to paint over that wallpaper. If you decide you want to try to paint over wallpaper you must first make a careful examination of it. Look for areas that are coming loose, bubbling up or torn. All of these areas must be repaired if you are going to paint over it so if it is damaged in many areas, you should pull it down. If it is only damaged in a few areas, we can continue. Rat Infestations - How Do You Know If You Have A Problem? Rats, nothing will strike fear in a woman's heart (and many a man's heart) more than a rat in their home. It would seem like it would be easy to identify a rat problem but they can make themselves hard to detect. Sometimes you can not actually see the rats in your home. Even if you can not see them, there are several things that you can look for to identify a rat problem. The first sign of a rat problem is noise. Rats will make scratching noises that can easily be heard from within walls and attics. Listen for their scratching and rustling noises after dusk when rats are most active. Next, look for rat droppings. You can usually find droppings around food sources like pet dishes. The droppings will be small, capsule shaped, black and glossy. You should also look for rat burrows and nests. You will find burrows in gardens and under places like compost piles. Look for nests around boxes, inside of drawers and near wood piles. A couple of other signs of a rat infestation are grease marks along beams and rafters (caused by a rats greasy fur) and gnawing marks on boxes and wiring. If you have any of these signs, you probably have a rat problem and should contact a professional exterminator. Water Heater Tips And Tricks It's easy to forget about your water heater. It sits up in your attic or in your garage silently and reliably putting out hot water. It's easy to forget about it until something goes wrong. Water heaters are not as maintenance free as some people would like to believe. This article has some useful tips on keeping your water heater running well for some time to come. To lower the stress on your water heater and to lower your utility bills, set your thermostat at or around 120 degrees. Any more than that and you put extra pressure on the heater and take the chance of burns caused by scalding water. Many people outgrow their water heater and turn up the thermostat to provide more hot water. Instead, you should add a second heater or upgrade to a larger tank. Types Of Roofs Has it come time to replace that old roof? If it is, you have a choice to make. You can go with a boring old shingle roof or you could upgrade to a more durable or more attractive roof. Lets discuss your options. One popular choice for roof upgrades is slate. Slate makes for a very attractive roof that also offers excellent fire protection and a long life. There is just nothing like the look of a natural slate roof. It is a hard to install roof however and this does make it considerably more expensive than a standard asphalt shingle roof. How Often Should You Clean Your Carpet? If you want to extend the life of your carpeting, you need to clean it often. A dirty carpet contains soil and other debris that will wear your carpet's fibers. Every time you walk on your dirty carpet, you are grinding the soil into the fibers, permanently scratching and wearing them. A carpet cleaning will remove these damaging particles. But how often should you clean it? How often you clean your carpet depends on a number of different factors. You must consider how many people are in your home, if you have kids, if you have pets and whether or not smokers are in your home. For example, if you have a house with two adults, you should clean your carpet every six to twelve months. If those two people are smokers, you should clean it every four months. If you have children or pets in your home, you should clean it at least every 6 months and if you have kids and pets, you better make it every three months. Types Of Carpeting Carpeting can be made with a variety of different fibers. These fibers have different characteristics that will drastically effect the way the carpet performs. Read along to find out about the three most common types of fibers used in carpeting. The first material I will discuss is Olefin or Polypropylene. Olefin is generally a lower end carpeting but it does have several good qualities. For example, it absorbs very little moisture, less than 1%. This can make it hard to stain. Olefin is also usually solution died which means that the color runs all the way through the fiber and it can not be bleached. It unfortunately has many drawbacks as well. One of which is the fact that Olefin is a soft fiber. This may sound good, since everyone wants a nice soft carpet, but it is not. Olefin being soft, will crush and wear easily giving it a shorter life than other fibers. It also attracts grease like a magnet. Within a year or two an Olefin carpet will often develop dark traffic paths that are difficult or impossible to clean. Choose this type of carpet if you only need a carpet that lasts a few years or if you will be putting it into a rental. Repairing Loose Carpet When carpeting is installed in a home, it is stretched over your floor onto tack strips which secure it on the sides. Over time with general use and age your carpet will actually stretch out. This will often show itself as wrinkles and loose spots in your carpeting. So how do you repair these wrinkles, is there a way? Yes, to get rid of these unsightly wrinkles, you need to have your rugs professionally stretched. If your carpet is less than a few years old, you might actually have a labor warranty that will cover the stretching costs. Before you hire anyone, check to see if your carpet is still under this warranty. If not, you will have to pay for the charges out of pocket. Unfortunately stretching is not cheap because it involves quite a bit of work. The technicians will have to move all or most of your furniture out of a room, detach the carpet from the tack strip, cut off the excess carpet and then reattach it to the tack strips. This can take hours. Expect to pay around $3 to $4 per square yard for this service. That makes 900 square feet of carpet cost around $300 to $400 to stretch. Sound expensive? Well it is but it is better than the alternative. What Is Dry Powder Carpet Cleaning? You have many options when looking for a carpet cleaning method to use in your home. One of the options that is relatively new is the dry powder carpet cleaning method. It is a popular method but most people have no idea how it works or even if it works. This article will try to explain the process and the positive and negative characteristics of it. In this process of carpet cleaning, a semi moist power is spread onto the carpeting. The powder which is soaked in a detergent and/or solvent solution is usually either a corn cob based organic powder or a fully synthetic powder. This powder is agitated and worked into the carpet with either an orbital floor machine with a round plastic bristle brush or a machine with counter rotating plastic brushes. The theory behind this method is that the powder acts like thousands of little sponges scrubbing and absorbing dirt from the carpet as it is agitated. After the powder dries, in only a few minutes, the carpet is vacuumed to remove the sponges and the floor is ready to be used. How Much Does Carpet Cleaning Cost? If you have never had your carpet cleaned before, you might be a little in the dark as to what to expect. The fact that just about every carpet cleaning company has their own way of calculating cleaning prices doesn't help either. Prices for carpet cleaning vary greatly depending on the method, the level of service and your location. There are however two basic ways of figuring a cleaning cost. The first is by the room. This is probably the most popular method of pricing used by carpet cleaners. It allows carpet cleaning services to give consumers a fairly accurate price over the phone without the need to do an onsite estimate. The price should include pre-treatment and normal spotting. The cleaner will usually limit the room size to somewhere between 200 and 300 square feet. Any larger than that and you may be charged for two rooms. Is Olefin Carpeting Right For You? So your old carpeting is finally beyond the point of rescue and you have decided to replace it. Now you are faced with an endless supply of choices to choose from. How can you decide which type of carpet to replace it with? You have to consider all of the different options and choose the one that fits your needs the best. One choice is Olefin or Polypropylene. This article will give you some information on this carpet and the advantages and disadvantages to using it. Olefin carpet is the second most popular type of carpeting sold. Only Nylon carpet is more popular. It is used in both commercial and residential applications and is also commonly used to form artificial turf in sports fields. When Your Carpet Gets Flooded? It happens all of the time. You come home from work to find water running out of your garage or front door. You rush inside to find that your water heater tank has sprung a leak and your entire house is now flooded. As your couch floats by you begin to wonder what to do. This article will give you some information that you need to know if the unthinkable happens to you. Water heaters are just one source of flooded home. Other sources include broken pipes, broken ice maker lines, and clogged air conditioner drains to name a few. No matter what the source of the leak, there are steps that you need to take immediately to rectify the situation. 5 Quick Mopping Tips Mopping may not be the most fun job in the world but nothing can make as big of a difference in your home as a nice clean floor. A shining floor expresses the message that your house is clean. If you want a cleaner home or just want to get done with mopping quicker, read these 5 quick mopping tips. 1. Flip your mop over often to expose a clean side. If you use only one side you will have to rinse it more, wasting time. Carpeting Issues - Traffic Lane Gray The carpet in your home is subject to a lot of abuse. Because of that abuse and because of the characteristics of carpet it can develop a number of problems. One of those problems is Traffic Lane Gray. Traffic Lane Gray is a condition where the traffic lanes in a home start to look darker than the rest of the carpet. It is different from regular soiling because the darkness is not caused by soil but by scratched carpet fibers that no longer reflect as much light as the rest of the carpeting. So if you have had your carpets cleaned and the carpet still looks dark or gray in the traffic areas you probably have Traffic Lane Gray. Carpeting Issues - Filtration Lines Filtration soiling is a problem that affects many carpets. You can recognize filtration lines easily. They show themselves as dark lines around walls and underneath doors. In this article I will explain how these lines are formed and what can be done about them. Filtration lines form when your air conditioning and heating system blows air into your room. The air is blown into a room effectively pressurizing it. The air must go somewhere so it goes underneath walls and closed doors to equalize the rooms pressure. The carpet along this area acts as a filter. It traps the fine particles of dust and soot that are in the air. These fine particles are difficult if not impossible to remove. Smoke Detector Tips Smoke detectors serve an important role in your house. They are an important line of defense to protect your family from a devastating fire but they are only as good as the person who installed them and maintains them. Read this article for tips on maintaining and installing a home smoke detector. Smoke detectors should at a minimum be installed on every floor in your home. If possible, place one in each bedroom of your home. In case of a fire, sleepers may not hear a fire detector that is in a hallway. They will have no problem hearing one that is in the bedroom however. Carpeting Issues - Soot Lines Your homes carpets deal with abuse on a daily basis. They have damaging foot traffic, spills, pets and a host of other factors to deal with. One factor that is overlooked is the damage that can be caused by candles. It may sound strange but candles can do a great deal of damage to your carpeting. When you think about candle damage to carpet you probably think about a candle tipping over and burning the carpet or spilling wax on it. This would of course do a great deal of damage to a carpet but they can also harm your rugs in a far more subtle way. When a candle is burnt it produces smoke and soot. This soot when it cools will settle on your floors forming lines in your carpet around your walls and around furniture. This is essentially smoke damage and the damage can be irreversible. 5 Biggest Carpet Mistakes We all want our carpeting to last as long as possible. We do everything we can to make it last longer and look better but are some of these things hurting our carpet? Read along and learn the 5 biggest mistakes people make with their carpet. 1. Keeping your furniture in the same place. You need to move your furniture around to spread out the wear. If you keep it in the same place, the same strip of carpet is getting worn down all of the time. So try to rearrange your furniture at least once every 6 months. Ways To Save Money On Carpet Cleaning Is it time to have your carpet cleaned? If so, you might be wondering how much it is going to cost you. That depends on the cleaner and the method you use but there are several ways that you can save some money. Read along and you will get some easy tips to save money on your next cleaning. Move Furniture Many cleaners will give you a discount if you move the furniture out of your rooms in advance. Do not expect to receive a discount if you plan on moving the furniture when the cleaner is there. That doesn't save your cleaner any time and they will not give you a discount for it. What Color Carpet Should You Buy Deciding on a new carpet can be a big decision with big consequences. Choose the wrong one and you might end up with a carpet you hate for years or you may end up with a carpet that doesn't last long at all. One of the biggest factors to consider is carpet color. In this article I will give you a few tips on choosing the right color of carpeting. White Carpets White carpets are great at brightening up a dark room or making a small room seem larger. You can get away with white carpets if you do not have children or pets. They will show everything and are difficult to maintain in a room that gets a lot of traffic. So if you have a lot of traffic through your room, kids or pets, do not even consider white carpet. What Not To Do To Your Carpeting Carpet can be difficult to take care of. This is especially true if you have kids or pets constantly dirtying them up. This article will help you maintain your carpet by letting you know what not to do to them. The biggest mistake people make is not using the right chemicals on their carpet. The only thing you should use on your carpet is a spotter designed for carpeting. make sure that the bottle says that it is "safe for stain resistant carpet." This means that it will nor damage the carpeting. Do not use bathroom cleaners, bleach, regular dish soap or any other concoctions on your rugs. They can bleach your floors, leave way too much residue or even melt your carpet. Buying Paint For Your Home So you have decided on the perfect color for your walls. Great, so you are ready to go buy your paint but wait. how much should you buy? If you buy too little you will have to go back to the store and try to match the same color. If you buy too much you are just throwing money away. So how do you choose how much paint to buy? First you need to accurately measure your wall space. Multiply the length by the height of each wall and add those numbers together. If you will be painting the ceiling the same color you should multiply its length by width and add that to the total. Do that for all of the rooms that you will be painting and add the totals together. now multiply that number by 15%. The extra 15% accounts for waste, spillage and a little extra left for touchups. Do You Have A Carpenter Ant Problem? Carpenter Ants can cause a great deal of damage to your home. These large brown or black ants live mainly in wooded areas but from time to time might try to enter your home. This article will help you identify carpenter ants and help you prevent an infestation. There are many potential signs of an infestation that you can look out for. 1. Look for large winged ants. These are breeders and if you spot them, you probably have a colony nearby. 2. Examine your woodwork. Look for sawdust and small slits around and on your woodwork. This will show you where carpenter ant have been working. 3. Another sign of an infestation is clicking noises coming from your walls. The ants are so voracious that you can actually hear them working behind walls. it will sound like a quiet rustling noise. Clearing A Stopped Commode Its a horrible feeling. You flush the toilet and instead of going down, you start seeing the water level rise. In a frenzy you rush to turn the water shut off valve off if you know where it is. Hopefully you have managed to get the water off before the bowl completely overflows onto your floor. If not, you have quite a mess to clean up. But after the water stops and you clean up the mess do you know how to clear the clog? This article will give you some tips. If you have a small clog in your toilet it will be quite easy to clear. You can usually take care of it with just a basic plunger. Every home should have a plunger so if you do not have one, go to the store and buy a good plunger. If the bowl is full to the rim you will need to empty it slightly to avoid splashes. Now insert the plunger into the bowl and position it in the center. Push down slowly and smoothly. Do this several times and the clog should disappear. If it does not, you may have a more severe clog. 5 Quick Roofing Contractor Tips Your roof is one of the most important yet neglected parts of your home. You don't usually think about your roof until it starts to leak or gets damaged. If it is time to have your roof replaced read these 5 quick tips to help you with your roofing project. 1. Get a written contract. Get everything in writing before your roofer begins work so that there are no surprises. The bid should be detailed giving you prices for labor, materials, etc. Do Chair Mats Protect Your Carpeting? It is a pretty common sight in a home office. You have a rolling chair on top of a chair mat. The mat is there to keep your carpet safe from the damage that the chairs rollers can cause. But do they do more harm than good? There is no question that rolling chairs can quickly wear out your carpet. Because of that you should never place a rolling chair onto your carpeting. They should only be used on a hard surface. To solve this problem most people buy a floor protector which is basically a sheet of plastic that you lay on the floor to protect it. They do protect the floor from the damage of the chair but they also cause an entirely new problem. For starters the carpet underneath the mat is protected to the point that it does not wear at all. When you go to move the mat you have a new piece of carpet surrounded by worn carpeting. Cleaning will help but chances are that the carpet will never match again. Another problem they can cause is yellowing. Because the mat does not allow air to pass through it can trap gasses underneath the mat. These gases which are produced when new carpeting and padding off gas can actually turn your carpet yellow. Protect Your Carpeting From Dents I'm sure it sounds weird. Denting your carpet. How do you dent a soft textile material like carpeting. Well it can be done. Learn how it happens and how to prevent it in this article. The backing of the carpet is much more rigid than the plush surface that we walk on. This layer of latex can be easily dented by heavy furniture that lays on it for a long period of time. Furniture such as pianos, wardrobes and large entertainment centers can leave permanent dents in your carpet. Over time these dents may improve if you move the furniture but they will likely never come out all of the way. So how do you prevent these dents. Cleaning Mud From Your Carpeting Mud stains. Sooner or later you will get them on your carpet. Either your dog will come barreling into your home after playing in a muddy backyard or your kids will forget to take their shoes off before entering your house on a rainy day. Don't panic though. Mud is one of the easier stains for you to remove. The worst thing you can do is grab spotter and try to clean up the mud stain right away. All this does is spread the stain and allow it to penetrate deep into your carpeting. So resist the urge to go straight for the spotter. So what should you do? Why Do Spots Keep Coming Back In My Carpeting? Do you have one of those spots on your carpet that just won't go away? You clean it again and again and in a day or two it just comes right back. Would you like to know what is causing it and how to treat it? I'm sure you would so read on and find out what is behind that mystery spot. The reason that a spot comes back is because of residue. Some kind of residue is on your carpet causing soil to be attracted to and stick to the carpet. It might be caused by that can of Sprite that you spilt a few months ago or the soap from that carpet spotter that you used. There are various kinds of residue that could be on your carpet. They all do the same thing though. They slowly attract and hold soil. Because they do it gradually you don't notice it until it gets bad. Barber Carpeting Pros And Cons Berber carpeting is carpet with a continuous loop. Unlike cut pile carpet one carpet yarn will run from one end to the other. Traditionally it was a hand woven wool carpet but today it is machine made and can be made from any material from Olefin to Nylon. It has become a very popular carpet but is it right for you. The benefit of Berber carpet is that it is somewhat resistant to foot traffic. The loop makes it resist crushing and it doesn't show vacuum marks or foot steps like a cut pile carpet. It is great for those who like a clean look to their flooring. Another benefit of Berber is that it can hide soil very well if you choose a speckled pattern. With this pattern any spots you get on the carpet will tend to blend in with the pattern. Preventing A Crabgrass Problem If you take pride in your lawn you probably spend a lot of time taking care of it. You provide it with the right fertilizer several times a year. You water it regularly and keep it meticulously manicured. But what do you do when crabgrass enters your lawn? This article will give you some tips on controlling a crabgrass problem. There are two main ways to control crabgrass. You can use natural ways and chemical methods. The best way to control them would be a combination of both methods. 5 Time Saving Cleaning Tips No one likes to clean their home but it is a job that must be done. Would you like to clean your home quicker and better? If so you should read this article and get some time saving cleaning tips. 1. After eating you should rinse your dishes off as soon as possible. You don't have to wash them if you do not want to but at least rinse them off. This will remove food before it can harden. There is nothing harder to clean than a plate with 2 day old food crusted to it. 5 Ways To Make Your Furniture Last Your home furnishings are an expensive investment that I am sure you would like to protect. They are usually one of the most neglected items in a home. This article will give you some 5 tips to help you protect your home furnishings. 1. The most important thing you can do is vacuum your furniture. Most people never vacuum their couch cushions and upholstery but it is very important. Dirt is an abrasive and will wear your upholstery. Choosing A Quality Carpeting Cleaner. Is it time to have your carpet cleaned? If so, you might be wondering how you are going to choose a good company. It can be difficult especially when you consider that the market has become oversaturated with carpet cleaners. Having been in the carpet and upholstery cleaning industry for a dozen years i can give you a few pointers. The first thing that you need to be careful of is low priced cleaners. If a price seems to good to be true it probably is. We have all seen the ads with prices ranging from $5 to $10 per room. Carpet cleaners can not stay in business offering those prices. The prices they advertise are just to get them into your home. Once there they will charge extra for everything. They will charge for basic pre-spray, they will charge for basic spotting, for pet treatments, etc. They will make it seem like you have to pay for these extras or else your carpet will be ruined. Before you know it your bill will have gone from $50 to $300 or more. Don't be fooled. Should I Have Carpeting Protector Applied? You have ordered a carpet cleaning from a local carpet cleaner and they are now in your home. They give you the price for the carpet cleaning and then ask you if you would like to have carpet protector applied. Is it worth it? Will your carpet be ruined without it? Read on and I will give you some information that you can use to make an educated decision on whether or not to have protection applied. The first thing you should know is what protector does for you. A big misconception that people have is that protector will keep your carpets from getting dirty. This is just not true. While it might help keep your carpets clean slightly longer, the main benefit of protectors is that they keep spills from sinking deep into the carpet fiber. They seal your carpet fibers so that spots dry on the surface where they can easily be cleaned off later. It is like wax on a car. It gives you a barrier between the soil and your carpet fibers so that they do not stain as easily. What To Look For In A Carpet Cleaner. So it's time to have your carpets or upholstery cleaned. Do you know how to find a good carpet cleaning company? You could just roll the dice and pick any cleaner in the phone book but that can be risky. You need to be careful with who you invite into your home. After reading this article you should have a good idea about how to choose a quality carpet cleaner. To find a good carpet cleaner you need to do some research. There are questions that you can ask that can limit you risk. The first question you should ask is how long the company has been in business. There are good companies who might have just started but for the most part you should try to find a company that has been in business for at least a couple of years. If they are still in business after a few years then they must be doing something right. Another question to ask is if they are insured and bonded. It is important to make sure that the company is insured so that your property is protected in case of an accident. Bonding is important because it means that the companies employees have been screened and that they have clean criminal records. The last question that you should ask is what is included in the service. The cleaning price should be all inclusive so that there are no surprises. Make sure that they include vacuuming, pre-spraying and basic spotting in the cleaning price. It is okay for them to charge extra for things like furniture moving, specialty spotting like ink removal and carpet protection. Reasons To Choose Carpeting Over Wood Floors Wood floors are becoming increasingly popular as a choice for flooring. Before you choose to have wood floors installed you should think your decision through. Read this article and learn why you should choose carpeting over wood floors. The first thing you should consider is how long you will be in your home. If you are not going to be in your home for more than a year or two you should save your money. wood floors are expensive and you will never recoup the expenses with the increased value to the home. Three Obscure Things That Can Damage Your Carpets Carpet is an expensive investment and you want to make sure that it lasts as long as possible. This article will give you three things that can damage your carpeting. These are things that you probably would not think about. The first thing that can damage your carpets is house plants. You should try to avoid placing plants on carpeting. If you do have to place them on carpets make sure that they have a good drain pan underneath them. What can happen is when you water the plant it could overflow. The water that overflows is rich in Nitrogen from the potting soil and it can chemically burn your carpeting. This will leave a permanent stain. So if you must put your plant on the carpet try not to over water them and make sure you have a good pan under them. Protecting Your Upholstery You spend quite a bit of money on your homes upholstery. Don't you want to make it last? Of course you do, so you need to read this article and learn some simple things that you can do to increase the life of your upholstered furniture. The first thing you should do is vacuum your furniture often. This is perhaps the single most important thing you can do and perhaps the most neglected maintenance step. Vacuuming will remove the soil that can wear down your upholstery. Try to vacuum your upholstery once a week. Carpet Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning, Carpets Anyone who owns carpeting knows that it can be difficult to maintain. The time spent is well worth it however given the high cost of replacement. In this article learn four quick carpet care tips. Tip number one is to vacuum your carpets often. This is the most important step in carpet care. Try to vacuum at least twice a week if possible. This will remove the soils in your carpet that cause it to wear out prematurely. Tips On The Use Of Dry Carpet Cleaning Rentals Many people have turned to dry carpet cleaning to clean their carpets. It offers many advantages to steam cleaning. It dries much faster and is less prone to stains wicking back. One way in which you can have your carpets dry cleaned is to rent a dry cleaning machine. Learn about this process and learn how to successfully clean your carpets the dry way. The first step is to rent the dry cleaning machine. Look in your phone book or do an online search for "Host Dry Cleaning". You should easily find a store where you can rent the machine. It is a small machine with counter rotating nylon brushes. You will also need to pick up a bottle of pre-clean and a box of absorbent sponges. It should run you around $60 for the machine rental and supplies. Living With Dogs And Carpeting If you have dogs and carpeting you know how difficult it can be to live with both. They seem to do everything possible to destroy your carpet. In this article you will learn a few tips to help keep your carpet in good shape when you have dogs. The first tip I have for you is to keep your pet clean. I'm sure most of you give your pets baths often but you might not be doing it often enough. Dogs, especially sporting breeds, produce quite a bit of body oil. By bathing them often you will reduce the amount of oil that gets transferred to your carpeting. Once it gets on your carpet it often manifests itself as dark areas where the pets lie. Clean them often to reduce this problem. Tips On Living With Kids And Carpet If you have kids you probably know how difficult it can be to live with them and carpeting. They probably seem intent on destroying it. This article will give you some tips on how to live with kids and carpet. First you should be prepared at all times for accidents. Keep some white terry cloth towels and a good bottle of carpet spot remover handy. The longer a stain sits, the harder it will be to remove so be ready to go into action at any time. If a spill happens, first blot up as much of the stain as possible. After you have blotted up as much as you can you can go to the spotter. Four Quick Carpet Don'ts Carpet is an expensive investment that must be taken care of. It is not that hard if you follow a few rules. In this article you will find four quick don'ts of carpet care. The first don't is don't drag furniture across carpeting. Dragging furniture across carpet can leave burn marks from the friction. If you have Berber carpet you could also snag a fiber and cause a run. So lift furniture when you move it instead of dragging it. Dealing With Pet Stains On Carpeting If you have pets you will probably at some point have to deal with pet stains on carpeting. They can be difficult to remove but they are just part of life when you have a pet. This article will give you some advice to help you treat and hopeful remove pet stains. If your pet has an accident on the carpet the first thing you must do is remove as much of the material as possible. This is easy if you are dealing with feces. just pick it up. If your pet has urinated on the carpet you should blot it up with dye free paper towels. Blot up as much as you can and then place a stack of paper towels on the spot and place a weight on to p of the towels. Let is sit for a few hours to give the liquid time to wick up into the towels. Change the towel often if necessary. Home Steam Cleaners - Are They Any Good? The home steam cleaner market has completely exploded. If you go to your local home improvement store you will see a dozen different home steam cleaners. But are they worth the money or will they become just a waste of space? Read this article and find out. Home steam cleaners can be worth the money if you put them to the right use. They are generally advertised as being the cure all for your carpeting. The makers would like you to think that you will never need to hire a carpet cleaning company again. This couldn't/t be more wrong. Just ask anyone who has ever tried to clean their entire home with one. They will tell you that it took them nearly all day and the cleaner lacked the power to extract deeply embedded soil. Nothing replaces a professional carpet cleaning Removing Chewing Gum From Carpeting As you probably already know carpet can be difficult to own. When it gets soiled it is not always as easy to clean as just wiping it with a cloth. Some stains and spots require different spotting techniques. one of those spots is chewing gum. Chewing gum can wind up in your carpet many different ways. Usually you or your children step on it outside and then track it into the home where it gets stuck and embedded in the carpet fibers. The best way to deal with chewing gum is to of course never get it on your carpe in the first place. As they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. make your kids take off their shoes before walking on the carpet after playing and use door mats ate every entrance. Removing Ballpoint Pen Ink From Carpeting There is nothing worse than staining your carpet. One of the worst stains is ink. Ink is extremely difficult to remove but is not impossible. Learn how to remove ballpoint pen ink from your carpet in this article. The first step in removing the ink is to try to blot up as much of the ink as possible. Using a dry dye free paper towel blot the spot. Work from the outside in so that you do not spread the ink any further. Keep dabbing gently until no more of the ink will transfer to the paper towel. Now it is time to apply some isopropyl alcohol. Apply the alcohol to a clean paper towel and gently dab the spot. Once again remember to work from the outside in so that you do not spread the ink. Be careful not to apply too much alcohol and be careful not to let the alcohol penetrate the backing of the carpet as it could harm the backing. Keep gently dabbing the spot until no more ink transfers to the paper towel. If the spot is gone you should stack a few paper towels on the spot and place a clean weight on it so that any remaining residue will wick out of the carpet. Removing Coffee Stains From Carpet If you have ever spilt coffee on your carpet you know how difficult it can be to remove. It is definitely one of the toughest stains to take care of. Read this article and get some tips on removing coffee stains. The first thing that you need to do is don't panic. It will be okay. Get some dye free paper towels and place them on the spot. Blot up as much as possible. Now take a stack of paper towels and place them over the stain. Put a weight on top of the towels and let the rest of the coffee wick up into the towels. Replace the towels when they become soaked. Once you have removed as much of the coffee as possible you are ready for step two. Using your favorite carpet spot remover spray the spot and blot up any remaining coffee. Repeat until no more coffee transfers to your towel. Now it is time for step three. In a spray bottle mix up a solution of 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water. Spray the spot, let the solution dwell for a minute and blot up. The vinegar solution will neutralize the spotter and help reverse any browning caused by the coffee. When you are finished place another stack of paper towels on the spot and place a weight on top of them. This will absorb any remaining liquid. Carpet Stain Removal - Butter Carpets represent a significant investment in our homes. That is why you must take care to deal with spots as they occur. Butter is a stain that poses a difficult challenge. You must use caution to remove as much of the material as possible or you might leave a soil attracting residue. Learn how to deal with butter stains in this article. The first thing you need to do is gather your tools. You will need dye free paper towels, a bottle of your favorite carpet spot cleaner, a citrus spotter and a solution of 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water mixed in a spray bottle. First you want to remove as much solid material as possible with a dull spoon. Next spray the spot with your citrus spotter. Let it dwell a second and then blot it up with your paper towel. Make sure you blot, do not rub or you risk damaging the carpet. When no more butter transfers to your towel you should move on to the next step. Spray the spot with your favorite carpet spotter. Let it dwell a second and then blot it out. Repeat a few times to remove as much greasy residue as possible. The next step is to spray the spot with your vinegar solution. Spray the area, let it dwell a second and then blot it up with your towel. Repeat a couple of times. This step is to remove the residue from your spot cleaners. Finally the last step is to place a stack of towels on the spot with a weight on top. This will allow any remaining material to wick into the towels and out of the carpet. Replace the towels as they become soaked. How To Buy A Vacuum Cleaner Are you in the market for a new vacuum cleaner? If you are then you have probably noticed that there are hundreds of vacuums to choose from. So how do you choose the right one? You might think that you need to spend hundreds of dollars to get a good one but this is not true. This article will give you some tips on what to look for to get the best vacuum at the best price. The first thing you should look at is the overall design of the vacuum. If it looks flimsy and poorly constructed then it is probably a piece of junk. Choose vacuums that are well designed and solidly constructed. This means that they will probably last you longer. Top Five Reasons To Have Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned Cleaning is important if you want your carpet to last. Regular cleanings remove the harmful soil that can wear down your carpet fibers. When it comes time to clean your carpet you can either turn to a professional or do it yourself. Learn why you should hire a professional. The first reason is time. Do you honestly have the time to clean your carpets? With a rental machine it would take you all day to clean your carpeting. A professional with professional equipment can do it in a few hours. How To Judge A Carpet Cleaning Company Like every other industry carpet cleaning has its share of good and bad companies. The question you may be asking yourself is , how can you judge whether a company is good or bad? It can be a difficult task but this article will give you some advice on how you can judge the character of a carpet cleaning company. The first thing you should do is check the company out with the better business bureau. This does not mean that the company has to be a member. Being a member of the BBB just means that they have paid them dues so that they can use the BBB logo in advertising. Check to see if they have had any complaints and if so check to see if the complaints have been resolved. Carpet Stain Removal - Cat Vomit Cat owners know that cats can be a real pain to clean up after at times. They knock things over, leave hair everywhere and often vomit up fur balls on your carpet. Even if you only have one room of carpet in your home they will find a way to make that room their favorite place to vomit. This article will give you some advice on cleaning cat vomit from your carpets so that you can get back to enjoying your pet. The first thing you need to do is clean up as much of the material from the surface as possible. Using dye free paper towels, scoop up any material you can and then blot up any remaining liquid. Next try using a damp cloth on the spot. Do not use any cleaner at this time. First try just plain water. You will be surprised at what plain water can do. Gently blot the spot , do not rub, until the stain is gone or until no more of the stain transfers. If the stain is still present you can now use a bottle of your favorite stain remover. Spray the cleaner on a rag or paper towel and gently dab the spot until the stain is gone or no more color transfers to the towel. Once again be sure to dab the spot and do not rub it. Lastly spray a mixture of 1 part white distilled vinegar to 2 parts water on the spot to neutralize the spot cleaner. Let it sit for a few seconds and then blot the solution up with a rag or paper towel. Why Should I Have My Carpet Cleaned? Carpet cleaning is like going to the dentist. You know that you need to go but you keep putting it off. Carpet cleaning is easy to put off. This article will give you some reasons why you should have your carpet cleaned. The first reason is because of the appearance. Clean floors make everything look better. When you have company over do you want them to look at a dirty and stained floor or a clean rug? Of course you want a clean floor. A clean floor shows people that you care about your home and take pride in its appearance. Carpet Stain Removal - Red Dye If you have ever gotten a red dye stain on a carpet you know that they can be extremely difficult to remove. They might even seem impossible to remove. In this article you will learn how to deal with red dye stains. The first step in red dye removal is to try a basic spotter. Get a bottle of your favorite general spotter and a white terry cloth towel. Spray the solution on the rag and dab it on the spot. Keep dabbing the spot until all of the stain is removed or until no more red dye transfers to the towel. Remember not to scrub as this could damage the carpet pile. If the spot is gone, consider yourself lucky. If it is still present resist the urge to play chemist and do not use any other products. The more you unsuccessful attempts you make at cleaning the spot, the harder it will be to remove. Reasons To Buy Carpet Sliders Carpet sliders. More than likely you have never heard of them but they can make your life much easier if you have carpeting. Learn what they do and how they can help you maintain your carpet. Carpet sliders are hard plastic discs that you place under the legs of your furniture. One side has a rubber surface that is designed to grip your furniture. The other side is smooth plastic designed to reduce friction. After you place them under your furniture legs you will be able to easily slide your furniture over your carpet. Even a small child can push a couch around with furniture sliders. Holiday Carpet Dangers To Watch Out For Carpet has it tough. It is subject to a lot of abuse during its life. This is particularly true during the holiday season. Learn about the dangers that your carpet faces during the holidays and ways to protect your rugs. The first and the most obvious danger is from spills. People are walking around with food and drinks during the holidays. They will inevitably end up on your carpet especially if you serve alcoholic drinks. You may not be able to stop people from eating and drinking but you can be prepared for accidents. Keep a bottle of spotter and rags handy in case of an emergency. Removing Puppy Odor From Carpet If you have ever had a puppy you know that they will probably at some point leave their mark on your carpets. If you have gone through puppy training, this article will give you some tips on removing stubborn dog urine odor from your carpets. For step one you will need some terry cloth towels, a spray bottle and white distilled vinegar. Mix a solution of 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water in the spray bottle. Now spray the spot with the solution. Spray just enough to lightly soak the carpet but not so much that you soak the pad underneath. Let the vinegar solution sit for a few seconds and then blot it up with your towel. Repeat this process until no more puppy urine soaks into the towel. When you are done, place a towel on the spot and put a weight on top of it. This will allow any remaining liquid to wick out of the carpet. Replace the towel if it becomes saturated. Let your carpet completely dry before doing anything else. Carpet Stain Removal - Filtration Lines Filtration lines are a common problem in homes today. They are also very difficult to remove. In this article you will learn what they are, how to treat them and how to prevent them. First lets talk about what filtration lines are. Filtration lines are dark lines that appear around walls and underneath doors. They form when you HVAC system is blowing air into the room. To equalize the pressure caused by the system air rushes underneath walls and under doors. The carpet in this area acts as a filter trapping fine particles of dust and soot. This manifests itself as a dark line. Choosing A Color Of Carpet When it is time to consider which color of carpet to use there are many factors to consider. In this article you will learn about the pros and cons of carpet colors. Lets start with light colors such as white or off white. People are often tempted to purchase white carpet because it makes rooms look bigger and brighter. This is of course true, it will make a small dark room seem brighter and bigger. The problem with light carpet is that it shows everything. Because of that fact it is best left for rooms that are seldom used or for homes that do not have kids or pets. Quick Upholstery Care Tips Upholstered furniture can be difficult to maintain. In this article you will learn a few quick tips that will help you care for it. The first tip that is often overlooked is to vacuum the furniture often. Most people never vacuum their furniture. Doing so will remove the abrasive soil that builds up on the surface. Try to vacuum your upholstered furnishings at least once every two weeks. Carpet Stain Removal - Milk Taking care of your carpet can be quite difficult. If you have small kids or babies you might find yourself with a difficult milk stain to remove. In this article you will learn about removing the stain and all the associated problems with milk. The problem with milk is that you need to get out all of the material. If you fail to remove all of the material you might end up with an odor problem later on. There is nothing worse than the odor of spoiled month old milk. The first thing you need to do is get a neutral detergent like Joy or Dawn. Mix a teaspoon of the detergent with 2 cups of warm water. Put the mixture into a hand spray bottle and lightly mist the area. Blot up the solution with a clean white towel. Repeat this process several times until you are sure no material is transferring. Be sure to not over saturate the spot. Next you should make another mixture of a tablespoon of ammonia to one cup of water. Mix it into a sprayer and mist the area. Blot up the solution and repeat. Finally blot the spot with plain water to rinse as much residue out as possible. Let the area dry thoroughly before putting the carpet back to use. Carpet Stain Removal - Ketchup (catsup) Have you spilt ketchup on your carpet? The red stain on your carpet might seem hopeless but it is not. The trick is to act fast so that the stain does not become permanent. Read this article on learn how to properly clean the stain from your carpet. For this process you will need a solution of 1 teaspoon neutral detergent and 2 cups water in a spray bottle. A solution of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water in a spray bottle and plenty of clean white terry clothe towels. First you want to remove as much of the ketchup as possible. Scrape or blot up the ketchup being careful not to spread it. Now using your detergent mixture, spray the solution on a clean towel and dab the spot gently. Work from the outside in so as not to spread the stain. Repeat this process until no more material remains or until the stain stops transferring to the towel. Next spray the area lightly with the vinegar solution. Let it dwell for a few seconds and then blot it up with a clean towel. Repeat this process to remove as much residue as possible from the carpeting. Now let the area dry thoroughly before putting it back to use and you are done. Carpet Stain Removal - Water Stains Water stains can come from a variety of sources. Perhaps you spilt a liquid on your carpet or maybe you had some kind of a water leak. Make sure that you first determine the source of the water leak to make sure this problem does not occur again. After you have determined and remedied the source of the water stain you can remove it. First you need to remove any soil from the stain. To do this you will use a solution of 1 teaspoon water to 2 cups of water. Using a clean dry white cloth you will dab the spot until no more soil transfers to the rag. Work from the outside to the inside so as not to spread the soil and do not rub the spot as this could wear the carpet fibers. Can Carpet Spotters Damage Your Carpet Carpet spot cleaners are very popular. You will find a great variety to choose from at a grocery store. Can they harm your carpet? The answer to this is yes, they can. Continue reading to learn how spotters can damage your carpet and how to prevent the damage. One way spotters can harm your carpet is by being too strong. A cleaner that is too strong can strip the protector off of the carpet or it could even react with it causing your carpet to irreversibly change color. To make sure that the cleaner is not too strong you should do two things. Make sure that the spotter says that it is safe for stain resistant carpet. This means that it has a PH less than 10 and is generally safe. Also test the spotter in an inconspicuous area like a closet for color loss or color change. Reasons To Buy Carpeting Over Tile If you are looking to change the flooring in your home and are considering choosing tile you should read this article. It will give you some reasons why you should choose carpet over tile. Even though carpet may not be for everyone you should read on and see if it is for you. The first reason to choose carpet is because it is much cheaper. Installation costs are what really kills you with tile. You can carpet the same size area for much cheaper. Carpet Stain Removal - Graphite Have you managed to get graphite on your carpeting? You must have if you are reading this. Graphite is a common lubricant used in such places as door hinges. It can be difficult to remove due to its tendency to spread easily. Learn how to remove graphite from your carpet by reading this article. The first step to remove graphite is to thoroughly vacuum the area. Do not make the mistake of just running your vacuum over the spot. This will simply spread it around. Use the vacuum hose only with no additional application. Why Not To Clean Your Carpet Yourself If it is time to have your carpet cleaned a thought might cross your mind. Should I clean it myself? We have all seen the rental machines available at almost every grocery or home improvement store. It sounds easy enough right? This article will give you some reasons why you should not do it yourself and why you should hire a professional cleaner. There are many reasons why you should hire a professional carpet cleaner. For starters, the equipment that a professional will use is far more sophisticated than what you can rent for $20 at the store. A steam cleaners equipment can cost thousands and thousands of dollars and will produce more heat and will be able to extract much more of the water out of your carpet. This means that your carpet will be left drier and with less soil attracting residue. Professionals will also have access to several different dry cleaning methods which are not available for rent. This means that if you hire a professional you can have your carpets dry in under an hour instead of in a day or two. Another reason to hire a professional is that they will have years of experience. Experience can not be replaced. They will know what you can and what you can't put on carpeting. Someone who is not in the industry can easily ruin a carpet by using the wrong chemicals. A professional will also have specialty spotters which will allow them to remove far more stains than you can with a rental. Finally, the last reason that I will mention is that a professional will get the job done much quicker. How much is your time worth? A pro can clean your carpet in 2 hours when it might take you all day to clean it with a slow and cumbersome rental machine. Tips For Controlling Dust Dust, we can never seem to get rid of it completely can we. It is constantly being produced by us and brought into our homes as we come and go. There are things you can do to help you control dust however. Keep reading this article to learn some tips to help keep dust away longer. The first thing you need to do is keep dirt and dust from entering your home as much as possible. Have a good track off mat at your front door both on the outside and on the inside. This will help trap soil before it gets into your home. If possible, make people take there shoes off when they enter your home. Things To Consider When Renting A Moving Truck When you are moving you have two choices. You can hire a mover or you can do it yourself. If you have decided to do it yourself you will have to rent a moving truck. There are many things to consider when renting a truck. Keep reading this article and get some tips on renting and using a truck to move. The first thing you need to do when renting a truck is make reservations early and confirm them. You should make your reservation for a truck as early as possible or at least one month before your move. Then you should confirm this reservation the week before your move. Reservations do get mysteriously lost, do not let that happen to you. Quick Tips To Protect Your Carpet Residential carpet is constantly under attack from all angles. It might seem impossible to keep it clean, especially if you have kids or pets in your home. Read this article to learn about some of the things that you do not think about that might be damaging or soiling your carpet. One thing that can cause a great deal of soiling in your carpets is smoke. This can come from a variety of sources. The most obvious source is cigarette smoke but you can also have problems with smoke from fireplaces, poorly adjusted gas heating systems or candles. To prevent problems try not smoking in your home, check your fireplace for proper operation, have your homes HVAC system checked regularly and limit candle burning in your home. Choosing The Right Fence For You When it is time for a new fence you have many choices to choose from. Choosing the right fence is very important if you want one that will last for years to come. Read this article and learn about the different types of fences that are available. The first type of fence and perhaps the most common is the common plank style privacy fence. You can find these fences in heights up to 8 feet and they have many advantages. For example they are affordable and they offer a great deal of privacy compared to other fences. The downside to these fences is that they are vulnerable to wind, insects and rot. To extend the life you can get them made with cedar or even vinyl and with posts made from metal. Tips On Painting Your Homes Exterior Painting your homes exterior can be a very big job. If you have decided to take on this project yourself there are many important steps that you should not skip. Keep reading to get some tips on exterior house painting that will give you a professional quality job that will last for years. The first step in any painting job is preparation. The surface to be painted needs to be thoroughly cleaned before any paint is applied. Painting over dirt will just assure that your finish will not last very long. Rent a power washer and use it to clean off chipped paint, bugs, dirt and deteriorated paint. After you have finished washing your homes exterior you then need to give it ample time to dry. Plan to paint the next day. Pest Control - Brown Recluse Spiders If you live in one of the areas in the country that is home to the Brown Recluse Spider you have probably heard stories about what this little spider can do. It is a very dangerous insect that you do not want to have anywhere near you. Keep reading this article and learn a little bit more about this spider to help you protect yourself. The Brown Recluse is a very interesting insect with a fearsome reputation. This spider gets its name from is brown color and its reclusive behavior. It is a small spider at only about 3/8 of an inch in length with a violin shaped dark mark on its body. It prefers to stay in areas that are seldom disturbed and that are protected. In nature you will find it in holes in trees, under logs and other undisturbed areas. In your home it will also seek areas that offer protection like corners of closets, inside clothing or even in bed sheets. The Brown Recluse lives primarily in the South and Midwest but they can venture out of this area when transported in furniture or packing boxes. Because of its reclusive nature it is not a very aggressive spider and will only bite when threatened. Unfortunately if it chooses a hiding place in clothing or in your bed it will feel threatened when you put the clothing on or roll over onto it. Once bitten the venom will cause the skin to slough off in the area of the bite. This leaves a wound that is hard to heal and will usually result in a scar. Most bites are not lethal but can be quite painful. If you think you have been bitten by a brown recluse you should consult a doctor. To identify an infestation you can look for several things. You can look for the spiders white irregular webs, egg sacs and of course the live spiders themselves. Questions To Ask Your Plumber Hiring a plumber is not as easy as just picking up a phone book and picking one. You need to make sure that you get a qualified plumbing contractor and not some hack. To increase your odds of choosing a good plumber there are some questions that you should ask. Keep reading this article to learn what those questions are. The first question that you should ask is, "How long have you been a plumber?" This is an important question because if a plumber has been in business for a long time they are more likely to be good. Every plumber has to get started at some time though so If they haven't been in business long you shouldn't automatically rule them out. Just take it into consideration. Frequently Asked Roofing Questions Roofs are a big concern for homeowners. It is one of the most important parts of your home providing you with shelter from the rain and helloing to regulate the temperature of your home. Read this article and learn the answers to some of the most common roof questions. How often should I have my gutters cleaned? You should clean them at least twice a year. If you have many trees in the area of your home you should clean them 3 to 4 times a year. Three Things You Can Do To Save Your Carpet Carpet is an extremely expensive investment. It can easily cost thousands of dollars to replace a worn out and stained carpet. Because of the high cost of replacement you should do everything you can to try and make it last as long as possible. In this article I will give you three easy things that you can do to help save your homes carpet. The first and the biggest thing you can do is to vacuum your carpet. Vacuuming removes abrasive soil from your carpet and rugs. This abrasive soil is what does the most damage to your carpet. Every time you walk on it you are actually grinding it into your carpet wearing your carpet down. Vacuum your carpet at least once a week but preferably twice a week. When you do vacuum make the most of it by going slowly and making sure that your vacuum is in good working order. All About Berber Carpet Berber carpet has become increasingly popular over the years. It has many benefits and is a great choice in carpet. Keep reading and learn a little about this style of carpet. Why is Berber so popular? One of the reasons that Berber is so popular because it is a very durable appearance. With its loop style of construction it holds up well to wear and has a rugged appearance. Because of its rigidity it has the benefit of not showing footprints. Many people love this feature which allows you to keep your rooms appearing more formal and together. Durability is the main benefit of Berber but all Berber is not the same. Cost Of Carpet Cleaning Carpet cleaning is considered a luxury service but it is a luxury service that most people can afford. But how much should a carpet cleaning cost? You might not know what a reasonable price is. Read this article and get some information on carpet cleaning costs. Carpet cleaning costs can vary quite a bit depending on what part of the country you live in and the level of service you require. If you live in a city where operating expenses would be higher for a company the price for the cleaning would be greater. If the company provides full service like baseboard cleaning, extensive furniture moving, etc the cost will be more. Carpet cleaning costs for the average five room house would start at around $99 and can go up to $300. It really depends on how bad your carpets are and the level of service that you are asking for. Do not expect for your carpets to be vacuumed or lots of furniture moving for that $99 cost. Also you should expect a great service if you are paying closer to the $300 range and something in between for a moderate price. Saving Money On Carpet Cleaning Carpet cleaning is very necessary if you want to extend the life of your carpets. When you consider how much cleaning costs compared to the cost of new carpeting it is a worthy expense. You still however might want to find ways to cut the price of carpet cleaning. Keep reading and learn a few tricks. The easiest way to save money on carpet cleaning is to do it yourself with a rental machine but this is not advised. Rental machines are low powered and without professional chemicals, equipment and training you might end up just making your carpet worse or even ruining it. So lets put that option out of the picture. Area Rugs To The Rescue Area rugs are a great decorative addition to any home. Besides adding decoration they can also save your carpet or restore that old tired carpet. Keep reading to learn how. One thing that area rugs can do is hide damage that is already on your carpet. They can cover worn out areas, stained areas or parts of your carpet that are actually physically damaged. When you cover these area with a rug the rest of the carpet looks new in comparison. This can buy you time before you need to spend money on an expensive replacement carpet. Choosing The Correct Carpet Padding When you buy carpet you spend a great amount of time choosing the correct color and style. You take swatches to your home and are very careful to pick the right one. What most people do not spend a lot of time on is choosing the right padding. It is however a very critical step. Read this article for some tips on choosing the right carpet padding. The first thing you need to look at when choosing carpet pad is the density and thickness. Carpet pad usually ranges from 1/4 inch and goes up to about 5/8 of an inch. The thicker it is the more expensive it is and the more cushy the carpet will feel. As density increases the cost also increases but the longer the pad will last and the firmer it will be. Getting Rid Of Pet Odors Pet odor can be a difficult thing to live with. It gets into everything and it ruins your enjoyment of your home. Worse yet is that it keeps you from inviting guests to your home because of the embarrassment. Take back you home and get rid of that pet odor by reading this article. If you have a little bit of odor you might be able to get by with just your basic carpet cleaning. This can be effective if the pet urine is in the surface fibers of the carpet. Call a professional to clean your carpet to see if it helps before going any further. If you still have pet odor you will need to go one step further. Stubborn odors are usually caused by urine that has gotten into the padding and sub floor. To take care of these odors you must pull up the carpet and remove the affected pad. Padding can not be cleaned well and is inexpensive enough that it should just be replaces. After you remove the pad you will need to clean the sub floor using a mixture of one part vinegar to two parts water. Next you will let the floor dry and then apply a sealant such as a shellac to seal in an odor. Lastly you will need to put the new pad in place and reinstall the carpeting after you have cleaned the backing of the carpet. That's it you are done and are hopefully odor free. Having New Carpet Installed Are you having new carpet installed? If you are there are some things you should do in advance to make sure that the installation goes as smooth as possible. Read this article to learn more about getting ready for a carpet install. In order for installers to put new carpet in your home they will have to move quite a few pieces of furniture. Because of this you should have the furniture ready to move. You should clear all breakables like lamps, vases and pictures. Also be sure to clear out bookcases and remove the contents of drawers to make the furniture as light as possible. If you have items such as pianos and pool tables you should arrange for professional movers to move them in advance. Most installers can not deal with complex and dangerous moves like that. Common Carpet Problems And Solutions Carpet, most houses have it. It is a great all purpose affordable flooring but can be trouble some times. Keep reading this article and learn about some of the problems with carpet and some cures for those problems. The most common problem that a carpet will face is staining. This is especially true if you have kids or pets. Most stains can be removed with a general spotter. When you go to remove stains get a good quality spotter and be sure not to rub the carpet. Instead you should blot it to avoid damaging the fibers. If you have stains that are not being removed with spotting you should call a professional cleaner in who will have other methods and cleaners. Common Carpet Problems And Solutions - Part 2 As I mentioned in my last article, carpet is a popular choice in flooring but is not without its share of problems. Read this article and learn some more tips on dealing with some of the more common carpet problems. Carpet loosening is a common carpet problem. Over time even the best installed carpet will become loose. Since most carpet nowadays is not installed properly this is an even bigger problem. Loose carpet wears faster and can even develop ripples and visible wrinkles. The only way to deal with this is to have an installer re-stretch it. This can be pricy but it is the only way to deal with the problem. Don't Get Taken By Your Carpet Cleaner Carpet cleaning is a relatively inexpensive service when it is compared to the cost of replacing carpet. That being said you still do not want to pay too much for a carpet cleaning. Read this article and learn some tips to help you avoid being ripped off. The most common carpet cleaning scam is called the "Bait and Switch". In this scam you are offered a low, low price for carpet cleaning. Once the cleaner is in your home they think of a million different ways to raise the price. The coupon price may be for $9 a room but the extra pre-treating you suddenly need is $.25 per square foot. That is $250 in the average home. Then they might pressure you to buy expensive pet treatments and carpet protectors. Before you know it your $50 bill is now $450 or more. They will make you believe that your carpet will be ruined without the treatments they are selling and might even use their physical appearance to intimidate you into going ahead with the cleaning. Do not underestimate the intimidation factor of a couple of large ill mannered carpet cleaners. The Different Types Of Carpet Styles Carpet comes in a variety of different styles and textures to meet anyone's taste. This article will describe the different styles and give you some information to help you choose the style that is right for you. Keep reading and learn more. One popular style of carpet is called Saxony. Saxony carpet is the basic traditional type of carpeting. It is a basic cut pile carpet with equal length tufts and is a solid color. It shows vacuum marks and foot prints but is a rather comfortable carpet. The next type of carpet is Berber carpet and is very popular as well. It is made of a continuous fiber that forms loops or knots. It has the benefit of hiding foot prints and vacuum marks because of its harder surface made up of loops instead of a cut pile. Berber is a very durable carpet although it is a hard carpet and not as comfortable as other styles. Frieze is yet another type of carpet. It has a very heavy twist and hides foot prints and traffic very well. Because of the twist it does not lay in straight rows like pile carpet and it is a good carpet for higher traffic areas. The last carpet I will discuss is called Sculptured carpet. It has a combination of cut pile and loops. This carpet stands up well to traffic and wears very well. How To Clean Your Carpet Yourself Correctly Carpet cleaning overall is a job that is best left to professional cleaning companies. They have proper equipment, chemicals and the training to get the job done. Some people just insist on doing everything themselves though. If you are one of those people this article will give you some tips to help you get the job done right. The first thing you need to do is prep the carpet correctly. This is the most important and most overlooked step but prep is everything. Move us much furniture out of the way as possible. Do a few rooms at a time. Do not try to do too much with a rental machine as you will end up rushing and doing a poor job. Vacuum the carpet thoroughly and slowly to get as much dry soil out as possible. Vacuum in all directions. Dry soil is much easier to remove than the mud you will get if you spray water on the dirt. Removing Gum From Your Carpets Carpets can be difficult to take care of. They are subject to a number of different types of soils and stains. One thing that can be particularly troublesome is chewing gum. It can be difficult to remove, especially if you do not know the right steps. Read this article and get some tips to help you remove chewing gum from your homes carpeting. The first thing you want to do is try to remove as much of the chewing gum as possible with a dull instrument such as a professional carpet cleaning bone scraper or just a dull spoon. Do not use a sharp instrument like a knife as this could easily damage the carpeting. Next you wan to freeze the gum so that it can easily be broken off. If you have access to a can of chewing gum remover this is perfect. It will quickly freeze the gum. If you do not have access to this you can simply use an ice cube. Get the gum as frozen as possible and then strike it with a hard instrument. It should break into pieces that can easily be removed. Pick up all the pieces being careful not to forget any. Finally you will clean the spot to get rid of any remaining chewing gum residue. Get a good citrus spotter and apply it to a spotting cloth. Now dab the spot with the cloth gently to remove the residue. Be careful not to rub the spot aggressively which could damage the carpet fiber. Three Tips To Keep You Loving Your Carpet Carpet, it is great when it is clean but it can sometimes be trouble to keep it that way. Because of this fact many people are switching to hard surfaces. This is an expensive alternative and leads to other problems. But there is no need to replace your carpet. Read this article and learn some tips to keep you loving your homes carpeting. The best way to keep enjoying your carpet is to of course keep it clean. To do this the best thing you can do is vacuum it often. Vacuuming removes dr soil which can build up in the carpet. A carpet can easily hold its weight in dry soil. Vacuum at least once a week. Twice would be better. Be sure that your vacuum is in good condition and that you are using a fresh bag. Replace bags or empty dust cups when they reach half full. [1] [2]

SIGN UP FOR FREE   Sign Up for a free account or learn more. Submit Articles Member Login Top Authors Most Popular Articles Submission Guidelines Ezine Notifications Article RSS Feeds About Us Link to Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Service   Most Recent Articles Do You Know How To Vacuum? You are probably reading this and thinking, "Of course I know how to vacuum." After all, how hard is vacuuming. You turn your vacuum on and move it around the room. Simple, right? Well if you want to vacuum efficiently, it isn't quite that easy. This article will tell you how to vacuum your carpet properly so that you remove the maximum amount of soil. Improper Vacuuming Steam Carpet Cleaning Equipment Carpet steam cleaners use a variety of different carpet cleaning equipment. There are gas powered truck mounted machines, electric truck mounted machines and electric portable machines. This article will provide you with the basic differences between these machines. The first machine is a gas truck mount carpet cleaner. This is one of the most common machines used in the carpet cleaning industry. This machine uses either the trucks engine or a separate gas engine to drive a vacuum blower and water pump. These machines have the capacity to provide the greatest amount of vacuum and the highest heat. They are the preferred piece of steam cleaning equipment because of their power, speed and efficiency. With this machine, the cleaner only needs to bring 2 hoses into your home. This eliminates the need to bring bulky equipment into your hose and decreases noise in your home. Making Your Carpets Last Carpet is an extremely expensive investment to make. You can spend thousands of dollars to re-carpet even an average sized house. Besides money, you will also spend lots of time choosing the right kind of carpet and the perfect color but how much time have you spent to make sure that it lasts. This article contains a few tips to help you make your rugs last. The single most important thing you can do to make your carpeting last is vacuum it on a regular basis. This is also probably the most neglected step in carpet care. By vacuuming your carpet, you will be removing dangerous soil from your rugs. Soil that would otherwise wear and abrade the carpet fibers every time you step on it. If you do nothing else to increase your carpet life, vacuum. Cleaning Your Own Carpeting Cleaning your own carpet can be a great way to save money. If not done properly however you can end up with quite a mess. This article will give you some tips on using a carpet cleaning rental on your home's carpets. The first thing you need to do is find a good carpet cleaning machine. You can find them at most home improvement and grocery stores. Look for one in good condition that isn't too beat up or old. The older the machine, the weaker the vacuum and water pump probably is. Find a machine in good condition and also purchase the carpet cleaning shampoo that is sold with the machines. Do not even think about using dish soap or any other homemade concoction. Don't Get Taken By A Carpet Cleaner ethical people. Like every other profession on the planet though, there will be some bad apples. This article will give you the knowledge to identify theses bad apples and see through their carpet cleaning scams. The Scam Choosing A Vacuum Cleaner You see vacuum cleaners advertised everywhere. Every manufacturer claims that there's is the best. One claims that their filters don't clog, one say theirs is the lightest, another one is commercial quality and look that one can pick up a bowling ball. So how do you make your choice? Do you just buy the most expensive one that you can find? Read on and I will tell some things to consider when choosing a vacuum. First, lets look at the vacuums motor. The vacuum motor is of course a very important part of the vacuum. It is also the most confusing part. Many manufacturers will state the amp draw of the motor. This doesn't necessarily measure the power of the vacuum but instead the amount of electrical amps that it uses. If you can find information on the air watts or horsepower of the motor, you will get a much better idea of the power of the motor. If you can find that information, choose the one with the highest air wattage or horsepower. Removing Wax From Carpeting Candles do wonders for setting the mood on a romantic night or at a dinner party. But what happens when that wonderful romantic candle gets dumped over? You end up with a mess. Wax is a very difficult stain to remove but is not impossible. Read along and I will tell you how to take care of a wax stain. First, you need to gather the supplies that you will use. You will need a steam iron, a dull instrument (like a spoon) and several white terry cloth towels. Fill the iron with water and set it on the lowest steam setting. Now take your towels and soak them in water., Wring them out so they are just damp and you are ready to begin wax removal. The Different Methods Of Cleaning Carpet With the great variety of carpet cleaning methods out there, it can be hard to decide which method is best for you. In truth, they all work well but some have advantages over others. This article will go over the various different methods of carpet cleaning so that you can decide for yourself which method you like the best. Steam Cleaning The Importance Of Maintaining Your Air Conditioner The summer has finally hit and now you are spending more time indoors with the air conditioner on. You have the thermostat set on 75 degrees and are feeling pretty good until you realize that its getting hotter inside. Before you know it, it is 90 degrees in your house and you are calling the air conditioning repair company. Problem is that it is the busy season and they may not be able to get to you for a week. What a disaster. The sad thing is that this could have probably all been prevented with a little maintenance. To have a smooth running HVAC system, you need to have a program of regular maintenance. Before every cooling season, have an air conditioning service come check your system. It is usually a minimum charge and can save you hundreds of dollars by catching problems early. It will also prevent the aggravation of having no air conditioning. Painting Over Existing Wallpaper If you have ever removed wallpaper in the past you know that it can be a nightmare. It never simply peels off like it does on those home improvement shows. There are many products available to you to supposedly make it easier. You can buy special tools to score the wallpaper, wallpaper removal chemicals and even special scrapers. They help a little but usually do not work as well as advertised. Even a small room can take hours, even days to strip the wallpaper from. What choice do you have though, it must be done if you are going to paint that room. Well maybe not, you might just be able to paint over that wallpaper. If you decide you want to try to paint over wallpaper you must first make a careful examination of it. Look for areas that are coming loose, bubbling up or torn. All of these areas must be repaired if you are going to paint over it so if it is damaged in many areas, you should pull it down. If it is only damaged in a few areas, we can continue. Rat Infestations - How Do You Know If You Have A Problem? Rats, nothing will strike fear in a woman's heart (and many a man's heart) more than a rat in their home. It would seem like it would be easy to identify a rat problem but they can make themselves hard to detect. Sometimes you can not actually see the rats in your home. Even if you can not see them, there are several things that you can look for to identify a rat problem. The first sign of a rat problem is noise. Rats will make scratching noises that can easily be heard from within walls and attics. Listen for their scratching and rustling noises after dusk when rats are most active. Next, look for rat droppings. You can usually find droppings around food sources like pet dishes. The droppings will be small, capsule shaped, black and glossy. You should also look for rat burrows and nests. You will find burrows in gardens and under places like compost piles. Look for nests around boxes, inside of drawers and near wood piles. A couple of other signs of a rat infestation are grease marks along beams and rafters (caused by a rats greasy fur) and gnawing marks on boxes and wiring. If you have any of these signs, you probably have a rat problem and should contact a professional exterminator. Water Heater Tips And Tricks It's easy to forget about your water heater. It sits up in your attic or in your garage silently and reliably putting out hot water. It's easy to forget about it until something goes wrong. Water heaters are not as maintenance free as some people would like to believe. This article has some useful tips on keeping your water heater running well for some time to come. To lower the stress on your water heater and to lower your utility bills, set your thermostat at or around 120 degrees. Any more than that and you put extra pressure on the heater and take the chance of burns caused by scalding water. Many people outgrow their water heater and turn up the thermostat to provide more hot water. Instead, you should add a second heater or upgrade to a larger tank. Types Of Roofs Has it come time to replace that old roof? If it is, you have a choice to make. You can go with a boring old shingle roof or you could upgrade to a more durable or more attractive roof. Lets discuss your options. One popular choice for roof upgrades is slate. Slate makes for a very attractive roof that also offers excellent fire protection and a long life. There is just nothing like the look of a natural slate roof. It is a hard to install roof however and this does make it considerably more expensive than a standard asphalt shingle roof. How Often Should You Clean Your Carpet? If you want to extend the life of your carpeting, you need to clean it often. A dirty carpet contains soil and other debris that will wear your carpet's fibers. Every time you walk on your dirty carpet, you are grinding the soil into the fibers, permanently scratching and wearing them. A carpet cleaning will remove these damaging particles. But how often should you clean it? How often you clean your carpet depends on a number of different factors. You must consider how many people are in your home, if you have kids, if you have pets and whether or not smokers are in your home. For example, if you have a house with two adults, you should clean your carpet every six to twelve months. If those two people are smokers, you should clean it every four months. If you have children or pets in your home, you should clean it at least every 6 months and if you have kids and pets, you better make it every three months. Types Of Carpeting Carpeting can be made with a variety of different fibers. These fibers have different characteristics that will drastically effect the way the carpet performs. Read along to find out about the three most common types of fibers used in carpeting. The first material I will discuss is Olefin or Polypropylene. Olefin is generally a lower end carpeting but it does have several good qualities. For example, it absorbs very little moisture, less than 1%. This can make it hard to stain. Olefin is also usually solution died which means that the color runs all the way through the fiber and it can not be bleached. It unfortunately has many drawbacks as well. One of which is the fact that Olefin is a soft fiber. This may sound good, since everyone wants a nice soft carpet, but it is not. Olefin being soft, will crush and wear easily giving it a shorter life than other fibers. It also attracts grease like a magnet. Within a year or two an Olefin carpet will often develop dark traffic paths that are difficult or impossible to clean. Choose this type of carpet if you only need a carpet that lasts a few years or if you will be putting it into a rental. Repairing Loose Carpet When carpeting is installed in a home, it is stretched over your floor onto tack strips which secure it on the sides. Over time with general use and age your carpet will actually stretch out. This will often show itself as wrinkles and loose spots in your carpeting. So how do you repair these wrinkles, is there a way? Yes, to get rid of these unsightly wrinkles, you need to have your rugs professionally stretched. If your carpet is less than a few years old, you might actually have a labor warranty that will cover the stretching costs. Before you hire anyone, check to see if your carpet is still under this warranty. If not, you will have to pay for the charges out of pocket. Unfortunately stretching is not cheap because it involves quite a bit of work. The technicians will have to move all or most of your furniture out of a room, detach the carpet from the tack strip, cut off the excess carpet and then reattach it to the tack strips. This can take hours. Expect to pay around $3 to $4 per square yard for this service. That makes 900 square feet of carpet cost around $300 to $400 to stretch. Sound expensive? Well it is but it is better than the alternative. What Is Dry Powder Carpet Cleaning? You have many options when looking for a carpet cleaning method to use in your home. One of the options that is relatively new is the dry powder carpet cleaning method. It is a popular method but most people have no idea how it works or even if it works. This article will try to explain the process and the positive and negative characteristics of it. In this process of carpet cleaning, a semi moist power is spread onto the carpeting. The powder which is soaked in a detergent and/or solvent solution is usually either a corn cob based organic powder or a fully synthetic powder. This powder is agitated and worked into the carpet with either an orbital floor machine with a round plastic bristle brush or a machine with counter rotating plastic brushes. The theory behind this method is that the powder acts like thousands of little sponges scrubbing and absorbing dirt from the carpet as it is agitated. After the powder dries, in only a few minutes, the carpet is vacuumed to remove the sponges and the floor is ready to be used. How Much Does Carpet Cleaning Cost? If you have never had your carpet cleaned before, you might be a little in the dark as to what to expect. The fact that just about every carpet cleaning company has their own way of calculating cleaning prices doesn't help either. Prices for carpet cleaning vary greatly depending on the method, the level of service and your location. There are however two basic ways of figuring a cleaning cost. The first is by the room. This is probably the most popular method of pricing used by carpet cleaners. It allows carpet cleaning services to give consumers a fairly accurate price over the phone without the need to do an onsite estimate. The price should include pre-treatment and normal spotting. The cleaner will usually limit the room size to somewhere between 200 and 300 square feet. Any larger than that and you may be charged for two rooms. Is Olefin Carpeting Right For You? So your old carpeting is finally beyond the point of rescue and you have decided to replace it. Now you are faced with an endless supply of choices to choose from. How can you decide which type of carpet to replace it with? You have to consider all of the different options and choose the one that fits your needs the best. One choice is Olefin or Polypropylene. This article will give you some information on this carpet and the advantages and disadvantages to using it. Olefin carpet is the second most popular type of carpeting sold. Only Nylon carpet is more popular. It is used in both commercial and residential applications and is also commonly used to form artificial turf in sports fields. When Your Carpet Gets Flooded? It happens all of the time. You come home from work to find water running out of your garage or front door. You rush inside to find that your water heater tank has sprung a leak and your entire house is now flooded. As your couch floats by you begin to wonder what to do. This article will give you some information that you need to know if the unthinkable happens to you. Water heaters are just one source of flooded home. Other sources include broken pipes, broken ice maker lines, and clogged air conditioner drains to name a few. No matter what the source of the leak, there are steps that you need to take immediately to rectify the situation. 5 Quick Mopping Tips Mopping may not be the most fun job in the world but nothing can make as big of a difference in your home as a nice clean floor. A shining floor expresses the message that your house is clean. If you want a cleaner home or just want to get done with mopping quicker, read these 5 quick mopping tips. 1. Flip your mop over often to expose a clean side. If you use only one side you will have to rinse it more, wasting time. Carpeting Issues - Traffic Lane Gray The carpet in your home is subject to a lot of abuse. Because of that abuse and because of the characteristics of carpet it can develop a number of problems. One of those problems is Traffic Lane Gray. Traffic Lane Gray is a condition where the traffic lanes in a home start to look darker than the rest of the carpet. It is different from regular soiling because the darkness is not caused by soil but by scratched carpet fibers that no longer reflect as much light as the rest of the carpeting. So if you have had your carpets cleaned and the carpet still looks dark or gray in the traffic areas you probably have Traffic Lane Gray. Carpeting Issues - Filtration Lines Filtration soiling is a problem that affects many carpets. You can recognize filtration lines easily. They show themselves as dark lines around walls and underneath doors. In this article I will explain how these lines are formed and what can be done about them. Filtration lines form when your air conditioning and heating system blows air into your room. The air is blown into a room effectively pressurizing it. The air must go somewhere so it goes underneath walls and closed doors to equalize the rooms pressure. The carpet along this area acts as a filter. It traps the fine particles of dust and soot that are in the air. These fine particles are difficult if not impossible to remove. Smoke Detector Tips Smoke detectors serve an important role in your house. They are an important line of defense to protect your family from a devastating fire but they are only as good as the person who installed them and maintains them. Read this article for tips on maintaining and installing a home smoke detector. Smoke detectors should at a minimum be installed on every floor in your home. If possible, place one in each bedroom of your home. In case of a fire, sleepers may not hear a fire detector that is in a hallway. They will have no problem hearing one that is in the bedroom however. Carpeting Issues - Soot Lines Your homes carpets deal with abuse on a daily basis. They have damaging foot traffic, spills, pets and a host of other factors to deal with. One factor that is overlooked is the damage that can be caused by candles. It may sound strange but candles can do a great deal of damage to your carpeting. When you think about candle damage to carpet you probably think about a candle tipping over and burning the carpet or spilling wax on it. This would of course do a great deal of damage to a carpet but they can also harm your rugs in a far more subtle way. When a candle is burnt it produces smoke and soot. This soot when it cools will settle on your floors forming lines in your carpet around your walls and around furniture. This is essentially smoke damage and the damage can be irreversible. 5 Biggest Carpet Mistakes We all want our carpeting to last as long as possible. We do everything we can to make it last longer and look better but are some of these things hurting our carpet? Read along and learn the 5 biggest mistakes people make with their carpet. 1. Keeping your furniture in the same place. You need to move your furniture around to spread out the wear. If you keep it in the same place, the same strip of carpet is getting worn down all of the time. So try to rearrange your furniture at least once every 6 months. Ways To Save Money On Carpet Cleaning Is it time to have your carpet cleaned? If so, you might be wondering how much it is going to cost you. That depends on the cleaner and the method you use but there are several ways that you can save some money. Read along and you will get some easy tips to save money on your next cleaning. Move Furniture Many cleaners will give you a discount if you move the furniture out of your rooms in advance. Do not expect to receive a discount if you plan on moving the furniture when the cleaner is there. That doesn't save your cleaner any time and they will not give you a discount for it. What Color Carpet Should You Buy Deciding on a new carpet can be a big decision with big consequences. Choose the wrong one and you might end up with a carpet you hate for years or you may end up with a carpet that doesn't last long at all. One of the biggest factors to consider is carpet color. In this article I will give you a few tips on choosing the right color of carpeting. White Carpets White carpets are great at brightening up a dark room or making a small room seem larger. You can get away with white carpets if you do not have children or pets. They will show everything and are difficult to maintain in a room that gets a lot of traffic. So if you have a lot of traffic through your room, kids or pets, do not even consider white carpet. What Not To Do To Your Carpeting Carpet can be difficult to take care of. This is especially true if you have kids or pets constantly dirtying them up. This article will help you maintain your carpet by letting you know what not to do to them. The biggest mistake people make is not using the right chemicals on their carpet. The only thing you should use on your carpet is a spotter designed for carpeting. make sure that the bottle says that it is "safe for stain resistant carpet." This means that it will nor damage the carpeting. Do not use bathroom cleaners, bleach, regular dish soap or any other concoctions on your rugs. They can bleach your floors, leave way too much residue or even melt your carpet. Buying Paint For Your Home So you have decided on the perfect color for your walls. Great, so you are ready to go buy your paint but wait. how much should you buy? If you buy too little you will have to go back to the store and try to match the same color. If you buy too much you are just throwing money away. So how do you choose how much paint to buy? First you need to accurately measure your wall space. Multiply the length by the height of each wall and add those numbers together. If you will be painting the ceiling the same color you should multiply its length by width and add that to the total. Do that for all of the rooms that you will be painting and add the totals together. now multiply that number by 15%. The extra 15% accounts for waste, spillage and a little extra left for touchups. Do You Have A Carpenter Ant Problem? Carpenter Ants can cause a great deal of damage to your home. These large brown or black ants live mainly in wooded areas but from time to time might try to enter your home. This article will help you identify carpenter ants and help you prevent an infestation. There are many potential signs of an infestation that you can look out for. 1. Look for large winged ants. These are breeders and if you spot them, you probably have a colony nearby. 2. Examine your woodwork. Look for sawdust and small slits around and on your woodwork. This will show you where carpenter ant have been working. 3. Another sign of an infestation is clicking noises coming from your walls. The ants are so voracious that you can actually hear them working behind walls. it will sound like a quiet rustling noise. Clearing A Stopped Commode Its a horrible feeling. You flush the toilet and instead of going down, you start seeing the water level rise. In a frenzy you rush to turn the water shut off valve off if you know where it is. Hopefully you have managed to get the water off before the bowl completely overflows onto your floor. If not, you have quite a mess to clean up. But after the water stops and you clean up the mess do you know how to clear the clog? This article will give you some tips. If you have a small clog in your toilet it will be quite easy to clear. You can usually take care of it with just a basic plunger. Every home should have a plunger so if you do not have one, go to the store and buy a good plunger. If the bowl is full to the rim you will need to empty it slightly to avoid splashes. Now insert the plunger into the bowl and position it in the center. Push down slowly and smoothly. Do this several times and the clog should disappear. If it does not, you may have a more severe clog. 5 Quick Roofing Contractor Tips Your roof is one of the most important yet neglected parts of your home. You don't usually think about your roof until it starts to leak or gets damaged. If it is time to have your roof replaced read these 5 quick tips to help you with your roofing project. 1. Get a written contract. Get everything in writing before your roofer begins work so that there are no surprises. The bid should be detailed giving you prices for labor, materials, etc. Do Chair Mats Protect Your Carpeting? It is a pretty common sight in a home office. You have a rolling chair on top of a chair mat. The mat is there to keep your carpet safe from the damage that the chairs rollers can cause. But do they do more harm than good? There is no question that rolling chairs can quickly wear out your carpet. Because of that you should never place a rolling chair onto your carpeting. They should only be used on a hard surface. To solve this problem most people buy a floor protector which is basically a sheet of plastic that you lay on the floor to protect it. They do protect the floor from the damage of the chair but they also cause an entirely new problem. For starters the carpet underneath the mat is protected to the point that it does not wear at all. When you go to move the mat you have a new piece of carpet surrounded by worn carpeting. Cleaning will help but chances are that the carpet will never match again. Another problem they can cause is yellowing. Because the mat does not allow air to pass through it can trap gasses underneath the mat. These gases which are produced when new carpeting and padding off gas can actually turn your carpet yellow. Protect Your Carpeting From Dents I'm sure it sounds weird. Denting your carpet. How do you dent a soft textile material like carpeting. Well it can be done. Learn how it happens and how to prevent it in this article. The backing of the carpet is much more rigid than the plush surface that we walk on. This layer of latex can be easily dented by heavy furniture that lays on it for a long period of time. Furniture such as pianos, wardrobes and large entertainment centers can leave permanent dents in your carpet. Over time these dents may improve if you move the furniture but they will likely never come out all of the way. So how do you prevent these dents. Cleaning Mud From Your Carpeting Mud stains. Sooner or later you will get them on your carpet. Either your dog will come barreling into your home after playing in a muddy backyard or your kids will forget to take their shoes off before entering your house on a rainy day. Don't panic though. Mud is one of the easier stains for you to remove. The worst thing you can do is grab spotter and try to clean up the mud stain right away. All this does is spread the stain and allow it to penetrate deep into your carpeting. So resist the urge to go straight for the spotter. So what should you do? Why Do Spots Keep Coming Back In My Carpeting? Do you have one of those spots on your carpet that just won't go away? You clean it again and again and in a day or two it just comes right back. Would you like to know what is causing it and how to treat it? I'm sure you would so read on and find out what is behind that mystery spot. The reason that a spot comes back is because of residue. Some kind of residue is on your carpet causing soil to be attracted to and stick to the carpet. It might be caused by that can of Sprite that you spilt a few months ago or the soap from that carpet spotter that you used. There are various kinds of residue that could be on your carpet. They all do the same thing though. They slowly attract and hold soil. Because they do it gradually you don't notice it until it gets bad. Barber Carpeting Pros And Cons Berber carpeting is carpet with a continuous loop. Unlike cut pile carpet one carpet yarn will run from one end to the other. Traditionally it was a hand woven wool carpet but today it is machine made and can be made from any material from Olefin to Nylon. It has become a very popular carpet but is it right for you. The benefit of Berber carpet is that it is somewhat resistant to foot traffic. The loop makes it resist crushing and it doesn't show vacuum marks or foot steps like a cut pile carpet. It is great for those who like a clean look to their flooring. Another benefit of Berber is that it can hide soil very well if you choose a speckled pattern. With this pattern any spots you get on the carpet will tend to blend in with the pattern. Preventing A Crabgrass Problem If you take pride in your lawn you probably spend a lot of time taking care of it. You provide it with the right fertilizer several times a year. You water it regularly and keep it meticulously manicured. But what do you do when crabgrass enters your lawn? This article will give you some tips on controlling a crabgrass problem. There are two main ways to control crabgrass. You can use natural ways and chemical methods. The best way to control them would be a combination of both methods. 5 Time Saving Cleaning Tips No one likes to clean their home but it is a job that must be done. Would you like to clean your home quicker and better? If so you should read this article and get some time saving cleaning tips. 1. After eating you should rinse your dishes off as soon as possible. You don't have to wash them if you do not want to but at least rinse them off. This will remove food before it can harden. There is nothing harder to clean than a plate with 2 day old food crusted to it. 5 Ways To Make Your Furniture Last Your home furnishings are an expensive investment that I am sure you would like to protect. They are usually one of the most neglected items in a home. This article will give you some 5 tips to help you protect your home furnishings. 1. The most important thing you can do is vacuum your furniture. Most people never vacuum their couch cushions and upholstery but it is very important. Dirt is an abrasive and will wear your upholstery. Choosing A Quality Carpeting Cleaner. Is it time to have your carpet cleaned? If so, you might be wondering how you are going to choose a good company. It can be difficult especially when you consider that the market has become oversaturated with carpet cleaners. Having been in the carpet and upholstery cleaning industry for a dozen years i can give you a few pointers. The first thing that you need to be careful of is low priced cleaners. If a price seems to good to be true it probably is. We have all seen the ads with prices ranging from $5 to $10 per room. Carpet cleaners can not stay in business offering those prices. The prices they advertise are just to get them into your home. Once there they will charge extra for everything. They will charge for basic pre-spray, they will charge for basic spotting, for pet treatments, etc. They will make it seem like you have to pay for these extras or else your carpet will be ruined. Before you know it your bill will have gone from $50 to $300 or more. Don't be fooled. Should I Have Carpeting Protector Applied? You have ordered a carpet cleaning from a local carpet cleaner and they are now in your home. They give you the price for the carpet cleaning and then ask you if you would like to have carpet protector applied. Is it worth it? Will your carpet be ruined without it? Read on and I will give you some information that you can use to make an educated decision on whether or not to have protection applied. The first thing you should know is what protector does for you. A big misconception that people have is that protector will keep your carpets from getting dirty. This is just not true. While it might help keep your carpets clean slightly longer, the main benefit of protectors is that they keep spills from sinking deep into the carpet fiber. They seal your carpet fibers so that spots dry on the surface where they can easily be cleaned off later. It is like wax on a car. It gives you a barrier between the soil and your carpet fibers so that they do not stain as easily. What To Look For In A Carpet Cleaner. So it's time to have your carpets or upholstery cleaned. Do you know how to find a good carpet cleaning company? You could just roll the dice and pick any cleaner in the phone book but that can be risky. You need to be careful with who you invite into your home. After reading this article you should have a good idea about how to choose a quality carpet cleaner. To find a good carpet cleaner you need to do some research. There are questions that you can ask that can limit you risk. The first question you should ask is how long the company has been in business. There are good companies who might have just started but for the most part you should try to find a company that has been in business for at least a couple of years. If they are still in business after a few years then they must be doing something right. Another question to ask is if they are insured and bonded. It is important to make sure that the company is insured so that your property is protected in case of an accident. Bonding is important because it means that the companies employees have been screened and that they have clean criminal records. The last question that you should ask is what is included in the service. The cleaning price should be all inclusive so that there are no surprises. Make sure that they include vacuuming, pre-spraying and basic spotting in the cleaning price. It is okay for them to charge extra for things like furniture moving, specialty spotting like ink removal and carpet protection. Reasons To Choose Carpeting Over Wood Floors Wood floors are becoming increasingly popular as a choice for flooring. Before you choose to have wood floors installed you should think your decision through. Read this article and learn why you should choose carpeting over wood floors. The first thing you should consider is how long you will be in your home. If you are not going to be in your home for more than a year or two you should save your money. wood floors are expensive and you will never recoup the expenses with the increased value to the home. Three Obscure Things That Can Damage Your Carpets Carpet is an expensive investment and you want to make sure that it lasts as long as possible. This article will give you three things that can damage your carpeting. These are things that you probably would not think about. The first thing that can damage your carpets is house plants. You should try to avoid placing plants on carpeting. If you do have to place them on carpets make sure that they have a good drain pan underneath them. What can happen is when you water the plant it could overflow. The water that overflows is rich in Nitrogen from the potting soil and it can chemically burn your carpeting. This will leave a permanent stain. So if you must put your plant on the carpet try not to over water them and make sure you have a good pan under them. Protecting Your Upholstery You spend quite a bit of money on your homes upholstery. Don't you want to make it last? Of course you do, so you need to read this article and learn some simple things that you can do to increase the life of your upholstered furniture. The first thing you should do is vacuum your furniture often. This is perhaps the single most important thing you can do and perhaps the most neglected maintenance step. Vacuuming will remove the soil that can wear down your upholstery. Try to vacuum your upholstery once a week. Carpet Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning, Carpets Anyone who owns carpeting knows that it can be difficult to maintain. The time spent is well worth it however given the high cost of replacement. In this article learn four quick carpet care tips. Tip number one is to vacuum your carpets often. This is the most important step in carpet care. Try to vacuum at least twice a week if possible. This will remove the soils in your carpet that cause it to wear out prematurely. Tips On The Use Of Dry Carpet Cleaning Rentals Many people have turned to dry carpet cleaning to clean their carpets. It offers many advantages to steam cleaning. It dries much faster and is less prone to stains wicking back. One way in which you can have your carpets dry cleaned is to rent a dry cleaning machine. Learn about this process and learn how to successfully clean your carpets the dry way. The first step is to rent the dry cleaning machine. Look in your phone book or do an online search for "Host Dry Cleaning". You should easily find a store where you can rent the machine. It is a small machine with counter rotating nylon brushes. You will also need to pick up a bottle of pre-clean and a box of absorbent sponges. It should run you around $60 for the machine rental and supplies. Living With Dogs And Carpeting If you have dogs and carpeting you know how difficult it can be to live with both. They seem to do everything possible to destroy your carpet. In this article you will learn a few tips to help keep your carpet in good shape when you have dogs. The first tip I have for you is to keep your pet clean. I'm sure most of you give your pets baths often but you might not be doing it often enough. Dogs, especially sporting breeds, produce quite a bit of body oil. By bathing them often you will reduce the amount of oil that gets transferred to your carpeting. Once it gets on your carpet it often manifests itself as dark areas where the pets lie. Clean them often to reduce this problem. Tips On Living With Kids And Carpet If you have kids you probably know how difficult it can be to live with them and carpeting. They probably seem intent on destroying it. This article will give you some tips on how to live with kids and carpet. First you should be prepared at all times for accidents. Keep some white terry cloth towels and a good bottle of carpet spot remover handy. The longer a stain sits, the harder it will be to remove so be ready to go into action at any time. If a spill happens, first blot up as much of the stain as possible. After you have blotted up as much as you can you can go to the spotter. Four Quick Carpet Don'ts Carpet is an expensive investment that must be taken care of. It is not that hard if you follow a few rules. In this article you will find four quick don'ts of carpet care. The first don't is don't drag furniture across carpeting. Dragging furniture across carpet can leave burn marks from the friction. If you have Berber carpet you could also snag a fiber and cause a run. So lift furniture when you move it instead of dragging it. Dealing With Pet Stains On Carpeting If you have pets you will probably at some point have to deal with pet stains on carpeting. They can be difficult to remove but they are just part of life when you have a pet. This article will give you some advice to help you treat and hopeful remove pet stains. If your pet has an accident on the carpet the first thing you must do is remove as much of the material as possible. This is easy if you are dealing with feces. just pick it up. If your pet has urinated on the carpet you should blot it up with dye free paper towels. Blot up as much as you can and then place a stack of paper towels on the spot and place a weight on to p of the towels. Let is sit for a few hours to give the liquid time to wick up into the towels. Change the towel often if necessary. Home Steam Cleaners - Are They Any Good? The home steam cleaner market has completely exploded. If you go to your local home improvement store you will see a dozen different home steam cleaners. But are they worth the money or will they become just a waste of space? Read this article and find out. Home steam cleaners can be worth the money if you put them to the right use. They are generally advertised as being the cure all for your carpeting. The makers would like you to think that you will never need to hire a carpet cleaning company again. This couldn't/t be more wrong. Just ask anyone who has ever tried to clean their entire home with one. They will tell you that it took them nearly all day and the cleaner lacked the power to extract deeply embedded soil. Nothing replaces a professional carpet cleaning Removing Chewing Gum From Carpeting As you probably already know carpet can be difficult to own. When it gets soiled it is not always as easy to clean as just wiping it with a cloth. Some stains and spots require different spotting techniques. one of those spots is chewing gum. Chewing gum can wind up in your carpet many different ways. Usually you or your children step on it outside and then track it into the home where it gets stuck and embedded in the carpet fibers. The best way to deal with chewing gum is to of course never get it on your carpe in the first place. As they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. make your kids take off their shoes before walking on the carpet after playing and use door mats ate every entrance. Removing Ballpoint Pen Ink From Carpeting There is nothing worse than staining your carpet. One of the worst stains is ink. Ink is extremely difficult to remove but is not impossible. Learn how to remove ballpoint pen ink from your carpet in this article. The first step in removing the ink is to try to blot up as much of the ink as possible. Using a dry dye free paper towel blot the spot. Work from the outside in so that you do not spread the ink any further. Keep dabbing gently until no more of the ink will transfer to the paper towel. Now it is time to apply some isopropyl alcohol. Apply the alcohol to a clean paper towel and gently dab the spot. Once again remember to work from the outside in so that you do not spread the ink. Be careful not to apply too much alcohol and be careful not to let the alcohol penetrate the backing of the carpet as it could harm the backing. Keep gently dabbing the spot until no more ink transfers to the paper towel. If the spot is gone you should stack a few paper towels on the spot and place a clean weight on it so that any remaining residue will wick out of the carpet. Removing Coffee Stains From Carpet If you have ever spilt coffee on your carpet you know how difficult it can be to remove. It is definitely one of the toughest stains to take care of. Read this article and get some tips on removing coffee stains. The first thing that you need to do is don't panic. It will be okay. Get some dye free paper towels and place them on the spot. Blot up as much as possible. Now take a stack of paper towels and place them over the stain. Put a weight on top of the towels and let the rest of the coffee wick up into the towels. Replace the towels when they become soaked. Once you have removed as much of the coffee as possible you are ready for step two. Using your favorite carpet spot remover spray the spot and blot up any remaining coffee. Repeat until no more coffee transfers to your towel. Now it is time for step three. In a spray bottle mix up a solution of 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water. Spray the spot, let the solution dwell for a minute and blot up. The vinegar solution will neutralize the spotter and help reverse any browning caused by the coffee. When you are finished place another stack of paper towels on the spot and place a weight on top of them. This will absorb any remaining liquid. Carpet Stain Removal - Butter Carpets represent a significant investment in our homes. That is why you must take care to deal with spots as they occur. Butter is a stain that poses a difficult challenge. You must use caution to remove as much of the material as possible or you might leave a soil attracting residue. Learn how to deal with butter stains in this article. The first thing you need to do is gather your tools. You will need dye free paper towels, a bottle of your favorite carpet spot cleaner, a citrus spotter and a solution of 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water mixed in a spray bottle. First you want to remove as much solid material as possible with a dull spoon. Next spray the spot with your citrus spotter. Let it dwell a second and then blot it up with your paper towel. Make sure you blot, do not rub or you risk damaging the carpet. When no more butter transfers to your towel you should move on to the next step. Spray the spot with your favorite carpet spotter. Let it dwell a second and then blot it out. Repeat a few times to remove as much greasy residue as possible. The next step is to spray the spot with your vinegar solution. Spray the area, let it dwell a second and then blot it up with your towel. Repeat a couple of times. This step is to remove the residue from your spot cleaners. Finally the last step is to place a stack of towels on the spot with a weight on top. This will allow any remaining material to wick into the towels and out of the carpet. Replace the towels as they become soaked. How To Buy A Vacuum Cleaner Are you in the market for a new vacuum cleaner? If you are then you have probably noticed that there are hundreds of vacuums to choose from. So how do you choose the right one? You might think that you need to spend hundreds of dollars to get a good one but this is not true. This article will give you some tips on what to look for to get the best vacuum at the best price. The first thing you should look at is the overall design of the vacuum. If it looks flimsy and poorly constructed then it is probably a piece of junk. Choose vacuums that are well designed and solidly constructed. This means that they will probably last you longer. Top Five Reasons To Have Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned Cleaning is important if you want your carpet to last. Regular cleanings remove the harmful soil that can wear down your carpet fibers. When it comes time to clean your carpet you can either turn to a professional or do it yourself. Learn why you should hire a professional. The first reason is time. Do you honestly have the time to clean your carpets? With a rental machine it would take you all day to clean your carpeting. A professional with professional equipment can do it in a few hours. How To Judge A Carpet Cleaning Company Like every other industry carpet cleaning has its share of good and bad companies. The question you may be asking yourself is , how can you judge whether a company is good or bad? It can be a difficult task but this article will give you some advice on how you can judge the character of a carpet cleaning company. The first thing you should do is check the company out with the better business bureau. This does not mean that the company has to be a member. Being a member of the BBB just means that they have paid them dues so that they can use the BBB logo in advertising. Check to see if they have had any complaints and if so check to see if the complaints have been resolved. Carpet Stain Removal - Cat Vomit Cat owners know that cats can be a real pain to clean up after at times. They knock things over, leave hair everywhere and often vomit up fur balls on your carpet. Even if you only have one room of carpet in your home they will find a way to make that room their favorite place to vomit. This article will give you some advice on cleaning cat vomit from your carpets so that you can get back to enjoying your pet. The first thing you need to do is clean up as much of the material from the surface as possible. Using dye free paper towels, scoop up any material you can and then blot up any remaining liquid. Next try using a damp cloth on the spot. Do not use any cleaner at this time. First try just plain water. You will be surprised at what plain water can do. Gently blot the spot , do not rub, until the stain is gone or until no more of the stain transfers. If the stain is still present you can now use a bottle of your favorite stain remover. Spray the cleaner on a rag or paper towel and gently dab the spot until the stain is gone or no more color transfers to the towel. Once again be sure to dab the spot and do not rub it. Lastly spray a mixture of 1 part white distilled vinegar to 2 parts water on the spot to neutralize the spot cleaner. Let it sit for a few seconds and then blot the solution up with a rag or paper towel. Why Should I Have My Carpet Cleaned? Carpet cleaning is like going to the dentist. You know that you need to go but you keep putting it off. Carpet cleaning is easy to put off. This article will give you some reasons why you should have your carpet cleaned. The first reason is because of the appearance. Clean floors make everything look better. When you have company over do you want them to look at a dirty and stained floor or a clean rug? Of course you want a clean floor. A clean floor shows people that you care about your home and take pride in its appearance. Carpet Stain Removal - Red Dye If you have ever gotten a red dye stain on a carpet you know that they can be extremely difficult to remove. They might even seem impossible to remove. In this article you will learn how to deal with red dye stains. The first step in red dye removal is to try a basic spotter. Get a bottle of your favorite general spotter and a white terry cloth towel. Spray the solution on the rag and dab it on the spot. Keep dabbing the spot until all of the stain is removed or until no more red dye transfers to the towel. Remember not to scrub as this could damage the carpet pile. If the spot is gone, consider yourself lucky. If it is still present resist the urge to play chemist and do not use any other products. The more you unsuccessful attempts you make at cleaning the spot, the harder it will be to remove. Reasons To Buy Carpet Sliders Carpet sliders. More than likely you have never heard of them but they can make your life much easier if you have carpeting. Learn what they do and how they can help you maintain your carpet. Carpet sliders are hard plastic discs that you place under the legs of your furniture. One side has a rubber surface that is designed to grip your furniture. The other side is smooth plastic designed to reduce friction. After you place them under your furniture legs you will be able to easily slide your furniture over your carpet. Even a small child can push a couch around with furniture sliders. Holiday Carpet Dangers To Watch Out For Carpet has it tough. It is subject to a lot of abuse during its life. This is particularly true during the holiday season. Learn about the dangers that your carpet faces during the holidays and ways to protect your rugs. The first and the most obvious danger is from spills. People are walking around with food and drinks during the holidays. They will inevitably end up on your carpet especially if you serve alcoholic drinks. You may not be able to stop people from eating and drinking but you can be prepared for accidents. Keep a bottle of spotter and rags handy in case of an emergency. Removing Puppy Odor From Carpet If you have ever had a puppy you know that they will probably at some point leave their mark on your carpets. If you have gone through puppy training, this article will give you some tips on removing stubborn dog urine odor from your carpets. For step one you will need some terry cloth towels, a spray bottle and white distilled vinegar. Mix a solution of 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water in the spray bottle. Now spray the spot with the solution. Spray just enough to lightly soak the carpet but not so much that you soak the pad underneath. Let the vinegar solution sit for a few seconds and then blot it up with your towel. Repeat this process until no more puppy urine soaks into the towel. When you are done, place a towel on the spot and put a weight on top of it. This will allow any remaining liquid to wick out of the carpet. Replace the towel if it becomes saturated. Let your carpet completely dry before doing anything else. Carpet Stain Removal - Filtration Lines Filtration lines are a common problem in homes today. They are also very difficult to remove. In this article you will learn what they are, how to treat them and how to prevent them. First lets talk about what filtration lines are. Filtration lines are dark lines that appear around walls and underneath doors. They form when you HVAC system is blowing air into the room. To equalize the pressure caused by the system air rushes underneath walls and under doors. The carpet in this area acts as a filter trapping fine particles of dust and soot. This manifests itself as a dark line. Choosing A Color Of Carpet When it is time to consider which color of carpet to use there are many factors to consider. In this article you will learn about the pros and cons of carpet colors. Lets start with light colors such as white or off white. People are often tempted to purchase white carpet because it makes rooms look bigger and brighter. This is of course true, it will make a small dark room seem brighter and bigger. The problem with light carpet is that it shows everything. Because of that fact it is best left for rooms that are seldom used or for homes that do not have kids or pets. Quick Upholstery Care Tips Upholstered furniture can be difficult to maintain. In this article you will learn a few quick tips that will help you care for it. The first tip that is often overlooked is to vacuum the furniture often. Most people never vacuum their furniture. Doing so will remove the abrasive soil that builds up on the surface. Try to vacuum your upholstered furnishings at least once every two weeks. Carpet Stain Removal - Milk Taking care of your carpet can be quite difficult. If you have small kids or babies you might find yourself with a difficult milk stain to remove. In this article you will learn about removing the stain and all the associated problems with milk. The problem with milk is that you need to get out all of the material. If you fail to remove all of the material you might end up with an odor problem later on. There is nothing worse than the odor of spoiled month old milk. The first thing you need to do is get a neutral detergent like Joy or Dawn. Mix a teaspoon of the detergent with 2 cups of warm water. Put the mixture into a hand spray bottle and lightly mist the area. Blot up the solution with a clean white towel. Repeat this process several times until you are sure no material is transferring. Be sure to not over saturate the spot. Next you should make another mixture of a tablespoon of ammonia to one cup of water. Mix it into a sprayer and mist the area. Blot up the solution and repeat. Finally blot the spot with plain water to rinse as much residue out as possible. Let the area dry thoroughly before putting the carpet back to use. Carpet Stain Removal - Ketchup (catsup) Have you spilt ketchup on your carpet? The red stain on your carpet might seem hopeless but it is not. The trick is to act fast so that the stain does not become permanent. Read this article on learn how to properly clean the stain from your carpet. For this process you will need a solution of 1 teaspoon neutral detergent and 2 cups water in a spray bottle. A solution of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water in a spray bottle and plenty of clean white terry clothe towels. First you want to remove as much of the ketchup as possible. Scrape or blot up the ketchup being careful not to spread it. Now using your detergent mixture, spray the solution on a clean towel and dab the spot gently. Work from the outside in so as not to spread the stain. Repeat this process until no more material remains or until the stain stops transferring to the towel. Next spray the area lightly with the vinegar solution. Let it dwell for a few seconds and then blot it up with a clean towel. Repeat this process to remove as much residue as possible from the carpeting. Now let the area dry thoroughly before putting it back to use and you are done. Carpet Stain Removal - Water Stains Water stains can come from a variety of sources. Perhaps you spilt a liquid on your carpet or maybe you had some kind of a water leak. Make sure that you first determine the source of the water leak to make sure this problem does not occur again. After you have determined and remedied the source of the water stain you can remove it. First you need to remove any soil from the stain. To do this you will use a solution of 1 teaspoon water to 2 cups of water. Using a clean dry white cloth you will dab the spot until no more soil transfers to the rag. Work from the outside to the inside so as not to spread the soil and do not rub the spot as this could wear the carpet fibers. Can Carpet Spotters Damage Your Carpet Carpet spot cleaners are very popular. You will find a great variety to choose from at a grocery store. Can they harm your carpet? The answer to this is yes, they can. Continue reading to learn how spotters can damage your carpet and how to prevent the damage. One way spotters can harm your carpet is by being too strong. A cleaner that is too strong can strip the protector off of the carpet or it could even react with it causing your carpet to irreversibly change color. To make sure that the cleaner is not too strong you should do two things. Make sure that the spotter says that it is safe for stain resistant carpet. This means that it has a PH less than 10 and is generally safe. Also test the spotter in an inconspicuous area like a closet for color loss or color change. Reasons To Buy Carpeting Over Tile If you are looking to change the flooring in your home and are considering choosing tile you should read this article. It will give you some reasons why you should choose carpet over tile. Even though carpet may not be for everyone you should read on and see if it is for you. The first reason to choose carpet is because it is much cheaper. Installation costs are what really kills you with tile. You can carpet the same size area for much cheaper. Carpet Stain Removal - Graphite Have you managed to get graphite on your carpeting? You must have if you are reading this. Graphite is a common lubricant used in such places as door hinges. It can be difficult to remove due to its tendency to spread easily. Learn how to remove graphite from your carpet by reading this article. The first step to remove graphite is to thoroughly vacuum the area. Do not make the mistake of just running your vacuum over the spot. This will simply spread it around. Use the vacuum hose only with no additional application. Why Not To Clean Your Carpet Yourself If it is time to have your carpet cleaned a thought might cross your mind. Should I clean it myself? We have all seen the rental machines available at almost every grocery or home improvement store. It sounds easy enough right? This article will give you some reasons why you should not do it yourself and why you should hire a professional cleaner. There are many reasons why you should hire a professional carpet cleaner. For starters, the equipment that a professional will use is far more sophisticated than what you can rent for $20 at the store. A steam cleaners equipment can cost thousands and thousands of dollars and will produce more heat and will be able to extract much more of the water out of your carpet. This means that your carpet will be left drier and with less soil attracting residue. Professionals will also have access to several different dry cleaning methods which are not available for rent. This means that if you hire a professional you can have your carpets dry in under an hour instead of in a day or two. Another reason to hire a professional is that they will have years of experience. Experience can not be replaced. They will know what you can and what you can't put on carpeting. Someone who is not in the industry can easily ruin a carpet by using the wrong chemicals. A professional will also have specialty spotters which will allow them to remove far more stains than you can with a rental. Finally, the last reason that I will mention is that a professional will get the job done much quicker. How much is your time worth? A pro can clean your carpet in 2 hours when it might take you all day to clean it with a slow and cumbersome rental machine. Tips For Controlling Dust Dust, we can never seem to get rid of it completely can we. It is constantly being produced by us and brought into our homes as we come and go. There are things you can do to help you control dust however. Keep reading this article to learn some tips to help keep dust away longer. The first thing you need to do is keep dirt and dust from entering your home as much as possible. Have a good track off mat at your front door both on the outside and on the inside. This will help trap soil before it gets into your home. If possible, make people take there shoes off when they enter your home. Things To Consider When Renting A Moving Truck When you are moving you have two choices. You can hire a mover or you can do it yourself. If you have decided to do it yourself you will have to rent a moving truck. There are many things to consider when renting a truck. Keep reading this article and get some tips on renting and using a truck to move. The first thing you need to do when renting a truck is make reservations early and confirm them. You should make your reservation for a truck as early as possible or at least one month before your move. Then you should confirm this reservation the week before your move. Reservations do get mysteriously lost, do not let that happen to you. Quick Tips To Protect Your Carpet Residential carpet is constantly under attack from all angles. It might seem impossible to keep it clean, especially if you have kids or pets in your home. Read this article to learn about some of the things that you do not think about that might be damaging or soiling your carpet. One thing that can cause a great deal of soiling in your carpets is smoke. This can come from a variety of sources. The most obvious source is cigarette smoke but you can also have problems with smoke from fireplaces, poorly adjusted gas heating systems or candles. To prevent problems try not smoking in your home, check your fireplace for proper operation, have your homes HVAC system checked regularly and limit candle burning in your home. Choosing The Right Fence For You When it is time for a new fence you have many choices to choose from. Choosing the right fence is very important if you want one that will last for years to come. Read this article and learn about the different types of fences that are available. The first type of fence and perhaps the most common is the common plank style privacy fence. You can find these fences in heights up to 8 feet and they have many advantages. For example they are affordable and they offer a great deal of privacy compared to other fences. The downside to these fences is that they are vulnerable to wind, insects and rot. To extend the life you can get them made with cedar or even vinyl and with posts made from metal. Tips On Painting Your Homes Exterior Painting your homes exterior can be a very big job. If you have decided to take on this project yourself there are many important steps that you should not skip. Keep reading to get some tips on exterior house painting that will give you a professional quality job that will last for years. The first step in any painting job is preparation. The surface to be painted needs to be thoroughly cleaned before any paint is applied. Painting over dirt will just assure that your finish will not last very long. Rent a power washer and use it to clean off chipped paint, bugs, dirt and deteriorated paint. After you have finished washing your homes exterior you then need to give it ample time to dry. Plan to paint the next day. Pest Control - Brown Recluse Spiders If you live in one of the areas in the country that is home to the Brown Recluse Spider you have probably heard stories about what this little spider can do. It is a very dangerous insect that you do not want to have anywhere near you. Keep reading this article and learn a little bit more about this spider to help you protect yourself. The Brown Recluse is a very interesting insect with a fearsome reputation. This spider gets its name from is brown color and its reclusive behavior. It is a small spider at only about 3/8 of an inch in length with a violin shaped dark mark on its body. It prefers to stay in areas that are seldom disturbed and that are protected. In nature you will find it in holes in trees, under logs and other undisturbed areas. In your home it will also seek areas that offer protection like corners of closets, inside clothing or even in bed sheets. The Brown Recluse lives primarily in the South and Midwest but they can venture out of this area when transported in furniture or packing boxes. Because of its reclusive nature it is not a very aggressive spider and will only bite when threatened. Unfortunately if it chooses a hiding place in clothing or in your bed it will feel threatened when you put the clothing on or roll over onto it. Once bitten the venom will cause the skin to slough off in the area of the bite. This leaves a wound that is hard to heal and will usually result in a scar. Most bites are not lethal but can be quite painful. If you think you have been bitten by a brown recluse you should consult a doctor. To identify an infestation you can look for several things. You can look for the spiders white irregular webs, egg sacs and of course the live spiders themselves. Questions To Ask Your Plumber Hiring a plumber is not as easy as just picking up a phone book and picking one. You need to make sure that you get a qualified plumbing contractor and not some hack. To increase your odds of choosing a good plumber there are some questions that you should ask. Keep reading this article to learn what those questions are. The first question that you should ask is, "How long have you been a plumber?" This is an important question because if a plumber has been in business for a long time they are more likely to be good. Every plumber has to get started at some time though so If they haven't been in business long you shouldn't automatically rule them out. Just take it into consideration. Frequently Asked Roofing Questions Roofs are a big concern for homeowners. It is one of the most important parts of your home providing you with shelter from the rain and helloing to regulate the temperature of your home. Read this article and learn the answers to some of the most common roof questions. How often should I have my gutters cleaned? You should clean them at least twice a year. If you have many trees in the area of your home you should clean them 3 to 4 times a year. Three Things You Can Do To Save Your Carpet Carpet is an extremely expensive investment. It can easily cost thousands of dollars to replace a worn out and stained carpet. Because of the high cost of replacement you should do everything you can to try and make it last as long as possible. In this article I will give you three easy things that you can do to help save your homes carpet. The first and the biggest thing you can do is to vacuum your carpet. Vacuuming removes abrasive soil from your carpet and rugs. This abrasive soil is what does the most damage to your carpet. Every time you walk on it you are actually grinding it into your carpet wearing your carpet down. Vacuum your carpet at least once a week but preferably twice a week. When you do vacuum make the most of it by going slowly and making sure that your vacuum is in good working order. All About Berber Carpet Berber carpet has become increasingly popular over the years. It has many benefits and is a great choice in carpet. Keep reading and learn a little about this style of carpet. Why is Berber so popular? One of the reasons that Berber is so popular because it is a very durable appearance. With its loop style of construction it holds up well to wear and has a rugged appearance. Because of its rigidity it has the benefit of not showing footprints. Many people love this feature which allows you to keep your rooms appearing more formal and together. Durability is the main benefit of Berber but all Berber is not the same. Cost Of Carpet Cleaning Carpet cleaning is considered a luxury service but it is a luxury service that most people can afford. But how much should a carpet cleaning cost? You might not know what a reasonable price is. Read this article and get some information on carpet cleaning costs. Carpet cleaning costs can vary quite a bit depending on what part of the country you live in and the level of service you require. If you live in a city where operating expenses would be higher for a company the price for the cleaning would be greater. If the company provides full service like baseboard cleaning, extensive furniture moving, etc the cost will be more. Carpet cleaning costs for the average five room house would start at around $99 and can go up to $300. It really depends on how bad your carpets are and the level of service that you are asking for. Do not expect for your carpets to be vacuumed or lots of furniture moving for that $99 cost. Also you should expect a great service if you are paying closer to the $300 range and something in between for a moderate price. Saving Money On Carpet Cleaning Carpet cleaning is very necessary if you want to extend the life of your carpets. When you consider how much cleaning costs compared to the cost of new carpeting it is a worthy expense. You still however might want to find ways to cut the price of carpet cleaning. Keep reading and learn a few tricks. The easiest way to save money on carpet cleaning is to do it yourself with a rental machine but this is not advised. Rental machines are low powered and without professional chemicals, equipment and training you might end up just making your carpet worse or even ruining it. So lets put that option out of the picture. Area Rugs To The Rescue Area rugs are a great decorative addition to any home. Besides adding decoration they can also save your carpet or restore that old tired carpet. Keep reading to learn how. One thing that area rugs can do is hide damage that is already on your carpet. They can cover worn out areas, stained areas or parts of your carpet that are actually physically damaged. When you cover these area with a rug the rest of the carpet looks new in comparison. This can buy you time before you need to spend money on an expensive replacement carpet. Choosing The Correct Carpet Padding When you buy carpet you spend a great amount of time choosing the correct color and style. You take swatches to your home and are very careful to pick the right one. What most people do not spend a lot of time on is choosing the right padding. It is however a very critical step. Read this article for some tips on choosing the right carpet padding. The first thing you need to look at when choosing carpet pad is the density and thickness. Carpet pad usually ranges from 1/4 inch and goes up to about 5/8 of an inch. The thicker it is the more expensive it is and the more cushy the carpet will feel. As density increases the cost also increases but the longer the pad will last and the firmer it will be. Getting Rid Of Pet Odors Pet odor can be a difficult thing to live with. It gets into everything and it ruins your enjoyment of your home. Worse yet is that it keeps you from inviting guests to your home because of the embarrassment. Take back you home and get rid of that pet odor by reading this article. If you have a little bit of odor you might be able to get by with just your basic carpet cleaning. This can be effective if the pet urine is in the surface fibers of the carpet. Call a professional to clean your carpet to see if it helps before going any further. If you still have pet odor you will need to go one step further. Stubborn odors are usually caused by urine that has gotten into the padding and sub floor. To take care of these odors you must pull up the carpet and remove the affected pad. Padding can not be cleaned well and is inexpensive enough that it should just be replaces. After you remove the pad you will need to clean the sub floor using a mixture of one part vinegar to two parts water. Next you will let the floor dry and then apply a sealant such as a shellac to seal in an odor. Lastly you will need to put the new pad in place and reinstall the carpeting after you have cleaned the backing of the carpet. That's it you are done and are hopefully odor free. Having New Carpet Installed Are you having new carpet installed? If you are there are some things you should do in advance to make sure that the installation goes as smooth as possible. Read this article to learn more about getting ready for a carpet install. In order for installers to put new carpet in your home they will have to move quite a few pieces of furniture. Because of this you should have the furniture ready to move. You should clear all breakables like lamps, vases and pictures. Also be sure to clear out bookcases and remove the contents of drawers to make the furniture as light as possible. If you have items such as pianos and pool tables you should arrange for professional movers to move them in advance. Most installers can not deal with complex and dangerous moves like that. Common Carpet Problems And Solutions Carpet, most houses have it. It is a great all purpose affordable flooring but can be trouble some times. Keep reading this article and learn about some of the problems with carpet and some cures for those problems. The most common problem that a carpet will face is staining. This is especially true if you have kids or pets. Most stains can be removed with a general spotter. When you go to remove stains get a good quality spotter and be sure not to rub the carpet. Instead you should blot it to avoid damaging the fibers. If you have stains that are not being removed with spotting you should call a professional cleaner in who will have other methods and cleaners. Common Carpet Problems And Solutions - Part 2 As I mentioned in my last article, carpet is a popular choice in flooring but is not without its share of problems. Read this article and learn some more tips on dealing with some of the more common carpet problems. Carpet loosening is a common carpet problem. Over time even the best installed carpet will become loose. Since most carpet nowadays is not installed properly this is an even bigger problem. Loose carpet wears faster and can even develop ripples and visible wrinkles. The only way to deal with this is to have an installer re-stretch it. This can be pricy but it is the only way to deal with the problem. Don't Get Taken By Your Carpet Cleaner Carpet cleaning is a relatively inexpensive service when it is compared to the cost of replacing carpet. That being said you still do not want to pay too much for a carpet cleaning. Read this article and learn some tips to help you avoid being ripped off. The most common carpet cleaning scam is called the "Bait and Switch". In this scam you are offered a low, low price for carpet cleaning. Once the cleaner is in your home they think of a million different ways to raise the price. The coupon price may be for $9 a room but the extra pre-treating you suddenly need is $.25 per square foot. That is $250 in the average home. Then they might pressure you to buy expensive pet treatments and carpet protectors. Before you know it your $50 bill is now $450 or more. They will make you believe that your carpet will be ruined without the treatments they are selling and might even use their physical appearance to intimidate you into going ahead with the cleaning. Do not underestimate the intimidation factor of a couple of large ill mannered carpet cleaners. The Different Types Of Carpet Styles Carpet comes in a variety of different styles and textures to meet anyone's taste. This article will describe the different styles and give you some information to help you choose the style that is right for you. Keep reading and learn more. One popular style of carpet is called Saxony. Saxony carpet is the basic traditional type of carpeting. It is a basic cut pile carpet with equal length tufts and is a solid color. It shows vacuum marks and foot prints but is a rather comfortable carpet. The next type of carpet is Berber carpet and is very popular as well. It is made of a continuous fiber that forms loops or knots. It has the benefit of hiding foot prints and vacuum marks because of its harder surface made up of loops instead of a cut pile. Berber is a very durable carpet although it is a hard carpet and not as comfortable as other styles. Frieze is yet another type of carpet. It has a very heavy twist and hides foot prints and traffic very well. Because of the twist it does not lay in straight rows like pile carpet and it is a good carpet for higher traffic areas. The last carpet I will discuss is called Sculptured carpet. It has a combination of cut pile and loops. This carpet stands up well to traffic and wears very well. How To Clean Your Carpet Yourself Correctly Carpet cleaning overall is a job that is best left to professional cleaning companies. They have proper equipment, chemicals and the training to get the job done. Some people just insist on doing everything themselves though. If you are one of those people this article will give you some tips to help you get the job done right. The first thing you need to do is prep the carpet correctly. This is the most important and most overlooked step but prep is everything. Move us much furniture out of the way as possible. Do a few rooms at a time. Do not try to do too much with a rental machine as you will end up rushing and doing a poor job. Vacuum the carpet thoroughly and slowly to get as much dry soil out as possible. Vacuum in all directions. Dry soil is much easier to remove than the mud you will get if you spray water on the dirt. Removing Gum From Your Carpets Carpets can be difficult to take care of. They are subject to a number of different types of soils and stains. One thing that can be particularly troublesome is chewing gum. It can be difficult to remove, especially if you do not know the right steps. Read this article and get some tips to help you remove chewing gum from your homes carpeting. The first thing you want to do is try to remove as much of the chewing gum as possible with a dull instrument such as a professional carpet cleaning bone scraper or just a dull spoon. Do not use a sharp instrument like a knife as this could easily damage the carpeting. Next you wan to freeze the gum so that it can easily be broken off. If you have access to a can of chewing gum remover this is perfect. It will quickly freeze the gum. If you do not have access to this you can simply use an ice cube. Get the gum as frozen as possible and then strike it with a hard instrument. It should break into pieces that can easily be removed. Pick up all the pieces being careful not to forget any. Finally you will clean the spot to get rid of any remaining chewing gum residue. Get a good citrus spotter and apply it to a spotting cloth. Now dab the spot with the cloth gently to remove the residue. Be careful not to rub the spot aggressively which could damage the carpet fiber. Three Tips To Keep You Loving Your Carpet Carpet, it is great when it is clean but it can sometimes be trouble to keep it that way. Because of this fact many people are switching to hard surfaces. This is an expensive alternative and leads to other problems. But there is no need to replace your carpet. Read this article and learn some tips to keep you loving your homes carpeting. The best way to keep enjoying your carpet is to of course keep it clean. To do this the best thing you can do is vacuum it often. Vacuuming removes dr soil which can build up in the carpet. A carpet can easily hold its weight in dry soil. Vacuum at least once a week. Twice would be better. Be sure that your vacuum is in good condition and that you are using a fresh bag. Replace bags or empty dust cups when they reach half full.

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