3 tips for rug cleaning Austin, Texas

Professional Rug Cleaning

While you may not have carpet in your home, chances are you have at least one area rug that could use a good cleaning from time to time. You probably vacuum the rug once a week, but unfortunately, vacuuming won’t be able to remove all of the dirt and debris that’s accumulated in your rug. There are several ways you can clean your rug - including steam cleaning.

1.Prepare the Rug

Just like you would any other carpet flooring, you’ll want to prepare the area before applying any cleaning solution or steam cleaning. First, you’ll need to move any furniture covering the rug. Then, vacuuming the rug first will help to loosen any debris that could be stuck in the fibers of your rug.

2.Tackle the Stains First

After you’ve run your vacuum over the rug several times, it’ll probably be easier to notice any stains. Whether they’re from your pet, kids, or maybe a spilled glass of wine - you’ll want to make sure these are gone before steam cleaning the rest of your rug.

3.Hire A Professional

To achieve the best results, it’s always recommended to hire a professional. Sure, you can probably rent your own steam cleaning machine from your local hardware store, but that machine can’t even compare to the machine a professional would have. However, this isn’t the only reason you should hire a professional - check out our blog post on hiring a professional vs. renting a machine!

You may feel better prepared to tackle a job like steam cleaning your rug now that you’ve learned the steps to prepare it. However, for optimal results, you’ll probably want to call a professional - their experience and their equipment is reason enough, isn’t it?

To learn more about our steam cleaning services give us a call at (800) 880-7785! We’re happy to come out and give you an estimate, too!

3 Essential Questions to Ask your Austin Texas Steam Cleaning Company

Cleaning Service Austin, TX

If you’re looking for a professional to come clean the carpeting throughout your house, chances are you’ll want someone reliable and experienced, but affordable. How do you know you’re hiring someone you can count on? Begin by asking these 3 essential questions and you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if you’re talking to a reliable and professional company.

1. Are your technicians certified?

Here at The Steam Team, all of our technicians are properly trained and certified with the latest technology and equipment. While the certification certainly can’t speak for the years of experience a technician may have, it does tell you that they’ve been through hands-on training and rigorous testing.

1. Do you have references?

Any business with good services should have references that’ll vouch for said services. If you head on over to The Steam Team’s website, you’ll notice they even have a page devoted to their client testimonials.

1. What kind of services do you provide?

While experience with carpeting is important, you may have more than one type of flooring throughout your home (as most houses do). An excellent steam cleaning company will be able to tackle tile and grout, laminate, hardwood, carpeting - you name it! If you have different types of flooring in your house, The Steam Team sure would love to help you!

Along with steam cleaning, you may find out that the company is able to clean way more than just your flooring, too! Need your old sofa cleaned? What about that HVAC system? You can count on The Steam Team to do it!

If you’re having trouble deciding on which company to choose for your steam cleaning needs, make a few calls around, ask your friends, and read up on reviews around the internet. When in doubt, call The Steam Team - you won’t regret it!

How To Keep Your Upholstery Clean in the Central Texas Austin area

Professional Cleaning

No, none of this article will require you purchasing plastic covers to protect your beloved upholstered furniture. But, we all know that it can feel like a nearly impossible task - especially if you have young kids or pets. While you could purchase a more aesthetically appealing fabric slip cover, there are still a couple other options worth exploring first.

First, you absolutely need to maintain a regular cleaning schedule. That means regularly vacuuming the furniture to get all the dust and debris out of there! Periodically throughout the year, call up your local steam cleaning company (like The Steam Team in Austin) and have them come out to give your furniture a good, thorough, deep clean.

Fluff - and fluff, often! To best maintain their comfort and shape, the cushions of your upholstered furniture should be fluffed quite often. Since they’re full of material that can be easily moved in different directions, the cushions will start to take different shapes or become flat over time. It’s sure to keep your favorite furniture in tip-top shape and you can guarantee it’ll stay comfortable!

Don’t forget to ask the manufacturer about a stain protector! If they don’t put one on before your furniture is delivered, you may want to look at products that you can purchase separately in order to keep stains at bay.

Lastly, if you can, keep your furniture out of direct sunlight. Often times, direct sunlight can cause extensive wear to your upholstery and fade its brilliant color. While this could be protected with a fabric slip cover, you may want to just move the furniture out of the sun to avoid it altogether!

Is it time to schedule your regular professional upholstery cleaning? We’d love to help! Give us a call here at The Steam Team so we can get something set on the calendar for you!

Top 3 Ways to a Cleaner Home in Round Rock for 2016

Water Damage Clean Up

Top 3 Ways to a Cleaner Home in 2016

With the first month of the new year coming to an end, we’re starting to see many New Year’s resolutions fall off. Don’t let that happen to you! Especially if your resolution is a cleaner home – we’ve got a few tips to help you out!

1. Schedule Cleaning

Finding the motivation to clean your own house is often difficult. Many people think they’ll clean when they “want to,” – while it seems like a great idea, it usually ends up leading to poor cleaning habits. Whether you’re scheduling a cleaning routine with a professional or you’re scheduling yourself time to clean, put it on the calendar and hold yourself accountable! Just remember, no one has ever said “I really regret cleaning my house today.”

1. Dust Everything Regularly

Yes, we know you know you should be dusting around your home. But, how many of you actually get every nook and cranny? Many times, the most common places that are ignored are your shelves, picture frames, and fan blades. Next time you reach for the duster, make sure you’re dusting everywhere!

1. Consider Hiring Someone

For the tougher stuff, like getting set-in stains out of your carpet, it may be easier to hire a professional. They’ll probably end up saving you a ton of time, so you can focus on cleaning other areas of your home!

Additionally, it may be easier for your schedule to hire someone on a regular basis to come in and do a deep cleaning occasionally throughout the year. Whether it’s a steam cleaning company for your flooring, or a different cleaning company, it’s worth looking into!

Are you looking for a professional opinion? We’re always here to help you! Give us a call, today!

Hey Austin It's Time for Spring Cleaning!

Water Damage Removal 

It’s Time for Spring Cleaning!

The daunting task of spring cleaning can seem – well, daunting. How do you know where to begin? You have your flooring - whether it be carpet, hardwood, laminate, or tile – to your ceiling fans, it can be difficult to decide what needs to be cleaned first!

There are several benefits to a good, deep-clean every once in a while. If you’re able to lightly clean regularly, you may not need to deep-clean as much, but there’s no doubt that you’ll enjoy the drastic difference around your home. Are you dreading beginning your spring cleaning? Just leave it to the professionals! That way you can guarantee a clean and fresh home.

Break Up Your Cleaning Tasks by Hiring Professionals

Let the professionals take on the difficult task of cleaning your house from top to bottom. Beginning with steam cleaning those carpets that haven’t seen a vacuum in a couple weeks. No problem – but you’ll want to get that dirt and debris out of there as soon as you can.

Steam cleaning especially can even improve the quality of air in your home. From removing pollutants in your carpet fibers to giving your air ducts a good, deep cleaning, you’ll definitely feel the difference in air quality afterwards!

But, you can’t steam clean everything…

While this is true, you can steam clean many household items like upholstered furniture, flooring, air ducts, drapery, etc. Just cleaning all of these things, alone, will drastically improve the atmosphere in your home.

When Should You Clean Your Home?

You don’t really have to wait until the season of Spring is actually here. While Groundhog Day is coming up in February and we’ll soon find out if we should be expecting Spring sooner rather than later, your cleaning shouldn’t need a certain “date” to begin! We’re happy to help you whenever you’re ready to get started.

Don’t hesitate to call one of our steam cleaning professionals today! You’re sure to give “spring cleaning” a whole new meaning!

The Easiest Way to Remove Pet Odor in Georgetown, Texas

Smoke Damage Austin

The Easiest Way to Remove Pet Odor

Anyone who owns a pet has been in your shoes, trust us. Especially if you’re starting from the baby stage – they mean well, but man can puppies do some damage! Pet accidents can be extremely difficult to remove, especially if they’ve soaked through to several deeper layers of your carpet or padding.

What can you do?

If you notice your pet has had an accident, the most important thing is to soak up as much of it as you can immediately. The longer the liquid is allowed to absorb in your carpet, the harder its stain and odor can be to remove.

How severe is it?

There’s a wide range of severity when it comes to accidents like these. Sometimes, it’s mild enough to only touch the surface carpet fibers. In which case, a simple cleaning can remove the odor.

However, in moderate cases, you may need an odor neutralizer to remove the odor from deeper layers within your carpet. The application of this neutralizer isn’t a difficult process, especially if you hire a professional, but it may not be able to work completely if the problem lies deeper than you think.

In severe cases, you may need to replace the entire carpet and padding. It depends on the area that has been effected and by how much. In extremely unfortunate and severe cases, this may not even do the trick.

Professionals may suggest using an enzyme treatment, odor sealant, and replacing everything (down to the tack strips) when it comes to these situations. It’s possible to remove, it’s just going to take a little extra work (or a lot).

If you’re working on potty training your pup – consider doing so in areas without carpet. Although pet urine isn’t ideal for any flooring, it’s much easier to remove from tile floors than it is from carpet.

Are you struggling to remove pet odor from your home? Call us, today, to have it professionally cleaned!

Is the Cedar Fever Getting to You in Austin, Tx?

Duct Cleaning Before and After

Is the Cedar Fever Getting to You?

It’s that time of year again – the cedar fever is at an all-time high! Have you been walking around sniffling and blowing your nose non-stop lately? That’s sure what it feels like, anyway! Even if you stay inside, it still feels like you can’t escape the tiny cedar particles that seem to be everywhere.

There is one thing around the house you could do to help your allergies. Even if you have an air purifier, you won’t be able to fully combat those allergens until you’ve had your air ducts cleaned!

Air Duct Cleaning

When’s the last time you had your HVAC or air ducts cleaned? We’re willing to guess it was last year, or maybe even before that!

A good, professional, deep cleaning for your air ducts can actually help to alleviate these kinds of allergy symptoms.

The Steam Team uses state of the art “source removal” equipment to remove all of these allergens and pollutants from the air inside your home.

That’s not all…

You’ll enjoy a cleaner, fresher air quality without feeling like you’re breathing cedar in constantly. But, that’s not all.

Cleaning your air ducts can also improve their efficiency. The air will be able to flow more freely through the system without all the dust and debris in the way, meaning your system doesn’t have to work as hard!

You probably guessed it – that can save you money! It won’t take as long for your HVAC system to heat or cool your home, increasing your home’s energy efficiency and decreasing your energy bills.

What are you waiting for? With Spring right around the corner, Austin allergies are only about to get worse. Combat that cedar fever with a professional air duct cleaning and breathe easily knowing your air is clean!

When Should the Carpets be Cleaned? Serving West Austin Since 1983

www.keepaustincleaner.com

Should I Clean the Carpet in my New Home?

We’ve all been there; you just picked up the keys to your new house, you open the door and begin thinking about all of the things you should clean. Maybe the prior owners cleaned after themselves (lucky you), but how do you know exactly how well they were able to clean the carpets? Stains, dirt, and debris can be in the carpet without being visible to the naked eye, so it’s probably in your best interest to thoroughly clean the carpet.

When Should the Carpets be Cleaned?

Before you begin moving your stuff in, you may want to do a quick cleaning throughout the whole home. After you’ve tackled the kitchen and bathrooms, you’ll likely want to finish the carpets before putting your furniture on them. The easiest way to guarantee clean floors is to hire a professional steam cleaning company. Plus, who really wants to worry about cleaning their carpets on moving day?

Why Steam Cleaning?

You may be tempted to pick up some carpet cleaning solution at the grocery store and spray and scrub your new floors on your own. Before you head out the front door, consider steam cleaning – a much safer and more efficient option. Using mainly water, heat, and suction, you won’t have to worry about any harmful chemicals for your pets or kids.

The amount of suction that a professional steam cleaning company is able to use with an industrial-grade machine is also an extremely efficient way to remove any debris in your carpet fibers. You can rest assured knowing the machine picked up any leftover dirt from the previous owners.

Are you planning a move with the New Year? Don’t forget to clean those carpets before you move your furniture in!

New Carpet Austin Texas

Austin's Original Rug Cleaners

New Year, New Carpet?

A New Year is usually accompanied by many resolutions that (probably) won’t last more than the first few months of the year. However, there is one resolution that can be easy to accomplish – new carpet. Are you tired of looking at your ten-year-old carpet filled with stains and that musty odor you just can’t seem to get rid of? Use the New Year as an excuse to splurge on the new carpet you obviously need, it’s sure to be one decision you don’t regret!

What to Know Before Buying that Carpet

The type of carpet you buy should depend on the area it will be in. If you didn’t pick out and install the original carpet in your home, chances are you haven’t learned about the different carpet fibers. Each carpet is going to absorb spills, dirt, and debris differently – it’s important to know the difference for the different areas in your home.

For example, for an area with high traffic, you’ll probably want a carpet that doesn’t damage easily. Meaning, it’s less likely to absorb accidents, spills, and other stains.

Don’t skip the padding, either. Choosing the padding is almost as important as the carpet itself, because the padding can absorb spills and other stains just the same. Additionally, the padding adds to the overall comfort of the flooring.

What About Color?

Choosing a carpet with a beautiful color can change the entire atmosphere of your room, really making the floor a part of the space. However, color can also fade with time – especially if it’s in direct sunlight. Before choosing a color, look around the room and see how many areas on the floor are susceptible to the sun. You may have to save the richer colors for rooms that have less natural light, but you won’t have to deal with the color fading!

Have you replaced your carpet recently? Do you need it cleaned? Give us a call!

How Does Dust Affect Your Air Quality?

Indoor Air Quality Austin

The air quality that you breathe inside your home directly affects your health and the health of your family. While dust mites aren’t the only pollutant that can cause harm to your health, they sure are high on the list. Keeping your home, flooring, and furniture clean will limit the amount of dust mites around your home. While regularly vacuuming and dusting is definitely recommended – have you considered getting your flooring and furniture professionally cleaned?

What can a professional steam cleaning do for your home?

Besides removing the dust mites from your flooring and furniture, steam cleaning can suction almost every particle of dirt or debris around your home. When you don’t clean around your floors or your sofas, you end up walking and sitting on dust particles. Every movement stirs up the air, which could cause you to cough, sneeze, have itchy eyes, etc. Using the hot water extraction method (another way to say steam cleaning) you won’t be adding extra harsh chemicals around you and you’ll even be removing the gross “stuff” that’s causing you problems!

What happens if you live with bad air quality?

Not only will you likely experience uncomfortable symptoms like coughing, but you’ll also probably have a higher chance of catching respiratory conditions like colds or bronchitis.

How else can you improve your air quality?

In addition to professionally steam cleaning your flooring and furniture, you can also increase the air ventilation around your home. It is recommended to keep your windows and doors shut because the outside pollutants can easily come inside if you do, but using an air filter and trickle ventilation works extremely well.

How often should you have your home professionally steam cleaned?

At least once per year to keep your flooring, furniture, and air quality clean. If you tend to have higher-traffic areas around your home, then you may opt to clean more frequently throughout the year. It’s your home, you be the judge – if you feel that your carpet is beginning to seem dirty or you notice that you’ve been itching your eyes frequently, give us a call! We’re happy to come out and give you an estimate for steam cleaning your home.

Will Cleaning Often Soil My Carpet Faster?

Restoration Specialists 

A common myth you may have heard is that cleaning your carpet more often will cause it to soil quicker. Actually, this isn’t true at all with steam cleaning. Sometimes, if you use other cleaning methods such as dry cleaning – a soap residue can get left behind. The residue then can collect other dirt and debris much easier than your carpet fibers can, making your carpet appear dirtier.

How is steam cleaning different?

Steam cleaning, also referred to as “hot water extraction” uses primarily water, heat, and suction to remove debris from your carpet fibers. However, there is a cleaning solution that is typically applied throughout the treatment, but the solution we use will leave minimal (if any) residue. The suction powered by the technician’s van removes all of the dirt and debris stuck in between your carpet fibers.

Are you considering renting your own machine?

Go for it – if your carpet needs a little TLC in between professional cleanings. But, we recommend having a professional come out at least once per year to make sure your carpets are as clean as they can be. Rental machines or store-bought machines are great for cleaning areas that aren’t too dirty. However, their suction is much lesser than an industrial-grade machine, so they won’t be able to do much with high-traffic areas or heavily soiled carpets.

Have you read your manufacturer’s warranty?

Often times, your carpets warranty will require that it be steam cleaned once per year. Otherwise, you void your warranty using other cleaning methods. However, this isn’t always the case. Assuming you want to keep your warranty in place, give your carpet manufacturer a call if you’re unsure of the requirements of their warranty.

For any of your carpet or furniture cleaning needs – give us a call here at The Steam Team, we’re happy to come out and give you an estimate!

What’s Your New Year’s Resolution?

Cleaning Austin Texas

What’s Your New Year’s Resolution?

Finally cleaning your carpets, perhaps?

How long has it been since your carpets have seen a steam cleaner – a few months, years, decades? While you may have spot treated a few stains or spills here and there, have you really deep cleaned in a while? Regularly cleaning your carpets can really benefit your air quality, the carpets longevity, and the appeal of your home. Although it can be a tedious task, a thorough steam cleaning a few times throughout the year (depending on the flow of traffic over the carpet) can drastically change the atmosphere of the room. Don’t think you need to buy a steam cleaner for your home either – there are professionals, like us, who can get the job done just right!

So, why is regular carpet maintenance important?

Although you should vacuum your carpet weekly (or more often depending on the traffic level), this isn’t the kind of maintenance we’re talking about. Vacuuming can only clean a carpet so much – typically, it’s limited to picking up the loose dirt and debris if your vacuum is able to suction enough of it up. However, often times the suction power of vacuums is lacking and can leave a significant amount of debris around your carpet fibers.

How does debris hurt the carpet fibers?

Over time, if debris is left long enough it can actually affect the strength of the carpet fibers. If you’ve noticed that your carpet seems to be deteriorating, this could be what happened.

Why is steam cleaning recommended?

Steam cleaning is one of the safest and most efficient ways to remove particles from your carpet while also ensuring the fibers are cleaned. Steam cleaning uses less chemicals than other carpet cleaning methods, making it safe for your home even if you have children and pets.

There is a difference in renting or buying your own personal steam cleaning machine and hiring a professional with a machine that hooks up to their van. The amount of suction that a professional is able to get with an industrial-grade machine will knock any debris that is “stuck” loose and leave your carpets looking brand new!

If you’re looking for a thorough carpet cleaning for the New Year, give us a call at (800) 880-7785!

A New Year, a New FAQ

Home Cleaning ATX

Periodically, we like to answer questions that we are regularly asked with our readers on our blog. Since we haven’t shared a “Frequently Asked Questions” post in a while and with the New Year upon us, we thought we would answer some great questions we’ve been getting!

How can I prepare my carpet for a professional cleaning?

Although you can lightly vacuum (and we actually recommend it), you aren’t required to do anything to “prepare” your carpets.

Is it worth it to hire a professional?

With a professional, not only do you get their experience and expertise – you also get their equipment. Our professionals at The Steam Team only use the latest technology and equipment to ensure the best clean for your carpets.

With a rental machine or a personal machine that you bought for your home, you won’t get nearly as much suction. Professionals use machines that are attached to their vans, using the power of the car to power the suction – allowing for a great amount of “pull” through the machine.

What is the best way to get an accurate cleaning estimate?

The best way to get an accurate cleaning estimate is to have a professional come out to your house. Even if you’re just needing your carpets cleaned, sometimes information can get lost in translation over the phone. We’re happy to come out and take a look at the job you need done, though, so don’t hesitate to ask!

Will certain types of cleaning void the manufacturer’s warranty on my carpet?

Most carpets come with a warranty that will void with any type of cleaning besides steam cleaning. In fact, some warranties even require regular steam cleanings to keep them in place. If you’re unsure of the requirements to keep your warranty valid, your carpet manufacturer can probably help explain their conditions to you.

Do you have any other questions? Give us a call!

How does Steam Cleaning Work? Round Rock, Tx

Austin Texas Maid Service 

How does Steam Cleaning Work?

By Amy Renken

Whether you have stains spread widely across your carpet or you only need to spot treat a couple places – there are several different methods of cleaning that you can try to clean your carpet; dry cleaning, spot treating, steam cleaning, etc. Many of these methods will appear to clean the mess, but will only clean it from the surface of your carpet fibers. Meaning; there are still thousands of particles of dirt and debris in your carpet – so, is it really “clean?” You may think you’re getting the job done, but have you been noticing that you’re having to clean your carpet more regularly?

So, how does it work?

Most dry cleaning carpet methods will attack the top third of your carpet fibers, whereas steam cleaning (or hot water extraction) is known to really dig down deep in your carpet and get everything out. The process is fairly simple and quick, too, so you won’t have to worry about staying off your carpets for weeks (like you would with wet shampooing).

It begins with a cleaning agent that is mixed with the water in a tank. This agent is usually perfectly safe for your pets, children, and home in general, but you should always clarify that before beginning the process. Once the water and cleaning solution are combined, the machine can get to work!

The machine used a high amount of pressure to push this solution through your carpet, following it almost immediately – the machine will then use an extremely high pressured suction vacuum to remove all of the moisture from your carpet. If you hire a professional, typically their equipment is mounted in their truck, giving them the advantage of removing the waste from your house simultaneously while cleaning in addition to the amount of power the truck provides – versus a portable or rental unit.

Are you tired of your carpets causing an eye-sore in your home? Sick of looking at those stains and knowing how dirty it is? Give us a quick call – we’re happy to help!

The Best Ways to Clean Your Tile Austin, Texas

Natural Stone Cleaning Austin, TX

The Best Ways to Clean Your Tile

Having tile flooring throughout your home definitely has its benefits – longevity, variety, health, and most of all, it’s low maintenance. Assuming your tile is sealed correctly, it can typically withstand liquid spills, pet accidents, and water. Even though they’re low maintenance, cleaning tile floors is still a necessary task to keep your floors in their optimal condition.

Dry Cleaning

Regularly sweeping or vacuuming your tile floors will guarantee that all dirt and debris is cleaned away. If dirt is left to sit on your tile flooring, areas that are often wet will make the debris extremely tough to remove.

Water

Shockingly enough, using water is one of the best methods to clean your tile floors. As with other flooring, you’ll want to pick up any spills or debris as soon as possible to ensure the liquid does not stain your grout or soak into a porous stone.

Deep Cleaning

There are several household items – such as vinegar – that work well to deep clean tile floors. However, you should note that vinegar should never be used on marble. You may need to deep clean your floors if they are starting to look dull, have mildew or rust, or have deeply stained grout.

Hiring a Professional

To guarantee your floors are properly cleaned and to get the best results, hiring a professional is always optimal. The Steam Team has an 8-step process to ensure the flooring is looking its best. Beginning with a pre-inspection, our technicians will set your expectations by thoroughly inspecting each area and noting the challenging ones.

It’s important that your other floors are not cleaned with the same techniques or solutions that is touching your tile flooring. For this reason, many professionals will ensure that your hardwood or carpeted areas are not disturbed throughout the cleaning.

The Steam Team is able to remove stains in your grout and tile floors, using only the best techniques and latest equipment. If you need your tile floors cleaned, don’t hesitate to give us a call!

Refinishing Your Hardwoods: What You Need to Know about floors in Austin Texas

Hardwood Floor Cleaning & Refinishing 

Refinishing Your Hardwoods: What You Need to Know

Part of the reason most people invest in hardwood floors is because of their longevity. Even if you want carpet for a period of time, lay some carpet over it and when you want your hardwoods back – simply remove it! Refinish and ta-da, it’s like new floors all over again! But, before you get started taking on a big project like refinishing hardwood floors, there are some things you should know.

Types of Finish

There are multiple types of finish you can use to refinish your flooring. You’ll want to research the different kinds for a bit before choosing one – which will ultimately depend on the look you want to achieve with your flooring. Three types of finish are; varnish (matte-glossy finish), polyurethane (plastic-ish finish), and penetrating sealer (natural looking finish).

Lifespan

If treated properly and taken care of, a hardwood floor can last over 100 years – that means you’re only refinishing your flooring 10 times! However, that also means that it’s not something you’ll become highly experienced at over 100 years if you’re only doing it 10 times, so it may be worth hiring a professional to ensure that the job is done correctly.

Avoid Oil

For the future, if you’re cleaning your wood floor avoid oil-based cleaners and waxes. When it comes to refinishing your hardwood, you can’t refinish anything that has been treated with an oil-based product. If you’re tackling the project by yourself and aren’t sure what to do because your floors have been treated with something that was oil-based, you can strip the wood with an ammonia and water mixture in order to continue refinishing.

When to Hire a Professional

Although it may seem more cost-effective to try and do this yourself, it’s not an easy project and you wouldn’t want to damage your floors. If you hire a professional you’ll be guaranteeing that the job is done correctly and you know your floors will look new for many years to come!

Does Natural Stone Need to be Cleaned too?

Natural Stone Restoration 

This may seem like a silly question but you would be surprised at the amount of times people don’t understand why you should clean and seal your stone and grout. If you are having new floors installed, typically the stone is sealed upon installation – but this will only last for a few years, so you’ll need to clean them and seal them again several times over their lifespan. If you hire a professional, the process to get your floors looking brand new is fairly simple and easy!

Don’t Waste Time

The biggest problem people can have with natural stone is that it’s porous and can absorb liquids and stains very easily. When it comes to these situations, time is key – don’t let the liquid sit there for too long or you may not be able to get it up without professional help!

Regular Maintenance

Like any other floors, natural stone requires a good bit of regular maintenance – sweeping, mopping, dusting, etc. With a regular cleaning routine, your daily filth won’t add up as quickly making your floor cleaner for longer periods of time.

What to Clean With

Stay away from cleaners with harsh chemicals (such as acids) as they tend to have negative effects on natural stone – scratching and wearing down the stone more than usual. Be aware that this may not be something you notice immediately either, but acids have been known to cause discoloration over time in different kinds of stone.

When to Hire a Professional

If your natural stone flooring has damage to it (scratches, discoloration, stains, etc.) you’ll want to hire a professional to ensure that your stone is restored properly. Otherwise, your repair may not last as long as it should or you could even cause further damage to the floor. Most importantly, different stone materials call for different cleaning methods. A licensed professional has the necessary education to make this decision and ensure that your flooring will be safe and never damaged.

Getting Rid of Pet Odor before the Holidays

Textile Cleaning Experts Austin, TX

One of the biggest reasons why people dread the holidays is because they usually have to clean their homes because they’re expecting company. Is this happening to you this holiday? Are you looking for a way to get all of the pet odor out of your home before your guests arrive? If you have dogs – or really, any pets – chances are your house has taken a little beating once or twice whether it be in the form of urine on your carpet or scratch marks on your upholstered furniture – but we still love them anyways, right?

There are a couple different things you could do when it comes to lifting the pet odors from your carpets. Most of the products you buy to clean your carpets won’t work in removing the odor completely because it has to be removed from each layer that it’s affected. These cleaners typically work to hide the stain and not remove the smell.

If you leave the mess for too long, the concrete below your flooring could begin to absorb the odor. Remember this because it’s extremely important to tend to each mess before it begins to soak into the carpet!

Professionals, like us, will use a urine neutralizer to remove the urine from each layer of the flooring. In severe cases, sometimes the best thing to do is to pull up your carpet and remove the pad beneath it. Most of the time, your carpet can bounce back with a little cleaning – pads, however, are too porous to be able to remove all of the urine in these severe cases. The good news though, if these needs to be done, is that you can then get your concrete sealed prior to re-installing the carpet which will definitely eliminate any past odors.

For the times that you are not in a rush to get your home looking fresh for company, consider calling professionals out throughout the year to maintain your home for you. It takes a load off of your shoulders, plus you know the job is getting done efficiently and professionally! What’s wrong with that? For other carpet cleaning and restoration services, contact us today at (800) 880-7785!

Post-Thanksgiving Cleaning Tips Round Rock Texas

Round Rock Carpet Cleaning Specialists

Post-Thanksgiving Cleaning Tips

If your Thanksgiving went anything like ours did, it most likely consisted of lots of food, family, children, and relaxation. While there isn’t one thing necessarily wrong with that, when did your house get cleaned? Maybe you had a professional cleaning company come out prior to all of your guests getting in town, but did you consider what your house was going to look like after all of your company left? You may have done your dishes following your Thanksgiving feast, but did you take a look at your living room – where everyone was drinking their wine and eating their cheesecake?

One of our favorite cleaning tips for big gatherings or parties such as these involves area rugs – and lots of ‘em! Placing area rugs beneath the tables where you’ll be eating and around the common areas (living rooms, dining rooms, etc.) can help to make for a much easier cleanup afterwards. If your guests keep on the rugs, then all you have to worry about is cleaning the rugs! Rugs are much easier to clean than carpets or other flooring and take up much less space so you won’t need to spend as much time cleaning them!

Are you ready to have your house back? Is your main concern all of the food that your nieces and nephews smashed into your brand new upholstered sectional sofa? Ouch – that’s not pretty. To move the process along a little quicker, call a professional company like us! We can help get your floors, drapes, and upholstery looking like new! It’s not easy to host the holidays for your family or any group of people for that matter, it takes a lot of effort, time, and energy. You shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore – leave it to people like us!

If you’re still trying to recover from that food coma that Thanksgiving left you in – give us a call at (800) 880-7785 so we can start getting your carpets and furniture looking brand new today!

3 Reasons Why Drapery Cleaning is Necessary

Drapery Cleaning 

By Amy Renken

As with other fabrics on your furniture or floor, you want to keep them clean for a multitude of reasons. First, they’ll stay looking new and fresh – who wouldn’t want that? Second, it can help elongate their lifetime, meaning you won’t have to buy new drapes for a while. Third, it eliminates the dust build up in your home leading to less allergies – when you live in Austin, you’ll give anything for less allergies!  

• Clean Drapery, Clean Air

One of the areas that is least paid attention to is your curtains and drapery. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the biggest places for dust, dirt, and debris. Letting your drapery go without cleaning leads to an abundance of dust and dirt – who’s breathing this dust in? Whoever is in the house – whether it be you, your kiddos, your extended family, a babysitter, everyone is breathing it in. Steam cleaning your drapes is guaranteed to remove all of the debris and leave you with much cleaner air.

• Longer Life

Just like your furniture and your flooring, the better care you take of it, the longer it will last. Letting the dirt and debris accumulate over time can only damage your curtains and cause them to wear faster. Keeping them clean will elongate their lifetime!  

• Continuously Looking New

Sometimes dust and debris can lead to discoloration – causing your like-new fabrics to look old and worn. On the contrary, when you dust them regularly and steam clean them every so often you’ll have drapery that is always looking like-new!

As steam cleaning professionals, we know how to treat each fabric. It’s important to understand that each fabric must be treated differently because they can withstand different types of cleaning. If you need your drapery cleaned, give us a call!