Monday, April 29, 2013

Clean Carpet and Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality can be improved or hurt by many different ways.  Just by entering your home or office you are affecting the environment inside the structure.  Don't believe me, then wait til the next time someone walks into the space with heavy cologne or perfume on.  How long does it take to travel throughout the space?  Or how about the smell of bacon and eggs cooking and coffee brewing in the morning?  These smells travel fast and affect the environment within the structure.  Many times the things that are brought into the space don't often have a strong odor but they still affect your breathing zone negatively.  This is where clean carpet can help you.

Many studies have been done that say having a properly maintained carpet can help create a good indoor air quality situation within a structure.  Compared to a hard surface floor that can not trap pollutants, dust, and allergens, clean carpet can trap the pollutants and keep it out of your breathing zone. 

If you are looking to improve the indoor air quality in your home or office consider carpet as well as a strict maintenance plan to help keep the carpet performing like new.  Your maintenance plan should include a certified firm and certified technician from the IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification) also known as the Institute.


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Drying structures in place: It can and should be done

Pearson Carpet Care using in place drying
Here is an article I wrote for ICS magazine online. For over a decade we have had the equipment, knowledge, and training in the water restoration industry to be able to dry structures in place, but many companies still refuse to dry and restore structural items.  Instead they want to remove and replace most items like we had to 20 or more years ago.  We, as an industry, need to take advantage of the technology we have available to us now and learn how to use it effectively. 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Professional Oriental Rug Cleaning

Oriental rug cleaning and repair should be done by a professional cleaning and repair company.  These rugs need specialized knowledge and equipment to be able to be thoroughly cleaned.  Also doing a quality repair requires knowledge that the average homeowner does not have.  Rugs can be rewoven back to their original condition and a good quality repair will help preserve the value and beauty of the rug.  Many times the cleaning and repair can be handled by the same company.

Also, never have one of these fine quality floor coverings cleaned in your home or office.  The specialized equipment it takes to clean and repair these floor coverings can not be transported to your home or office.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Wool Rug Cleaning, Why Hire a Professional?

Wool Rug Cleaning, Why Hire a Professional?

Wool rug cleaning can be a confusing issue. There are definitely somethings you need to know before diving in to this project feet first.  Do not try and do this yourself or let a company clean one of these floor coverings in your home.  It is best to hire a wool rug cleaning company that has specialized dusting equipment, cleaning equipment, and training to properly clean these floor coverings. 

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Make Sure To Choose A Certified Firm

Make Sure To Choose A Certified Firm

Choosing a certified firm can help you eliminate the bait and switch type companies that none of us want to hire in the first place.  Look for The Clean Trust Certified logo (an IICRC program) which will indicate whether or not a firm is certified.  These companies will have trained technicians, adhere to a code of ethics, and have the proper insurance to be working in your home or office.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Effective Tile and Grout Cleaning

Effective Tile and Grout Cleaning

Professional tile and grout cleaning can enhance the beauty and hygiene of your floor.  If you have ever tried to clean your tile and grout yourself then you know how much of a pain it can be especially without the right tools.

A professional will have tools that you don't such as a truck mounted cleaning unit that can supply constant hot water and extract it at the same time.  They will also have specially designed tile cleaning attachments for these units that spray water and extract it at the same time.   This way the drying time is minimal and the amount of soil extracted is maximized. 

So the next time you are in need of a tile and grout cleaning, check into the benefits of having it professionally done.  This may cost you a little more than doing it yourself but the results and time you save will be well worth the small investment.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Why Clean Carpet is Better for Allergy Sufferers





There are many myths in the carpet cleaning industry.  One of them is that having a hard surface floor is better for allergy sufferers than carpet.  There have been numerous studies over the years showing that carpet, especially clean carpet is better for the occupants of an indoor space.

Having clean carpet in a space helps to trap dust, debris and other irritants and keeps them from coming up into your breathing zone.  The same dust, debris, and irritants on a hard surface floor will get disturbed easily and fly up into your breathing zone.  The key to this is having clean carpet though.  This can be accomplished with regular vacuuming, which would generally be about twice a week, followed by periodic professional carpet cleaning.  If you have large areas of hard surface flooring I would suggest some large area rugs.  This will help trap some of the allergens before they get to your breathing zone.  Then periodically take your area rug in to be professionally cleaned by a knowledgeable rug cleaner.

These are just a few tips to help you enjoy your indoor space more.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Does video marketing work?

Does video marketing work?

 More information about videos than you probably ever wanted to know! Ha! Ha!
The results are now in and it has been statistically proven that videos are one of the best marketing tools to use for reaching the largest percentage of audiences today.
Here are just a few facts you might consider when determining whether video marketing is right for you:
~ Video marketing has a 38% higher conversion ratio.
~ The average reach for videos is 50% higher than other marketing methods.
~ The return-on-investment (ROI) is 5 times greater than using other tools.
~ The cost to obtain a new client is 48% lower.
~ Video “searches” have steadily grown by a 44% increase over the last 2 years (people are searching for how-to do something, business products and reviews, and to get answers to their questions – not just watching those “CrAzY” cat videos  : )
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Don’t have video equipment or software, but would like to produce your own videos?
Try a screenshot recorder instead. If you have a great Powerpoint presentation and a USB microphone, a screenshot recorder records your presentation from your desktop (plus your audio) as you present.
Some good software choices for this include JING (which is free) and will record up to 5 minutes (but it doesn’t allow for editing). For longer videos or editing capabilities, try SNAGIT (which is about $49.95 with a 30 day free trial). Both are from Tech Smith http://www.techsmith.com.
If you have any questions about making a video, just give me a call at (281) 404-5019 or send me an email at carmen@thepublicitydiva.com.
Happy video-ing,
Carmen, The Publicity Diva

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Dehumidifier review

Dehumidifier review

Which dehumidifier is better?  Phoenix 270HTx vs. Aquatrap AT450S  These are two of the newest dehumidifiers on the market today.  One of them claims to pull the most water of any dehumidifier in the industry, but is this true?  My experience with the two units on the same job at the same time may surprise you. 

www.prodrying.com
www.pearsoncarpetcare.com

Rug Cleaner The importance of proper rug maintenance

Rug Cleaner The importance of proper rug maintenance

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Removing Urine From An Oriental Rug

Taking your rug to an oriental rug cleaner can sometimes be a necessity.  This is the case with urine in a rug. Since so many Americans have pets in there homes now days, it is inevitable that a few "accidents" will happen on rugs from time to time.  Trying to clean these up is where the problem comes in. While there are many products on the market to eliminate the odor from urine in carpet these are not made with wool fibers in mind.  If you don't know what you are doing while trying to clean up the urine then you can cause further damage to the rug.  Sometimes urine can make the dyes in the rug unstable and the moment you attempt to clean the area, the darker colors in that area will bleed onto the lighter colors.  As an oriental rug cleaner, this can happen to us also, however, we do have ways of controlling it or preventing it most of the time.

The only way to be sure the urine is out of the floor covering though is to have it completely immersed and washed.  Washing will allow all the contaminants to be flushed out.  After washing in an oriental rug cleaning plant takes place then they will also have the facilities to be able to get it dry within 24 hours.  These are things that can not be duplicated in someones home by a carpet cleaning company or the rug owner.

So the next time you are in the need to have a rug cleaned make sure to find a reputable in-plant rug cleaner who can wash your floor covering properly.  This will insure that you get decades of use from the textile.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Webcam winning HydraMaster Contest

Well my rug cleaning webcam has won another award.  This time the Marketing Gems Contest from HydraMaster.  A big thank you goes out to HydraMaster for putting on the contest, it was great fun reading all the other entries.  I would also like to thank all the people that commented, liked, and shared my story.  You can view the rug cleaning webcam here.