Is Carpet Cleaning Safe for Kids?
While babies and kids make a home beautiful, it is also an undeniable fact that your house will get a lot dirtier with them. This is especially the case when you have carpets everywhere. With time, no matter how good you take care of your carpets, they will get dirty. And with all the abuse they take from constant traffic, food and drink spills and stains, and pets and kids, they require proper cleaning to retain their natural look and feel.
Cleaning carpets is not really an issue for normal households. But, when it comes to households with kids or babies, there are a lot of things that should be considered before choosing a carpet cleaning method. This applies not just to the common areas around your house, but especially your kid’s bedroom. As a parent, your responsibility is to make sure that your children are safe, breathe clean air and have clean carpets to play on.
When people think about having their carpets cleaned professionally, they often end up having only the downstairs of their home cleaned, which usually involves the living room. The thought of having the upstairs rooms cleaned somehow makes them hesitate because of the hassles involved in the same, and hence the carpets upstairs are usually neglected cleaning.
Granted, your kid’s bedroom doesn’t get as much foot traffic as that of your living room or other common areas in your home. But, it is certainly the most important part of your home that needs thorough cleaning. From the usual dust and dirt to chocolate and other stains, the carpet in your kid’s room also goes through a lot of abuse. If it is not cleaned on a regular basis, chances are the stains will get permanent and will eventually be very difficult to remove.
But, as many carpet cleaners available on the market today are known to have harsh chemicals and leave behind chemical residue, which could be extremely dangerous for kids, it is completely natural for parents to hesitate using such products. Also, it could be challenging to differentiate a safe carpet cleaner from the rest. Therefore, your best option is to use the services of a professional carpet cleaning company.
One of the safest and best carpet cleaning methods that a professional carpet cleaning company can employ is steam cleaning. As the steam cleaning technology doesn’t involve the use of harsh chemicals, it could be a safe method that can used in your kid’s bedroom. When you choose a reliable and experienced carpet cleaning company, their professional workers will be able to guide you through the different steps involved in the steam cleaning process, so you can decide whether or not it is safe for your little one. There are also companies that now employ environment-friendly or green carpet cleaning solutions.
Your aim is to have carpet cleaning done with no unhealthy residues that could be harmful for your kids. This depends on the carpet cleaning company you choose; therefore, do your homework before trusting a company just for its brand.
Most homeowners who choose to have their carpets cleaned professionally think that their job ends right after they schedule an appointment with a carpet cleaning company. But, this isn’t the case; there are a few more things that you need to do before the carpet cleaning professional arrive at your doorstep.
Here are a few things you need to do to prepare your home for professional carpet cleaning:
Clear Your Driveway
First things first, you need to make room for the professional carpet cleaners to park their vehicles, mostly heavy duty trucks, and give them enough room to move their equipment from their truck to your home. For this, you need to clear your driveway by moving your car or any other vehicle and park it in your garage or someplace else. They should have easy access to your home till the job is completed.
Tidy Up
Professional carpet cleaning involves the use of heavy equipment, including heavy cords and long hoses. Therefore, it is important that you tidy up your home, making sure that there is no object on the floor that can get in the way and be a potential hazard. Before the carpet cleaning professionals arrive, remove everything from the floor, shoes, toys, socks, typically anything that lies on the floor. If you wish, you can also vacuum the carpet a bit, just to keep it clear, though this is not absolutely necessary.
Remove Light Furniture and Breakables
Talk to your professional carpet cleaning company about which furniture their people will move before cleaning. Other than those that they mention, remove all other small furniture from the area, including chairs, coffee table, end tables, plant stands, floor lamps, etc. before they arrive.
Also to be put away are breakable or fragile items like picture frames, china, or other fragile objects. This is important because even an accidental bump into such fragile items can cause damage. Therefore, store them in a different room until all the work is done and the carpet is dry.
Indicate Problem Areas
It is normal for many of you to have carpets with specific areas that need more attention. A spot with wine or coffee stain, too much dust, dark colored due to dirt, etc. are few examples of problem areas you might have. Make sure that you indicate these areas to the professionals and insist on putting more attention to those spots, so that your carpet is fully restored and looks as good as new again.
Keep Pets Away
If you have pets at home, may it be birds, cats, dogs, or any other pet, remember to keep them away from the area that is to be cleaned professionally. The loud noises from the carpet cleaning equipment are sure to frighten your pets; therefore, keep them in a safe place and far from all the noises, like in your backyard with the doors closed, in the garage, or at a friend’s place until the work is done.
Carpet cleaning professionals always aim at delivering quality service. To help them serve you better, follow these preparation tips and have a pleasant professional carpet cleaning experience.
Benefits of Hot Water Extraction for Carpet Cleaning
In both residential and commercial settings, carpets play a major role. While they add beauty and comfort for a residence, they serve as an extremely durable option for high traffic use in any commercial space. As carpets are usually highly durable, they don’t easily show signs of wear or look dirty in any of these circumstances. However, due to constant traffic from visitors, employees, and others, carpets gather debris, dust, germs, and a lot of other particles, which then requires carpet cleaning by professionals.
Of the many carpet cleaning techniques available today, hot water extraction happens to be one of the most preferred and beneficial options that is also widely recommended by experts. Why?
Thorough and Deeper Cleaning
One outstanding benefit of using the hot water extraction technique for carpet cleaning is that it delivers a thorough and deeper cleaning that no other carpet cleaning technique, including dry cleaning and shampoo cleaning, can deliver. The reason behind this is that, all other cleaning methods clean only the surface of your carpet and do not get deep into the carpet fibers where most of the dust and dirt particles accumulate. On the other hand, when hot water extraction is employed, steam gets injected deep into the fibers, after which powerful vacuuming makes your carpet pristine like never before.
Eliminates Odor
Carpet odor is a common problem among homeowners and commercial spaces alike. This is mainly because of all the bacteria and germs on the carpet that eventually start producing unpleasant odor. By choosing hot water extraction, the foul smell can be easily extracted and removed, leaving behind pleasant smelling carpets.
Fewer Residues
Unlike other carpet cleaning methods that leave behind a lot of residue, hot water extraction uses very little or no cleaning agents; hence, this technique leaves behind fewer residues every single time. Also, you will not experience lingering smells after the cleaning process.
Safer and More Effective
Hot water extraction carpet cleaning is considered to be more effective and safer than other carpet cleaning techniques. This is because other techniques are more likely to damage the carpet fibers.
Environment Friendly
As you would be aware, harsh chemicals can be highly harmful for kids and pets. In most cases, hot water extraction does not involve the use of harsh chemicals for the carpet cleaning process. Hence, this will be an eco-friendly option and will not affect those of you with allergies or be harmful for your pets. Also, there will be no harsh chemical that could possibly disintegrate or wear your carpet, thus helping maintaining the beauty and feel of the carpet for a long time to come.
Hot water extraction is a process that requires skill and precision. Therefore, when you choose to employ the method for your carpet cleaning needs, make sure that you choose a carpet cleaning company that employs skilled and experienced professionals who can deliver excellent results. Contact us today for an estimate and schedule an appointment for hot water extraction.
Health Benefits of a Clean Carpet
Keeping your home free of germs, dust and dirt not only provides you with a clean and healthy environment, but also makes you feel good and cosy. As you know, you home reflects your lifestyle and personality, and this doesn’t end at buying a carpet that matches your style, but continuously reflects in how you clean and maintain the same in the long run.
Health benefits of a clean carpet are many, especially when you have young kids at home. Carpets, regardless of their type, basically act like a sponge and accumulate different soils over time, which permeate through the carpet fibers and remain there until cleaned completely. And when there is foot traffic on the carpet, these soils merge with the indoor air in your house and lead to various health issues, including breathing issues. The soils we are talking about include microorganisms, chemical residue, food particles, dust, and pet dander to name a few.
Here are a few health benefits of a clean carpet:
Impede Mold Growth
Mold growth in carpets is a huge problem especially if you live in an area where humidity levels are high. When dirty carpets get exposed to moisture, they easily develop mold. And when the weather in your location is mostly wet, you cannot prevent moisture from getting tracked into your home, sinking into the carpet fibers, which when not taken care of immediately can lead to a major problem. Hiring a professional carpet cleaning team to clean your carpets on a regular basis will prevent mold and mildew growth, as they have the right tools to eliminate moisture completely from your carpet.
Eliminate Dust Mite Infestations
Dust mite infestation is a common problem in many households. However, not many homeowners are aware of the issue because dust mites are microscopic creatures. The body fragments and feces they leave behind are dangerous allergens, which when inhaled can cause serious allergies. As you would be aware, professional carpet cleaning companies use a technique called steam cleaning, which basically involves cleaning your carpets in high temperatures. Dust mites cannot survive high temperatures; therefore, when your carpets are steam cleaned, dust mite infestations will be completely eliminated.
Get Rid of Trapped Pollutants
As mentioned earlier, a dirty carpet is capable of retaining a wide variety of air pollutants, including pet dander, dirt, dust, particle pollutants, cockroach allergens, and more. Even toxic airborne gases stick to these allergens and also get trapped in your carpet. Regular activities like vacuuming and walking on the carpet will release these gases, thus contaminating the air you and your family breathe. All these bacteria can be easily killed by professional carpet cleaning. A team of experienced carpet cleaners will have the right products to use on your carpet to get rid of all the trapped pollutants, thus leaving you with a clean and healthy carpet.
Even if not for any other reason, having your carpets professionally cleaned is extremely vital to protect the health of your family members, especially kids.