Category Archives: How To

Steps to Cigarette Smoke Odor Removal From Carpet

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Cigarette smoke odor removal from carpet and rugs is, let’s just be honest, very difficult.  No matter how clean your home looks, cigarette smoke odor can make it feel gross.  Your friends and family will probably be too polite to tell you but they would rather not spend time in your home if it smells like cigarettes.  Polls suggest that cigarette smoke is one of the most offensive odors- ranking right up there with feces, skunk, and rotten milk.  Yikes!

Carpet fibers absorb odors of all kinds.  Professional steam cleaning is obviously a great solution.  But what if you can’t afford it?  Here are a couple of low-cost tips to help with cigarette smoke odor removal from your carpet:

  1. Stop Smoking in the House – Instead, smoke outside on a covered porch or in the garage (with the garage door open of course).  This won’t necessarily remove cigarette smoke odor from your carpet, but it will keep the situation from getting any worse.
  2. Sprinkle Baking Soda Over Your Carpet – Baking soda is a great odor counteractant because it naturally absorbs odors.  Just lightly sprinkle baking soda on your carpeting and vacuum it up the next day.  (Note:  Don’t go overboard with the baking soda- never dump so much on the carpet that you can’t vacuum it up.  You can always do the procedure several times if it isn’t successful the first time)
  3. Open Windows and Screen Doors – Just getting extra air flow throughout the home can help immensely.  This can be an especially helpful trick if you have company coming over.  Just open a few windows to let some fresh, Pacific Northwest air in!
  4. Use Vinegar – Just mix a small amount (about a teaspoon or two) of vinegar to about 8 to 12 ounces of water.  Apply this mixture to the carpeting in the areas most effected by the cigarette smoke.  Then, use a shop van or “wet vac” to remove the moisture.  You may need to repeat the process several times.

While these solutions area great for at-home cigarette smoke odor removal, nothing beats professional cleaning.  If your home has severe cigarette smoke odor issues, call us for a free estimate at 1-855-937-8326.

Carpet Stain Removal – Avoid These Common Mistakes

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We’ve all attempted carpet stain removal at least once.  Ugly stains not only ruin that comforting feeling of your carpet, they can also lower the value of your home.  In terms of household expenses, carpet ranks right up there with the family automobile.  It’s not cheap!  So, it’s understandable why many carpet owners take it upon themselves to perform spot removal treatments.  Unfortunately, the average consumer lacks proper carpet stain removal training and can actually make the problem worse by committing one of the following mistakes.

Three Carpet Stain Removal Mistakes You Never Want To Make…

  • Waiting Too Long! – If you don’t respond quickly to a spill, it may become a permanent stain.  This is especially true if your carpet hasn’t been recently treated with carpet protection to protect against stains.  If the spill has any type of dye, it will have a chance to seep into the fibers and possibly even penetrate the protective barrier if you don’t act fast enough.
  • Using An Inappropriate Cleaning Product – Because the average consumer lacks the proper training, they reach for any type of cleaner they can get their hands on.  Some ‘all-purpose’ cleaners claim to be safe for carpet but the reality is, they aren’t.  We frequently see homes in which these types of chemicals have caused permanent color-loss on the carpet.  What’s worse is even some of the most popular and “effective” carpet stain removers are ineffective and dangerous to your carpet.  You see, professional cleaners carry sometimes in excess of 25 specialty stain and spot removers to address every different type of carpet stain they encounter.  You should be wary of products that claim to be effective an all types of stains while also being safe for your carpets.  For an acceptable cleaning product, contact a professional for a recommendation.
  • Over-Agitation Of The Stain – For some reason, it is our natural human instinct to scrub a stain to get it clean.  This is probably necessary on other surfaces such as counters or hard floors, but it is damaging to carpets!  Over-agitation causes the carpet fibers to “bloom” (just a fancy way of saying distort).  Once the fibers bloom, they will have a ‘fuzzy’ appearance that stands out from the rest of the carpet.  Unfortunately, this is an irreversible problem so any damage done by scrubbing is permanent….So, don’t scrub.

And there you have it.  If you avoid these three carpet stain removal mistakes, you’ll have better luck at keeping your carpet looking its best.