By: Michael Stiles

Before attempting to clean an oriental rug the proper precautions must take place in order to ensure the best possible cleaning. The cleaning process for oriental rugs is unlike the cleaning done to your carpets. First of all, the proper inspection of the area rug must take place. While inspecting the rug it is very important to identify the type of material, while noting any pre-existing conditions. Almost all of your high end oriental rugs are made from natural fibers that must be cared for in a special way.

In most cleaning cases high heat, pressure, agitation, and chemical reactivity play a large role in your cleaning success. Using the same approach for oriental rugs will NOT result in the same success you may have had in the past. After you have identified the proper type of fiber, then you may move onto the cleaning stage.

All dry soil must be removed from the rug before any wet-cleaning takes place. After you’ve given it a good vacuum, then placing the rug through a rug beater will remove any excess dry soil. After the rug has been removed of all dry soil, then it is transferred to the wash tub. Once the rug is placed in the cleaning tub, hundreds of gallons of water are then used to completely flush out and thoroughly clean the area rug. After the rug is cleaned it is then placed in a forced drying chamber to ensure rapid, thorough drying, which is necessary for natural fibers such as wool.

Once the rug has been properly dried the next step is to package and deliver the rug back to the owner’s house in a timely manner. The oriental rug is rolled into protective paper to prevent dirtying the rug during transportation. Once the technician arrives with the rug, it is then placed where the customer desires most. The rug is rolled out nicely for a wonderful presentation of the great work that has been done for your customer.

This extremely thorough cleaning process is unlike any other cleaning procedure for oriental rugs. These steps cannot be replicated inside your home. Instead, these cleaning steps must be taken at a specialized rug cleaning plant that includes the proper equipment for the job. If the proper precautions are not met with the correct cleaning procedures damage to your oriental rug may occur.

Believe it or not Scotchgard can be your best defense when it comes to protecting carpets, rugs and upholstered furniture . Read on to learn the benefits of Scotchgard along with an easy way to make sure you are getting what you are paying for.

4 Reasons To Use Scotchgard

1. Scotchgard is a fluorochemical that protects your carpet and upholstery from both spills and dirt. Just like a coat of wax on your car it provides a protective coating on your carpets and upholstery. Most people don’t realize the benefits of carpet protector in the case of drink spills. If applied correctly it will prevent liquids from penetrating the fibers. If you spill coffee, juice, soda, wine, etc. on your carpets the spill will bead up on the surface instead of soaking in. Many times you can take a paper towel and soak up the spill.

2. Another important and often less advertised benefit of carpet protector is in the protection from household dirt. Dirt is abrasive and can actually scratch the surface of carpet fibers leaving a dingy or faded appearance.  Scotchgard helps prevent dirt particles from doing any long-term damage.

3. Although carpet protector does need to be reapplied every six to eighteen months (depending on traffic), you can be rest assured that carpet protector plus a thorough, consistent vacuuming regimen will add years to the life and beauty of your carpets. This can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a carpet.

4. Be aware that unethical carpet cleaners will dilute the Scotchgard to a point that it is ineffective. There are many ways to incorrectly apply protectant. Make sure the carpet cleaning company you are working with has been certified and has a reputation of high standards. At Steam Masters our clients have come to expect only quality when comes to all of our services including Scotchgard application. Give us a call today for a Free estimate.

Protecting the Indoor Environment

Most of the conventional cleaning products on the market are petroleum based and have dubious health and environmental implications. Petroleum based chemicals are being found to cause significant attritional effects to the nervous system and immune system after prolonged exposure. Illnesses identified in medical research include:

•Immune System Weakening
•Adult and Child Cancers
•Neurological Disorders
•Autoimmune Disorders
•Asthma
•Allergies
•Infertility
•Child Behavior Disorders

Protecting the Outdoor Environment

The dumping of carpet cleaning wastewater onto the street, into the storm drain or onto open ground is environmentally unacceptable. We live in a time of increased awareness of how our actions affect the environment. We are conscious of “chemicals” in our everyday lives and even the average citizen has become a self-appointed ecology cop. A whole raft of “departments” from Fish & Game to Environment Protection is showing more and more concern over these activities.

The Solution

Methods exist that insure for safety and responsible disposal, but most carpet cleaners don’t adhere to these methods because the time and effort just doesn’t make financial sense. The real solution lies in the products themselves. We now have effective cleaning agents that are 100% biodegradable and hypoallergenic. The wastewater can be easily disposed with minimal effects on our health and the environment.

Green Seal Certified Products

How do you know that the cleaning agent is actually safe? The answer is simple: Make sure it has the Green Seal approval. It says that a product or service has been tested according to science-based procedures, that it works as well or better than others in its class, and that it has been evaluated without bias or conflict of interest. The “Green Seal of Approval” has come to stand for reliability, fairness, and integrity.

Green Seal is one of the most respected non-profit organizations in the US. It is dedicated to protecting the environment by partnering with manufacturers and transforming the marketplace.

Allergy Relief Treatment is a very safe, simple and highly effective way of changing the shape of allergen proteins, making them unrecognizable to the body!

Nothing about the allergen is changed except its shape. So, when this shape is changed, there is no repetitive pattern that identifies the material as an allergen and therefore, there is no allergic reaction!

“The Allergy Relief Treatment formulation was effective in reducing the concentration of Der p 1 (dust mite allergen) in pooled house dust samples by 90%.”

Dust Mite Allergen Denaturation: A Trial of Allergy Relief Treatment
Richard Thorogood, MI Bio., Auckland University School of Medicine

Another way of looking at it is that Allergy Relief Treatment disassembles or takes apart the allergen locks. In a very real way, the lock is still there. Only now it is in the form of its component parts rather than an assembled lock. Because allergens no longer appear as a “lock” to the body, the antibody “key” does not bind with them and
there is no allergic reaction!

This changing of the shape of the allergen protein is known as denaturing and has been proven by Professor T.A.E. Platts-Mills, Head of the Division of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology at the University of Virginia.

Our ResponsibleCare System includes specially formulated cleaning agents used prior to application of Allergy Relief Treatment on carpets, mattresses, upholstery, rugs and bedding. Allergy Relief Treatment is a hypoallergenic solution that contains a powerful active ingredient derived from naturally occurring extracts found in renewable
fruit and vegetable seeds.

In effect, the body programs itself to consider these normally harmless substances as illness causing intruders to be defended against. The way the immune system guards the body is by producing what are known as IgE antibodies. This continued allergen overexposure not only causes the allergic illness but can also result in the development of other ones as well as much more serious, chronic and even life threatening allergic diseases.

Though a good looking carpet is the most important component to a home’s appearance, replacing a carpet is expensive! Since you want your carpet to last as long as possible, use the following tips to extend the life of your carpet:
Tip 1: Padding is important because it absorbs shock for the carpet. Carpet without padding or with crushed padding has a small fraction of the useful life as carpet with good padding. Padding should be no more than 7/16-inch thick, unless your carpet came with it attached. Also use pads under small rugs, and rotate them from time to time.

Tip 2: In carpet areas that get a lot of direct sun exposure, keep your drapes or curtains closed to prevent fading or browning.

Tip 3: Leave dirt outside. Dirt wears out carpet. Though you may feel a bit uneasy about asking guests to remove their shoes, leaving footwear at the door keeps the dirt out. Take the time to sweep your home’s sidewalks. Invest in heavy-duty doormats to prevent excess dirt from entering the house.

Tip 4: Confine all snacking to the kitchen. Even though your family may protest this rule, it’s the only way to prevent spills from staining your carpeting. Sauces, chocolate and juices are lethal to your carpet’s aesthetic value. If food does find its way to your carpet, be sure to clean it up immediately.

Tip 5: Run the vacuum often. In high-traffic areas, carpets should be vacuumed daily. In less-traveled areas, vacuum one to two times per week. Vacuuming often will remove damaging dirt from the fibers. Buy an upright vacuum fitted with beater bars.

Tip 6: Keep your socks on. While walking without shoes will help to make your carpet last longer, you shouldn’t walk on your carpeting with bare feet. The oils present on the skin will stick to carpet fibers and attract dirt and grime.

Tip 7: Change the room’s layout often. To break up the same old traffic pattern and to avoid wearing the carpeting down in the same spots, move your furniture around. This will create new foot traffic and your whole carpet will last longer, not just one area.

Tip 8: Call in the professionals. You should hire a reputable carpet cleaning company to service your carpets at least once or twice per year. Make sure they have the hot water extraction equipment that won’t leave detergent in the fibers.