S. Murphy Carpet Care

10 Simple Steps To Properly Vacuum Your Carpet

2009-08-16T04:05:00.000-07:00

In order to maintain the look, feel, appearance and extend the life of your carpet. You'll need to vacuum on a regular basis.

To be able to get the most out of your vacuuming and help maintain them properly in between professional cleanings here are 10 tips to help:

1. Before you start, you should always inspect
the area. Pick up any objects that could cause
your vacuum cleaner to clog up. The smaller objects
are fine, just as long as they will pass through the
vacuum.

2. You should check the vacuum bag to ensure
that is isn't full already. If it is full, you
should go ahead and change it. A full bag isn't
going to suck up much dirt, as the power will be
greatly reduced due to the bag taking up a great
deal of storage and limiting the suction.

3. You should always vacuum forwards instead
of going backwards. Going forward will get the
job done quicker and you won't wear your cord out
near as fast. When going backwards, you also run
the risk of running back over your cord, which is
something you don't want to do.

4. Be sure that you overlap your strokes
to ensure that you get out all of the dirt and the
residue. You don't want to miss any of the carpet,
which is why it is important that you overlap your
strokes.

5. You should change your vacuuming
direction on occasion to reduce any type of matting
in your carpet. You can change direction without
any problems. Doing this every time you make a
sweep on the carpet or every other time you vacuum
will be good.

6. On corners, use a damp cloth or a
crevice tool attachment that hooks up to your
vacuum cleaner. This will ensure that you get the
corners and tight areas good, and they don't
stand out from the rest of the carpet.

7. You can get rid of dust particles and
dirt by waving a vacuum wand under your bed. Doing
so on occasion will ensure that your bedroom
stays clean, and smells clean as well.

8. For kitty litter on carpets or floors, you should
use a lightweight vacuum cleaner. To get deep
into the fibers of the carpet, you should try
an upright vacuum cleaner with a power brush. Kitty
litter can be a pain in the neck if it gets
crushed in the pile or embedded, which is why
you should get it out as quick as you can.

9. Give some thought to purchasing a vacuum cleaner
with a rotating brush or combination beater and
brush bar, which will loosen up the dirt in the
carpet and then suck it out. This will beat the
dirt from the fibers and even embedded dirt, which
will leave your carpet clean and smelling great.

10. Whenever you vacuum, you should always be on the
lookout for straw, thread, and string as it can
trap debris in the vacuum hose and result in a
clog. These types of hazards are also bad for the
agitators as well, as they can clog up the suction
as well, or get tangled up in the agitators and
cause more problems.

If you have pets, you should sprinkle some baking
soda on the carpet before you vacuum. Let it sit
for a little while, then vacuum. The baking soda
is a lot cheaper than carpet fresheners and it
does the same thing - only better.

In Closing:

Vacuuming is very easy to do, and it's something
that should be done on a regular basis. You don't
have to be an expert to vacuum, all you have to
do is make an effort. Your carpet will look good
all the time, and your house will stay smelling
great - which is reason enough to grab the vacuum
and take a trip through the house with it.

If you have any question please feel to contact me by CLICKING HERE

For information on the different types of vacuums, cheapest pricing and free shipping:

CLICK HERE

Till next week happy cleaning!

Always at your service,
Scott Murphy

Few Tips To Maintain Your Frieze Carpet

2009-06-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends & Clients,

Just had an email from a client who just got new carpet. She chose to get the ever so popular Frieze!

This was a wonderful choice it has some great benefits.

1. Looks nice
2. Very durable
3. Feels great

There are a couple of things you must do in order to properly maintain it:

Here a few tips:

Tip # 1 Vacuuming

When you go to vacuum your frieze carpet you need to make sure your height adjustment on your vacuum cleaner is at the proper level.

If you have the high pile frieze make sure you put your adjustment on the highest setting.

If you don't adjust your vacuum you could really tear up the fibers causing it to wear out quicker than it should.

A good way to tell what adjustment you should have your vacuum setting on is this:

When your vacuuming you shouldn't feel a great deal of resistance. The vacuum should just easily guide through the fibers.

If your feeling this just keep adjusting the height until you reach the right setting. You will know the difference when you try it.

Tip # 2 Grooming

After your finished vacuuming you should groom the carpet especially in the traffic areas. If you haven't already noticed or what you will notice is that the traffic patterns can get matted or crushed down easily.

So to help prevent this from happening I highly suggest that you use a carpet grooming rake to fluff up the nap after you vacuum.

You can find smaller versions of carpet rakes at your local hardware store.

Menards, Lowe's or Home Depot.

If you would like a bigger version or the one I use as a professional just contact me and I will be able to provide you with one.

I hope this short post will help you with properly maintaining your frieze carpet.

Please, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

You can contact me by:

Clicking Here

Always at your service,
Scott Murphy

New - Low Moisture Cleaning Process

2009-05-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends & Clients,

Over the years that I've been in the carpet cleaning industry one of the biggest challenges I've had is to be able to do a great job of cleaning and have the carpets dried for my clients within a reasonable period of time.

Drying times by using my current cleaning method (hot water extraction or "steam cleaning") really depended on several different factors.

1. The amount of water needed to be used to get the carpets cleaned.
2. The outdoor and indoor humidity levels.

Drying times ranged from 3 to 24 hours again depending on the 2 factors above. Although, I've not had a tremendous amount of complaints on drying time, I do know that people really would love to have them dried much faster.

So as a result of my standard winter training and improvement classes. I think I've come up with a great new solution:

Introducing:
My New Low Moisture Cleaning Process

After several months of testing I feel that I've found a great new way to serve you my client with your carpet cleaning needs.

My new low moisture cleaning process has several steps and benefits:

*Steps:

1. Pre-vacuuming
2. Low moisture pre-treating
3. Heavy weighted floor machine for deep cleaning
4. Absorption cleaning & agitation pads (for moisture and soil removal)
5. Complete Spot & Stain Removal

*Benefits:

1. No doors will be left open
2. No dragging hoses around the house
3. No sticky residue

#1 Benefit: CARPETS WILL BE DRY IMMEDIATELY!

Here are a few testimonials from my clients

Liz Nussbaum

"We are knocked out! Everything is beautiful - looks brand new!! You are a miracle worker!! Thanks so much for all of your hard work. We appreciate it."

Jan Barkley

"The carpets look great! My husband even noticed that the carpets were so much drier - so we definitely liked the new process!"

Patricia Smitley

"Everything you've ever done for us has been great and I've always been pleased.

As far as the new system, it seems to work just as well as the old system. I do believe that it did dry quicker. The house is put back in order and all is well!!"

10% Introductory Discount

As you can see by the response above I think this is going to be a great new way to serve you.

During the month of June 2009 I would like to introduce you to my system at a 10% discounted rate. Give me a call right now and I will perform my new service at this introductory rate.

Remember this will only be until the end of June 2009 so don't delay give me a call today!

You can get my contact information by visiting my website:

CLICK HERE

I will look forward to hearing from you!

Always at your service,
Scott Murphy

5 Easy Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Carpet

2009-05-25T05:02:00.000-07:00

How To Care For Your Carpet

Would you drive your car for 100,000 miles with out changing the oil? Of course you would not. To keep your engine in good working order, you change the oil and do a tune up once and a while, right? You automobile is a significant purchase and you want to maintain that investment.

Your carpet is the same way. In fact, your flooring in general represents a significant investment and needs to be maintained properly. What are the warranty requirements? How often should carpet be cleaned? What are some of the things you should avoid?

5 Easy Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Carpet

1. Check The Warranty. Copies of specific warranties on your carpet purchase may be available from your carpet retailer. Stain resist warranties can vary from 5 to 20 years. ALL STAIN RESIST WARRANTIES REQUIRE REGULAR CLEANING AND IMMEDIATE SPOT REMOVAL!

2. VACUUM, VACUUM, VACUUM! It is said that the three most important rules for maintaining carpet are vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Vacuum your carpet often. Once or twice a week at least. Vacuuming removes the sharp soil that can cut and slice the fiber causing premature wear. Much of this soil is not visible to the eye. Remove any loose particles such as loose food, leaves, pieces of crayon, bugs, etc. as these items can cause a spot on the carpet.

3. Have Your Carpet Professionally Cleaned. Professional cleaning by a professional, firm should be done at least once every 6 to 12 months according to DuPont and major carpet manufacturers. Heavy traffic areas may need it more often. Manufacturers warranties require professional cleaning to retain texture retention warranties. Rule of thumb: Clean your carpet before it looks visibly soiled!

4. Remove Spots Immediately. Spots that are not immediately removed can turn into permanent stains very easily. Always use a spot cleaner that is recommended by the carpet manufacturer or your trained, certified professional cleaner! Many "over the counter" spotters leave too much soap residue that leaves a sticky residue behind that will make your spots return!

5. Have Carpet Protector Re-Applied. The soil resistor that is built into stain resistant nylon carpet is removed with regular foot traffic and harsh cleaners. To keep your carpet cleaner longer, have your protector reapplied each time you have your carpet professionally cleaned.

In Closing:

Carpeting is one of the biggest investments in your home! If you follow the 5 easy ways to get the most out of your carpet listed above you will be doing the right thing to help protect this large investment from early replacement!

Till Next Time. Happy Cleaning!

Scott Murphy

For more information about me and my company S. Murphy Carpet Care out of Fort Wayne, IN please, visit my website by:

CLICKING HERE

How Often Should I Clean My Carpets?

2009-05-22T05:53:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the most asked questions I get from customers is:

"How Often Should I Clean My Carpets?"

Well, my answer is always "it depends".

It depends on the amount of traffic that you have in your home. If you are a homeowner that has 3 kids, 2 dogs and a cat you will need to have your carpet cleaned more often than someone who has none of the above.

What I would like to explain in this post is the importance of having your carpet cleaned on a regular basis and what manufacturers of carpet recommend.

Let's begin:

Since your reading this post you've probably wondered if you are cleaning your carpets enough? Or too much? Are there frequency guidelines for professional cleaning? If so, where do you find them? Surely you have heard "Wait as long as you can before you clean your carpet..." or "Once you've cleaned your carpet, it's never the same...

These widely used comments have stemmed from unfortunate encounters with uninformed cleaners that have left the carpet with an overload of detergent residue. The consumer has assumed that this is the case with all carpet cleaning and resolved to wait until the carpet is in dire straights to clean it.

The good news is that a properly cleaned carpet will not re-soil as quickly and will actually last longer. Why? Because damaging soils are removed with effective cleaning. Soil that is not removed by vacuuming, even though it can rarely be seen by the naked eye, cuts and slices on the carpet fibers as the carpet is being walked on breaking down the carpet yarns in the traffic areas. The result is that even with restorative cleaning at that point, it will not correct the damage that has been done to the fiber.

Fiber producers and carpet manufacturers recommend that a residential carpet should be professionally cleaned at least once every 12 to 18 months for best performance, more often in heavily trafficked and heavy soiling situations.

A Clean Carpet Is A Healthy Carpet

Not to mention that a carpet that is not cleaned on a regular basis is an unhealthy carpet. You see carpet is like a filter. It collects soils, pollens, insecticides, exhaust, etc. that gets tracked in or blown in from the polluted outdoors. Vacuuming your carpet will only help remove some of these pollutants. By having your carpet professionally cleaned on a regular basis will remove all of these pollutants and clean the filter that will create a more healthy indoor environment.

In Closing:

I hope this post was helpful in answering your question: "How often should I clean my carpets"? Just remember having your carpet cleaned on a regular basis will help protect one of the biggest investments in your home. You should clean them professionally at least once every 12 to 18 months and for those of you who have a lot of traffic maybe even every 3 to 6 months.

If you would like more information about me and my company S. Murphy Carpet Care out of Fort Wayne, IN please visit my website by:

CLICKING HERE

Until Next Time, Happy Cleaning!

Scott Murphy

The 2 Best Carpet Cleaning Methods For Your Carpet!

2009-05-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

In my professional opinion, the 2 best carpet cleaning methods being used today are:

1. Hot Water Extraction or "Steam Cleaning"
2. Low Moisture Bonnet Cleaning

There are a few other cleaning methods such as foam cleaning, shampoo cleaning and dry cleaning methods out there but I don't feel they are even worth discussing. I've used and tried all the different methods in my 18 year career and by far the 2 methods above are the best carpet cleaning methods.

In this post I'm going to explain the 2 different types and the benefits of each:

1. Hot Water Extraction

This method of cleaning is simply what it sounds like. Hot water ranging from 180 to 200 degrees is sprayed on the carpeted area by the use of a carpet wand. The carpet wand then extracts the water, dirt and cleaning solution applied on before the cleaning begins.

I recommend this type of cleaning to my first time customers who have not had their carpet cleaned for a long period of time. Hot water extraction is the deepest of the 2 best carpet cleaning methods.

2. Low Moisture Bonnet Cleaning

This type of cleaning method is where a solution or cleaner is sprayed on an area of carpet and then buffed off by the use of a low speed buffer and absorbing pads that remove the dirt and moisture.

With today's technology and advancements there are several good pre-cleaning treatments that will loosen up the dirt and soil. After buffing and removing the dirt and moisture the carpet will be dry and residue free.

The advantage to having the low moisture bonnet cleaning method performed is that the carpets are dry almost immediately after cleaning!

I recommend this type of cleaning to people that I clean for on a regular basis.

My clients with kids, pets and busy lives truly enjoy the fact that the carpets look and smell great. Plus, they can be used shortly after the cleaning is complete.

In closing:

The 2 best carpet cleaning methods recommended for cleaning are hot water extraction for deep down heavy duty cleaning and low moisture bonnet cleaning for maintenance cleaning. If you have any questions or would like more information please, feel free to visit my website at www. smurphycarpetcare.com

Happy Cleaning!

Welcome To S. Murphy Carpet Care's - Cleaning Tips & Maintenace Blog

2009-05-11T03:03:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I'm Scott Murphy owner/operator of S. Murphy Carpet Care located in Fort Wayne, IN and I would like to welcome you to my blog!

I've been providing professional carpet, upholstery & ceramic tile cleaning services to local Fort Wayne & surrounding area residents for the past 9 years.

I get questions all the time from my clients on certain topics such as:

1. how to spot clean my carpet
2. how to maintain my carpet & textiles
3. best products to use etc.

So as a result I've started this blog to try and help answer questions that people may have when it comes to these topics.

You will find a variety of informative information that will help you with the up keep and maintenance for your home.

I hope you enjoy this blog and feel free to visit my home website at http://www.smurphycarpetcare.com for more information on my local services as well as my contact information.

Happy Cleaning!

Scott Murphy