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This Weeks Home Care and Repair Feature: 

The IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification" is an organization that strives to promote high standards and ethics for much of the cleaning restoration industry.

In their Tips and Advice section, their #9 tip titled "Pets & People: Protecting Your Carpet" outlines a few preventative tips as well as practical tips for those "in between" chemical deep clean services.

IICRC Suggests: "Extract the moisture. Put an inch-thick layer of paper towels on the area and a color-fast, absorbent towel on top to absorb moisture. Leave it overnight."

Their first tip is to use plenty of "paper towels" and attempt to absorb as much of the stain as possible before any mildew or bacteria can grow.  We recommend a micro-fiber cloth (useful for not only a dish towel, car, boat, or RV dryer) that can quickly absorb liquid rather than paper towel.   Be sure to gently press down on a micro-fiber cloth (but not so much where the liquid spreads faster).  And allow it to dry if the affected area seems dry or use a blow dryer to dry up the rest of the moisture so it can reduce the change for mold or mildew to grow.  (Note, even if the top of the carpet feels nice and dry, continue to soak up  or blow dry the affected area more than necessary.)

IICRC Suggests:  "Seal the floor underneath. Treat under floors before installing carpet. Thoroughly clean, disinfect and seal concrete floors. With wood floors, cut out and replace wood rot. Disinfect any stained areas and apply wood sealer."

Basically, if you are going to carpet your floor, make sure that the area that you are going to carpet is carefully "treated" before you lay down any carpet.  It's best to consider a better pad at this point. A solid rubber slab pad with a low absorption rate will perform better for having pets or children around.

IICRC Suggests: "Enlist a certified professional. Without specialized chemicals and extraction equipment, pet owners may not be able to completely remove soiling from carpet."

It is always best to seek professionals to help with your annual cleaning.  Much like how a dry cleaner cleans your suit, professionals have commercial grade chemicals that will help you clean out smells and stains right out of your carpet.

Here are a few things you can do to prepare for your professional cleaning service:

• Remove small furniture and breakable items from the treated area.
• Make note of any area you need special attention.
• If large furniture cannot be moved, please make sure that they do not contain breakable items in them or on top of them.

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Eco-Cleaning

1. Environment Friendly Cleaners:
2. Sanitize This.
3. Save Our Resources
4. Water - The Multipurpose Cleaner
5. The Housecleaning Diet

This week:  Environment Friendly Cleaner

The chemicals in most cleaning products can be very harsh to the environment and are therefore regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Some household cleaning products, if not properly disposed of can create hazardous waste -- threatening human health and the natural environment. Environmentally friendly household products like borax, ammonia and baking soda are safe alternatives that can clean and disinfect to meet hospital standards and are much cheaper than name brand cleaners. There are many green products available that are just as effective as traditional ones. Here are some great tips you should know when you are choosing any household cleaning product:

• Choose products that are biodegradable and non toxic to humans and aquatic life.
• Choose concentrated products, and be sure that they can work in cold water.
• Choose products with VOC concentrations of less than 10% of the weight of the products when diluted for use as directed.
• Choose products with a neutral pH.
• Avoid petroleum-derived ingredients. Instead choose surfactants derived from vegetable oil. Look for d-limonene and pine oil solvents.
• Avoid containing EDTA and NTA. Look for alternatives with sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, and sodium silicate.
• Avoid phosphates, Choose products with a phosphate concentration of 0.5% or less by weight.
• Avoid products containing chlorine bleach or sodium hypo chlorite.

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