Residential Cleaning Tips
Courtesy of ServiceMaster Clean®
CARPET
No other item in your home absorbs more wear and tear on a daily basis than your carpet, and no other item can impact your home’s appearance like your carpet can.
ServiceMaster Clean® recommends that homeowners follow these steps to keep the appearance of your carpet and upholstery looking its best:
- Have carpets professionally cleaned at least once a year: A professional cleaner has the equipment and expertise to fully remove dirt and detergent from your carpet. More importantly, they can remove most of the moisture in your carpet, something that most rental units don’t do.
- Vacuum carpets at least once a week: Up to 80% of dirt in carpets is loose dirt that can be removed with regular vacuuming.
- Use doormats: Keep dirt, and especially sand, out of the house and off the rugs.
- Protect the surface: have your carpet fibers protected by a carpet protectant like ScotchgardTM Carpet Protector.
- Rotate furniture: premature wear and tear and soiling take place when traffic paths are unchanged.
- Blot spills: quickly clean up spills with a dry, clean cloth or clean towel by blotting. Protect the area until dry.
UPHOLSTERY
- Avoid direct sunlight: modern furniture fabrics are usually very resilient to sunlight. However, under extreme exposure, even these show signs of fading.
- Plump Cushions often: fillings lose their ability to bounce back if not plumped up to reshape them. Plumping cushions will help them last longer.
- Rotate cushions often: Cushions not rotated may experience premature damage and unnecessary wear and tear. To ensure a longer life for your cushions, rotate them often.
- Vacuum: upholstered furniture should be vacuumed on a regular basis to remove dust and loose dirt.
- Cleaning Spills: spills left unattended may set as stains. Blot when spills occur – never rub!
SPOT REMOVAL TECHNIQUES
The best time to clean up a spot or spill is right after it first occurs. Be sure to pretest a small area to make sure that the fabric will not bleed or become damaged by the treatment.
- If liquid, blot up as much as possible with a clean cloth.
- If the material is dry, loosen residue with the dull edge of a knife or spatula. Scrape or vacuum up as much of the residue as you can.
- Dampen clean cloth with the proper cleaning agent for the particular type of spot.
- Blot area gently, working from the outer edge to the center of the spot. Turn the cloth frequently so you are always using a clean area.
- Repeat this process until the spot is removed or until you no longer have a transfer of the spot on your cloth. Be careful not to get the carpet excessively wet.
- Blot the spot with water. Blot any excess moisture.
- Align the carpet pile. Protect the area from any traffic and allow to dry.
- If ServiceMaster Professionals is called to the home, be sure to notify the technician of any area that you have already treated.
SPILLS AND SPOTTING TIPS
- Grease and Oil Marks: gently rub in talcum powder, cornmeal, or cornstarch. Let it set and then brush or sponge powder away. Vacuum the area.
- Mustard Spots: soak stained area with diluted ammonia (one tbsp ammonia, one cup of water). Then dry with a hairdryer.
- Pet Urine: Dampen area with equal parts white vinegar and water. Then blot dry.
- Red Wine: Use club soda to flush the wine from carpet fibers.
- Blood Spots: Flush with cold water. Avoid hot water as heat will set the blood stain.
- Soft Drinks: Blot the area with a vinegar solution (one part vinegar and two parts water). Then blot with a detergent solution (one teaspoon detergent, one quart water).
- Gum: Freeze the gum with ice and use a dull knife to remove it.
- Candle wax: put a brown paper bag over the dried wax and run a hot iron over it. The bag will absorb the hot wax.
- Latex paint: soak with dish detergent diluted with 20 parts water. Agitate the area, blot, rinse and blot again.
- Ball point ink: use hair spray and be sure to rinse the entire area well with water when finished.
Flooring isn’t the only surface in the home that sees frequent use. With the busy schedules in today’s world, at the end of the day, we find refuge in our favorite chairs, on our comfy couches, or on our relaxing recliners. Especially with children and pets, our furniture is well-loved, and as such, requires professional care regularly to look its best. ServiceMaster Professionals employs trained technicians who understand the important differences and nuances in upholstery materials and the various methods required for cleaning them effectively.