Steam Carpet Cleaner:Best Option for Carpet Cleaning

Using steam carpet cleaner can get you a better cleaning job than other types of carpet cleaners. Steam cleaning is a very effective way to ensure that you obtain a real clean carpet.

There are basically four(4) methods used for carpet cleaning:

• Dry Shampooing.


• Carpet powder method(Dry Cleaning).


• Bonnet cleaning.


• External extraction(also called warm water extraction , 'hot water extraction" or steam
  cleaning")

For this article we are concentrating on steam cleaning which is the method approved by almost all carpet manufactures. Steam carpet cleaners can penetrate deep into the carpet fiber and ensure that there is a deep cleaning and then immediately vacuum off the dirty water to prevent leaving any residual liquid. The spraying of warm water ensures that there no over wetting.

I will advise you use the service of professional carpet cleaners if this is your first time but if can't spare the cash then go on and do it yourself. Most steam carpet cleaners come with instructions which you can follow .

In cleaning the carpet, first of all, remove everything in the room that will be an obstruction. Vacuum the carpet to remove cobwebs, dust . In case of stubborn stains , you can spray spot removals first and then wait some minutes . Move the steam carpet cleaner slowly using overlapping strokes when depositing the detergent. Then go over the wet area slowly in cycles with overlapping strokes . Some carpet steam cleaners have see-through covering , so that you can see the water as it is vacuumed into the machine .

You can repeat the process of depositing detergent and moving in cycles if you think you need to clean the carpet more. Continue vacuuming untill no more dirty water is entering the machine. This is particularily important to so that the carpet will dry fast. Don't walk over wet carpet because any collected dirt will set on the carpet.

In purchasing a steam carpet cleaners, you have to consider:

• Tank type/size/design: The tank type could be upright or canister. Uprights are heavier and used for large areas. Canisters hold more water than uprights but gets
  cold faster. Find out if the steam cleaner has different reservoirs for the cleaning solution and the vacuumed dirty water.


• Rotating brushes: The number of brushes . The more the better.


• Tool/attachments: Find out if the steam carpet cleaner have attachment for other cleaning
  such as upholstery and stairs cleaning.


• Water heater: Find out if you have to be adding hot water or if it offers water heater
  option .

Some popular steam carpet cleaners are hoover steam carpet cleaner and bissell steam carpet
cleaners.

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About Carpet Stair Treads

Have you walked into a home and look up the staircase and beheld a pretty sight? Chances are that the stairs have carpet stair trends. Have you tried "flying down" the stairs at home and the next thing you know is that you are rolling down the stairs? Do you notice discoloration, and multiple spots on your stairs due to traffic? The answer to all these is carpet stair tread.

In most homes the stairs is used to get to the upper level from down level and that means tons of traffic. In some homes and public places where the stairs may be carpeted , heavy traffic can also lead to fast wearing of the carpet. Carpet stair treads are also used in such cases to protect the carpets.

Carpet stair tread provides traction which will prevent you from slipping from the stairs. It is a form of safety measure.

Carpet stair tread is designed to be used on specific surface and condition. In highly trafficked surface such as theatres , the carpet stair treads are sturdy so as to stand high heels , splashes of drinks and oil . There are multi-purpose carpet stair treads that can be used on any type of surface. Carpet stair tread are made different materials such as; rubber, metal, polypropylene, braided fabrics, plastics. They come in various colors. Some have different line contours to hide step details such as edges. There is also a special variant called glow-in-dark treads to lit dark stair area.

For the installation, first,clean the stairs. Start from the bottom of the stair case. First secure the carpet pad to the vertical board at the bottom of the step with a staple gun. It should be held firmly to the stairs. Lift the carpet stair padding up to the stepping surface and use a wedging tool to secure the tack strip in place . Do this for all the stairs. Go back to the bottom of the stairs and place the runner on top of the fastened pad. Use the wedging tool to tack it into the joints. Do this for each stair.

Traditional carpet stair treads are not necessarily runner carpets , they come as uniform single carpets placed on each stepping surface of the stairs. Most carpet stair tread do not cover the entire stair surface ,they usually cover the center of the stairs surface where the traffic is heavy.

Carpet stair tread is an excellent way to give your stairs an affordable face lift and protection. You can call any local carpet shop for profession support.

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Carpet Stretcher:What You need to Know

You may have noticed rucking(sometimes referred as buckling or rippling) of your carpet that can easily get you tripped down when you hit your feet against them while walking across the carpet. Then it is time to use carpet stretcher. It could be wrinkles and loosening of the carpet that you notice. These are signs of the need to use carpet stretcher on the carpet.

Carpets ruck due to heavy wear as they age but can also develop prematurely as a result of poor carpet installation. Carpet stretcher is also used during carpet installation to remove any sag giving your carpet a full stretch.

Carpet stretcher can be used on all types of carpet. Common carpet stretchers are knee kicker and power carpet stretcher.

The manual carpet stretcher known as knee kicker carpet stretcher has spikes to grip the carpet , then you ram your knee with force on the padded end of the tool so as to pull the carpet forward towards the opposite wall .

The manual tool is not quite user -friendly . It can cause knee disorder and pain. It is also time consuming . There is another version of the manual stretcher that tries to tackle the problems associated with the knee kicker . It uses a hand lever instead to exert force needed to drag the carpet forward .

The second type is the power carpet stretcher which is more user -friendly and makes the work much easier and faster. You don't need to exert any force to drag the carpet ,it is done automatically by the machine . The power carpet stretcher also has tiny teeth that grab the carpet and pull it towards the wall .

Carpet stretching has to be done when due without delay. Leaving the carpet wrinkles for a long time can cause a ripping and tearing of the carpet thereby causing a permanent damage to the carpet.

Start the carpet stretching from the center of the carpet and then work to the edges of the carpet against the wall. The stretched out carpet material is then hooked unto a tackless strip. Leave about 1/2 inch of extra carpet all around the wall and tuck it is down between the tackless strip and baseboard.

In case you want to carry out the exercise yourself, you can hire the tool/machine from a local hire shop where you will also be put through on how to use the machine . Getting a professional support will be an added advantage. You can call a local carpet dealer involved in carpet installation for professional support.

Carpet stretcher can give your carpet a face lift. It can straighten out wrinkles and rucks thereby preventing your carpet from tearing.

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Carpet Dye: Give Your Carpet a New Look

Most carpets are replaced prematurely. Some have to "tolerate" and "manage" the ugly sight because they think that the only option available (buying a new carpet) is not possible at the moment. But this don't have to be so . Why? Carpet dye provides a good cost effective option.

Carpets can last long , as ling as 15 years or more without wearng out. They start looking, "ugly", discolored , and stained long before they start to wear out. Carpet dyeing is a very good option to renew your carpet . It is also used to hide carpet stains, carpet bleaching stain, pet stains and other stains that prove stubborn to other cleaning methods.

Generally there are two common methods used to dye carpets . The first is spray dyeing and the second is dip dyeing .

Spray dyeing , just as the name signifies, is done by spraying carpet dye on the carpet using a pressure wand. As you might suspect, there an issue with this method ; its inability to give a deep penetration of the carpet dye into the carpet yarn.

Dip dyeing is done by applying carpet dye to the carpet with a rotary scrubber . The machine is evenly moved across the carpet. It is like mowing a lawn . You have to make several even passes over each area to get the required shade or color. There will be an uneven color application ifthe machine stays long in one place.

Before you do the carpet dyeing you must clean the carpet thoroughly , move the furniture , and protect the baseboards. Carpet dye is then applied and lightly brushed into the carpet nap. Make sure your carpet and carpet pad don't soak up too much water. If possible use very low-moisture content carpet dye system that sets instantly .Also use carpet dyes that are colorfast, so that the color don't wash off or fade. Wipe any spatter off the wall.

In case you want to do the carpet dyeing job yourself, you can buy a do-it-yourself kit.There are quite a number of them available . I must advise that you should first use a scrap carpet to practise and test your skill before going for the main carpet. That will be a wise path to take so as not to ruin your entire carpet. Carpet dyes are safe for the children and pets. Don't wear white socks on a newly dyed carpet until you have vacuumed it a number of times.

Getting a professional help can be a good investment and save you alot of headache specially when dealing with multicolored or patterned carpets. A professional will help you check out if your carpet can be dyed or not, help you decided the best carpet dye color to choose to get the desired shade or color and also give you an idea of what the whole process of carpet dyeing will cost you(which is much cheaper than a new carpet). You can contact a local carpet dealer on how to get a professional help.

You can dye wool carpets, nylon carpets but polyester , polypropylene and acrylic carpets are very difficult to dye and can yield a real bad result. The present color of your carpet determines what color you can dye your carpet to and also the dye color to use to get a particular shade or color. For example if your carpet is red and you use a yellow dye, then you would get an orange carpet. There is vast array of colors available. These colors are grouped into color families. Some professional carpet dyers can cross color families.

Use a professional carpet dye so as to ensure that your carpet dye job turns out fine. Below is a list of some professional grade carpet dyes available:
Americolor Corp- Americolor also offers training class for carpet dyeing.
Color/Match
DyeCo
Dye Master
Dyeing Colors
Professional Dye

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