Tips and Tricks for Protecting your Floor Coverings and Removing Stains

Carpets

To extend the time between cleans and increase the hygiene levels in your house, good maintenance is required. It is impossible in our busy schedules to vacuum everyday but should be done at least twice a week in the average household with children. If you have an inside pet, this really should be daily as pets that shed can lead to a higher ingestion of hair unknowingly.

Mats should also be placed at all entrances and where tiles/vinyl meet carpet. This reduces the amount of soil and oils carried onto the carpet from the hard floor surface.

Most people think that not wearing shoes inside is the best way to keep carpets cleaned with the old "shoes off" rule. However, a lot of oils that soil the carpet actually come from our own body, so slippers are a great idea but are not always the most practical solution.

Lounges

Head and arm rest covers are the best way to stop oils from your body making those areas dirty. If it is a cloth or suede lounge, vacuuming regularly when doing the carpet also extends the length of time between cleans. Vaccuuming food particles, which can break down, and dead skin cells will make for better presentation and reduce dust mites.

Tiles & Vinyl

If you had your tiles or vinyl cleaned or sealed by us, we will either recommend or leave you a free sample of the best cleaning products to use to keep tiles looking great and vinyl shiny. Contact your local Toowoomba cleaning suppliers JNL for maintenance cleaning agents, when tiles have been cleaned.

Stain Removal

Most stains can be removed from carpet if dealt with quickly. Call us for our 24 hour emergency no fuss service 1300 883 845.

We provide a quality-driven service which we are proud of and no other company can beat. We are prompt and know that communicating any issue is essential. Our customer service is second to none as we know that you have invited us into your home. You deserve the best.

Removing Liquid Stains from Carpet

  1. Get a wet white cloth – tea towel, nappy, paper towel and put the cloth on the stain to try to absorb as much liquid as possible. Keep changing the cloth as soon as you can see the cloth taking in the spillage. DO NOT RUB OR SCRUB THE STAIN. You can apply a small amount of pressure to help absorb more of the spillage.
  2. Ensure that the cloth used is white – coloured paper towel and towels can cause further dyes to run onto the carpet.
  3. Try to get as much liquid out of the stain as possible. Keep applying new cloths until no more of the spillage can be seen being absorbed into the cloth.
  4. If you are not getting any more of the stain on the cloth, but there is still a stain visible on the carpet, apply a small amount of water to the stain and repeat the above process. Continue process until no more of the spillage is being absorbed.
  5. If your stain is still visible on the carpet, please contact Focused on Cleaning for assistance. Stain Removal is a very specialized field of carpet cleaning and many carpet cleaners do not have the skills to rectify carpet stains.

Removing Solid Stains from Carpet

  1. If you spill anything solid on your carpet, try to scrape off as much excess solids as possible with a blunt knife. Be careful not to damage the carpet fibres by rubbing the carpet. If a gentle scraping does not remove excess solids, do not continue with this process.
  2. Once the excess solids are removed, use the process as described above for liquids to try to get out excess staining.
  4. Try to get as much liquid out of the stain as possible. Keep applying new cloths until no more of the spillage can be seen being absorbed into the cloth.
  5. If your stain is still visible on the carpet, please contact Focused on Cleaning for assistance. Stain Removal is a very specialized field of carpet cleaning and many carpet cleaners do not have the skills to rectify carpet stains.

A few things to note:

  • Some food and drink items contain food dyes. Depending on the type of carpet you have, the carpet will react with those dyes in different ways. There is no simple remedy for removing dyes from carpet. Call Focused on Cleaning if you have any discolouration on your carpet that has not been removed through the above steps.
  • If you spill bleach on the carpet, removing the bleach will not bring back the colour. There are specialised colour repair specialists who can rectify this situation.
  • Often chemicals you find in the supermarket have a more severe effect on the carpet than professionally used chemical. Be careful what you use – many commonly found chemicals can cause more damage than good.
  • There are many urban myths about how to remove stains from carpet – more often than not they cause more harm than good.

 

Our Policy for Stain Removal

Normal spotting and stain removal of low grade food and dirt marks are included in our cleaning price.

When the steam clean is completed any stains requiring 'Heat TransferMethods'or 'Spot Dyeing'will be discussed with you and quoted on as these are more difficult stains. Heat transfer methods of removal can take from 15-45minutes for a small stain. We will also let you know the likelihood of the stain being removed or if it is permanent.

These treatments are rarely needed but should be taken into account if you have stains like wine, cordial, urine, grease, paint, ink etc. Normal food stains usually come out in the clean.