Spring Is Just Around The Corner, Are Your Carpets Due For A Clean?
ALL STAR BLOG Spring Is Just Around The Corner, Are Your Carpet Due For A Clean? When it comes to keeping the carpets in your home looking and feeling healthy, regular professional cleaning is necessary. For a start, carpets are expensive items to purchase for the home. If you eliminate the issues that may lead to a need to replace them before their time, you can increase their life expectancy. Then regular professional cleaning means a more hygienic and healthy home environment including a reduced risk of allergies, mold formation and eliminating odors to ensure fresh smelling carpets. In general, carpet manufacturers recommend that carpets are professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months but this frequency is not a rule set in stone. How often you need to get your carpets professional cleaned will depend on a number of factors including the number of inhabitants in your home, whether or not you have kids, whether or not you have pets and the climate where you live. Then of course, no matter where you live or how much use your carpets get, spills and accidents are, to some extent, inevitable or maybe you have someone in your home who suffers from allergies. It’s a fact that no matter how regularly you vacuum, carpets absorb and collect common allergens and germs. The challenge with cleaning and maintaining carpets is that dirt can burrow deep in carpet fibers and domestic vacuum cleaners, no matter how powerful, cannot get rid of deep down dirt, grime and soil for a healthy home. It’s also true that carpets, once cleaned, will not stay that way forever and depending on the activity level in your home, may require cleaning every 6 to 12 months. With winter almost gone and spring around the corner, if you want your home to look its best for the season, you should have your carpets cleaned by professionals with the right equipment, training and experience for the job. After all, dirty carpets are an embarrassing eyesore and whatever your plans for spring whether you’re decorating your home with fresh tulips and daffodils or listening to rain while playing board games in your living room, a prerequisite is to have a healthy home. About All Star Chem-Dry carpet cleaning Using Chem-Dry’s patented hot carbonating extraction system, All Star Chem-Dry offers a superior carpet cleaning service in Toronto and the York Region. In the vernacular, our cleaning process employs millions of microscopic carbon dioxide bubbles to explode dirt from carpet fibers. Unlike steam cleaning, the natural cleaning power of carbonation does not use an excessive amount of water and/or harsh detergents. The Chem-Dry carpet cleaning service is therefore drier, cleaner and healthier. Chem-Dry also uses green-certified and eco-friendly cleaning solutions, safe for kids and pets. This spring, you can also stop stains in their tracks with our Protectant Package. Using a trio of protectants, we can protect your carpets against spills and stains. The protectants, in essence, provide a protective shield around your carpet and boost its general stain-resisting powers. To have your carpets professionally cleaned or for more information about the Chem-dry Protectant Package, get in touch with an All Star Chem-Dry operator on...
Read MoreMoving Into A New Home? Have Your
Carpets Professionally Cleaned.
ALL STAR BLOG Moving Into A New Home? Have Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned. So you just got the keys to your new, calm and empty abode. You are probably thinking the first thing you want to do is make it feel like home. You want to make the space your own by moving in your furniture including your favorite sofa, stacking the fridge and kitchen cabinets with groceries and paint the walls your favorite shade of blue because that’s the hot color in the interior design world right now. But hold off on these ideas for a little while… When moving into a new home, there are thousands of right things you can do to make the experience an enjoyable one but there is one thing that if you get wrong, it’s not easy to undo or rectify and, that is, ensuring that the house and everything in it is hygienic. In particular, you want to have the carpets professional cleaned to feel clean, fresh and healthy because there is no telling how the folks who lived there before you kept their carpets. But why professional carpet cleaning you may ask. Can’t you just vacuum and use a carpet cleaning solution instead? The answer is yes! You can choose to vacuum instead of hiring the services of a professional carpet cleaner but domestic vacuum cleaners, even the most powerful ones, do not get rid of dirt and nasty germs deep down in carpets. Regular vacuuming is a necessity to keep your carpets clean and hygienic but when moving into a new home, making sure the carpets are clean, healthy and hygienic for the safety of your loved ones is a job for the professionals with the right equipment, training and experience. After all, dirt and grit visible to the naked eye is only a very small fraction of the soil a carpet actually contains. Or as the idiom goes, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There is no telling how much more dirt the carpets contain, not to mention health-harmful mites and bacteria. At the same time, you want to get the house and carpets professionally cleaned before the moving van is scheduled to arrive. The reason for this lies in the fact that it will be more difficult to clean the carpets once all your stuff arrives including your furniture, appliances and other accessories. And although you’ll make sure the professional carpets cleaners use a natural approach to carpet cleaning using green-certified solutions safe for kids and pets, not having to worry about your children or dog coming in the way of the professionals is always a good idea. To have your carpets professionally cleaned or for some free advice about professional carpet cleaning, get in touch with a friendly All Star Chem-Dry operator on 416-916-0550! Serving Toronto and the York Region including Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Vaughan and Markham, All Star Chem-Dry is a premier carpet cleaning service helping people live healthier lives. One reason why Chem-Dry is superior to other carpet cleaning services is that we offer a safer cleaning experience; we do not use excessive amounts of water and/or harsh chemicals. Instead we use a patented cleaning process leveraging the natural cleaning power of carbonation to lift dirt and grime from carpets, which are then extracted for a clean that lasts. Additionally, our patented cleaning solution is green certified and eco-friendly, safe for kids and...
Read MoreHow To Enjoy A Cleaner, Healthier
And Happier Home In 2015
ALL STAR BLOG How To Enjoy A Cleaner, Healthier And Happier Home In 2015 This year, if you want to create a cleaner and healthier environment for your family then you’re in luck because this is exactly what we are going to talk about in the following sections. It’s a fact that a clean, healthy home is a happy home. So buckle up because you are about to learn exactly how to enjoy a noticeably fresher home and explore the concept of cleaning greener. Getting rid of toxic dust Every home has a little dust but did you know that alongside being unsightly and sometimes allergenic, dust can also be toxic? It happens because chemicals you use in and around your house settles in indoor dust originating from a number of sources including furniture, electronics, plastics and outdoor pollutants that come in through windows, doors or hitchhiking a ride on your shoes. In short, dust is a way for toxic chemicals in your environment to reach your body. To get rid of dust: Vacuum frequently and don’t forget to vacuum stuffed furniture. Wet mop uncarpeted floors to prevent accumulation of dust. To keep dust off your furniture, wipe with a wet or microfiber cloth. Avoid things like synthetic sprays and wipes; they contain harsh chemicals. If you have an air heating or cooling system, fit them with good, high-quality filters. Change the filters regularly. Keep electronic equipment dust-free. Use a natural doormat and make it a habit to leave your shoes at the door Choosing greener cleaning supplies Here is the deal: Cleaning is a chore but it does not have to be toxic too. Conventional cleaning products have health risks associated with them because they contain ingredients linked to asthma, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity and other health problems. If you use detergents, bleaches and other harsh chemicals at home, you expose yourself and your family to corrosive cleaners, which can result in a number of things including burns to the skin and eyes, lung damage and asthma attacks. The solution is simple: Choose green certified and eco-friendly cleaning products. To that end: Know exactly what ingredients are in your cleaning supplies. Dilute and use your cleaning products according to instructions. If your family is generally healthy, there is no need to use “antibacterial” products. Do not mix bleach with vinegar and/or other acids. When combined, these ingredients may produce deadly gases. Labels lie. Make sure your certified green products actually meet the green standards and have the appropriate logos. For the kitchen, bathroom and other high traffic areas of your home, replace cleaners with safer alternatives. For example, you can scrub toilets with baking soda and forgo air fresheners to instead clean up the real source of the smell. Carpet cleaning Carpets collect all sorts of dust, grit and soil and like the clothes we wear, they require periodic cleaning to keep them fresh and hygienic. Vacuuming on a regular basis is a necessity but most vacuum cleaners do not get rid of deep-down dirt and nasty germs. This probably explains why most manufacturers recommend getting carpets professionally cleaned every 12-18 months using highly sophisticated equipment. Regular professional cleaning: Increases the life expectancy of carpets Removes stubborn stains Creates a healthier and more hygienic home environment Eliminates odors for a fresher smelling home Eliminates mites and bacteria, which can cause allergies and other health problems. Oriental rug and upholstery cleaning No matter what type of upholstery fabric you choose for your home, at some point, it is going to need cleaning. The same is true for any decorative rug...
Read MoreSo Santa Got You A Puppy For Christmas?
PETS ARE NICE, BUT ACCIDENTS ARE INEVITABLE.
ALL STAR BLOG So Santa Got You A Puppy For Christmas? Pets Are Adorable But Bless Them, Accidents Are Inevitable, Aren’t They? The holiday season just went by, what did Santa get you? A sweater? A beautiful Hermès scarf? Perhaps a new fragrance? These are all wonderful and heartwarming gifts but nothing beats an adorable pet – either a cat or a dog; a gift-wrapped quirky and fun companion to keep you content through thick and thin and brighten your life a little more everyday. The only problem is that having a pet comes with certain challenges, in particular when it comes to keeping your home smelling fresh and feeling healthy.So how can you “eat your cake, and have it too”? How can you prevent your adorable gift from spelling trouble for your home, carpets, rugs and upholstery and become something of a curse? At All Star Chem-Dry, we have the answer. To enjoy a fresher and healthier home: 1. Identify pet accidents No matter how potty trained your puppy or cat may be, accidents are, to some extent, inevitable. To keep your home smelling fresh and feeling clean, you need to develop the skills and have the cleaning products to properly treat and eliminate pet urine odors. The process starts with identifying where pet accidents have occurred either in the past or recently but unknown to you. To that end, just remember that in addition to leaving an unsightly stain, pet urine also has a highly unpleasant odor that travels far and wide. These are the two things you can use to figure out where pet accidents have taken place. For new stains, a quick fix may be enough to get rid of the odors. For older stains, urine may have penetrated deep into your carpet fibers, contaminating the underlying floor. In this case, simple cleaning just won’t do. You’ll need professional help for a thorough pet urine removal treatment. 2. For recent accidents For pet owners, it’s a fact of life that accidents happen. One day, your usually well-behaved puppy may decide that your new carpet is the perfect place to relieve itself. To clean new stains: Using a combination of newspapers and paper towels, soak up as much of the urine as possible. Cover the spot with a thick layer of paper towels followed by a thick layer of newspaper. If possible, place a layer of newspaper under the soiled area as well. Rinse the area with clean, cool water. After rinsing, soak up as much of the water as possible. To remove fresh pet urine stains and odors, Chem-Dry’s Pet Odor Extinguisher is an excellent green-certified and eco-friendly cleaning product. It contains no harsh chemicals or soaps and is therefore safe for kids and pets. 3. For stains that have already set When an “accident zone” goes untreated, two things happen: The urine odor permeates into the floor underneath the carpet. As the urine dries and urine crystals form, the odor becomes more concentrated and pungent. Consequently, Chem-Dry’s Pet Odor Extinguisher stops being effective for urine odor removal. You will need professional help. At this point, note that if you’re dealing with pet stains, avoid steam cleaning, which involves saturating your carpet with an excessive amount of water containing soaps and other detergents, delivered at high temperature and pressure; the high temperature of the process will permanently set the stain and the odor. The solution: Pet urine removal treatment by All Star Chem-Dry. About All Star Chem-Dry’s pet urine removal treatment (P.U.R.T.) Using a source of black light or a penetrating moisture meter, we identify...
Read MoreHow To Clean Your Carpets & Home
The Green Way
ALL STAR BLOG How To Clean Your Carpets & Home The Green Way As consumer needs change, the soap and detergent industry responds. This explains the wide range of cleaning products we see at the supermarket with varying degrees of toxicity. But the truth is: all chemicals are toxic to some extent. It’s just the harmful effect that differs based on factors such as frequency of exposure, concentration of the chemical at the time of exposure and how the exposure occurs, for example, through the skin or through the eye. Because cleaning and ergo, cleaning products form part of our everyday life, this spells bad news and poses a significant risk to health. The solution? Skip the aisle at the supermarket with the concentrated bleaches and detergents and make your own at home. Or, clean your home the green way using green-certified cleaning solutions. Making your own cleaning products To make your own bleach: Measure 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice Measure ¾ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Combine the two ingredients. To the mixture, add 10 drops of lavender oil. Mix well. And you’re done! This mixture is an excellent alternative to commercial grade bleaches and can be used for spills and stains as well as for cleaning the bathroom. To make your own disinfectant: Purchase a spray bottle. Measure 2 cups of cold water. To the water, add 15-25 drops of tea tree oil. Measure 1 teaspoon of dish soap. Measure ½ cup of white vinegar. Add the ingredients in 4 and 5 to the water mixture. Pour the mixture in the spray bottle. Shake vigorously. And again you’re done! This disinfectant is the perfect alternative to using harsh chemicals with your upholstery or carpet. It’s safe for kids and pets and it’s a quick 8-step process to make it. Going green Carpets, upholstery and rugs accumulate a lot of dirt and nasty germs. Regular vacuuming and the use of detergents is a necessity to keep your home clean but it’s not enough. Domestic vacuum cleaners, no matter how powerful, do not penetrate deep in carpets for complete removal dust and germs. Using a green-certified and patented cleaning solution- The Natural and the power of hot carbonating extraction, All Star Chem-Dry provides a superior and professional carpet cleaning service. All the ingredients in our proprietary cleaning solution are copied straight from Mother Nature. Other green certified products by Chem-Dry include stain extinguishers, spot removers, PowerGuard Protectant, carpet deodorizers and sanitizers. To enjoy a healthier home, contact us today for some free advice or to book a...
Read MoreSpecialty Stain Removal | Because Some
Stains Are Harder To Remove Than Others
ALL STAR BLOG Specialty Stain Removal | Because Some Stains Are Harder To Remove Than Others Did it ever happen to you that you spill something on your carpet and it leaves a stain, which you then painstakingly- on your knees with a huge bucket of water, sponge and cleaning solution, try to get out only to see, after a couple of days, that the stain is back? Don’t worry; your house is not possessed! There is a very rational explanation to the phenomenon, which is called wicking. In layman’s terms, wicking in carpets occur because carpets dry from the bottom up. As moisture from cleaning evaporates from the top, it is replaced by moisture from the layers below. This serves to even out the moisture level throughout the carpet fibers at a specific location. If you spill something on your carpet, for example a cup of coffee, depending on how fast you react, some of the liquid may seep into the backings of the carpet or even the padding underneath. Cleaning the coffee stain superficially may get rid of it but the flushing also means that as the carpet dries, the stain on the backing will migrate to the top and voila! Just like that, the stain will reappear! The key is to grab a clean towel and press it down on the stain with as much pressure as you can. Then replace your hand on the towel with a very heavy object like a pile of books. Once you’ve removed as much moisture from the spill as you can, you can then clean the area like you normally would with a carpet cleaner. But then there is the fact that some stains are not that easy to remove to begin with. Things like blood, wine, paint, lipstick and permanent marker can cause the staunchest of blemishes and require special treatment. Specialty stain removal by All Star Chem-Dry At All Star Chem-Dry, we can get even the toughest stains out. Our technicians are expertly trained and equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets as well as an arsenal of effective and green certified stain removal products. Our claim: If we can’t get it out, no one can. So whether you’ve had an accident with your tomato juice at lunch or your pet had an accident on the couch, we can help you. You can also proactively prevent stains before they even occur with All Star Chem-Dry’s Stain Protectant service. Using a trio of protectants, we can boost your carpet’s stain-resisting threshold and form a protective shield around your carpet fibers to defend against liquid spills. To book a cleaning or request an instant quote, call us...
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