Carpet Damage can be cleaned but you must be realistic.

Carpet Cleaning of a damaged carpet can get satisfactory results. 

Cleaning you home and office carpets is a balance of removing soil and stains without applying too much chemical and agitating too hard causing more damage. 

A carpet is like any fiber it need regular maintenance 

cleaning, deodorizing or you will wear out, flatten and

allow it to become smelly.  

 Care for your carpet and clean it regularly with a vacuum, spot clean and have it maintained by a professional carpet restoration company. You carpet will look better, create a healthier environment for you and your family and last a long long time. It will actually save you an expensive replacement. 

 Clean and treat spots or they will become part of the colour of the carpet.

Why is vacuuming important in your home or work with a HEPA filtration vacuum.

To properly vacuum your carpets,rugs, curtains and soft furniture you should use a H.E.P.A. vacuum  

 The HEPA vacuum will trap the particulate matter you extract from the fibres and trap it in a filter.

REF: HEPA

High-efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA),^[1][2] also sometimes called high-efficiency particulate arresting or high-efficiency particulate air, is a type of air filter. Filters meeting the HEPA standard have many applications, including use in medical facilities, automobiles, aircraft and homes. The filter must satisfy certain standards of efficiency such as those set by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). To qualify as HEPA by US government standards, an air filter must remove (from the air that passes through) 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 µm.^[3]

HEPA Vacuum Mold

HEPA Vacuum Cleaners and Mold

HEPA Vacuum

Regularly vacuuming your home with a HEPA vacuum cleaner helps to prevent mold. The HEPA filters in HEPA vacuums trap very small particles like mold spores and other allergens. This also means the air in your home will be cleaner and you will suffer less from allergies or mold symptoms. It's best to vacuum your home at least once a week with a HEPA vacuum cleaner.

HEPA vacuuming also helps if you are removing mold growth in your home. Once you've removed the mold you should vacuum your house with a HEPA vacuum to remove any mold spores that were stirred up.

Non-HEPA Vacuum Cleaners and Mold

Non-HEPA vacuum cleaners don't help with mold problems. Mold spores are too small to be trapped by the filters in non-HEPA vacuums. Most mold spores simply end up passing through the vacuum, out the exhaust and into the air.

This can even make things worse since mold spores that were on the floor get blown into the air. This is why many people's allergic reactions actually increase after vacuuming with non-HEPA vacuum cleaners. Make sure especially to never vacuum over mold growth with a non-HEPA vacuum.

One exception where vacuuming with a non-HEPA portable vacuum cleaner can help is if the vacuum exhausts its air outside the home. Central vacuuming systems that exhaust the air outside also remove mold spores from the home.

HEPA Vacuum to Prevent Mold

HEPA vacuum cleaners remove mold spores from the home and the less mold spores there are inside the less likely it is that mold will grow. Vacuuming at least once a week minimizes mold spores and greatly reduce the chances of mold starting to grow in your home.

HEPA Vacuum to Decrease Allergies and Mold Symptoms

Vacuuming up mold spores with a HEPA vacuum prevents them from being stirred up into the air and triggering allergies. HEPA vacuums also remove household dust and other allergens which cause allergic reactions and can trigger asthma.

The same HEPA filters in HEPA vacuums are even used in indoor air filter units to remove allergenic particles from the air and improve indoor air quality.

For a description of the symptoms that mold causes visit the Mold Symptoms page.

HEPA Vacuuming Carpet

You will never be able to remove every single mold spore from carpet. However lab tests of carpet samples under the microscope show that HEPA vacuuming significantly reduces the amount of microscopic particles in carpet.

Again, vacuuming at least once a week will improve your home's air. Even if you don't have mold, HEPA vacuuming still helps since it removes dust and other allergens.

You can also use a carpet washer to remove even more allergens, mold spores, dirt and other particles from your carpet. Carpet washers can be hired from places like supermarkets.

If you still find your allergies are sensitive you can remove the carpet in your home altogether. Having hard floors in the home instead of carpet is much better for people who suffer allergies.

HEPA Vacuum During Mold Removal and Remediation

HEPA vacuuming is an important part of mold removal and remediation. Mold removal professionals use powerful HEPA vacuums when they are removing mold.

If you have to remove mold in your home yourself you should also use a HEPA vacuum. It's a good idea to start the mold removal process by HEPA vacuuming the room. This will remove the mold spores in the surrounding area.

Once you've cleaned away the mold with a mold killing product such as vinegar, bleach or borax, you should then HEPA vacuum again once the surface is completely dry. HEPA vacuuming the surface and all surrounding surfaces will remove any mold spores which were stirred up during the mold removal process. This is part of the final clean up stage of mold removal.

Besides the floor, even walls, ceiling, shelves and other surfaces should be vacuumed if possible. Also vacuum any furniture that was around the mold. The brush attachment for your HEPA vacuum helps when vacuuming furniture and other items.

This is a great "dog and cat" vacuum. I use this in my home.

Choosing Carpet for you Home or Work space

Choosing carpet for your Home or work space. A carpet is decribed in ounces. A 30 oz carpet  has more fibre per square inch than a 24 oz carpet.

Fibre 

The carpet fibre and weight will determine the quality of your carpet. The better the fibre the better the carpet. Fibre defines how a carpet looks, feels and performs. The most common fibre type available here are wool, synthetic and blends of the two.

Wool

Wool sets the standard for all carpet fibres. Its superiority stems from the complexity of the fibre developed by mother nature to protect the sheep in all weather conditions. Wool has great attributes and is simply  beautiful - It feels and looks fantastic.

Synthetic Fibre 

Solution dyed  Nylon (SDN) and Polypropylene fibres each have advantages, while  both are synthetic they have similar properties. SDN is a durable , strong yet flexible fibre that is colour fast and inherently stain resistant as it is appropriately treated. Polypropylene is a fatigue-resistant fibre that is colourfast and inherently stain resistant. Poly propylene is cost effective option over SDN.

Blends 

Blends are created by combining wool and synthetic fibres in various percentages. Blending wool and synthetic fibres reduce fuzzing and shedding and will maintain the carpet's appearance for a long time. At the same time wool blends offer beautiful feel and natural look of wool.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE 

            Once you have chosen the correct carpet, you should create a maintenance plan to look after you new asset. A proper maintenance plan with keep your purchase looking good, create a healthy environment and increase the lifetime of the asset. A domestic carpet life span 25-40 years , Commercial carpet 10-15 years.

The correct maintenance plan should involve Vacuuming, Spot cleaning and Restoration Cleaning by a professional company.


Call Able Carpet Care on 9562-7565 for professional carpet cleaning. or click for their website

Rug Cleaning Carpet Cleaning - Urine Vomit Feces Mess

Pets will occasionally have an accident on carpet. Urine , Vomit, Feces what ever the mess. Understanding how the mess affects the Rug or Carpet will determine the best treatment to restore the fiber.
  Urine in this case starts on the surface and then absorbs down the face yarn into the carpet backing, then into the underlay on some occasions. How far it absorbs depends on :

         - The type of fiber
         - How much liquid
         - The age of the carpet or rug
         - The area where the mess has occurred
         - Is this the first time or has there been more mess on the same area
         - What has the animal been eating
         - Room temperature
         - Underlay type

       

A natural fiber will absorb more than a made made fiber,  The amount of liquid will determine how far into the carpet or rug the liquid will travel and weather it will go into the padding under the carpet(underlay).  The age and area of carpet/rug is another key how far the mess penetrates the fiber and pad, in a heavily trafficked or an older fiber the moisture will absorb faster and further into the fiber. The more often a mess occurs a window is created allowing moisture to penetrated faster into the fiber, when the mess is urine its a little more complicated.  When urine is first deposited onto a floor or fabric, it has a pH of about 5 or 6, which is on the acid side of the pH Scale. It is easier to remove right then when it is fresh. Once it dries it turns “alkaline” or to a high pH between 10 to12 on the scale and becomes more difficult to remove. The warm acid state of the urine offers a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, which begin to flourish almost immediately. In this original acid state the urine begins to oxidize and react with the carpet to create a color change, which will become permanent if the urine is not removed immediately. Some of this color change can be attributed to the strong ammonia that forms as the urine passes through bacterial and chemical change. If left for days or weeks, depending on the fabric or floor type, it will change the dye structure, therefore causing permanent staining. Even if the soluble deposits are removed, the damage to the dye structure may already be done.

There are two sources of odors associated with urine. 

The first comes from bacteria that grow abundantly in dark warm places with a never-ending food source. A pet can feed the bacteria daily! This bacteria growth and breakdown of the urine creates amino acids. These complex organic compounds will often work deep into the fibers to a point of becoming part of the fiber. This can present a challenging situation. The waste materials and gases from the decomposing urine create an unpleasant odor. When dried urine is re moistened, it gives off an ammonia gas. If smelled once it is seldom forgotten.

The second source of odor is chemical odor that is present even when the bacteria have been killed. This explains the reason that more than sanitizing is necessary to neutralize odors from urine. Urine also presents additional odor problems when the relative humidity is high. The salts and crystals that are left behind as the urine dries are hydrophobic and draw water to them. Dried urine is often easy to smell in the humid months because the salts attract the moisture, the moisture evaporates putting out a greater proportion of odorous ammonia gas. You must get rid of the urine salts in and under the carpet to get rid of the odor. That’s why cleaning existing urine spots WILL NOT remove any associated odor. In fact, it could INCREASE the odor in the air space for a temporary period of time.
How well the animal flushes toxins and chemicals will be determined by the age. As the animal gets older the body dose not  break down or filter as well as when they are younger, thus when excreted from the body the fluid is more potent making removal much more difficult to treat or remove. A younger animal normal drinks more water which dilutes and excreted fluids. 

The temperature effects the absorbency of the fibers, warmer the temperature more absorbency Colder weather less, this is a minor consideration compared with the other points I have made but they should be considered. When discussing temperature we should discuss humidity, the amount of moisture in the air, With humidity odours from the urine salts in the bottom of the carpet are drawn to the water in the air, then the odour  becomes pungent. 

Certain underlay are more absorbent than others, a felt underlay will absorb more of a wet mess than a underlay made of rubber. 

When any stains or mess are accidentally spilt on your carpet or rug call Able Carpet Care to restore your fibers.  

Does your carpet need servicing? To cleaning or maintenance? Carpet Cleaning is a necessity.

WOOLSAFE NEWS Winter 2014/15
12

Does A Rolls-Royce Need Servicing?
It is generally accepted that servicing
every year is good for your car. It will
keep it running trouble-free for longer.
Parts are kept lubricated, so don’t wear
out prematurely and the performance
remains high, adding to the overall
enjoyment of owning the car.
Rolls Royce make some of the best
cars in the world, yet they still need
servicing. The fact that they need
servicing doesn’t make them any less
attractive.
So why is it that some wool carpet
manufacturers and retailers, past and
present, promote the notion that wool
carpet doesn’t need regular cleaning
and that vacuuming alone is sufficient?
If Rolls Royce, in a bid to sell more cars,
announces that their cars don’t need
servicing, would they sell more? In the
short term, possibly, but in year two
and three when performance drops
and they start breaking down at the
side of the road, what happens to their
reputation? Consumers are turned off
by poor reliability and sales fall.
This is what I believe has happened
to wool carpet sales over the last few
years and contributed to the sharp rise
in popularity of ‘stain free and easy clean’ synthetic carpets.

Wool carpet is very good at hiding soil
(which contributes to the myth that
they don’t need cleaning) and trapping
allergens and pollutants. It acts like a
giant filter regulating indoor air quality
and humidity. However, for it to be
effective this ‘filter’ needs to be cleaned
regularly. Correct and frequent
maintenance will extend the useful life
of the carpet by removing grit and dirt
that abrade the fibres and cause loss
of pile density and flattening.
Then there is the very important
issue of appearance.

Pic : Fibers under the microscope with particles attached(soil) these break the fiber and cause wear these need to be regularly removed  

All carpet fibres,
including wool, lose their lustre, colour
and definition when oily and sticky
soil attaches itself to the pile.














This type of soil, coming into our homes on
our shoes and through air pollution,
cannot be removed by vacuuming, it
requires cleaning.


WOOLSAFE NEWS Winter 2014/15
13
The WoolSafe Organisation recently
carried out extensive research into
the effects of maintenance on carpet
appearance. The tests found that
although regular vacuuming helped to
slow down soiling, the carpet’s
appearance continued to deteriorate.
However, as you can see from the
purple (‘regularly cleaned’) line in the
diagram below, regular annual














Call Able Carpet Care  9562-7565 to arrange a clean of you carpets.

Cleaning your Rug - Carpet - Lounge Suite - Curtains - Tiles

Why is my fiber not performing ? I will call the Supplier it must be a bad product ! The salesman sold me a carpet rug couch that is bad ! My asthma has become worse ! I scratch when I am near it !

When buying an item for your home Rugs Carpet Upholstery Curtain Bed take a few moments to think about the following :

- How will it get used 

           - How many Adults /  kids / animals live in the house 

           - How much time do I Spend at home, do you take you shoes off

           - Do I live close to a main road, beach, bush, sandy soil, etc 

           - What is in my garden do I have possum poo, berry plants,  Allegoric plants,etc    

           - Do you have an allergy?

Traffic stain

Pollution

Berry Stain 

  If you have traffic pollution or berry stains that will frequently walked into your carpet you colour choice and style will decide how long your carpet will last. Lighter colors, allergies, pollution, kids mean more maintenance to get your fiber to last longer. 

 

Cal Able Carpet Care on 9562-7565 to arrange the best cleaning of your home furnishings.