Aquamist Carpet Care

Victoria's Favourite Carpet Cleaning Company

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Choosing The Right Vacuum For Your Home: Part 2

Now that you?re familiar with the two types of vacuum cleaners available (If you missed it, see Part 1 here), it?s time to discuss a few other important factors to consider before?choosing the right vacuum for your home.

Type of Flooring:

Assessing which type of flooring is more prevalent in your home will go a long way towards determining which type of vacuum is right for you. For homes that are primarily carpeted, the deep-cleaning bristles and strong suction of an upright vacuum are ideal. On the other hand, if your home is full of beautiful hardwoods or tiles, a canister vacuum could be your best choice. That?s because canister vacuums rely solely on powerful suction to pick up dust and dirt, opposed to a rotating brush which can spread debris around a hard surface and scuff floors. That said, uprights can be used on hard floors, just be sure to select a model that allows you to turn the brushes off.

Room Size:

If you have a lot of square footage to keep clean, an upright may be what you?re looking for: uprights typically have a larger cleaning head, allowing you to cover more ground in less time. For smaller rooms and tighter spaces, the increased maneuverability of a canister can be a great help.

Also, if you have large rooms, or an inadequate number of electrical outlets, cord length becomes a particularly important feature. While lengths vary, uprights can generally accommodate longer cords.

Attachments:

Vacuum cleaners aren?t just great on floors. In fact, with the right tools and attachments, your vacuum can also be used to clean everything from drapes and furniture to ceiling fans and mattresses. So, before buying, assess the quality and versatility of each model?s included attachments in light of your home?s cleaning needs.

Allegens:

As you?ve probably figured out, vacuums work by drawing air in (along with dirt and dust), filtering it, and then returning the exhaust air to the environment. In order to keep allergens from being recycled back into your home, it?s important to find a vacuum with an excellent filter and air-tight rubber gasket seals. Look for a model with a HEPA (High Proficiency Particulate Air) filter, which traps over 99.5% of allergens in your machine.

Allergy sufferers may also want to consider whether a vacuum has a bagged or bagless dust receptacle. That?s because a bagless system, while more convenient, has the potential to give you a face full of debris each time you empty it. A sealed bagged system, while more costly given the need to purchase replacement bags, will more effectively limit your exposure to dust, dander, and pollen.

Hopefully, our two-part guide has given you a great introduction to vacuum cleaners and their features. Just remember: Whichever model you ultimately select, being well-informed will ensure you choose a machine that will keep your home looking its best. Happy shopping!

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Choosing The Right Vacuum For Your Home: Part 1

Vacuum cleaners are one of the most important, and frequently used, tools in your cleaning arsenal. Given the amount of information available, however, choosing which type is best for you and your home can be overwhelming. In order to simplify the process, we?ve created a two-part guide outlining some of the things to consider before buying.

In this installment, we?ll discuss the two primary types of vacuums and highlight some of the basic advantages and disadvantages of each.

Upright Vacuums

If someone asked you to picture a vacuum clearer, odds are your mind would conjure up an image of a traditional upright vacuum: a larger machine with a straight body that is pushed and pulled in front of its user. Uprights clean by using a bar of tough bristles that rotates at high speed, beating dirt and dust out of your carper before suctioning it up.

Advantages:

-With rotating brushes and strong suction, uprights are powerful, providing your carpet with a truly deep clean.
-The rotating bristles not only clean your carpet, they groom it as well, giving it a lush, lustrous look.
-Uprights often have a higher-capacity dust receptacle, enabling you to vacuum longer before having to empty it.
-Given their typically larger cleaning heads, uprights can cover more area in less time, meaning quicker clean-up.

Disadvantages:

  • Uprights can be heavy; all that cleaning power comes with a trade off.
  • Their strong bristles and suction power can be too much for certain delicate rugs.
  • Given their shape, uprights can have difficulty accessing corners and other small spaces. To fully clean these areas, you?ll need to use an attachment.
  • Taller users may find themselves having to lean forward while vacuuming, potentially irritating a sensitive back.
  • Due to their bigger, more bulky design, uprights are not suitable for stairs.

Canister Vacuums

Canister vacuums are composed of a floor unit, which follows behind the user on wheels, that is connected to a hose and cleaning head. Canisters do not have rotating brush bars, relying on strong suction to do their cleaning.

Advantages:

  • High-quality canister vacuums are generally less expensive than their counterparts.
  • With no brush bar scattering dirt and debris, canister vacs are ideal for hard surfaces like tile and wood.
  • A canister?s design allows you to safely and easily clean stairs.
  • Canister vacs are lighter and more maneuverable. Plus, they give you access to tough to reach spots, like corners and under furniture, without needing to use a separate attachment.

Disadvantages:

  • With no rotating brush bar, canister vacuums are less effective at giving your carpet that deep clean. This also means that your carpet isn?t being groomed.
  • With generally smaller dust receptacles, you?ll be interrupting your vacuuming more frequently to empty them.
  • Although the individual components are typically more compact, the separation of the cleaning head and the motor can make canister vacs awkward to store.

Now that you?re familiar with the two types of vacuums available, you may already be leaning towards one model over another. In our next installment, we?ll discuss how to factor your home?s design and your personal preferences into your decision. Stay tuned!

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Removing Gum From Your Carpet

Removing Gum From Your Carpet

Whether it was tracked in on your shoe or fell to the floor during a bubble blowing contest, gum can be one of the most difficult stains to get out of your carpet. Even if you?ve gotten to it quickly, it seems the more you touch it, the sticker and more embedded it becomes. But, with a bit of science on your side, any gum stain can be eliminated with minimal fuss. Science you ask? That?s right: by manipulating the gum?s temperature either higher or lower, you can change its consistency, making it easy to remove. Here?s how:

Icing

Start by taking a few ice cubes from your freezer and placing them in a ziplock back, making sure to seal tightly to avoid any leakage. Then, place the ice directly onto the gum stain for approximately 30 minutes. Once the gum is frozen stiff, you can gently begin lifting it from the carpet. The gum may also start to crumble, allowing you to simply pick any larger pieces. Resist the urge to quickly tear the gum up to avoid pulling up a patch of fibers along with it.

While this should take care of the majority of the gum, some stubborn remnants may remain. Using a clean rag, apply a small amount of muscle rub creme, such as Ben Gay, that contains methyl salicylate. The oils in the rub will help loosen the remaining gum from the carpet, which can be then removed with a comb or brush. To get rid of the remaining muscle cream, blot the area with a small amount of soapy water and finish by giving the affected area a quick vacuuming.

Heating

Another method to get gum out of your carpet or rug is to heat it up. A word of caution though: heat can severely damage sensitive fibers, particularly wool. If you have any doubts about your carpet?s ability to withstand significant heat, we suggest using the icing method, above.

First, grab some plastic wrap or a plastic grocery bag. Then, get a hair dryer from your bathroom, set it on high heat, and aim it directly at the gum stain. Once the gum is warmed (not baked, just warmed), slowly lift the gum from the carpet using the plastic wrap.

This method is effective because, once the gum is warm, it?s more willing to let go of the carpet and stick to another surface, particularly a plastic one. This process should remove the majority of the gum, but may not get it all. Remove those last resilient bits using the same process as the icing method (muscle rub, blotting, and vacuuming).

With these methods you can quickly and effectively remove gum from your rug or carpet, using items you already have at home. If you?re not satisfied, don?t hesitate to call in a professional cleaning service.

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3 Simple Ways To Extend Your Carpet Life

3 Simple Ways To Extend Your Carpet Life

The lush feeling of carpet underfoot is a great feature in any living space but, as every homeowner knows, it?s a comfort that does not come cheaply. To maximize the significant investment you?ve made, here are 3 easy ways to keep your carpet looking its best for years to come.

Keep Dirt Where It Belongs: Outside

One of the best ways to ensure your carpet is protected from grime is to keep it from entering your home in the first place. So, if you haven?t already, try to get your family into the habit of removing their shoes before they make a bee line for the refrigerator or television. This goes for guests, too! To help make the transition a smooth one, we?d suggest adding a shoe rack to your entranceway or mudroom. Not only will it serve as a reminder of where shoes belong, it will also prevent you from tripping over a bunch of scattered boots and sneakers. For those looking for some extra protection, entry mats and hallway runners can provide a stylish second line of defense.

Rotate Your Furniture

Heavy furniture can do a number on your carpet. While the constant pressure can create unsightly crush spots, furniture feet also grind dirt and grit into your carpet?s fibers. If your home?s design will allow it, try to rotate your furniture at least once per year. Doing so will create new traffic paths, more evenly distribute wear, which will help your carpet stay pleasantly plush year after year.

Call In The Professionals

To guarantee you get the most out of your carpet, routine professional cleaning is a must. In fact, carpet manufacturers typically recommend a professional cleaning at least every 18-24 months and failure to do so can actually void your carpet?s warranty.

So what makes an Aquamist professional cleaning so effective? Well, in addition to experience and know-how, our carpet technicians have industrial-strength equipment that thoroughly washes and disinfects your carpet using a process called hot water extraction. Here?s how it works: our machines inject a mixture of hot water and a 100% organic cleaning agent into your carpet, cleansing the fibers from top to bottom. Then, the liquid is quickly extracted by a powerful, truck-mounted suction system, taking dirt, dust, and allergens along with it. The result is a refreshed, reinvigorated carpet that can more easily withstand daily wear and tear.

If you?re wondering how often you should have your carpet professionally cleaned, the answer depends on your individual needs. For a home that experiences a normal amount of soiling, one deep cleaning a year may be sufficient. Bigger households, or those with pets or smokers, should be having their carpets professionally cleaned at least twice annually. If you?d like a personalized expert assessment, get in touch with us today and we?d be happy to provide one.