Most professional carpet cleaners believe they are the best. And my response is that yes... sometimes they are right. What I mean by that is there is no one single cleaning method that is the best in all situations or at all times. They all have strengths and weaknesses. As I tell my customers all the time if there was one absolute best cleaning method EVERYONE would be using it. No one wants to be 2nd best.

Since most carpet cleaning companies are committed to only one method they will have the best method for cleaning your carpets only by chance. Otherwise you're not getting an opportunity to get your carpets as clean as they can be.

What we've done here at Air Fresh Cleaning Systems is incorporate all the cleaning methods into our business model so when we arrive at your house we can assess what you have and decide on the job which one would be best for you. There's a very important distinction between one absolute best cleaning method and what's best for you. There IS no one absolute best cleaning method but there is an absolute best way to clean YOUR carpets.

In the past few days while reading the newspaper (yes I still run the pages through my fingers) I've read several articles about entrepreneurs and their motivations for starting their businesses. I've always understood the existence of businesses to provide goods and services that people need or want. The people who own those businesses have various motivations  for creating them. They range anywhere from completely altruistic to simple greed. My experience tells me most are somewhere in between. Maybe you have an idea for a product or service that is completely different and it solves some societal problem. You can be motivated by both an altruistic desire to serve AND a desire to earn a high income. They're not mutually exclusive.

Maybe the economy is kicking your butt and you believe you have enough knowledge and experience in your career to sell you expertise on the open market. Maybe you know how to make an existing product better. Maybe you just feel unfulfilled in your current job and would like to do something on your own and feel that would provide more satisfaction.

In my own case I had been working in the carpet industry for many years dealing with and solving customer problems and complaints as a credit manager with a large carpet installation company. If a customer wasn't completely happy they rightfully didn't want to pay. It was there that I learned about carpets. How they're made, dyed, installed and repaired. It was also there that I learned all the different ways there are to CLEAN carpets. I began to learn that there was a need for alternative ways of cleaning carpets. I won't list them all here because there are links on my website for that but it was back then that I began to contemplate starting my own business.

When doing my research I learned that one of the biggest reasons for people becoming self employed was a desire to be their own boss. That and increasing feeling of being unfulfilled in my career were my biggest motivation. But I have to say that it didn't take long before another motivation began to replace those. My customer reactions after seeing the results have been and continue to be priceless. So often when I get to someone's home they say something like "I don't expect you to get this totally clean but do your best". When we're finished and they come back and see it exceeded their expectations they are extremely happy. I'd be lying if I said we can accomplish that every single time but I CAN say we wouldn't still be in business 25 years later if we didn't accomplish it far more often then not.

Providing a service that meets people's needs in a way that improves their lives is what motivates me now. Seeing happy smiles or getting a call from one of their friends, neighbors or family members is  extremely fulfilling. Getting calls year after year from the same customers, watching their children grow up and even moving with them from house to house is as good as it gets. Thank you to all who do business with us. Keep your expectations high and we will do everything in our power to meet and even exceed them.

Customers ask me all the time whether they should apply soil and stain protection commonly referred to as "scotch guard". My answer is usually yes. Soil and stain protection will allow us to be able to bring your appearance level closer to what it was when it was new or what it was the last time you had it cleaned. It also allows you to be able to clean spots and spills that happen between the time we leave and the next time we come back. The idea behind stain protection is to put a coating on the carpet that acts as a barrier between your carpet fiber and the soil or stains that occur over time so they don't penetrate the fiber itself. This allows us to be able to clean it more effectively then we ordinarily would be able to. There is a misperception that the carpets will not get dirty. That's not true. Your usage will determine whether or how badly it begins to get dirty. What the protection does is allow more of the dirt to be cleaned when the time comes. Is it worth it? If you're planning to keep your carpet for a long time ... yes. If ypu're planning to replace your carpet soon... probably not.

We have recently added a Facebook link on the top of our home page. Feel free to visit us there. Your feedback is always welcome and Facebook would be a great place for you to leave us your thoughts. Whether you have suggestions on how our web site might be more helpful or just wish to comment on the work performed we are happy to hear from you. We look forward to serving you in the coming year.

I periodically respond to some of our customers most frequently asked questions here on our front page. Feel free to comment on some of my previous blogs or ask your own questions. We're happy to respond even if it means giving you advice on how to clean or deal with a stain or spot on your own. Many food and drink spills can be effectively cleaned without spending your hard earned money on a professional cleaning. It saves you the expense until you're ready to have the whole carpet or upholstery cleaned.

     As the summer begins to come to a close and you spend more time indoors you may be noticing your carpets are looking a bit shabby. Keeping carpets clean may seem like a daunting task but with the right advice it's not as bad as you might think.

     Many people decide wood floors offer an easier to maintain floor surface. While that may be true there are advantages to carpeting your floors. It provides good traction, absorbs noises, and in the northeast especially it saves money because it naturally insulates a room. And contrary to popular misconceptions, carpet that is cleaned regularly is fine for people with allergies, and even asthma. Many of my customers have expressed they had a noticeable relief of symptoms long after they had the carpets cleaned. The best practice of keeping the carpets clean is having a regular maintenance routine.

Create a regular vacuum schedule. Does vacuuming really make a difference? Removing soil when it's on the surface, before it gets embedded is the first and most important step in carpet maintenance.

 

How often do you need to vacuum? The answer may surprise you. Generally once a week is a good place to start, but depending on how frequently the area is used you may want to do it more often. A high traffic area with pets and kids should probably be vacuumed daily. Medium traffic areas twice a week while light traffic areas once a week. Even though dust particles are very small they act as very tiny razor blades on your carpet. Imperceptible in the moment but over time and many footsteps will eventually begin to show wear and tear in your carpet fibers.

Treat stains that occur properly. A huge majority of carpet being installed today is stain resistant. But try as you might little Johnnie will spill a drink or drip an ice cream cone and fido will eat something that doesn't quite agree with him. Satain resistant doesn't mean stains won't occur. It only helps make those stains less likely to become permanent. I have a link on my site that goes into great detail. Click on the link titled "carpet Cleaning Tips" to see more. If it's not there feel free to call me and I'll be happy to give you advice over the phone.

And don't forget to call in the professionals. You may brush and floss your teeth regularly but still take the time to get your teeth cleaned at the dentist office once or twice a year. And don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions before you choose a professional cleaning company. We also have a link titled "Evaluating Cleaning Specials" that may be helpful in determining some of the questions you might want to ask.

The recommendation from the carpet manufacturers is to get a professional cleaning once every 12 to 18 months. That's a good place to start but I always answer the question of how often should I get my carpets cleaned by saying it depends on your usage. If you have 3 kids and 2 pets maybe every 6 months would be good. If you're childless with no pets and you vacuum regularly and don't wear shoes in the house maybe you could go 3 or 4 years without needing a professional cleaning. Again depending on your usage. A family room with an outdoor entry where you do a lot of entertaining will track into your home no matter how often you vacuum. And some stains are time sensitive. The longer you leave them there the less effective you will be at removing them.

If you've never had your carpets professionally cleaned now id a good time to start to think about it. With the holiday season just around the corner you don't want to wait too long before scheduling an appointment.

Whether you want to get in a better habit with routine maintenance or simply want to refresh your carpet for the change of seasons or a special event, these tips will keep your carpet and home looking wonderful today and long into the future.

 

 

 

No we do not. We charge by the square foot. Generally speaking room and area pricing can lead to extra charges and "up selling" Have you ever agreed to have a company come and clean your carpets and after they started you found out the price was much higher then you anticipated? That can easily happen when the rooms you have are bigger then the size the cleaner established as a room or area. For instance if your room is 12x16 and the room size the company has listed in the fine print is 12x15. They may consider your room to be "2 rooms". So instead of 12 extra feet for a $3 additional charge for square foot pricing the room price just doubled. I'm not saying that everyone who uses room or area pricing is dishonest. Just be careful that what you THINK you're getting for the price you discussed is what you'll actually get when they get there. Or make sure the final price is established BEFORE they get started so you're not surprised at the end. We always measure and discuss our price before we start the work.

The answer to that question is... well... yes and no. The short answer is no. All the carpet cleaning methods have strengths and weaknesses. They are very good at certain things and not so good at others. Every carpet cleaner is likely to tell you that their cleaning method or equipment is the best. Sometimes they're right and sometimes they're not. If there was one absolute best cleaning method that everyone agreed was the best for cleaning your carpets and furniture then there would be no need for any other method. Makes sense right? Well the truth is they all have strengths and weaknesses. They work well at some things and not so well at others. Everyone has their own unique set of circumstances. What works best for your neighbor isn't necessarily what works best for you and vice versa. There are Berber, cut pile, level loop, commercial, wool, nylon, polypropylene and any number of combinations or even blends. With upholstery it's even more diverse.  A one size fits all approach just isn't necessarily going to be able to accommodate your needs. So... is there an absolute best cleaning method? No. But there IS a best method that's right for you.

Our pets are part of our family. They make great companions. But they can also create problems. Every pet at some point will have an accident. Maybe they're getting older. Or they have a urinary infection. Or some medication is causing them to have accidents. It could even be something they ate. Or in some cases they're just mad at you. At some point even the best of pets will have an accident in your carpets. But why does it smell worse in the summer? You may have even thought you cleaned it thoroughly and it went away for a while.

Pet urine is very much like mold and mildew in the sense that it's humidity sensitive. Mold and mildew goes dormant in low humidity environments. Mold thrives in environments when three conditions exist. Cool, wet, and dark. When the heat is on in the winter and the air is very dry you won't even know it's there. Well pet urine is similar. When a pet has urinated in the carpet the water in the urine eventually dries out. Leaving behind urine salts. When the weather is dry or the conditions in the house are dry (winter heating season) the salts will seem dormant. But they are very absorbent. When the humidity level increases they absorb moisture from the air. Think of a dehumidifier. It takes moisture out of the air and syphons it into a recovery tank. Well unfortunately urine salts do the same type of thing only it gets deposited back in your carpets. So when there's a humid or rainy day... viola! The smell comes back.