Decorate Your Home For Spring
February 26, 2009 by admin
Filed under Before/After Holiday Cleaning
Spring is a time of renewal. It is the time of year when people across the country begin shaking off the final dregs of winter, opening their windows, and hanging clothes on the lines to dry. It is the time of year that many people associate with cleaning but very few associate with home decorating. Sadly enough there are very few times of year when it is more appropriate to decorate your home.
During the summer months we clean because the kids (young and old alike) are constantly tracking dirt, mud, grass, and goodness knows what else into the house. Cleaning in these days is a chore and yet we still manage to bring out the patriotic colors and celebrate America in style. Goodness knows how with all the extra cleaning that is going on and the nearly double amounts of lemonade and iced tea being consumed daily. Still we manage to decorate and take great joy in doing so as if some right of passage has been achieved by our home decorating efforts.
During the Thanksgiving and Winter months we clean house because we have no choice. Friends and family will be coming over and they expect our homes to be well decorated and clean. This I must tell you is quite the accomplishment with the rush of the holidays afoot and yet somehow we manage to muster up some Christmas cheer when others are around while playing Mr. Scrooge when it comes to running the mop and the broom around our rooms.
Spring is the one time of year in which our cleaning efforts are nothing short of inspired. Yet it is also the spring that often eludes us when it comes to inspiration for decoration. Perhaps we are too tired from all of our cleaning efforts to seek the inspiration to decorate. If this is the case with you, then my hope is that some of the ideas mentioned below will help bring some serious decoration inspiration your way.
1) Flowers. Spring is the time of flowers. They are all around us. Use fresh cut flowers and candles to create beautiful arrangement and centerpieces throughout your home.
2) Candles. While briefly mentioned above they deserve their own spot among the top five to say the least. Candles can be soothing, relaxing, invigorating, inspiring, beautiful, elegant, and simply smell good. Candles are great no matter what time of the year it is. However, if you select candles in bright spring colors and fragrances you might be amazed at exactly how uplifting these candles can be.
3) Towels. Yes I said towels. In your kitchen and your bathrooms you need bright, bold colors that signify spring, birth, and renewal. These little touches can make a huge difference in not only your attitude about cleaning and decorating but also your attitude about cooking.
4) Fragrance. Most people do not realize that the fragrances we use in our homes are a type of decoration. It makes our noses happy to some degree but also the potpourri and candles are often decorations in and of themselves. Put out bowls filled with brightly colored and lightly scented fragrance balls, dried fruit, and other delights. Gourmet potpourri can be found in all kinds of gift and fragrance shops and is a rather inexpensive way to add a fragrant touch to your home decorating as well as the fragrance of your home.
5) Fruit. Have bowls placed throughout your home filled with fresh fragrant fruit. Not only does this add yet another layer of fragrance to your home but it is also visually appealing and edible. There are three checks in the ‘pro’ column for this simple decorative step and I have yet to find one in the ‘con’ column unless you consider the fact that it must be eaten before it gets too ripe.
For those needing springtime home decorating ideas and inspiration I hope this has helped. If you haven’t found some outstanding suggestions above I at least hope that you will have been inspired to find your own fabulous finds for spring decorating.
Carpet Cleaning After The Holidays
February 23, 2009 by admin
Filed under Before/After Holiday Cleaning
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Product Features
Our carpets have to endure a lot of extra foot traffic during the holidays. We usually have more family and friends come into our home for Thanksgiving and Christmas than at any other time of the year. Once the holidays are over we are left with good memories, wonderful new gifts…and dirty carpets.
If you live somewhere that it snows, you may want to wait until after the threat of snow is over before you clean your carpets. Snow ceases to be clean water when it melts once it mixes with the bottoms of dirty shoes and the great outdoors. The last thing you want is to have dirty snow on your freshly cleaned carpets.
Although vacuum cleaning can remove a majority of the dry soil, it is also necessary to clean your carpets
on a frequent basis to remove the oily, sticky soil that builds up in the pile as a result of odors and
dirt that is tracked in from outside. If you can clean the carpet before it becomes too bad, the cleaning chore will be easier to do and a lot more successful. There is a myth that is totally false, which states that cleaning the carpet before it is necessary will get it dirtier faster. The carpet of a typical household should be cleaned every 12 – 18 months depending on the number of people living there and the amount of foot traffic on the carpet.
The choice of the right vacuum is important as well. There are some vacuums that will leave residues behind, which will promote re-soiling and basically defeat the whole purpose of household cleaning.
Professional carpet cleaners
It is in your best interest to use professional cleaners simply because their experience will enable them to do a much better job than you can do yourself. The equipment they use has more extraction power than the units available to you, and the carpet will dry faster as well. They know the cleaning agents to use, and they know the differences in carpet construction and fibers.
Doing it yourself
If you have made the decision to rent a steam cleaning machine and do the job yourself, you should check on several systems before you make a selection. Most of the units available for rent don’t clean well enough and may end up damaging your carpet. Therefore, you should always consider the following:
- Several rental companies offer cleaning equipment that is similar to what the professionals
use. The equipment should have enough vacuum power to allow the carpet to dry within 12 hours
of cleaning. You should always avoid rental units found in retail and grocery stores that don’t have the power to extract the cleaning solution from the carpet fast enough, as it can actually damage the carpet due to over wetting.
- Make sure you avoid over wetting the carpet. Any prolonged dampness can lead to mildew growth and bacteria in the carpet, or cause a seperation of the backing. A wet carpet that stays this way for longer than 24 hours can develop problems. You can control this by using proper equipment and the right training.
- Carpets that have stain resistant treatments have to be cleaned with products that are formulated for this very purpose, or the stain resistance will be impaired and the warranty will be voided. Never use cleaning or spotting solutions that contain bleaches as they can mess up the color of the carpet.
- Never use any silicone based treatments on the carpet.
- You can help to reduce the drying time by using several fans to move the air around the carpet. You can use a dehumidifier as well, as it will pull moisture from the air.
Hot water extraction
The hot water extraction system is highly recommended, as it is considered to be one of the best methods
for carpet cleaning. Also known as steam cleaning, the process consists of spraying a mixture of water
and detergent into the pile and recovering the water and soil with a powerful vacuum that puts it into a holding tank. You can use a truck mounted unit or a portable self contained unit as well. This method is easily one of the best, and is ideal for soiled carpets or pet stains that you have yet to get out of the fibers.
You can buy Carpet Steam Cleaners that do a fairly good job. The advantages of having your own Steam Cleaner is you can clean your carpets more often and after the initial purchase, it will only cost you the cleaning solution. Having your own Steam Cleaner will also allow you to clean your carpets as soon as you get a spill, mud tracked in or other excessive dirt. Being able to properly clean your carpets immediately will keep the deep down soil from being walked on or setting in your carpet fibers until you do your yearly carpet cleaning.
