Coffee Cleanup

For those of us who feel like we need coffee just to get through the morning, spilling coffee can be a tragedy of epic proportions. It doesn’t help that it leaves a giant stain to remind us of what was lost.  While coffee stains can be notoriously bad, there are ways to remove the spot from your carpet.

1. Blot up any wet coffee that remains on the carpet
2. Apply a detergent solution to the stain. If the coffee contained cream or milk, apply a detergent solution with enzymes in order to break down the cream or milk. Blot the detergent until dry.
3. Apply a vinegar solution to the stain. Blot until dry.
4. Apply an enzyme detergent. Blot until dry.
5. Rinse with water and blot until dry.

This should leave your carpet stain free. You can also use an ammonia solution to clean the spot, but in some carpets (such as silk and wool), it can cause the stain to set in worse than it originally was. Once the stain is out, make another cup of coffee and carry on your day. It will get better!

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Wine!

Your white dress, the table cloth, your expensive carpet, a white shirt – it looks like the crime of the century has just been committed – there’s blood-red wine all over! Don’t wait! Get on it, time is important.

What’s available in the kitchen to get rid of the stains? Here’s a list of the primary antidotes:

• Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda,
• Vinegar
• Club soda
• Salt
• White wine
• A couple of clean towels for blotting.

Before you go for the entire list, use a dry towel to carefully blot the stains to rid the item of as much wine as possible. (DON’T RUB! That forces the stain deeper into the fibers). Then take the salt shaker and cover the stains with salt until you can’t see the stain. Salt will act as a buffer to keep the stain from setting. Let the salt stand for 3 or 4 minutes, and then choose your solution

Do you have white wine handy? Pour it over the stain, regardless of whether or not you put salt on it. White wine will neutralize the red wine and make it easier to lift the color from your carpet or clothing. Gently blot the stains again. If the stains are still visible, pour club soda over them. Carbonation helps lift the pigment now that the salt has buffered it. Blot again!

Okay, so you don’t have salt, club soda or white wine. Get a bottle of vinegar from the cabinet and pour it on the stains. It’s a perfect neutralizer of the red pigment and can be combined with a light detergent or club soda to rinse the stain. Then blot! Wait a few minutes and repeat the process if necessary.

Finally, for the really equipped home, there’s hydrogen peroxide you can spray or pour on the stains. Follow this with a generous covering of baking soda (not baking powder). Let it sit for a few minutes then rinse with water. Assuming you’re not in the middle of a dinner party, drop any clothing items and table cloths in the laundry and wash them as soon as possible.

New Carpeting – How do I care for it?

We’ve come across a variety of ways to preserve your expensive new carpeting, including one primary idea – Don’t walk on it! While this is obviously not practical, there are other ways to keep your carpet looking brand new.

For starters, bare feet contain oils that will, over time, accumulate on the face yarns of your carpeting, leaving trace amounts of body oils in the fibers. These oils will attract dust, dirt and everything else that floats through the air (i.e. pet fur, hair, dander, dead skin, etc.)

To combat this, it’s advised that you vacuum your carpets twice a week overall, but it’s highly recommended that you consider vacuuming daily in heavy traffic lanes, even if you never walk barefoot. Also, by keeping your A/C filters clean, you can prevent the carpet from collecting excess dust and dirt. Once a year you should have your carpets cleaned with a Hot Water Extraction (HWE) process to keep it fresh and free of dirt collecting oils.

Not to be too technical, but make sure the beater bar brush on your vacuum is properly adjusted. If it beats too close to the carpet, vacuuming will take the twist out of the face yarns. This is not a good thing. The brushes should barely touch the fibers otherwise you will constantly be causing matting.

One other simple solution – wear socks around the house, and change them every day. By preventing oils from getting on your new carpet in the first place, you can reduce the amount of dirt that the carpet collects.

Are You Hurricane Vulnerable?

If a hurricane comes storming close to our coast, what 10 things must you absolutely have on hand to be prepared, well BEFORE it hits!
1. 7-day supply of non-perishable ready to eat food
2. Hand operated can opener
3. Five gallons of drinking water per person
4. First aid kit and your medications
5. Fire extinguisher
6. Duct Tape
7. Flashlights and lanterns with extra batteries
8. Utility fire starter
9. Battery powered radio
10. Bleach
There’s a lot more you should know to be properly prepared. For a more complete list and additional tips on hurricane preparedness, call 772-232-7422 for a free brochure.