The beauty of laminate flooring

Laminate flooring is a type of floor that mimics the look of real wood floors generally at half the cost! Laminate floors are simple to install and require very few materials, while still giving your home a fresh, new look.

 When it comes to purchasing the material, ensure that you purchase enough for the total square footage of the area in which you want to place the flooring, plus 10%. Just like yarn if you buy from a different skein, the details of the laminate may not match from flat to flat, so make sure you purchase enough of the material beforehand! The insulation, or sound barrier should also be purchased at this time. Again, purchase as much as you need based upon the square footage. 

 Once your new floors have been installed, a new life has been given to the atmosphere of your home! When in between professional cleanings, we recommend moping once every week or two with just hot water and a drop of dish soap. 

 Next time: The Pros and Cons of Laminate Flooring

Carpet Steam Cleaning

Curious as to how we take care of your carpet? Here is a video of our team hard at work, steam cleaning this carpet. Look at the difference!  

Share your thoughts! Post any questions you have below!

Good Vacuums Make for a Healthy Carpet

     And a healthy carpet makes for a healthy home. Many people don't realize that vacuuming their carpet is one of the best ways to increase the life of their carpet. As such, a good vacuum cleaner and proper vacuuming techniques are helpful.
     The first and most important rule is to vacuum  at least twice a week. This keeps the dust and soil from the day from settling into the carpet fibers. When vacuuming, most people push the vacuum in a "W" shape. However, this is very inefficient as most people put more emphasis into the pushing movement. It is indeed the pulling action that removes any dust, debris and other allergens from the carpet. The forward motion should be considered only a positioning motion. Don't forget to use the nozzle attachment to clean around baseboards and such!

     Alright, so now we know the proper way to vacuum! Awesome! Now the question is: do we have a vacuum that is right for our carpet?

     The vacuums we recommend are vacuums with a beater bar and HEPA filters. Although, it does depend on the pile of your carpet. First, let me explain "pile." The pile of your carpet is how tall the fibers are. For example, this rug has a higher pile than this rug. So in order to vacuum each carpet properly you'd need the proper vacuum. Any professional you have come to your home or business should have a vacuum with an adjustable beater bar, to accommodate the pile of your carpet. However, I'm not telling you to go out and buy an industrial grade vacuum!

     For high pile carpets, I recommend something with adjustable heights, efficient airflow, and large wheels.

     For medium or low pile carpets, a vacuum with a smaller power-head would do just fine, with the added bonus of being able to vacuum other types of flooring too. Although, if your carpets have  a lot of pet hair, I would recommend you go with something that has a turbo-head.

     But having a good, appropriate vacuum is just the beginning. We also need to worry about maintaining it so it doesn't lose any suction power. Before you freak out and start to think "Oh goodness! MORE things to worry about?!" let me tell you that the maintenance of the vacuum is quite a simple thing.

• Clean Bag Often: when the bag is about  half full, you should empty or replace the bag.
• Check the Belts: make sure they can spin the brush, i.e. no tears
• Check the Height Adjuster: if you have a height adjuster (Awesome!) make sure it is set so the bush just barely touches the carpet, this will maintain the proper amount of suction, too high or too low will cause problems.

See? Easy!

     Of course as with all things, a professional cleaning is always a good idea! For your carpets, I recommend JP Carpet Cleaning Expert Floor Care.

     So happy vacuuming!!

Clean Dark Water Spots From Hardwood

Have dark spots on your hardwood floors? Here's our simple at-home solution (of course, we recommend a professional for a more extensive cleaning, but this is a good "in between" fix).

The first step would be to clean the spot and surrounding area with No. 2 steel wool and a wood floor cleaner or mineral spirits. Thoroughly wash the spotted area with household vinegar and allow it to remain for three to four minutes before buffing the area to remove the vinegar. If the spot is still there, sand with fine sandpaper, following the grain pattern of the wood and feathering out 3 to 4 inches into surrounding area. Apply the vinegar again and again allow it to remain for three to four minutes. If the spot is still there, repeat the sanding. If two repeated applications of the vinegar do not remove the spot, apply an oxalic acid solution directly on the spot. Proportions are one ounce of oxalic acid to one quart of water.

**Always use the recommended cleaner for your floors, and buff vigorously with clean towel. Refinishing might be necessary. And never be afraid of calling for help, our experts are here to help you (818) 263-9314! 

Any questions? Something we didn't address? Tell us below and we'll take care of it!

Carpet Beetles

Just when we took all the precautions for bed bugs a new indoor bug comes into the lime light... the carpet beetle also known as the flour or furniture beetle. These rather tiny beetles come in different shapes, colors and very in sizes.

These beetles will eat just about anything organic. For example, these bugs will eat your carpet, furniture, lint, hair, clothes, blankets, pet food, animal nests, leather, pollen from flowers, flour, grains and many more materials.

What do you need to do to get rid of these bugs?

• Go through your pantry and check flour and grains
• Check closets, drawers, storage boxes
• Check under carpets and area rugs
• Check your couches and chairs

Thoroughly vacuum (looking for a good one? Here's some tips on what to look for!) your home and wash all bed linens and clothing in hot soapy water. The next step is to have your carpet professionally steam cleaned; make sure you get a deep steam cleaning. It is sometimes useful to treat infested areas with insecticides to eliminate residual populations of carpet beetles. In nonfood areas household formulation of various pyrethroid insecticides can be used. Numerous products allow such use and contain as the active ingredient permethrin, bifenthrin, deltamethrin, tralomethrin and realted compounds. Use according to label directions and pay particular attention to treating baseboards, corners, edges of carpeting and other areas where lint and other debris accumulates that is fed on by carpet beetles. To keep them from coming back, make sure there is no hair and dust floating through your home. Thus you must keep up a cleaning regiment: vacuum often (at least 2 times a week), keep all flour products and grains in air tight containers. If you follow these steps, you should get rid of them and stay rid of them.

Hardwood Flooring

Choosing to have new flooring is a big decision, on that you need to be well informed. Should I go with real wood or laminate? If you are not sure you need to educate your self, find out what the difference is.

 

Laminate floor is made of high density fiberboard core, placed between a melamine laminate backing and a high quality photographic paper. The image can range from wood, stone or any other natural flooring. There are a few hybrid products that replace the photographic paper with a very thin piece of real wood veneer.

 

There are benefits and drawbacks to both hardwood and laminate flooring: hardwood floors can be scratched, but scratches can be repaired. If laminate floors get scratched, it’s not very easy to repair. A hardwood floor can be sanded to remove any imperfections; you can not do this with a laminate floor. One benefit to laminate floors is that they do not fade or turn yellow from sunlight. Most stained wood floors will change color over time. On the other hand wood floors can be restored to their original beauty. Laminate floors never need to be waxed or polished, they also hold up better in a kitchen or bathroom, where hardwood floors do not do well in rooms with a lot of moisture.

 

Ultimately, the decision is yours whether you go with hardwood or laminate flooring; you need to examine what is best for you, your family and for your home. But don't fret, you can always turn to the experts at JP Carpet Cleaning Expert Floor Care if you need help or have any questions at all!

Choosing Hardwood Flooring

Choosing what type of wood floors best suit you home is an important decision. The 3 main types of hardwood floors are: solid wood – engineered wood – acrylic impregnated flooring. When choosing your flooring you should keep in mind that solid hardwoods may require more upkeep than engineered wood flooring, but they can be re-sand and refinished.

 

Solid wood flooring comes in unfinished and pre-finished  the difference is that unfinished floors need to be installed, sanded, stained and sealed. Pre-finished wood floors just have to be installed; they have been finished at the factory. Three main types:

 

Solid wood:

 

            Strip flooring – has a set width, from 1 ½, 2 and 2 ¼ inches

            Plank flooring – comes in 2 thicknesses, but is available in widths from 3 to 8 inches

            Parquet flooring – made up of geometrical patterns composed of individual wood slats

 

Engineered wood flooring is produced by adhering layers of plastic laminate veneer with real wood. (You should not confuse engineered wood flooring with laminate flooring; there is no actual wood in laminate flooring.)

 

Acrylic-impregnated wood flooring is infused with color and sealant throughout the thickness of the wood, so the finish is actually all the way through the wood. (Mostly used commercially)