Holiday Cleaning Checklist

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Is your home ready for holiday guests? ‘Tis the season for family and friends to gather near, so most folks tend to do a little extra cleaning in preparation. Here is a checklist of things you can do to tidy your home and make guests feel welcome.

Declutter 

Start your cleaning by putting everything in its place and all your other tasks will go by faster.

Walls

Walls get dirty too! Especially around light fixtures, hallways, or anywhere less than three feet off the ground if you have children.

Deep Clean

Don’t forget to vacuum and sweep under couches, behind the fridge and all those other places you don’t usually get to with your weekly vacuum.

Wash Windows & Mirrors

Use a vinegar and water mixture to remove spots, dust, and whatever else is caked on your windows and mirrors.

Dust

Dry and wet dust all the surfaces of your home.

Disinfect Your Cooking Surfaces

Wipe down any surfaces where food will be before the chaotic holiday cooking occurs.

Empty the Fridge

Get down to the bare essentials. Throw away the expired stuff and make room for this year’s leftovers.

Clean the Carpet

Check for any stains or dirty traffic areas that might stand out in your well-lit room. If you see any areas that look unclean, it may be a good time to have the carpets cleaned.

Fluff Pillows

To create a fresh and inviting space, fluffed pillows and cushions are a must.

Clean Entryway

Scrub your entryway. Wipe down your front door, give the doormat a good shake, and make sure dust and dirt haven’t collected on floors and furniture legs. These are the first things guests will see when they arrive, so keeping them clean will guarantee a good first impression.

Clean Guest Bathroom

Whatever you do, don’t neglect the bathroom. This is a good time to wash bathroom rugs and disinfect sinks and counters.

In addition to your normal cleaning routine, we suggest having your carpet and upholstery professionally deep-cleaned in order to remove grime and odors that you don’t see. 

Benefits Of Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial Services

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Would you be more likely to regularly visit businesses with clean floors, counters, and bathrooms? It’s no surprise that a well-maintained business tends to be more successful. In fact, hiring quality janitorial services for your business will reap several benefits, some you might not have thought about. Here are a list of some of those benefits.

Increased Employee Productivity

Your employees are happier when the workspace is fresh, clean, and free from accumulated dust and dirt. 

Reduced Spread of Sickness

Most businesses struggle when a virus is spread from employee to employee. With many of your most valued employees out of the office, production slows. Whether an illness is affecting your sales, delivery, or other area, reducing the spread of sickness is important for a safer, healthier work environment

Professional Appearance

The image you project to customers is an important factor in the success of your business. A clean, sanitary appearance produces a subtle impact on customers, clients, and visitors.

Morale Booster

Even a small business that is kept clean will experience a boost in employee morale, and happier employees attract more business and do their jobs with more pride in accomplishment.

Long Term Cost Savings

Maintaining your office should include keeping carpets, furniture, shelving, desks, floors and other areas free from dust, dirt, and contaminants. A high-quality cleaning helps avoid carpets that become heavily stained and damaged, with deeply ingrained dirt that can only be resolved by installing new carpet at a high expense. The savings can be significant in the long-term.

We understand the importance of keeping your business clean for health and safety, and to create a positive first impression for those who enter your business. Our janitorial services will regularly maintain every aspect of your business so you can avoid problems that become unmanageable and focus on running your business.

How To Reduce Dust Mites In Carpet

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Your house can trap all kinds of allergens such as pollen, mold and pet dander. However, one of the most common allergens is dust mites. If you suffer from allergies, dust mites could be one of the main culprits. These allergy-triggering particles can wreak havoc on your sinus system. Here are a few tips for dealing with dust mites and other carpet-related allergens.

Keep it dry: Dust mites, like many unwanted pests, are attracted to humid environments. 

Heat and steam: There is one exception to the above rule: regular carpet cleaning can keep your carpet clear of dust mites, other allergens and dirt. You can rent a carpet steamer at your local hardware store, but if you want to get the most thorough and effective carpet cleaning possible, you may want to consider hiring a professional service.

Vacuum: Vacuuming doesn’t kill dust mites, but it can reduce mites and other allergens as well as promote a cleaner, healthier home.

Dust hard surfaces: Dust mites are attracted to dusty carpets. To prevent dust from building up, it is important that you regularly dust and disinfect all hard surfaces in your home.

Avoid window fans: You should avoid using window fans to prevent bringing more allergens in the home. Window fans can bring dust and dirt from outside into your home, and all that dirt and dust will settle in your space, inviting dust mites in along with it.

A clean, dust mite free home may require a few simple tasks but it’s worth the time to keep those indoor allergies at bay! Fortunately, Indy Carpet Cleaning is here to help!

4 Signs It’s Time To Replace Carpet

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You may be one of those people that takes great care of your carpet with weekly vacuuming and spot treating every stain that occurs. However, even the most maintained carpets won’t last forever. So how can you tell if it’s time to replace your carpets? Below are 4 telltale signs that it’s time to consider replacing your carpet.

1. Matting

One of the first signs that your carpet is in need of replacement is when the pile begins to stay matted down in the most frequently trafficked areas. This is especially true for carpets that are made of polyester fibers; once the pile begins to lay down due to heavy foot traffic, there’s not a whole lot you can do to get it to stand up again. Even getting your carpet professionally cleaned may not restore it back to it’s prime condition.

2. Permanent Stains

Even if your current carpet has a stain-resistant finish when it was installed, this treatment gradually fades away over time, leaving your carpet vulnerable to stain-inducing accidents. It’s not always possible or in the budget to call a carpet cleaner out for every bit of spilled juice or pet accident. Thus, we treat spots at home. Some spots can become permanent stains, especially if not treated right away or when applying harsh chemicals.

3. Worn-Out Padding

Your carpet padding provides a level of cushion and resilience, and it’s what makes your carpet comfortable to walk and sit upon. Not only that, your carpet padding also provides a noise buffer as well as insulation for the floor. General wear and tear over time will eventually reduce the performance of your carpet padding, and once it’s worn out, there’s really no other option except replacement.

If you start noticing wrinkles, unevenness or a crinkling sound under your feet when you walk on certain areas of your carpet, that’s a pretty good indication that your padding might be on its last leg.

4. Old Carpet

Believe it or not, carpet doesn’t last forever, even with good care. Most manufacturers say carpet should last for 10 years with proper care.

After 10 years, signs of wear show on the major walkways and the carpet fibers start losing their texture and tuft. If you find yourself cleaning the carpet over and over and not getting the results you want, it might be time to lay the carpet to rest. Signs of old carpet include color loss, fading, matting, ripples, wrinkles and lack of padding support.

The Differences Between Area Rug Cleaning & Carpet Cleaning

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To many people, rugs and carpets are interchangeable. Although both rugs and carpets need to be cleaned every 12-18 months, each requires a separate cleaning process, especially when it comes to stains like pet urine and odors. Knowing the difference can prevent damage to your rugs and carpets.

MATERIAL

The biggest difference between area rugs and carpet is that they are made differently. Rugs are designed to be mobile, while carpets are meant to stay put. Rugs can be made of many types of materials so not all rugs can be treated the exact same. Each requires their own, unique care.

FRINGE

Fringe is the decorative border of a rug that contains loose, hanging tassels. Fringe doesn’t exist on carpets, but is quite common on rugs. This fringe is fragile, and can be destroyed by a vacuum. Rugs with fringe need special treatment in order to preserve the fringe.

DRY SOIL

Rugs are also made with a more dense pile. This means that the individual fibers are closer together than on a standard carpet. Dirt and soil tends to get trapped near the base of the rug where a vacuum cleaner can’t always reach. Some people beat their rugs outside to release the trapped dirt. We recommend calling a professional that specializes in rug cleaning.

BLEEDING

Most carpets are a single color. If it happens that this color bleeds, it usually isn’t a problem. However, in area rugs with intricate patterns, color bleeding can completely ruin a rug by muddying the design. This is why it is incredibly important to use the correct solutions and methods to clean an area rug in order to prevent bleeding and fading from happening. For some materials, a standard carpet cleaning solution just won’t cut it.

PROPER CARE

Because rugs are an expensive investment, it’s really important that you don’t trust just anybody to clean your valuable area rugs. Be sure to hire somebody who is trained and has the background, knowledge, and experience necessary to provide your rugs with proper care.

These are a few differences between cleaning rugs and cleaning carpets. For proper cleaning, we recommend the cleaning to be done by professionals. If your carpets or rugs are in need of a good cleaning, make sure that you’re hiring a reputable cleaner such as Indy Carpet Cleaning.