“Funny” is probably not the first term you would associate with carpet cleaning. Neither would I – after more than fifteen years in the industry, I associate it with hard work, tough competition, and constantly trying to stay on top of your appointments. But life offers you more than a few moments when you cannot help but smile.

On a sleepy Saturday afternoon with not much going on, I received a phone call from a prospective customer. It took me ten seconds to understand that the young-sounding woman on the phone was desperately trying to stay calm but was on the verge of panic or a rage attack. The most bizarre thing about our conversation was that she didn’t want to book a carpet cleaning job but to get a consultation on whether her living room carpet could be salvaged at all.

Don’t get me wrong – many customers ask me if they should invest their money in cleaning and maintenance or buying a new carpet. I always give them my honest opinion, depending on the item’s condition. In 90% of cases, a single hot water extraction procedure is enough to change a room’s appearance thoroughly. But this sounded different – like the carpet had been in perfectly decent condition, and then something happened to it.

I am not going to lie – the case provoked my interest. It was either going to the address to check what the hassle was about or filling in tax forms. I got the lady’s address and headed for the northeastern outskirts of Oakwood Park, where she was living. When I arrived at the cosy, two-floor detached house, I was greeted by a pretty lady in her mid-thirties, who introduced herself as Anne. I think she had calmed down a bit, and I could sort out that the emotion I had heard on the phone was not panic but anger, which was somehow reassuring.

“Let me show you the crime scene!” she said with a sigh of resignation, which startled me a bit. What on Earth had I gotten myself into? A Southgate-based episode of Dexter? When I stepped through the living room door, however, I could hardly suppress my laughter.

As it turned out, Anne was the proud (though not at that particular moment) mother of three beautiful children – a 12-year-old girl and 4-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. She had gone grocery shopping at the Southgate Food Centre, about one mile away. Thirty minutes to the store and thirty minutes back, another half an hour of shopping and a quick coffee break at Harris & Hoole – she had barely been away for two hours. In the meantime, her older daughter, who had been left in charge of the twins, had glued herself to her phone (shocking!) while the two monkeys had gotten busy with their drawing markers in a hurry.

The living room carpet was white, and Anne had kept it in perfect order – no visible stains or traces of dirt. Having said that, I was looking at a modernist masterpiece – something that would make Salvador Dali or Marcel Duchamp proud. There was a brown elephant, a black horse, a multi-colour house under a bright yellow sun, and something resembling a blond Predator – the twins’ rendition of their mom. If Anne hadn’t got home in another hour, the whole carpet might have turned into a canvas – now, it was only a third of it.

“My husband is a police officer, and he is on duty, but I was hoping my daughter would hold the fort for a couple of hours. So… What’s the verdict?” she asked tentatively.

“Have you considered signing them up for an art class for gifted children?” I asked nonchalantly. We looked at each other for a few seconds and burst laughing. She nodded as if to say, “What am I to do with those two?” The fact was, the carpet looked much worse than its actual condition. A concentrated stain removal treatment was going to remove the marker, and if necessary, an additional hot water extraction would deal with any residue. I had worked on carpets in much worse condition and brought them back to life – this ill-conceived art exhibition was heading for oblivion in a very short while.

When I told Anne all that, she could hardly believe it. “Let’s do this”, I said. “Let’s book you for tomorrow. I don’t think I will need more than sixty to ninety minutes to do the job. I will not charge you a penny if a single square inch of marker remains on the carpet.” It was an offer she could not refuse.

The next day I got to meet the two budding artists. They were not particularly happy that their work did not meet their parents’ approval, even less so that I had come to delete it. But it had to be done. So I had to adopt the role of a barbarian, destroying a cherished piece of art. It turned out my expectations had been overcautious – the marker came out surprisingly easy with the stain removal detergent, and the carpet did not require additional hot water extraction.

With the job finished, I felt a bit ambivalent about the outcome. Who was I to stand in the way of creative expression? Hey, the elephant looked particularly cute! Anyway, who can now say that carpet cleaning can’t be funny?…

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Cleaning is a chore that many homeowners do daily, weekly or monthly to ensure that their homes are pleasant and welcoming. Something that is regularly ignored during cleaning is the upholstery. 

Cleaning the upholstery should be a simple task. Here are some tips to make your upholstery look new effectively! 

When it comes time to clean the upholstery in your home, the initial step is to check the label on your furniture to determine what cleaning solution is needed. After selecting the appropriate cleaning solution, test it on a hidden area of ​​the upholstery to ensure it does not cause stains or unwanted discolouration of the fabric. 

Once you know what cleaning solution to use, the vacuum cleaner is next. Vacuuming your furniture helps it look newer by removing dust or debris that has blunted the appearance of your upholstery. 

When finished with the vacuum cleaner, choose the right cleaning tool to apply the cleaning solution to your upholstery. It is better to use a cloth rag or a brush with soft bristles for most furniture. Rub or brush in the same fabric direction when using a rag or brush. 

While cleaning the upholstered surface, be sure to moisten the surface only by applying the cleaning solution on a cloth or brush, not directly on the upholstery. This practice will avoid discolouration. Once you have finished wetting and rubbing the upholstery, the drying process can begin. 

Natural dry air is the best way to dry upholstery, while attempts to speed up the process with a hairdryer or other forms of heat are likely to damage the material. To speed up the drying process, increase the room’s circulation by using fans. 

For any on-site cleaning or more difficult stains, homeowners should follow the same rules for cleaning an entire upholstered part:  

Choose the proper cleaning solution, vacuum, moisten a rag or brush to soak up the coloured area with the chosen cleaning solution, and let the upholstery air dry. 

Apply these essential tips and tricks to keep your upholstery clean and like new. If some stains and dirt are more difficult to remove with commercially available cleaning products, you may need professional cleaning. 

When the pollution is severe, the only right decision is to contact a company to wash upholstered furniture. Specialists have professional equipment for washing upholstery and extracting dirt in depth. We recommend using professional upholstery cleaning services at least once a year. In the meantime, you can take care of its good looks, relying on the tips we will give you below. 

If there are smokers in your home 

The smell of cigarettes penetrates the clothes and the furniture’s upholstery. Take care of its removal periodically. We recommend baking soda – a universal tool for cleaning the home and removing cigarette odour. Sprinkle the upholstery on the furniture in the evening and let the soda extract the smell all night. In the morning, remove the soda with a vacuum cleaner. 

Regular vacuuming 

Polluted air is everywhere. Even when the house is regularly maintained, dust penetrates and accumulates, and the upholstery is a very convenient place for layering. Vacuum cleaners have attachments that protect the surface of the upholstery. Use them not to damage their appearance. Use the appropriate attachment to clean tight spaces between the different upholstery parts. With the right attachments, you can also clean the edges. 

Can you use detergents? 

The upholstery material determines whether you can use detergents and what they are. It’s easiest to keep the label that says how you can clean. Then you will not take risks. But if you need more time, contact a professional cleaning company. They will select the appropriate cleaning method which will not damage the fabric. 

Stains and how to clean them 

The spots are unpleasant, especially when they are large. But every stain irritates – because the upholstery loses attractiveness and is not easy to clean. 

The furniture in the living room is often dripping and spilling – when drinking coffee, eating in front of the TV in the evening or on weekends, watching children’s shows by little naughty people who do not pay attention to greasy crumbs or drops of juice. 

According to most housewives, knowing how to clean the sofa means knowing how to remove stains from the upholstery. For this reason, it is feasible to use ready-made stain removers, such as those available in most stores. Home remedies are also good if you do not like strong chemicals. In both cases, you must be careful not to damage the fabrics and cause bleaching of the colours. 

If you decide to bet on the ecological options for cleaning the spotted sofa, here are home-made detergents with which you can treat different types of fabrics: 

For textiles:

1. Mix ¼ a glass of vinegar with ¾ glass of warm water and a spoonful of dishwashing detergent.
2. Pour the blend into a bottle and spray the stain briefly.
3. Rub the area with a soft cloth until the stain disappears.
4. Use a wet towel to remove the soap and a dry towel to dry. 

For leather upholstery:  

• Mix 50 ml of olive oil with a glass of vinegar.  
• Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray the entire surface.  
• Treat with a soft dry cloth. That will simultaneously clean and polish the leather upholstery. 

For synthetic materials:

1. Mix ½ a glass of vinegar with warm water and half a tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent.
2. Spray the stains directly.
3. Rub the mixture with a soft rag until the stains dissolve and disappear. 

When dripping juice, coffee, wine, etc., wipe immediately, then dampen a towel and rub to remove dirt thoroughly. 

But what to do when someone drips the sofa or armchair and finds out after hours or the next day? For most upholstery fabrics, you can clean them with white vinegar, but you must dilute them with water. We recommend using a microfiber cloth for cleaning. After removing the stain with white vinegar and water, clean it with a damp cloth. …

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When many of my customers hear the term “dry carpet cleaning” for the first time, they probably expect me to come to their homes with my van, take their rugs and carpets, and bring them to the dry cleaners. I guess it was the fault of professional carpet cleaners like me who failed to describe what the procedure is and why we call it this way.

How did the term originate?

The denomination “dry” compares the treatment to steam washing and hot water extraction – the two most applied carpet cleaning methods. Dry carpet cleaning employs significantly less water or steam and requires much less time for drying, which explains why it has been gaining increasing popularity. However, it does work with steam, even if in limited amounts. 

How does it work?

Unlike steam washing and hot water extraction, which rely heavily on water (in different aggregate conditions), dry carpet cleaning’s efficiency comes from the powerful biodegradable cleaning compound. The cleaner sprinkles the treated area (or the whole carpet) and then rubs the compound into the fabrics with a special brush. It reacts with the dirt and grime residue and quickly dissolves, making it much easier to remove. In other words, it is almost like sprinkling your clothes with washing powder and then putting them in the washing machine.

The treatment is very effective for regular carpet treatment and gains more and more fans among Southampton homeowners. …

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