Before you invite any carpet cleaner into your home, be sure that they have at least one out of two very important industry destinctions to maintain the warrantee on your carpeting: The Carpet and Rug Institute Seal of Approval Service Provider and The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification Certified Firm.The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), Based in Dalton, Georgia, is a nonprofit trade association representing the manufacturers of more than 95 percent of all carpet made in the United States, as well as their suppliers and service providers. We coordinate with other segments of the industry, such as distributors, retailers and installers, to help increase consumers’ satisfaction with carpet and to show them how carpet creates a better environment.” The CRI has instituted a Seal of Approval program for both carpet cleaning companies and the cleaning solutions and machines they use.  According to the carpet and rug institutes’ (CRI) website (www.carpet-rug.org), “CRI worked with an independent laboratory to test off-the-shelf spot removers and pre-spray solutions. Of the 25 products tested, only four cleaned a soiled carpet sample better than water. Some caused the cleaned carpet area to re-soil faster and — worse — some products damaged the carpet’s color and texture.”

“The CRI recommends to the consumer getting their carpet professionally cleaned to utilize the services of those recognized SOA Service Providers as the best way to guarantee your carpet is being serviced with only the best cleaning equipment. It is also the best way to make sure many of your residential warranties covering your carpet are being met as many of carpet manufacturers are now tying their warranties to the use of SOA products” and IICRC certified status. Visit www.carpet-rug.org for a list of SOA Services Providers. 

The IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) is an independent body that provides the finest, most complete technical training courses and seminars available to carpet cleaners and restoration (flood, mold and fire damage) in the industry. Your cleaner should be IICRC certified in any type of cleaning or restoration service they are providing you. IICRC Certification and Training is expensive and many companies cut corners when it comes to training their employees in the best and most effective cleaning methods. Each technician must earn their certifications through study, experience and successful completion of formal, written examinations. In addition to your technician begin certified, the carpet cleaning company should also be a certified firm by the IICRC. Before agreeing to have your carpet or upholstery cleaned ask to see written proof of the company’s and the technician’s IICRC certification. Any cleaner who has gone through the exhaustive and intensive training provided by the IICRC will be proud to show you proof of their certification. Visit: www.iicrc.org for a list of certified firms. 

For most homeowners, the holidays are the most important time of year to have a clean home. Friends and relatives frequently drop by for visits. Christmas parties. Your home gets busy and you want everything to look perfect. Remember to book your holiday cleaning appointment early. We often are booked 2 weeks in advance for the holidays. So don’t wait until the last minute. Call us now at 1.800.743.9953 Happy Holidays! Tal Alon.

We are currently seeking companies that would like to offer their employees discounts on carpet cleaning. As a family oriented operation we know how hard it can be to find a reliable company for the services we use on a less than regular basis. We would be happy to speak to anyone capable of notifying your employees of our services with an added discount for being an employee of the company.

Currently we would like to either add our promotion to your employee newsletter, bulletin board, or payroll envelopes. The size of the company is not important. Whether you have 2 employees or thousands we would like to form a relationship with your company and allow all your employeees to receive a great incentive for being employed by your company.

If you are interested in learning more or discussing what is available, please contact me at (786) 663-2301.

A large majority of our customers have pets. Not everyone considers the harmful effects that harsh chemicals used by many carpet cleaners can have on their pets.

Your pets spend more time on your carpet than almost anyone in your family. This one fact means they are more likely to be exposed to any chemicals used to clean your carpets. Anyone who has a pet knows that vet bills can be very expensive. Most pet owners think of their pets like any other family member and would not intentionally expose them to harsh chemicals.

By taking the time to learn what chemicals are used in the cleaning process by your carpet cleaner you could actually help prevent your pet from becoming ill. As pet owners we understand this concern and the expense it could cause. Our organic carpet cleaning process is 100% safe for everyone including your family pet. Even our all natural cleaning process is safe for children, pets and people with allergies.

Since your carpets act like filters in your home. Having them cleaned regularly is important to maintain a healthy living environment. If we are introducing new toxins or chemicals into your living environment it doesn’t make much sense to clean in the first place. Everyone in your family deserves a healthy environment including your pet.

Don’t let anyone fool you when getting a quote for carpet cleaning. Every company cleaning carpets, large and small, must make money. If they don’t make money they won’t be around long. Many companies make you think you are getting a better price than possible over the phone or in their ads. So we want to take the time to give you the questions to ask every carpet cleaner you might call.

1. Do you charge extra for spot removal?
   Although this seems like it should be part of the “cleaning”, many companies charge extra to remove spots or heavily soiled areas. We hope this seems as silly to you as it does to us. What exactly are they cleaning if they charge extra to clean the dirty spots? We don’t charge extra for spots or heavily soiled areas. Mainly because we think when we say we are going to clean your carpets, that means really cleaning it!
2. Do you have a service charge or travel charge for cleaning under a certain amount?
   This is another one of those great little disclaimers we find hard to swallow. Usually you will see this on a coupon or advertisement for a carpet cleaning special. The special will be great but in the fine print it will tell you that in order to take advantage of the special you will need to pay a “sur-charge” for getting that special. Doesn’t seem like much of a deal to us. When we advertise a special, about the only disclaimer we use is the fact that you can’t combine it with another special. Which is only fair to everyone.
3. What other services do you provide for carpet cleaning above and beyond your normal “all inclusive” price?
   If they say none, either they are an excellent service that provides everything in one cleaning, which is great. Or they are using a little deception. Most carpet cleaners gamble on the fact that once they are in your house they can sell you on every little thing possible to make another buck. We only offer 2 additional optional services. Those are soil retardent and a germicide treatment. They are optional for a reason, not everyone needs them. We do recommend the soil retardent about 90% of the time and for good reason, we want to make sure your carpets stay looking their best for as long as possible. The soil retardent helps repell dirt and stains, just like the original soil retardent that comes on new carpet. The germicide treatment is recommended when there is a pet odor problem normally. We take great pride in our work and want to make sure your cleaning is done right, but we never try to take advantage of a customer in order to make a few extra dollars. We prefer establishing a long term relationship with our customers.
4. Do you charge extra for moving furniture?
   This one is so subtle most people never think to ask about this one. What happens when the technician gets to your home and tells you “oh that will be an extra $20 to move that sofa”. Most likely you’ll pay the price and go on without giving it too much thought. This is another one of those “hidden” charges many companies like to throw in their at you. Our policy is to move any furniture and replace it, that can be easily moved by 2 people (couches, chairs, tables, etc), at no charge. The only furniture we won’t move are those which can’t be moved easily by 2 people and any item which maybe considered permanent (entertainment centers, pianos, china hutches, etc).
5. Can you make my 20 year old carpet that has been cleaned twice look new again?
   If they say yes without hesitation, run don’t walk away. We’d love to say “we can clean any carpet and make it look new again”. But the reality is that is not possible on carpet that has not been properly maintained. If you have maintained your carpets on a regular basis, then yes it should clean up nicely no matter how old it is. Just like a car that has not been washed or maintained, it is going to cost a lot of money to make it run and look new again when it has been neglected. Probably more than just buying a new one. But if you spend the small amount of money making the necessary repairs and taking good care of it you will get many many more good years out of it. The same holds true for your carpet. We can clean a 20 year old carpet, but how clean it gets or how good it looks after the cleaning is really determined by you, not us.
6. Do you provide a written guarantee?
   We suggest never using any service that is not willing to guarantee their work. We give a 7 day written guarantee for any carpet cleaning service we provide. If anytime during that 7 days you notice something that is not right with the cleaning we will gladly come back out and do whatever we can to make it right. And it happens from time to time, we’re not perfect and sometimes a mistake is made. Instead of passing the blame though we make sure any mistake is taken care of in a timely fashion at your convience. We do whatever we can to make sure everyone we provide service for is 100% satisfied.
7. How many years experience does your technician currently have?
   Your carpet is one of the top 5 biggest investments in your home. Are you really willing to take a chance on someone who has little to no experience cleaning carpets? Our lead technician has over 20 years experience cleaning carpets. Our secondary technician has trained for over 10 years with our lead technician and we have just now turned him loose heading up his own crew. Not many other carpet cleaning companies take training that seriously.

We hope you are able to use these questions to find the perfect carpet cleaning company for your needs. Keep these little things in mind when you are comparing services from one company to another and you’ll find you will never be suprised by the service you get.

For many years we have offered a referral program for all our customers to take advantage of. All anyone had to do was tell their friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, or anyone they knew about our services. When we did work for one of those people a $20 credit was added to the account of the person who referred them to us. Many of our customers get their carpets cleaned completely free every single year.

This year we have expanded the referal program to make it an even better deal and to make it easier for you to refer your friends. We personally prefer that those referring us have used our services, but now anyone can take advantage of the referral program. Give us a call and we will take your information and send you referral cards to give to your friends. Everyone who gets a card from you also receives 10% off our normal price with that card and you get a $20 credit on your account. The best part of all, there is no limit to the amount you can have credited to your account and the credits never expire!

Call and get started today and enjoy your free carpet cleaning asap.

You walk in and out of your house dozens of times per day, tracking in soil. Your carpet acts as a filter to all the unhealthy oil, dust, pollen, and pollutants that you carry in on the bottom of your shoes. Plus, drink spills, food spills, and pet accidents add to the unhealthy status of your carpet. This filter (your carpet) needs to be cleaned regularly to keep your home healthy.

The EPA and carpet manufacturers recommend that you have your carpet cleaned every 6-12 months. Your carpet is a fabric. It needs regular cleaning to be kept clean and to stay looking beautiful.

When you call us to clean your carpet, we concentrate on three important health benefits for you:

1. First, the safest cleaning agents possible are used to pre-spot your carpet and break down oils. We use all natural  cleaning agents that are formulated specifically for chemically sensitive people.
2. Soil, pollen, and dust mite dander are broken down and bacteria is reduced with 180 degree water through our truck mounted machine. The dirty water is extracted into a holding tank in our van.
3. No mold or musty odors will grow because we’ll use turbo dryers or special tools to ensure your carpet dries fast. 
    

    If you have allergies to dust mites, we have an excellent anti-allergen treatment that neutralizes the der-1 allergen in your carpet, upholstery, or mattress. This treatment is applied after a thorough extraction and cleaning of the dust mite dander. For a limited time, try our Anti-Allergen dust mite treatment in one room FREE when you get your carpet cleaned.

Treating Pet Accidents and Odors

    For your pet accidents, we use “Pro’s Choice” enzymes. We’ve tried many enzymes over the years and we’ve found these enzymes work better and are much safer than any other professional or store bought enzyme. Other enzymes can cause allergic reaction to some people, but we have never had a problem with “Pro’s Choice”.

    For other deodorization needs, we have a natural disinfectant-type deodorizer with tea tree oil that is safe for your family and pets. Many disinfectants, such as bleach, Lysol, etc, can be very bad for you to breath. In every possible situation, we use the safest cleaning agents available.

I’m going to show you an easy way to remove spots 95% of the time. It works every time as long as you get to the spot as soon as it happens.

Why would a professional cleaner tell me how to clean spots myself? Well, there are a few reasons. First, if you have kids or pets in your home, you MUST do some type of interim cleaning. Most people who have pets get their carpet or rug cleaned once or twice every year. If a pet stain sits in your carpet for six months, it will be more difficult to remove. Carpet needs to be maintained on a regular basis.

Yes, carpet manufacturers recommend professional cleaning at least every year. Some manufacturers actually demand it be done in order to comply with their warranty. Failing to have professional cleaning may void your warranty.

But professional cleaning is only part of the maintenance. Carpet is kept beautiful by vacuuming at least twice per week and taking care of emergency spots IMMEDIATELY after they occur.

What type of machine should you purchase? The brand isn’t really as important as making sure you have something for an emergency. Get a small, hand-held type. The smaller it is, the more likely you are to get it out of the closet. Because let’s face it, these happenings are never convenient.

Even a shop vacuum that extracts liquid will do the trick. You can go to www.carpet-rug.com for machines that are certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute. Bissell, Little Devil, Little Green Machine, etc.

Here’s the trick:

1. The first thing you’ll need to do is extract all liquid matter from the fibers.
2. Next, treat the area with a neutral PH spot remover (call us or stop by for purchase)
3. Gently blot the spot with a cotton towel
4. If the stain is still there, repeat the process above
5. Last, rinse the spot with water from your spot machine

That’s it. It really is that simple.

Now, where people usually go wrong is they skip over step 1. STEP ONE is the most important step of them all. The initial extraction is where you remove the bulk of the spill or accident. Then, the spot remover is used to take care of what’s left behind.

As well, you can use a shop wet vacuum to remove the liquid matter. The only difference is you can’t rinse with the shop vacuum. Instead, take a glass of water and pour it over the area for a final rinse. Then, extract the rinse water with the shop vacuum.

That’s the magic tip. Try it. It works. And if you don’t already have a small spot machine or shop vacuum, go out and get one today.

Most people don’t know this, but carpet makers recommend annual cleaning.  You’ve probably heard the old wives tale that says, “What as long as you can to clean your carpet.” 

The reasons behind this is many homeowners would have their carpet cleaned and they would look uglier after cleaning.  This is still true today if your carpet is cleaned improperly. 

Many years ago, dry cleaning and shampooing were a primary method of cleaning.  As well, many companies would perform steam cleaning, but they would do it correctly. 

Any method of carpet cleaning done improperly WILL DAMAGE YOUR CARPET and cause resoiling.  It’s not the method that’s important, it’s the technician who is cleaning your carpet.

If you pulled some poor unsuspecting soul off the street and gave him brand new, state-of-the-art cleaning machine, he would make a mess out of your carpet.  Unfortunately, that is what many carpet cleaning companies do.

The education and experience is as important as the method being used.  Yes, carpet makers recommend yearly cleaning.  Yes, the recommend truck mounted steam cleaning.  But they also recommend you have it done by certified, trained technicians.

And here’s a tip…the company with a great reputation, education, and experience isn’t going to charge you $19, 47$ or $69  for the whole house.  Sorry.  But you do get what you pay for.

If you’re reading this from Pensacola, I invite you to visit our homepage at www.American-Steamers.com for an estimate. 

Your elusive 12 week-old puppy walks into the living room. “Where have you been?” you ask, as if he will answer you. You immediately jump up and begin your search. Everything seems fine in the bedroom. Everything seems fine in the den. Everything is fine in the dining roo—oh no! Not your brand new Oriental rug. What are you going to do?

Time is of the essence. So, you grab your trusty bottle of miracle spot remover and spray it directly on the stain. You press a towel you grabbed from the kitchen into the stain. You rub and scrub. It doesn’t seem like it’s working, so you try more spot remover and you scrub harder. At least you’re trying to take care of the accident quickly, but now you’ve got a bigger problem. You have an even larger puddle that includes urine with spot remover added to it. Even worse, you’ve scrubbed the rug so hard the fibers look frayed and unraveled. Adding spot remover to a urine stain and brushing it in does not mean you are removing the stain. Where did the stain go? You’ve spread it in the backing of the rug.

4 Easy Steps To Emergency Pet Stain Removal

1. Do it NOW. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to remove. It isn’t always convenient to clean up a pet stain, but your life will be much easier if you take care of it immediately. The stain could become permanent in just a few hours, especially with some light colored fibers.

2. Use the right equipment. Use a small, hand-held carpet spotting machine or wet vacuum to extract the urine, vomit, or feces. If you find the stain while it is still damp, it is important to extract the liquid BEFORE rinsing or adding a spot remover. Some popular brands to look for are Bissel, Little Devil, and Little Green Machine. For a wet vacuum, go to any hardware department and ask for wet vacs or shop vacs.

3. Use the proper cleaning agent AFTER the liquid has been removed. Use a low residue spot remover if the stain is fresh or an enzyme spot remover if the stain has been in the fiber for more than a few hours. A mixture of white vinegar diluted at a 1 to 3 ratio will also work in a pinch. Never use bleach. If you are using an enzyme, allow it to dwell for at least 20 minutes or according to the label. An enzyme actually digests the bacteria associated with the odor in urine and works well for spots that have been in the carpet for more than a few hours.

4. Rinse the spot with plain water and extract the water with your wet vacuum or carpet-spotting machine. This can be done by rinsing with water from your spot removal machine or simply pouring a glass of water on the area and extracting with your wet vacuum.

What to do if these steps don’t work?

Often, the spot will be even bigger and darker when it returns. Many spot removers can leave excess residue in the carpet that attracts soil. If you experience this phenomenon of a mysterious spot returning, simply pour a cup of water on the area and extract with your carpet spotter or wet vacuum. If the spot returns again, rinse it again. To prevent this from happening in the future, use less cleaning agent. If you continue to have problems with returning spots, try a different spot removal product.

So now you’ve removed most of the stain and the odor. But, you notice a slight discoloration of yellow is still left behind. Hydrogen peroxide gentles fades discolorations from urine and vomit stains and is available in most drug stores. The solution should be misted on and allowed to dry over the course of an hour. This procedure should only be used after all attempts for removal have been made. As with any spot remover, make sure you pre-test the peroxide in an inconspicuous area before using.

The next time you don’t know where your puppy has been and he strolls into the living room to greet you, don’t be quite so alarmed. You’re now armed with the right information and right tools that will make taking care of the accident a breeze. No more worries. Your life will be so much easier.