Tile and Grout Cleaning
When selecting a company to clean your tile and grout you want to ask them a lot of questions, to make sure they are qualified to satisfy your needs with the end results, at Fountain Hills Carpet Cleaning you can rest assured that all your expectations will be exceeded. You want to always ask what process they use, as there are many processes that different companies use, some are very effective, many are less than effective.
One process that is extremely effective, is the process we use, it is the process that the industry standards suggest using. This process involves using a pre spray that is an alkaline, this pre spray breaks down dirt, grime and other build up that has been deposited on your tile. Next, you want to use a Turbo Force to clean the tile and grout. This machine is the most effective machine you can use to achieve the results of restoring your tile and grout to its original beauty.
Many times you will run across companies that charge a very low price for tile and grout cleaning, like I said, always qualify them to make sure they are experts. They will often leave out an important step in the cleaning process, such as, not using a pre spray, if this step is missed, the end result will be less than satisfactory.
Some companies will use a side by side, with some sort of spinning bonnet attached to the bottom of it. Always avoid using this process, as this process will splatter chemical on your cabinets and appliances, which can leave spots on your cabinets, appliances, and other precious valuables. Also, if you have natural tile, using a side by side can scratch your tile. What happens when you use a side by side, if you have pock marks in your tile, loose gravel, sand, etc. from the pock holes will be on your tile , and when it gets trapped under the side by side it can scratch your soft, natural, tile.
Some companies use acid to clean tile and grout, while this can sometimes be an effective means to clean ceramic tile, it should never be used on natural tile, as natural tile is a porous substance, and if you put acid on natural tile, it open up the pores even more, and instead of cleaning the tile, it exacerbates the situation, setting the dirt, grime, etc. deeper into the tile. When cleaning natural tile you always want to use an alkaline cleaner.
Many companies also use outdated, or inferior equipment, that has not been properly maintained. This industry is constantly changing, and new technology and equipment is always being produced. If you have old, non maintained equipment, it is not going to do a very effective job at cleaning.
Tile and Grout Cleaning
Ceramic Tile:
Let’s first discuss ceramic tile. This is man-made tile. This type of tile is extremely durable and nearly impossible to scratch. This kind of tile cleans up real nice. We only use top of the line cleaning equipment and the best cleaning products on the market. Your tile and grout may be kind of dirty or extremely dirty, either way, we can restore it to its natural beauty.
We have a few different processes we use. You can either get general maintenance, this cleans the tile and the grout lines, this is what you want if your grout lines are not too dirty. If your grout lines are pretty dirty, to extremely dirty, you will want to have the grout lines scrubbed. We use grout brushes on poles, to get your grout lines looking new again. Many people like to have the grout lines scrubbed in high traffic area, the kitchen, etc. This is a very effective means to acquiring the brand new look many customers are looking for.
In order to get your tile and grout looking new again, you are going to want to use an alkaline cleaner, we use the best product on the market, to achieve the best results. We spray this alkaline cleaner on your tile and grout. This alkaline cleaner breaks down the dirt, grime, foreign matter, etc. that has collected on your tile and grout. Then we use a top of the line machine, specifically designed to clean tile and grout. This machine is self-contained, when I say self-contained, it means that nothing is going to get on your cabinets, appliances, etc. This machine, called a Turbo Force, has extremely high pressure, we run a mixture of hot water and a neutralizer through it. This machine picks up all the dirt, grime, foreign matter, etc. leaving your tile and grout so clean you can eat off it lol. Your tile and grout will be dry in under an hour, so you can immediately enjoy you living spaces.
Natural Tile:
Natural tile is just what it says, it is a natural substance, such as, travertine, marble, Saltillo, etc. This type of tile can be very soft, and easy to scratch, if the person you hired, is not a specialist on these types of surfaces. Many times your tile may not look like it is dirty, as tile can hide dirt extremely well, especially if it is multi colored. You should clean your tile every few years. You really want to keep up on the maintenance of your natural tile. Some natural tile has pock marks in it, these pock marks shed small sand granules, although these small pock marks may look like nothing to be concerned about, they can really cause problems for your tile. What happens is the sand that comes out of the pock marks can scratch your tile, if it adheres to your shoes, children’s toys, etc. of course this is not always the case, it depends on how soft your tile is, you will notice this in some travertine. I would suggest that you have these pock marks filled in and fixed, unfortunately, we don’t do this, we merely clean the surface. The process we use will not scratch your tile no matter how many pock marks you have. We use a top of the line alkaline cleaner to clean your natural surfaces. We offer grout line scrubbing, if the grout lines are dirty. Most grout lines in natural tiles will be an eight inch in width, instead of the quarter-inch width that is standard in ceramic tile. We have the knowledge and professional equipment to restore your tile and grout to its natural beauty.
Testimonials and Feedback
Our objective is 100% customer satisfaction. We want to be your trusted source in Fountain Hills for carpet cleaning, tile cleaning, oriental rug cleaning and other services. Please let us know how we are doing by responding to this post! Thank you very much. – Tom Uhlenberg
Weekly Maintenance
General Maintenance For Your Carpet:
We recommend that you vacuum your carpet weekly. This will help keep fine particulate matter, such as, dust and dirt, from getting ground into the fibers of your carpet, and it will help your carpet last longer. You should buy, or use a decent vacuum, I would say if you spend $300 to $50o on a vacuum, that is a pretty good one, and should work fine. General maintenance is very important if you want to get the most out of your carpet. There are many examples that you can apply this to, one being, the engine in your car, if you only change your oil every 10,000 miles or more, the probability of your car breaking down and needing regular repairs skyrockets. It’s like anything, if you neglect it, chances are, it is going to need to be repaired regularly, costing you many times more than it would if you just maintained it on a regular basis. It’s much cheaper to maintain you carpet than replace it, and it will save you a lot of time and headaches, as you will not have to move your stuff in and out to replace to carpet.
General Maintenance For Your Oriental Rugs:
You should vacuum your oriental rugs weekly. You should also rotate them 90 degrees every 3 to 6 months, doing this will alleviate the traffic lanes that build up over time, so when you do have it professionally cleaned, every year, or less, it will be much easier, and more effective to restore to it’s original beauty.
General Maintenance For Your Ceramic Tile:
You should mop your floor with a mop, or other effective cleaning devise that you can buy at your local hardware store. I would suggest you buy a neutral cleaner, which means you want to pick a cleaner that has a pH of 7, these can be found at stores that sell tile, and maybe at the local hardware store. I would stay away from products that do not have a pH of 7 (neutral), products to stay away from are, Mop and Glow, pledge, etc. as these can leave a residue behind on your tiles.
General Maintenance For Natural Tile:
You want to mop your natural tile regularly. You do not want to clean your natural tiles with anything other than a neutral cleaner, this mean a pH of 7. It is very important that you use a neutral cleaner on natural stone, you can get away with using a store bought product on ceramic tiles as they have a much harder surface and are virtually impossible to penetrate, but i would still say it is best to always use a neutral cleaner on all tiles, to reduce build up of residue. If you have a natural stone floor it is extremely important that you do not use a store bought product like Mop and Glow, Pledge, etc. as these leave a residue behind. Since natural stone is porous, it soaks things up, so if you use a cleaning product that is not neutral, it will penetrate the stone, and build up over time, and can give your tile a dull appearance. When you have your stone professionally cleaned, you can be left with streaks, where some of the residue comes off, and some stays behind, this can be corrected, but it involves a different process, with different machines, it will have to be stripped off, which will cost extra money. Many customers have maids, unfortunately, most maids don’t know the difference between natural and synthetic tiles, and they often use store bought products, so check with them to see what they are using. You can purchase a neutral cleaner at most stores that sell tile.
Discount Coupons
There are a lot of coupons out there, some are good, some are a scam. Most legitimate coupons will be 10% off or so. If you see a coupon that says $5.99 – $10.99 a room I can guarantee, you are going to get scammed. These companies always have add ons, or up sells, such as, they charge .25 – .35 cents a square foot for pre spray, and if you don’t use a pre spray you will not be able to get the dirt, dust, allergens, stains, traffic lanes, and other particulate matter out of the carpet. These kind of companies come in with a low price and then charge for everything they can think of, they charge extra for stains, traffic lanes, pre spray, etc. before you know, you have spent ten or twenty times more than you expected.
At Fountain Hills Carpet Cleaning we have no hidden charges, and one price covers everything. We are very competitive in our pricing and always tell the customer exactly how much it is going to cost before we start. We also give free estimates, and give the customer the satisfaction of knowing that they will be receiving a top notch job. We perform all work, using top of the line, van mounted cleaning equipment, and top of the line cleaning products, which are all non toxic to pets, and humans, and environmentally safe.
I have received many calls over the years about the different types of equipment cleaners have tried to haul into customers homes. People have called me to ask me if I use a standard vacuum cleaner to clean the carpet, I get a chuckle out of that, but feel bad for the consumer. I guess it is one of those vacuum cleaners that has a little steamer on it, they cost about $200, and this is most definitely not going to clean your carpet. Other companies use portable units that plug into the wall, you can rent these at your local grocery store, they are called Rug Doctor, these are also less than effective.
Many companies have very nice looking vans, but when you look in to see the kind of cleaning equipment it has, you see something that is 20 or 30 years old, or bottom of the line equipment. Anyone can repaint their van and make it look really nice, but that’s not going to get the carpet clean. Many house cleaners offer carpet cleaning, they think putting down some of that carpet cleaner by buy at the grocery store, which you sprinkle on your carpet, and then vacuum it up, will clean the carpet, wouldn’t it be nice if it was that easy lol. If you are looking for high quality carpet cleaning, that is detail oriented then you have come to the right place. Fountain Hills Carpet Cleaning always exceeds the customers expectations.
I just say, buyer beware, and always read the fine print, and always qualify the cleaner you are inviting into your house, by asking as many questions as possible, so you can feel comfortable, and at ease, that you have chosen the right person for the job.
Silk Rugs
Silk rugs are more delicate than wool rugs. You must make sure you don’t spill any liquid on them or they will bleed, which means the colors will run together. If you own a pet that is not potty trained keep them off this type of run, or you will need to invest in a new one. These rugs can be cleaned, but they are much harder to get stains, and traffic lanes out.
If you plan to get your silk rug cleaned you need to pick a cleaner that is extremely knowledgeable about how to properly clean this sort of rug. At Fountain Hills Carpet Cleaning we have the knowledge and expertise to properly care for this type of rug. These are much less common than wool rugs, and usually much more expensive. If you do spill something on a silk rug, never try and clean it up with a damp rag, as it will probably bleed, and the colors will run together. Get a 100% dry, white, cotton cloth and blot at the stain.
We use a dry cleaning process to clean silk rugs, this is the proper way to clean them, but I wouldn’t advise bringing them to the dry cleaner lol, I don’t think they clean those sort of items, and I am not sure if that sort of dry cleaning is the same kind of process we use.
Once your rug is cleaned we dry it out, roll it up, wrap it in plastic and and deliver it to you. You can also apply Scotchgard to it, this is highly recommended. We use a different blend of Scotchgard than is applied to wool rugs, the kind applied to silk rugs is a dry Scotchgard process, if you use the same kind that is applied to wool rugs, your rug will bleed and be ruined, and it will be time for a new one. These kind of rugs are more expensive to clean than wool rugs.
For general maintenance, you want to vacuum it weekly, and have it professionally cleaned at least yearly. It’s like anything, if you don’t keep up on the maintenance it is going to be a lot harder to get clean when you decide to clean it. Here’s an example, if you have a tee shirt and wear it, your going to wash it regularly, or at least for the general public let’s hope you wash it regularly lol. If you don’t wash it for a year, it’s going to be difficult, to impossible to get the dirt, stain, etc. out of it. Apply the same concept to your rugs, and it will last a long time, neglect it, and you will have to toss it out and buy another one.
Oriental Rug Cleaning – Wool Rugs
Oriental rugs are fragile in nature. They are composed of a natural fiber, most oriental rugs are made of wool. This is a very porous substance, which means it soaks up dirt, dust, allergens, stains, urine, spills, etc. In order to keep your rug looking it’s finest, you must take care of it, this entails, vacuuming it weekly, and having it professionally cleaned at least yearly. You want to pick a person who is well qualified, or else the finished product may not be to your liking, such as, it might shrink, bleed, or the fibers could start falling out, which means you need a new rug.
The proper way to clean wool rugs, is to make sure you don’t use a high heat, make sure the pressure is low, use an acidic cleaner, and you want to dry them out as fast as possible. If you follow these steps your rug will not be damaged. You may also have to use a dye lock product depending on what kind of dye was used in the dye process.
Wool rugs are either hand made or machine made. Of course the hand made wool rugs are more expensive and can range in price. These rugs can be $1,000 to $100,000 depending on many different factors, such as, size, country it originated from, who the retailer was, etc. The more expensive your rug is, usually means the more fragile or delicate it is, but not always.
The way we clean wool rugs is we use an acidic pre spray, which breaks down the particulate matter, such as, dirt, allergens, dust, stains, traffic lanes, etc. Then we extract it using an acidic mixture, then we dry pass the rug to make sure there is no residue left behind. We then dry them out using big blowers, the drying time takes about 2 hours, then we roll them up, put them in plastic, and hand deliver them to the customer.
Most stains can be lifted out of the rug, but not always. Since this is a natural fiber, it can be much harder to get them out, depending on a multitude of factors, such as, how long the stain has been on there, whether the customer tried to get the stain out themselves,etc. I would not recommend trying to get stains out of your rug by yourself, most of the time you will do more damage than good, and you can lock in the stain permanently if you use the wrong product. I would assume almost all products purchased at your local store will not work for getting the stains out. Many of the most common stains we see are urine and we can usually get the stain out, and the smell.
You can also Scotchgard your wool rugs, this is highly recommended. Scotchgard protects your fibers from the inside out, so the particulate matter cannot bond to the wool fibers, which means, when you vacuum your rug, more of the particulate matter, dust, dirt, allergens, etc. will be trapped in your vacuum, thus protecting your rug so you can get the longest life out of it. Natural wool fibers are like paint on your automobile, if you have a bunch of dirt on your automobile, and rub your hand across it, it is going to be scratched, it’s the same concept with wool rugs. The Scotchgard is relatively cheap to apply to your rug, for instance, if your rug is 10 feet by 10 feet, that’s 100 square feet, which would cost $35 dollars, we charge .35 cents a square foot for Scotchgard, so if your rug is smaller it will cost less, and if it is larger it will cost more. When you are talking about fine wool rugs you want to protect your investment, so this is a minimal charge to be assured you have the added protection.
We will always inform the customer on what we think we can or can’t do for the rug. We will also tell you how much it is going to cost, as we always strive to exceed the customers expectations.
Dog Bile Stains
Dogs with sensitive stomachs can leave deep yellow stains on your carpet. In between cleanings, you can mitigate these stains with any of the home remedies listed below:
- Nature’s Miracle — available from most pet stores
- Oxi Clean
- Soda water
- Water and baking soda
Scotchgard – Carpet Protector
The carpet cleaning industry strongly recommends that you have your carpet cleaned at least once a year. While some carpets come with a carpet protector from the factory, you should always apply Scotchgard to your carpet every time you have it cleaned. Because of the high heat used in van mounted steam cleaning equipment, as it is cleaned and sanitized, this strips off the old carpet protector, this is why you need to apply this added bonus to your carpet if you want to get the longest life out of your carpet. My company only uses the best carpet protector money can buy. If someone is trying to sell you Scotchgard for 5 or so cents a square foot, you can probably guess that they are not using a carpet protector and are probably just putting down water, as most carpet protection cost about $50 a gallon, which costs us about 5 cents a square foot.
My carpet in my house is about 15 years old, it is the original carpet that was installed when the house was built. I always apply Scotchgard to my carpet when I clean it, which I do about every 9 month or so. I have a cat, and a 10 month old son, and my carpet is in amazing condition for being as old as it is. This is not to say that my carpet will last forever, with everything, sooner or later it will wear out. Carpet is like glass, when you scratch it is going to make a mark, so after a while the carpet is going to wear out and break down, you will notice this the most in high traffic areas. For instance, the carpet in my house is starting to wear out in the master bedroom where you round the corner to go to the bathroom. What happens is the carpet fibers start to get broken down or worn out and this makes the pile in the high traffic lanes sit lower than the other carpet, making it look maybe a little dirty, but in all actuality the fiber is wearing out and sitting lower than the rest of the carpet, there is really nothing you can do to fix this problem except replace the carpet.
Scothgard helps to protect your carpet fibers so they don’t wear out as fast. What the Scotchgard does is make it so dirt, dust, etc. can’t bond to the fibers, and more of this dust or dirt will be vacuumed up with your weekly vacuuming, this protects your carpet fibers. Think of it like this, if you take two carpet fibers and put dirt on them and rub them together they are going to break down and wear out much quicker than if you just merely rub them together with no dirt. The dirt is abrasive and scratches the fibers, just like if you put dirt on a piece of glass and rub the dirt into the glass you are going to scratch the glass. Another example of this would be your car paint, if you took a rag and rubbed dirt on it, or used a dirty rag, and rubbed this rag accross the paint on your car it is going to scratch it. This concept works the same with carpet fibers.
Scotchgard works to protect your carpet fibers from the inside out giving you the added protection needed from dirt, dust, etc. so you can get the most life out of your carpet. Let’s face it carpet is not cheap, so if you can get 5 or 10 extra years out of your carpet, you have saved yourself and awful lot of money. The cost of the Scotchgard versus the cost to replace your carpet is a substantial difference. Even if you can add 5 or 10 extra years of life onto your carpet, the expense to apply Scotchgard to your carpet for 15 to 20 years is far cheaper then replacing your carpet. Plus you have the added feeling of security knowing that you have the least amount of dust, dirt and allergens in your carpet, and we all know what a hassle it is to have to move all the items off the carpet to have it replaced, this thought of moving all my stuff off my carpet to have it replaced makes me cringe.
Scotchgard should be applied when the carpet is damp, if you go to your local hardware store and buy a few bottles of Scotchgard and apply it to your dry carpet you are just wasting your time and money. The carpet needs to be damp so that it can soak in and bond to the carpet fiber, so leave this task to a professional carpet cleaner.