How Regularly Do I Need To Vacuum?

Experts can’t stress enough how important it is that you vacuum regularly. This means at least once a week, and daily if you have pets or children. Most of the soil in a carpet is what’s known as ‘dry soil’.  That’s things like sand, grit and other particles that are harsh and will grind away at the base of the fibres or fabric causing premature wear. It is also important to remember that it’s not just your carpets that need vacuuming, your upholstery will benefit from it too.

What Type Of Vacuum is Best?

Generally speaking an upright vacuum with brushes is preferred over cylinder type vacuums, unless you have one with a powerbrush attachments.  This is because by ‘brushing’ the carpet you get more agitation, so more grit is dislodged. This results in much more of the dry soil being removed from the base of the carpet or fabric.  With upholstery remember to use the crevice tool and remove the crud that’s gone down the side of the cushions and frame too.

The vacuums we use and would highly recommend are Sebo Vacuum Cleaners. They have hospital grade filters and making the perfect for people with asthma and allergies.

What Is The Best Way To Vacuum?

Believe it or not there are specific methods to vaccuming. When vacuuming the carpet the best way to do this is to use slow, repetitive front-to-back motions in an overlapping sequence. A quick once over isn’t really sufficient. On the other hand, don’t press down or make too many passes over the same spot. Instead, move slightly to the left or right about every four strokes.

Take a look at our vacuuming cleaning tips to make sure you get the most out of your carpet cleaning.

• Don’t ignore those corners and crevices – these are really important areas as they are where dust builds up.
• “Top-down” clean to save yourself the step of vacuuming again after dusting. Dust blinds, window sills and furniture surfaces first, then vacuum away any fallen dust.
• Remember to remove and replace, or empty, vacuum bags when they are half to two-thirds full. They’ll work far more efficiently.

How Often Should You Vacuum?

We have recently been debating this very issue in the office. It’s a tricky situation. No one wants to make their visitors feel uncomfortable. But at the same time do you really want mud tracking into your beautiful clean carpets?

We found this fascinating information on the Healthy Child website which highlights what a huge impact this seemingly small issue could have on your home.

The professional cleaning industry estimates that we track 85% of the dirt in our homes in from the outside on our shoes or paws of pets. In a recent warning about lead exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specifically recommends that shoes remain outside the house. According to a report called The Door Mat Study, lead-contaminated soil from the outside causes almost all the lead dust inside homes. It notes that wiping shoes on a mat and removing them at the door cuts lead dust by 60 percent. The study explains that limiting the amount of dust and track-in may also help reduce exposure to lawn and garden pesticides, wood smoke and industrial toxins, mutagens, dust mites, and allergens.

It’s common sense that dirty shoes will shorten the life of your carpets, so maybe it is time we started asking people to take them off (or at least wipe them before they come in). Lets hope your guests don’t have cheesy feet!

Please Leave Your Shoes By The Door

“The best carpet cleaning Nottingham has to offer”

It may be early February when we are all dreaming of summer but unfortunately we just can’t escape the snow.

Polly and Max our trusty cocker spaniels think its great fun, and I’m sure your children who get to enjoy a few days off school will too, but sadly the snow could be disastrous for your beautiful carpets.

Protect your carpets from grit and snow stains

The grit and salt that is used to clear our roads in this weather can ruin your carpets in next to no time. After the winter period we often go to homes where they have damaged the carpet fibres and cause patchy colour loss.

With even more snow forecast for the next few weeks we thought we would share with you our top tips to make sure your carpet isn’t ruined.

In this weather it’s so important that you make sure your carpets are protected. One of the best ways you can do this is by preventing the snow and grit getting into your home in the first place.

• The first line of defence has to be a good quality, large,  door-mat to encourage visitors to wipe their feet thoroughly before coming into your home.
• If you don’t normally take off your shoes as you walk in the door then now’s the time to do it. Dig out your Christmas slippers to stop the grit and salt being trampled into your house.

If you do get grit or salt on your carpets it’s important that you act immediately. Take a look at the steps below

REMEMBER – before you try out any of our tips it’s important you test your carpet in a discreet area to make sure it is colour fast.

Instructions

You will need:

1. Vacuum the carpet thoroughly to remove any loose salt, dirt and other debris. This will make cleaning up the salt stains easier.

2. Following the instructions on the can of Chem-Dry Spot Remover, apply a light spray of solution to the edge of the salt marks.  The carpet should feel slightly damp – not wet.  Don’t tackle the whole of the marked area at once.  Concentrate on a small section of it before moving onto the next.

3. Gently  ”massage” the carpet area where you have applied the spray, with the back of the teaspoon, taking care to work inwards, towards the centre of the mark and not outwards.  Do this for a few seconds only.

4. Blot the carpet with your clean, dry cloth.  Gently dab at the carpet fibres and never give in to the temptation to rub at them or you could cause irreversible damage.

Continue with these steps over the affected area of carpet until the mark has gone and finish off by vacuuming the carpet thoroughly in different directions.

If the marks remain, call us for further advice.

Don’t Let the Snow Ruin Your Beautiful Carpets

However, I’ve just taken a phone call from Mrs Bird in West Bridgford and I thought I’d just quickly share it with you!

I just had to ‘phone  to let you know how pleased I am with the cleaning of my two-seater sofa and armchair.  Stuart was great and he did a fantastic job of making my upholstery look its best again.  I am absolutely delighted!

Mrs Bird,  West Bridgford

Thanks Mrs Bird for taking the trouble to call – it’s a gesture we all appreciate.

To find out more information on what we can do for your sofas, armchairs, footstools – in fact ANY upholstered items – click here

Or …. call us, or drop us an e-mail.  We’re always happy to advise.

“Absolutely delighted! …. Mrs Bird, West Bridgford

She said ….

I am delighted with all the work carried out.  Barry is a good worker.  You couldn’t improve on the service you offer – after all, how could you improve on perfection?!

To experience perfection (Mrs Mason’s words – not ours!!!)

get in touch today!

Call our team today on 0115 9894443
or email nicepeople@ag-chemdry.co.uk

“How COULD you improve on perfection?” …. Mrs Mason of Loughborough

Remember our Nottingham Yellow Pages Competition from October of this year?  Entrants were asked to spot A&G Chem-Dry®’s advert in the 2011 / 2012 book and let us know which page it is on!

Mrs Carruthers correctly answered page 91 and , was the first entrant to be picked at random “out of the hat” when the draw took place on Monday 31st October.

Mrs Carruthers booked in her free lounge carpet clean (on our Gold Package) for earlier this week and, decided to pay for her stairs and landing carpets to be cleaned at the same time.  We were delighted to receive the following e-mail from Mrs Carruthers this afternoon….

“I was thrilled to win the chance to have my lounge carpet cleaned and protected in your recent competition.  And I was even more thrilled by the result!  As my husband said “The carpet is all the same colour now!”

We’re glad we used this opportunity to pay for the stair and landing carpets to be cleaned at the same time.  Your technician, Brian, was very friendly, efficient and explained exactly what he was doing.

I would say to anyone who is considering having their carpets cleaned by A&G Chem-Dry® – go ahead. They know what they’re doing and you’re certain to be impressed with the results.”

 Let A&G Chem-Dry thrill YOU too with the Brightest, Cleanest and Healthiest carpets

in the neighbourhood!

Call our team today on 0115 9894443

“The Carpet’s All the Same Colour Now!”

Think of the amount of shampoo

you use to wash your hair.

A small amount in the palm of your hand – a little goes a long way. Then consider how much WATER you have to use to rinse it away! Gallons.  So … imagine if shampoo or detergent were used to clean your precious carpets.  All that wet, soapy mess followed by an even wetter rinsing process that completely soaks the carpets, takes ages to dry and then leaves behind a soapy, sticky residue that attracts dirt back to it like a magnet.  Before you know it, your carpets are grubby again, even faster than ever!  Not good.

Compare that with the low-moisture, green & clean

system used by A&G Chem-Dry with our simply unique 

cleaning solution ”The Natural”

As the name suggests, “The Natural” is  naturally-based, safe and non-toxic.  It’s carbonated, so contains millions of tiny bubbles.  The amazing cleaning power of “The Natural” creates a powerful reaction that deep cleans your carpets in an effective, yet gentle way.  Because the bubbles in our fabulous low-moisture cleaning solution do all the work, we don’t need to use the old-fashioned soapy cleaning systems that steam cleaners or D.I.Y machines rely on so much.  Carpets cleaned using “The Natural” dry more quickly and contain no residues, so stay cleaner for longer.

So – why subject your carpets to a sticky “shampoo & set”, when you can refresh and revive them with a spa treatment instead?

“The Natural” – only from Chem-Dry

We also transform upholstery from fusty to fabulous using “The Natural” …

For more information on upholstery cleaning

click here

Or, click here for more information on our carpet cleaning services.

Shampoo – Great for your hair……(Bad for your carpets!)

Here’s a fun idea for all the family this half-term.  If you are in the Belper area on Wednesday, 26th October, why not pop over to the Belper Library 

…  and have your Victorian photograph taken.  The event is part of the 7th “World Heritage Site Discovery Days Festival”  which is taking place from October 21 to 30, 2011.  The Victorian Photograph event at the library is open to both children and adults, entry is free and the photos cost just 25p each.

This year’s festival celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Derwent Valley Mills being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. For more information on this and other events, just e-mail info@derwentvalleymills.org or visit the Derwent Valley Mills web-site.

World Heritage Site, Derwent Valley Mills, Derbyshire

Answer-4U handled all the calls generated during our Chem-Dry tv advert campaign last year.  Based in Nottingham, Answer-4U offer a truly impressive service for clients and callers.

“Coffee Break With …. Jackie Clark of A&G Chem-Dry I Answer 4u”