Maybe one of the biggest other than the home itself. Carpet is soft, warm to walk on. Carpet can be the anchor to your interior design. Carpet adds the color pop to your home. Carpet add a warmth in the cold and a coolness in the heat. Carpet is Beautiful when it is laid down. It seems almost immediately the attack begins. Mom immediately puts the rules in place – No shoes! No eating! Watch that drink! Rules that no one seems to like or follow including the dog. OK, yes carpet is installed on the floor, after all, we do need to walk on it- that is what it is designed for. So yes its designed to be walked on, but so much more happens in your home. We watch TV in our living rooms. We sleep in our bedrooms, now with all the mobile devices, time spent in our bedroom has increased. Along with more time our habits change. Our favorite chair, becomes our dinner table. Midnight snacks return to bed with us. This is Our children laying on the floor. Our pets basically live on our carpets. So after several spills, pet hair collecting on the carpet. pet accidents, we kinda don’t want to touch the carpet anymore. Our tagline “Because So Much Touches Your Carpets” really has several references. To begin with Us living on the carpet. Then what makes it way down to the carpet. What about cleaning products? Spot cleaners? What ever is in your Indoor Air environment, finds the carpet. A carpet has the tendency to act like a magnet or big air filter. It grabs airborne allergens and holds and traps them till they are removed, by vacuuming or cleaning. Vacuuming is one of the most important maintenance task in your home. A good upright vacuum with a Hepa filters is best. 2-3 times a week or more if you have pets. Then carpet cleaning is a must. Just like your kitchen floor, seeping and mopping helps keep a luster and shine, so does proper carpet cleaning that can remove both dry particulate soil and spilled and tracked on stuff. Remember that spotting and cleaning will leave some residue in the carpet too. “Because So Much Touches Your Carpets” all these factors affect carpet and you! Our Green, Clean and Dry – Host Dry Extraction System helps remove dry particulate soil and allergens by 75 – 99% with just one cleaning. The Host product which is Green, Clean and Dry is tiny absorbent sponges made from a natural plant fiber and a controlled amount of moisture . The Host sponges work by removing the soil like wiping a damp sponge on a hand print on the wall. The low moisture sponges leave your carpet Soft n Dry. There is no sticky residue left in your carpet to attract new soil. Let your family enjoy your carpets again! “Because So Much Touches Your Carpets”

Got your attention already. It seems everyone is bothered by allergies. We spend a lot of our time, in our home, where we live. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is info on our home or business atmosphere or air we breathe and in particular what is in the air we breathe. People spend a lot of money on air purifiers filters and such to clean the air in their home. For IAQ in your home there is no short cut or single approach. Many factors affect IAQ in your home, from cooking, gas or electric, cleaning chemicals, to pesticides to pets, to just us- hair and skin, to name a few. How different allergens enter our home varies by as many allergens in our home. How they become airborne and removed from our air simply walking across a room can stir up “dust” where dust settles can make a difference. So I am primary going to talk here about floors and furniture. Floors can make a difference too, hard surface floors like wood or tile, vs carpeting and furniture. You can sit on a sofa and relatively not see and dust fly, but add a bright light and slap your hand down on the back and you will be surprised. Have you ever dusted a refrigerator and looked at even an hour later. Sweep a floor and mop and see what mops up? Dust it seems is always airborne. how about carpets, they always seem to take the blunt of blame for allergies in a home. A carpet will hold 8 -10 times its weight in dust and sand. Unlike a hard-floor when you see a pile of dirt you can sweep it up, but a carpet can “hide” soil and dust allergens. Carpet also can hold and trap these till it is removed by vacuuming or professionally cleaned. I already have a couple of post on importance of vacuuming and how to. So briefly, regular vacuuming is very important to IAQ when you have carpets as the best way to remove dust that bothers your nose. A carpet by its nature vs a hard-floor holds airborne allergens when you walk through your home on a hard surface floor dust can fly into the air, but a carpet it stays. Improper maintenance can lead to unsightly appearances also. So again don’t blame your carpet when it is actually dong its job filtering you air you breath. A carpet is really a giant air filter in your home. Have you ever went a little long on changing an HVAC filter it can get pretty gross. So how do you change a carpet filter? New carpet can be expensive. A good upright vacuum with a hopper style filter or one with a HEPA is best to use a couple times a week or more. It is very important to clean the vacuum each time you vacuum. So keeping your filters clean is a big start to IAQ in your home. Vacuuming is one of the Most important parts of carpet maintenance in your home. When your regular maintenance needs a boost by a professional cleaner they should follow the guidelines set forth in the industry (CRI, IICRC). ALL Carpet Must be vacuumed first before cleaning. Why to remove as much dry particulate soil first which can be up to 85% of soil in a carpet. Our Host cleaning machines I believe are the best overall vacuum system hands down. Our Green, Clean & Dry Host system will clean 85-99% of airborn mold spores and cat allergens trapped in your carpet. With Host low moisture system your carpets will be Soft n Dry when we are done.

I want to focus on some ideas on proper vacuuming. First of all I will start with the industry standard “IICRC” The Clean Trust. They have in their standard for professional carpet cleaners that ALL Carpet MUST be vacuumed before cleaning. Why? at least 85% of soil in a carpet is dry particulate soil. So vacuuming is very important. Dry Master and our featured system Host has maybe the best vacuum machine made. The Host machine we use, (we have both the residential Freestyle and a commercial Liberator) is a unique machine. It is like three machines in one. A carpet cleaning machine that features two counter rotating cylindrical brushes that work the Host sponges cleaner into the carpet. See one of our videos. It is also a gentle pile lifter. Also we can flip a switch and turn on the vacuum. The vacuum joins with the cylindrical brushes on the bottom to remove in our pre-vacuum process much more dry soil than many vacuums. Vacuuming is more about half to two thirds of our time cleaning. We pre-vacuum then we clean and then we vacuum twice after the cleaning step to remove the soiled sponges. For a homeowner, a good upright bag-less vacuum with a hepa style filter or the more expensive filter-less vacuum work great. Always remember the hopper needs to be emptied every use. This is so important to proper vacuuming. A filter and that includes the bag style or hopper styles, loose so much strength after just one vacuum. It is best to vacuum depending on traffic every few days or sooner. Dry particulate soil can damage the carpet fibers. On a hard floor surface like a kitchen floor if a dog runs in with a lot of sandy mud it get swept up right away, because we can see it sitting there. On a carpet as it dries it will by gravity work down into the carpet fibers so its “gone”. Just because we cant see it does not mean its gone. A carpet can hold 3-6 times its weight in sand and soil. That is another reason why test have shown the proper way to vacuum is 7 times in each direction- N E S W like a compass. A popular vacuum sold on TV says to take their challenge use their brand new vacuum and after first vacuuming with your machine use their New one. Then cut open their new vacuum bag and see how much more their machine vacuumed out of your rug. Well that shows how much a good running machine works with a new filter bag. If you replaced the belt on your vacuum and put a new bag of filter on yours and vacuumed after their machine you would find more soil when you cut your bag open. Its like a car engine if you put a turbo on it you need to improve the exhaust system too. It all about airflow and good maintenance of your vacuum and of your carpet. A good spot cleaning and professional cleaning will also do much for your carpets life.

It happens all the time in most households. You grab a paper towel — or two, or three — to wipe up a mess when something gets spilled whether its on a counter top kitchen floor or carpet. That’s what paper towels are for, right? But something else you might have experienced using paper towels is for polishing your nice granite counter-top, rubbing and scrubbing but still seeing streaks on the surface. You keep going until you have exhausted not only your stock of paper towels, but your own energy as well. And what about windows and mirrors in your house? Have you ever sprayed them with window cleaner and no matter how much you rubbed and scrubbed with a paper towel, you still saw those little swirly marks? Or eye glasses one of my biggest cleaning issue’s a clean microfiber cloth helps with a clear vision. Of course. This Happens all the time with everyone! Now I don’t have anything against paper towels. All of us in our house use them and need them all the time. It’s just that I have found there is a better choice now when it comes to cleaning most of these surfaces in your home. What’s a better choice than paper towels? A “microfiber” cloth or towel will solve most of your cleaning challenges no matter the surface. Microfiber towels are amazing things. The “micro” fibers are normally made from polyester, sometimes with other fibers added, and can be reused again and again and again with normal laundering. (Just don’t use fabric softener as that leaves a residue on the towel or wash with terry cloth towels.) The word “micro” is key: Tiny filaments that act like thirsty grime-seeking sponges. Microfibers are soft and eagerly grab dirt, spills and more, leaving the surface sparkling clean. Those shiny surfaces in your home are perfect for microfibers. Bonus: Anyone who believes in cleaning “green” and recycling should consider using microfibers towles. They are environmentally a superior choice. You can purchase them from virtually any store that sells cleaning products. Try them out. So toss in the towel — the paper one, anyway. With microfiber towels you won’t need to toss em in trash. Less to the land fill. We use a lot of towels in our cleaning business so not having a bucket full of used paper towels is great. We also just toss the microfiber cloths in the laundry and reuse. Here’s a special TIP for spot cleaning of spills: Keep a microfiber towel under the center cushion of your sofa. It’s a handy place where many spills happen. On carpet or upholstery just blot with the microfiber towel, never scrub. You want the stuff spilled to transfer up into the microfiber towel. Blotting accomplishes this best and wont damage the carpet.

DID YOU KNOW that man’s best friend can actually become your worst nightmare? That’s right. He’s cuddly, cute and you love him, but sometimes he has a problem with “accidents” and pretty soon, you start to notice the… ummm… odoriferous situation. Besides the obvious occasional accident from Fido, his hair can also be an issue. Once he shakes a bit off, it goes into the carpet and furniture and sticks to it all and it can be quite a problem. Then you have the issue of “I want in. I want out. I want in.” You know it… Fido is always on the move and the constant going outside and then back inside brings in all kinds of dirt. What can you do about all this? Be patient. Wait until it dries, then vacuum. Clean messes up quickly. Once you discover an “accident,” it’s important to grab a white terry cloth towel and blot up the mess before it sinks down into the padding of the carpet. A mixture of white vinegar and water 50% applied to a terry cloth towel will help a lot. A good enzyme deodorizer like you might get from the vet helps with lingering odors, then vacuum but of course when spots or odors get out of hand, hand it to us professional carpet cleaners we can come over and handle these odor challenges. We love a challenge. A hairy situation can be tamed by brushing your dog often. Loose hair that’s about to go into the carpet and furniture can be easily pulled from Fido with a good grooming brush. Then vacuum, always vacuum. And guess what? He probably likes the attention! We always prevacuum before cleaning, and many times it’s after the homeowner has already vacuumed. Our vacuum machines pull the hair that finds itself wrapped into your carpet fibers. While you may not have the time to wipe off Fido’s muddy paws each time he wants back inside, it is a good idea to place mats outside or large terry cloth towel inside the door. Hint we use terry cloth towels for our pets and guest like a party. When Fido wants’ back inside, let him beg a little bit on the outside mat because some of that dirt is definitely going to come off. Our dog Sarge likes to wipe his feet on a terry cloth towel he even rolls on it for his back when he’s wet from rain. Then vacuum. Always vacuum. See my other posts on vacuuming. Do all of this and man’s best friend is going to be a dream to live with, not a nightmare!

Carpeting covers floors. First floors are walked on. Carpet does a lot more though than just lay there. Carpet is soft and warm to walk on, as well as an insulator to flooring underneath. When a carpet is installed properly, with the fuzzy side up, and power stretched. (Required by CRI on all stretched over pad installations. Unfortunately many are not, which is why we restretch carpeting all the time, see our services page for more info and video). Your carpet looks so beautiful when you purchased it. You chose the color to add to the decor of your rooms. You wake up in the morning, as you walk down the hall to the coffee pot and then to sit on the couch and your feet are so comfy. Your dog curls up by your feet. Your children come and sit down to watch TV next to the comfy dog. The cat comes in purring as it rubs against your feet, looks at the dog and rubs against the kids. This is one moment in a day of your carpet. Throughout the day “so much touches your carpets”. Soon art projects and dinner, snow, rain and mud happen to find their way on and into your carpet. By the end of the week a need to refresh has popped up. So now we begin to see a need for vacuuming. Many folks just vacuum at the point when they can see stuff on the top surface of their carpet. Carpet actually has a lot more surface than you can see or was measured when your carpet was installed. Besides horizontal the fibers are vertical. This unique design gives carpet it’s plush, soft, and warm feel. Also it produces unique challenges unlike hard floor surfaces. A broom and a mop work well in your kitchen. A footprint or spill when you see it are swept and mopped. With carpet, sand and dust can be tracked in and with a few steps and gravity’s help, where it seems to disappear. You probably have a filter on your heater that needs to be changed often at least once a month. Your carpet also is a filter in your home. The same dust you wipe off of your furniture and refrigerator collects in carpet. This is point that needs a little focus. A myth is that carpets and allergies can be a problem. Carpet does not create the allergens; it just collects them and holds them like a heater filter. Compared to hard floor surfaces where dust and allergens just fly around as you walk by and become airborne. Carpet just needs the filter changed or removed by vacuuming. A good upright vacuum with a HEPA filter, without all the bells and whistles is best. You don’t need to spend a lot of money. There are some from $100. to $200 that are fine just remember the filter or hopper needs to be changed each time you use it. Since 85% of what is tracked in or finds its way into a carpet is dry particulate soil, much like the filter on a heater, and abrasives like sand. Removing it by vacuuming regularly is a must. Some studies have said it takes multiple passes over an area to remove adequate amount of soil from the filter or carpet. The other 15% is usually liquid spills or food. This post is focused only on the why of vacuuming. Several topics were mentioned that will have a separate post on later like: Proper vacuuming. Allergies and carpets. Hard flooring and carpet. Maintenance and cleaning.

Then came the rain and near flooding, mudslides. Then SNOW beautiful snow. Followed by a mini ice storm today. Mixed in all the natural sights we cleaned several carpets In Arden for a customer who had used host dry extraction cleaner them selves for years, now not wanting to spend the time and energy effort to do it yourself, they search high and low and found us. A few cat spots cleaned up very good. Several other jobs this week we had Alt Media Pros follow us and film a few commercials, some great still shots are posted on face book.

We launch a new campaign through Angie’s List. Ready to place add’s in The Mountaineer (a local paper)

After a two year process I have relocated to Waynesville NC, near Asheville NC in the WNC mountains. Now for celebrating 25 years and re- launching in NC. I tried to be prepared for the changes but!!

I had a web page that I thought was great for the last 12 years or so. (that says it all) After moving from CA to WNC I needed a lot of changes in my business. Mandy and Wayne sat down with me and explained first of all the new area I am in is probably a lot different in many ways than where I came from. Yes it is. I had some idea’s I had worked on and Mandy shared some great insight and her expertize. I emailed some links and logo’s and through several processes Mandy sent me my final link to my new web site that you are on now:). Since I am still learning this (blog) and this is my 1st I wanted to thank and truly promote and highly recommend Mandy and Wayne @ http://connectupmarketing.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Connect-Up-Marketing/111725945577102