Today's cleaning tip for pet owners

Today's cleaning tip for pet owners - animals shed up to 5 kilos of skin and hair a year. This obviously ends up in your carpet and 99% of the time your Vacuum will not be up to the job of removing it. A good way to remove pet hair is to buy a window cleaning squeegee all the £1 stores sell these - Simply run the squeegee one way across the carpet and this will drag the pet hair out of the carpet because due to the friction between the rubber and carpet fibres. Then simply finish off by vacuuming the area. Voila! Clean, Hair free carpets.

Regards

Tom

Acleanerplace Cleaning Services

I have had a few customer queries in regards to carpet cleaning processes. I like to educate them that I follow a 12 stage, professional, process and if your carpet cleaner doesn't follow at least 9 of these they are not a professionally trained trades person - I like the 12 stage process as it suits my OCD: :)
Stage 1: A Pre-Inspection. 
Stage 2: A Pre-Vacuum.
Stage 3: Moving Of The Furniture.
Stage 4: Pre-Stain Treatment & Pre-Conditioning.
Stage 5: Pre-Groom/Agitation.
Stage 6: Rinse & Extraction.
Stage 7: The Neutralization Process.
Stage 9: Protection Treatment (Additional Cost)
Stage 10: The Speed Drying Process.
Stage 11: Post Grooming.
Stage 12: Customer’s Post Inspection.
For further query answers check my FAQs on my website at www.acleanerplace.co.uk.

I was going to include an extra Stage, making it 13 Stages; with Stage 11 being Kori's Softness/Fluffiness test - but I'm not so sure!  Kori's off in the land of nod at the moment, so he hasn't commented yet.

"Who Me?"

It is now official, here is a photo of my newest staff member, Kori. His main responsibilities will be of quality assurance on each carpet clean. His job title is 'Softness Assessor'. If the carpets are as soft and fluffy as his coat, then 'deal done'. No need to worry about animal exploitation. His employment contract fairly states that he gets all the treats he wants, with a bonus of 'cheese' once a week, long walks and plenty of sleep time; oh, and a bath every two weeks to keep his coat as soft and as fluffy as my carpet cleaning.

Regards
Tom
Acleanerplace.co.uk

Culross Abbey, Carpet Cleaning

Culross Abbey, Carpet Cleaning

Recently I had a request to clean the carpets in the tea shop a Culross Abbey, a 6th-century marvel. (http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/culross/culrossabbey/) Pronounced 'CooRuss' by the local inhabitants, 'Outlander' fans will be familiar with Culross as some of the township scenes were filmed there. It is a beautiful wee place which has great family facilities and a great kids/family play area and an easy, flat, cycle/walk route around Preston Island for everyone to enjoy. 

Anyway, I was asked, in addition, to clean some (26) chair covers (photo below) inside the Abbey for which I duly set a price for only to be kicked in the shin by my better half. On demonstration as to why she had kicked me whilst in the middle of a big business deal, she educated me that I needed some brownie points to reserve my place in heaven and that I should gift the 'cleaning of said chair covers' as a contribution to the church. Oh well, only another 10 million brownie points needed! Notwithstanding, if you want a nice family day oot-an-about, then Culross is in easy reach and worth a visit.

Culross Mercat cross

The chairs (red) covers inside the Abbey

Culross Abbey

Nancy Doing What She Does Best...

Here is a small demo of my Nancy (Rotovac 360i rotary machine) doing what she does best -  cleaning carpets. She is an amazing machine! Since I got her she has cut my my carpet cleaning times in half. Nancy combined with my powerful (600 psi) Hot Water Extraction machine  helps cut through the worst of dirty carpets leaving the carpet virtually dry, that then only needs a small time with my powerful drying fan (s) to complete a perfect job.

Regards

Tom
Acleanerplace.co.uk

Upholstery Cleaning

This is a short slideshow of my upholstery cleaning work; whether its a specialist or a common fabric type or, leather, Acleanerplace can accommodate it.

Regards
Tom
Acleanerplace.co.uk
Happier, Healthier Living 

Stain On Carpet

The second image in the above slide show does not do the results of this carpet stain removal justice: its quite difficult to see the difference - but take my word for it when I put 'Nancy' to work on it -GONE!

Her is a small slide show of some dining chairs I had cleaned recently (all 6 of them). Hard work, but they came up nicely.

Regards.
Tom
www.acleanerplace.co.uk

A 2nd Method On How To Remove A Red Wine Stain

 Here is a second DIY method on how to remove a red wine stain using bicarbonate soda.

A DIY Method On How To Remove A Red Wine Stain With White Wine

Here is a wee video in my DIY series on 'how to remove a red wine stain using white wine'.

Although a reasonably effective DIY method whereby the stain is sufficiently diminished, there can still be a 'shadow' of a stain remaining. If this is the case a 'step-up' by using another method maybe be required by the use of hydrogen-peroxide.

How To Get A Candle Wax Stain Out Of A Carpet or Upholstery

Reviews

Being as I have a couple of different  social media/ advertising  publishing outlets, I thought I'd collate a couple of them here on my blog page and hopefully I can post them on  all of my other  social media:

GWEN- G1 from Garrangunnock

***** Spring Time

Very rarely do you get what it says on the box but this time I did.

 Tom was respectful of his surroundings and the job was excellent .

 I had two 15 year old sofas cleaned for the first time and I am delighted with the results. 

I would be more than happy to recommend this company.

Rebecca-C41

****** Very good service

Report Review

Tom came to clean my living room carpet which had a tea stain on it. 

He did an excellent job. He was very professional and friendly and I was very pleased with 

the outcome .I would highly recommend him.

Review By Gwen Of GarnGunnock, Stirlingshire

Being as I have a couple of different  social media/ advertising  publishing outlets, I thought I'd collate a couple of them here on my blog page and hopefully, I can post them on  all of my other  social media:

GWEN- G1 from Garrangunnock

***** Spring Time

Very rarely do you get what it says on the box but this time I did.

 Tom was respectful of his surroundings and the job was excellent.

 I had two 15-year-old sofas cleaned for the first time and I am delighted with the results. 

I would be more than happy to recommend this company.

Rebecca-C41

****** Very good service

Report Review

Tom came to clean my living room carpet which had a tea stain on it. 

He did an excellent job. He was very professional and friendly and I was very pleased with the outcome.
I would highly recommend him.

New Business Card

Thought I'd upload a front/reverse sides of my new business card: Comments are welcome/encouraged. Please feel free to 'like' or share with your friends:

The Best Vacuum Cleaner ForYour house

Forget about the Dyson Vacuum cleaners, the best type of household vacuum cleaner is made by Sebo - a german company!

I use one of their professional models, the BS36 Comfort as do most other Carpet Cleaners.
However, for the day-to-day vacuuming, I'd recommend you get  one of Sebo's  'Felix' domestic range models:  https://www.sebo.co.uk/domestic-vacuum-cleaners/uprights/.

Some people might not like that these upright vacuums use 'bags' to collect the dirt. This might be considered an ongoing inconvenience and cost. However if  there are  allergy's in the household these vacuums will help minimize them .  These vacuums have been recommended by both the 'Good House Keeping Institute' and 'Which'. The 5 year guarantee comes in handy too.

A great buy.  Don't worry I'm not on commission for recommending these vacuums; they are just great at what they do!

Regards

Tom
www.acleanerplace.co.uk

I have been a busy bee these last few weeks, I've been cleaning carpets, as usual, removing stains and spots from a variety of carpets and other places (won't go there).

Anyways these last two weeks have been taken up, on and off with, doing an end of tenancy at a large house in my local area with the help of my trusted side-kick (the wife); Shhh don't tell her I said that...

The house is very large and needed a lot of work, so much so the owner is very pleased with my/our work that he has asked me to do additional, non-cleaning, work e.g handyman things, which I am happy to do. It will, hopefully, get me in with some of the local letting/estate agents and bring in more carpet cleaning work.

What's on here in Stirling - loads: http://www.whatsonstirling.co.uk/.  I particularly fancy the 'Runaway Wedding Show' (http://www.whatsonstirling.co.uk/event/032139-the-runway-wedding-show/) at the Albert Halls on 28 May. Not I'm 'in to' weddings, but her-in-doors will be dragging me along to hold her hand-bag (leather of course, that I did a good job in cleaning-up) so she can ooh and aah on what our daughter might wear on her wedding day.

Oh well, onwards and upwards!

 Regards

Tom
www.acleanerplace.co.uk

Do I Have A Leather Fetish?

Mmmm, oooh. aaaah: I love the smell, touch and feel of a good piece of leather- don't you? Do I have a leather fetish?

I had the pleasure (tonque in cheek) to clean a lovely, solidly built older leather 5 piece suite. The leather needed a good, deep, clean which took me some  three hours. In addition, it needed some minor repairs, which became more apparent after cleaning! However, the lovely owners, with  my recommendation agreed that rather than buying new, a re-colouring was the best way forward to get it back to new and provide them with further years of good service. See before and after results:

 If you have a leather suite (or other piece of leather e.g a handbag etc) then it requires cleaning and protection cream added on  semi-reqular basis (3-4 times a year).  A new, purchased,  piece of leather furniture should come with a free cleaning & protection solution which will keep you going for a few months, but over time people tend to forget to keep-up the cleaning routine.

Consequently, one day, you realise that your very expensive leather purchase is 'black' with dirt, marks, stains etc. This where a professional leather clean can help. It takes a least 3-4 hoursto properly clean a 5 piece suite - even with the correct, professional, cleaning solutions and protection creams!

In my experience, that having removed all the dirt highlights the wear and tear via sweat stains showing up. This is when a re-colouring  can be carried out. Why spend hundreds/thousands of pounds on  a new piece when the old can be given a new lease of life. Your leather should, with the right level of TLC,  last you years; or until you get bored with it!

Have a good weekend

Tom
www.acleanerplace.co.uk

Is It A Spot Or A Stain?

Tip of the week: A spot is not a stain and vis-versa!

A spot (on your carpet or furniture) is a concentrated substance that can be easily treated/cleaned, whereas a stain is also a concentrated substance but has dyed, bleached or damaged your carpet/furniture. There you are, now you know, just in case you have spent years wondering but were too scared to ask...

Most stains will be able to be cleaned up -if you are quick-like red wine etc. However, by leaving them you will have to apply some time to get them out of your furnishings. This may require the purchase of a commercial product specific to that type of spot. However, if there is a synthetic dye within the substance this may cause you problems (and this is when it is classified as a stain) in removal: patience and the right commercial product is essential. To reiterate the point 'Time is of the essence'; the quicker you deal with the problem the easier the spot can be removed, even if you only get around to tackling it the next morning/day should be ok.  

The longer it is left the more likely you will need a professional with a box of tricks (solutions etc).

Stay clean.

Tom

Acleanerplace Cleaning Services

Curtains- to Clean or not to Clean?

Many of us will rarely clean/wash our curtains- well every-now and-again. But It's not as often as you would clean your carpets furnishings etc. Most people are loath to put them into the washing machine because it can ruin them-dependent on the fabric and dry cleaning is expensive. So, you give them the odd vacuum, which is ok, but if you live in a polluted area (smokey etc) they will collect the dirt. Also they can harbour dust mites which will contribute to allegies.

I had a call to clean a set of curtains that had not been cleaned in 50 years- yes 50! In all honesty, they were not that dirty as you would think. And a quick and simple process was all that was needed; a good hoovering and, due to the type of fabric, a sponging down with a 'Dry Foam' cleaning solution - a soapy foam that is sponged/brushed onto the fabric, and is then hoovered again when dry to remove any residue dirt - easy cheap and effective. The customer was well satisfied with the result and on this occasion the customer had taken them down, but they can just as easily be done in situ and is, for me, preferable.

Rug Doctor Carpet Cleaning Machines for Hire

Here's a wee dig at the 'Rug Doctor' carpet cleaning machines you can hire from all your favourite supermarkets etc. Damn! even I've used one of these in a past life. Anyway, as I'm now a professional carpet cleaner (no laughing in the cheap seats!) I find these machines to be unsuitable for the purpose of carpet cleaning for the following reasons:

The suction is very poor so they leave your carpet wetter than it should/could be (this may lead to brown rings (no not those type!) on light coloured carpets- especially wool carpets).

The detergent you buy with it is 9-9.9 pH this is quite high in alkalinity terms, especially if you have a wool carpet which is unsuitable for this type of fibre.

There are no 'pre-spray' solutions supplied with it; all carpets should be presprayed with an appropriate solution in order to 'loosen' up the dirt, especially where a carpet is heavily stained, e.g. near doorways/traffic walkway areas etc. Otherwise, by just using the water extraction method of this machine you will only achieve a 'superficial' type cleaning- that's ok if you just want a quick spruce-up, say after a party etc.

The water is not hot (50 degrees) as professional machines are, so, again it fails the test on this aspect. It is, in my humble opinion, seriously ineffective at being a carpet cleaner ( water extraction machine).

I don't like the colour (red).

On the upside it is reasonably cheap to hire - £29.00 for a couple of days -and the detergent at say a tenner for a litre is ok.

A monkey could use it.

But if you want a good deeeeep carpet clean the only way is 'professional' (then I would say that..). Seriously, we guys in the trade know the shorty comings of the 'Rug Doctor' type machines, but 'Joe public' are unaware that they are being taken for a ride due to their ignorance of what true carpet cleaning is all about.

Anyway, I could go on, but I'd better get off my soapbox. Thanks for listening/reading

Bissell's Home Care Emergency Spot & Stain Cleaner 3698 Series machine

As a professional who provides a spot & stain removal service, I thought I'd buy this as a handy flushing-out machine rather than use my professional machine. On first use I was seriously disappointed. This product is only suited for attempting small fresh stains -and that's being generous. The suction/vacuum aspect is terrible; combined with the sprayer on the tool you are in danger of  over-wetting the targeted stained area, which may lead to wicking and subsequent browning rings on lighter carpets. This is due to the suction/vacuum not adequately removing enough water from the carpet. Indeed, because of the poor suction you are in danger of causing piling to any carpet you are treating; during my test I was tending to rub (in frustration) at the stained in order to extract the sprayed on water/formula.

The incorporated 'heat wave technology' (ha-ha)  is so poor you definitely need to add warm -to-hot water to assist in the flushing out of all stains as a necessity.  The built quality is adequate- although it could be misconstrued as being a toy.  My test, although not scientific, leads me to consider that this machine struggles to remove any serious stains that had been left for a short period of time and that would, possible, require repeat treatments- its ok for the immediate lifting of fresh minor type stains. But you could achieve the same with a cloth/sponge and soapy water which you already have available!

 Not a product you should buy at this price. I recommend (yes I know I would) sticking to using a professional service - I mean, for the cost of this machine (£99.00) you can have your stain removed by  a professional stain removal company and still have money left over.

Once again ( I'm getting on my hobby-horse) we see the large companies trying to sell us goods, which in my opinion, that are not fit for purpose.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-BISSELL-3698E-Homecare-Emergency-Cleaner/dp/B00MGT9MUM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452253013&sr=8-1&keywords=bissel+spot+cleaner

Regards
Tom
Acleanerplace.co.uk

Steam Cleaners

I thought, as a professional cleaner, I'd share my thoughts about these type of handheld steam cleaners.

They are in the main a good bit of kit, but only for the small cleaning jobs in and around the home, perfect for small sterilization jobs when you have kids and pets . With the attachments provided they are quite versatile; you can clean windows, curtains and even your clothes. The cost is very reasonable, at the time of writing the Vax S4 Grime master was the cheapest at £25.00 which has a decent rating.

The down side is that they require constant refilling (only for small jobs remember!), there is a lot of condensation that needs wiping off the object to be cleaned.  In addition, the time it take s to clean a large area you'd be better off calling in  a professional, just to save your self the aggro- especially if you are contemplating cleaning your oven...

Notwithstanding, a great small cleaning tool for the price and which will save you lots on the usual cleaning products.

Regards

Tom
Acleanerplace.co.uk