If you are responsible for making sure your offices are cleaned why not take out one of Art of Clean’s professional cleaning plans, it could be cheaper than you think, and will ensure your client area is kept clean at all times. We can clean office carpets, entrance carpets, lift carpets and so fourth, at a convenient time for your business, at Art of Clean we understand that you are running a business that’s why we clean commercial offices and premises at weekends and in the evenings.
Give us a call today for a free no obligation quotation on 01223 863632. And please check out our pictures, or to see us in action please go to our Youtube Channel, where you can see the results of our 6-step cleaning process for yourselves.
BEFORE : Commercial Carpet Cleaning Cambridge, before our 6-step Cleaning process
AFTER: this was taken after our 6-step commercial carpet clean in Cambridge
So were now nearly half way through January and Christmas seems like a distant memory although there may still be a few small reminders hanging around in your carpets and upholstery, how about Cranberry sauce? Delicious yes but not good for your soft carpets…. if you were unfortunate enough to have this seasonal sauce slopped on your furnishings the correct procedure would be to scrape away as much of the excess as possible and seek advice from the experts, of course we weren’t taking calls on Christmas day : )  so a little white wine vinegar mix with water applied to the area and then carefully soaked up with a clean cloth would help in the meantime….
Tree sap? When the Christmas tree is fresh and new it looks and smells sooo good but its always a different story when you drag it out, leaving needles stuck in your carpet for the next 6 months and it can leave you with unwanted sap marks on your carpet. It is essential that you clean any tree sap correctly as it is very sticky. If you don’t manage to remove all of the sap it will attract more dirt over the coming weeks and you will be left with sticky, dirty patches. Call Art of clean, we offer a spot clean service which will remove all traces of stickiness and leave your carpets like new again.
Candles are lovely at Christmas but watch out for wax drips! If you can’t get professional help straight away then place some blotting paper on the dried wax and run a moderately hot iron over it. As the wax becomes warm it will absorb into the blotting paper. You will probably be left with a greasy mark when the wax has gone….this is the time to call in your professional carpet cleaner!
Dear Pierre,
Christmas drinks party: mulled wine spilt on beige sofa, splashing unfortunately onto expensive newly-laid wool carpet … help! Do I pour salt on the stain, like my Granny used to suggest, do I tip white wine on it, like my Mum is always saying? Do I just call you immediately? What happens during the week after Christmas, are you open in case of disasters, or do I just throw a rug over the problem and contact you in the New Year?
In the meantime Seasons Greetings!
A Customer
(Happy, but just trying to cross bridges before I get to them!)
Oh Dear!
Firstly please never put salt on a red wine spill, Salt will only help to set the stain; this is why we put salt in the washing machine when trying to dye fabric. Follow this process for the best results:
* You must blot as much of the spillage as possible, making sure you do not rub as this will push the stain further into the fabric or fibres of your carpet.
* It is true when red wine is spilled on your upholstery or carpet, white wine can be your true companion. It will help neutralize red wine and make it far easier to remove the colour but, why waste your expensive wine? A much cheaper and equally effective alternative is white wine vinegar; a 50/50 mix with lukewarm water will do the job! Simply pour the mix over the spillage then very gently blot it up from the outer edges, to prevent the stain from spreading, with a thick towel.
*Before attempting any stain removal always test in an inconspicuous area if possible i.e. back of the sofa or area of carpet that is usually hidden
If possible it is always best to call in the experts to guarantee your best chance of removing the stain, we are always happy to advise you so please don’t hesitate to contact us!
We will be taking calls over the Christmas period but cleaning starts again on the 3rd January 2012.
Here is a wine stain we recently removed:
We’re sure that everyone had a brilliant time and in this economic climate it’s good for people to let their hair down a bit. But there might be things you and your team don’t want to have to be reminded of next day. Give us a call and we can come and put your carpets right at least! and if you Like our Facebook page you will receive a £10 voucher code off your next floor clean.
Our thorough and professional carpet cleaning process is used in both residential and commercial settings. Don’t worry, we will move larger furnishings ourselves and we won’t saturate your offices either as we use a hot water extraction machine mounted in the van so no machinery need enter the building. Our special dryers will rapidly dry your carpets so you can use them much quicker than normal. What you will be left with is an unbeatable sense of freshness and order, what could be more morale boosting than that?
In fact you might want to look at one of our 3 carpet cleaning packages. If you go for our maintenance plan you can keep your carpets looking and smelling great all year round and your first visit, initial carpet cleaning and protector treatment will be half price. Check our website for more details or call us on 01223 863632.
It is important that you really understand your requirements and are clear exactly what you will be exposing your floor to. People can often be recommended materials which look beautiful but which are incompatible with their lifestyle: limestone is not suitable for heavy wear and tear, marble will not maintain its shine with heavy usage, terracotta can be a minefield. It is also important to think about the maintenance requirements of your stone floor before making your decision, what are you going to need to do to keep that floor looking its best? What cleaners and maintainers are you going to need?
When choosing which company is going to lay your floor, don’t forget to check their references, find out what training they have had, and, importantly, find out if they have laid stone before. If they have only laid tiles, laying stone can be quite a different matter. It is worth considering at what stage you lay your floor in a building or renovation process, make sure it’s after the heavy work has been done and the builders have left otherwise your floor could be left looking old before its time. Also look at the quality of your grout, sandy grout can sometimes be a problem, and make sure you seal your tiles before grouting to avoid grout dispersal.
There is a lot to think about and not always much quality information to hand. Do call us at Art of Clean on 012234 863632, we would be happy to give some advice, or to apply your sealant, or to help you restore your floor if need be.
Due to popular demand our nail varnishing removal tip is back.
So imagine this…your children have spilt purple nail varnish on the carpet while you were getting ready to go to the school Christmas fundraiser. What a disaster! Your eye was off the job and the cost of your evening out is escalating in front of your eyes. Art of Clean says, ‘Don’t Panic all is not lost!’ But do not be tempted to rub it, you will only be working the stain deeper into the fibres of the carpet, and using a product such as Vanish, which is water-based, will just spread it and make it worse. By far the best thing to do is gently and repeatedly to dab the stain with a clean cotton towel, preferably white, and attempt to lift the stain out. Next, use liberal quantities of nail varnish remover and continue dabbing, but not rubbing. There will probably still be a slight mark on your carpet, but if you follow this procedure the outcome will be greatly improved.
If you have any doubts, or the mark is in a really obvious place, the best thing to do would be to call us immediately on 01223 863632. We can’t of course guarantee that everything will come out as it depends how deeply it is soaked in and whether or not it is a wool or synthetic carpet, but we can guarantee the best possible outcome in the circumstances!
One of my twitter followers asked me what the best way was to remove an Orchid stain from curtains. Well the worse thing to do would be to try and wash it off.
I suggested that she used sticky tape to remove the stain – and even after several months using this method it came off straight away – if you have any questions on how to get any stains out then just let me know on www.facebook.com/artofclean or www.twitter.com/artofclean. Check out this pollen stain removal video on Youtube for more information on how to remove pollen stains.
Light coloured leather sofas can make a room look beautiful and make colour machining in the room easy.
The downside of the light coloured leather will start rearing its ugly dirty head after a few months and soon you will find yourself ask…. How to remove jean trouser colour dye transfer from your leather sofa?
The dye from dark trousers will stick to the leather and this is very difficult to remove.
Other tan carefully considering the colour of leather sofa you buy the next precaution would be education.
The colour from trousers or other clothes transfer due to the warm slightly moist atmosphere that is created while sitting on the sofa for a longer period of time. This is caused by body heat and sweat from the body
Now how to prevent this colour transfer on leather can include the following:
Avoid light coloured leathers when shopping for a sofa especially if you like to wear dark trousers
Avoid prolonged contact between dark fabrics and the leather.
Regular cleaning of leather sofas with the correct products will keep your sofa in its best possible shape – Contact Art of Clean at www.artofclean.co.uk for more advice.
Lastly the leather can be protected with a through during prolonged periods of use.
Would the colour transfer start to show we would advise you employ a professional leather cleaning company to carry out deep cleaning as well as the application of protection.
Below are some pictures of a sofa we recently worked on. For leather cleaners in Cambridge find us on www.artofclean.co.uk
Oil & wax or a modern sealant for your terracotta tiles?
Terracotta Tiles have been around in certain parts of the world for over two millennia, in fact Terracotta means burned earth. The ancient Romans used a wide range of terracotta tiles in their homes and palaces for many centuries. Terracotta tiles unlike modern tiles are thicker giving them extra durability and strength.
The one drawback to Terracotta is the fact that the surface has no glaze and can store dirt and muck very quickly. You will relate to this problem if you have ever owned a terracotta floor.
After giving your terracotta tiles a thorough clean the answer of course is to seal them, but with so many sealants on the market, which one should you choose?, We would always urge you  to get some advice and as any tiler worth his salt will tell you Terracotta tiles are the most problematic to seal .
Traditional Oil & Wax.
One of the most common and best methods for sealing terracotta tiles is to use a combination of boiled linseed oil and then polish with Neutral Beeswax
Treat the tile first of all with several coats of boiled linseed oil; the oil is spread with a sponge or cloth as evenly as possible over the terracotta, before grouting. The tile is extremely porous therefore the first coat is the hardest as the oil soaks into the tile very quickly, so it takes a bit of practice and skill to get an even coat. Â Subsequent coats are then easier, until the tile approaches saturation.
You must make sure you do not over-apply the oil, taking care any surplus is not left to dry, as this will become tacky and require scraping off. Once the tile is sealed adequately (it can take several coats) it will appear considerably darker. It’s the oil that gives terracotta that characteristic amber shade that many people like.
When the tiles are dry, they can be grouted. When the grouting has been allowed to dry completely, the tiles can be finished off with one or two coats of wax polish – there are numerous types  to choose from, some in paste form that require thinning with white spirits (a messy job) and others that come ready to use as a ‘floor wax.’
The Modern, Sealant approach
While maybe not achieving quite the same depth of colour as oil and wax it is much easier and far simpler to maintain. Â Advanced Terracotta Sealer from StoneCare bonds to the stone and applies a protective, hard wearing and extremely durable natural finish, enhances natural colours, and provides a protective coating, making the surface less vulnerable to staining.
Terracotta Sealer contains a unique blend of Acrylic Resins and Co-polymers. Using the latest Advanced Resin-Technology™ it bonds to the stone and applies a protective, hard wearing and extremely durable natural sheen finish, that enhances worn, dull or rough textured Terracotta tiles, clay and quarry tiles.
Terracotta Sealer allows the stone to breathe naturally and assists in keeping the surface, free from daily dirt and grease build up, making cleaning and maintenance considerably easier.
Wooden floors have a service life expectancy of 25 years (in the case of engineered wood floors) and 50 years (in the case of solid wood floors). In spit of their service life potential, very few property owners maximise this potential. There are two measures that could help you reach the wood’s full potential and make your investment work for longer. The first is correct maintenance and the second is a process called sanding that basically rejuvenates the floor.
In this blog post we aim to explain the correct manner to maintain wood floors and how sanding can help increase the service life of the floor.
Maintenance:
When we come to talk about maintenance, we refer to pre-emptive measures that can reduce common wear and tear and cleaning the floor without causing accidental damage.
Pre-emptive measures – Wood flooring is covered in a top layer that acts to seal the floor and reduce damage. With time, this layer will eventually deteriorate in quality, becoming less and less effective. How quickly deterioration happens can be reduced by fitting doormats at the entrance (and exit while you are at it) to various rooms, so dirt and tiny stones do not come into contact with the top layer of the floor. Alternatively, shoes could be removed before people enter the room. Another pre-emptive measure is using furniture pads. These are small pads that resemble castor cups and fit under the contact points of furniture. They help eliminate accidental damage when the furniture is moved around. Lastly, if the finish of the floor (the top layer) requires repair, do not wait too long until damage to the actual wood happens. While the finish could be topped up, wood will require replacing which will prove far more expensive to repair.
Cleaning:
From time to time, wood flooring will benefit from professional cleaning service using dedicated materials and techniques. However, in the mean time it is important to clean the wood often to remove the built up of dirt, to prevent flooring slip and fall type accidents and to reduce hygienic risks. Here is the safest way to clean wood floors without causing damage:
Sweep Or Hoover The Wood – To remove dust and dirt, wood reacts well to sweeping. If you are using a hoover, fit a soft hair extension rather than a plastic extension and be very careful not to drag the hoover on the surface.
Never Wet The Floor – Wood does not require water in order to remove dirt. A damp microfiber mop that has been slightly saturated in water together with a cleaning chemical is all that is required.
Use Wax With Care – It is common for wood flooring owners to wax the floor from time to time. Although it will improve the look of the floor, it will also attract dirt so using wax is fine provided it’s not applied every other week.
Sanding:
The process of sanding, staining and re-coating the floor could greatly improve the service life of the floor. Using specialised machinery, the old surface is removed and eventually the floor is coated with a protective sealant. While it is possible to do it yourself by hiring specialised equipment, you are better of hiring a professional company to sand the floor. The work requires safety equipment, high quality abrasive materials and adjusted sanding machinery. All are very easy to get wrong if you decide to do it yourself.
If you have any questions about wood flooring care, leave your comments below.
Blog post written for Art Of Clean by hardwood flooring company, Wood and Beyond.
