AskAuntPatti.com – Your HQ for Free Cleaning Tips

Many of us have pets, and unfortunately they sometimes leave us unexpected presents. I’m going to give you step by step procedures on how to get it out of your carpet. The first thing you need to do upon discovering the accident is to remove as much as possible by picking it up or if it’s liquid by blotting it up with an absorbent towel. I’ve found putting as much pressure as possible even standing on the towel laid over the spot is best. Remember if it’s liquid the stain has run all the way through to the padding and you’re trying to draw it up and out. After you have removed as much as you can it’s time to use a spotter designed for pet stains. Make sure the product contains an enzyme. I’ll explain why later. Before you apply spotter to the stain have absorbent towels or rags at the ready. Spray the spot thoroughly and with the back of a metal spoon agitate the stain working it towards the center of the stain. This is so you don’t spread it. As soon as you see the spot releasing from the carpet fibers blot using clean towels. Rotate the towel to a clean area on the towel so you don’t reapply the stain to the carpet. Continue this process until it’s all removed. Lastly rinse the area with a little clean water and blot again.

   The reason you want a spot remover with enzyme is if you have residue from the accident it’ll digest the bacteria. Also you need to make sure there’s an odor counteractant in the spotter. The reason is animals have an acute sense of smell, and if they smell where they went in your carpet it’ll become their new favorite bathroom spot.

     Lastly I want to speak to you about the magically reappearing stain. This is what we call a spot that you clean but comes back. What’s happening is the stain has run down into the backing of the carpet. You need to reapply the spotter and use your absorbent towels to keep drawing the substance up and out.  That’s why I tell folks to draw the stains out with absorbent towels. In the carpet cleaning industry it’s called wicking and I’m sure you can get more detailed information about it on line. Sometimes with old stains or really bad ones you need to repeat this process to get it all out. Trust me if you follow this process you will get it all out. If you’d like to see a video demonstration of this and the product I use go to www.askauntpatti.com . I hope this helps you.

                                                      Aunt Patti

Sometimes the carpet industry comes out with a product that the vacuum industry is not prepared for. If you remember when Berber carpet came out it was especially tough to vacuum dog hair, or cat hair off it. Well the vacuum companies soon came out with machines that worked on it. The new carpet to hit the market is called a Frieze. This carpet tends to be very plush and long, sort of like the old shag carpets. I can’t believe I’m old enough to remember these. The reason the current crop of dirt suckers won’t work on this carpet is because they have self adjusting height settings. You aren’t seeing any new vacuums to address this issue because the vacuum manufacturers have moved their manufacturing to China, Mexico, and Malaysia. I have found a vacuum that does a bang up job on Frieze. The vacuum is called Radiance by Riccar, and it’s made by a company in St James Missouri. This vacuum has adjustable height settings including an extra high setting. It also has two motors for suction and air flow. It truly deep cleans your carpets and is the only vac I’ve found for Frieze carpet. It also comes with tools and a five or six year warranty depending on the model you buy. For more information on where to buy this fine made in America vacuum drop me a line at pat@askauntpatti.com

                                                                                     Aunt Patti

Twice in the last week I’ve had customers come to me with pet odor problems, and for a change it didn’t involve carpet. The one gentleman bought a house where the previous owner had locked the dogs in the basement while he went to work. The dogs relieved themselves on the concrete when the urge arose. I imagine this had gone on for some time. The new owner had scrubbed the floor repeatedly but the odor would come back.

I was able to help him and I’ll share the solution with you. First of all let me explain why just cleaning it didn’t work. The dog waste had soaked into the unsealed concrete floor over a long period of time, and the smell was coming from inside the concrete. I sold the man a gallon of a hospital grade disinfectant/cleaner. The floor surface was already clean from repeated scrubbings, so I told him to dilute this product one ounce to a gallon of water and spray the floor completely. He needed to do this for a minimum of a week to kill the bacteria causing the odors in the floor. Now I know someone reading this will say to themselves if an ounce to a gallon is good more has to be better. My advise is don’t do it. It won’t kill  bacteria faster, and you’ll be wasting money.

Now what to do with the left over disinfectant/cleaner. Mix it up in spray bottles and use it to clean the sinks in the bathroom. Spray it on doorknobs, toilet handles, or any surface people touch. It’ll really help cut down on the spread of colds and flu. The best part is you can order this product from www.askauntpatti.com . The product is Arena disinfectant.

Aunt Patti

I have a good friend with young children who recently told me about an episode of gum in his living room carpet. Having two daughters myself I can certianly relate. The story was the same in his house as in mine. First of all no knows how it got there. It magically went into the carpet. In his case he didn’t think to give me a call, and he ended up cutting the gum out of his carpet. This left an obvious bare spot in his carpet.

I really wish he had called me. There are two ways to remove gum out of carpet. I’m going to share the best one with you today. I’ve found a product called Gum Out that really works. It’s an aerosol can you spray for 10 seconds on the gum. It freezes the gum rock hard and you quickly use a spoon to pop the gum out of the carpet. We sell this product to a nationally recognized premium hotel, schools, mall stores, and home owners. Watch the video of how it’s done on www.askauntpatti.com and if you want to try it you can order it after the video. So next time you find gum in the carpet don’t reach for the scissors, reach for the Gum Out.

Aunt Patti