Aside from your own routine spot cleaning and vacuuming, you should also consider getting your carpets professionally cleaned. Professional cleaning services can bring your carpet back to life, and provide the deep, permeating cleaning that consumer-grade products just can’t match.

• Here are some things to keep in mind when getting your carpeting professionally cleaned:
  • Many professional carpet cleaning companies will use different cleaning methods, and it is important to find out which will be used in your home: steaming, shampooing, or dry chemical cleaning.
  • Also ask how long your carpet will need to remain unused.
  • Schedule cleanings every 18-24 months for routine cleaning, or more frequently in cases of heavier traffic and soiling
  • Make sure to keep any invoices or receipts from the company, for your carpet manufacturer’s warranty purposes

Hiring a professional company to clean your carpet is the safest and most effective route to take when dealing with heavy soiling and/or odors. It is a worthwhile investment that will keep your home’s carpet looking newer, longer.

Give it a once over

Clear any abrasive dirt, sand and other particles from the surface of the stone daily. Use only dust mops and gentle bristle brooms. A good once over a day will keep the floor shining perfectly. Plus, if you keep up on cleaning, it’s easy each time, taking merely seconds every morning to keep the cleaned-grittiness of natural stone.

If you prefer to use a vacuum cleaner, avoid one with a beater bar. You should only use one that has suction only, as any other may damage your floor and leave abrasive marks.

Throw rugs in well traveled spaces

Entrance rugs at the entrance to well traveled areas help keep the dirt to a minimum. Place rugs in hall ways and the entrances of rooms. With the right rugs, the floor will look richer and warmer, giving the toes a soft graceful feeling if you like to pad around in your bare feet.

Control the slide

Stone floors are naturally slick. Use small furniture covers on the feet of all your furniture for safety. A cozy chair can easily go crashing in the event of wrestling children, which could result in accidents. Placing sticky edges on your furniture keeps it in place, as well as protects the surface of your floor.

Clean up spills quickly

It’s important to wipe spills up as soon as they happen, especially in the kitchen. This is especially true if the spill is acidic such as orange, tomato, or lime juice, which will tend to disrupt the surface of your floor for a short time after exposure. Stains that are left to fester gather up extra dirt which sticks to the surface and mars the floor. The longer stains are ignored, the more noticeable and permanent they can be.

It really doesn’t hurt to mop your floor regularly, even several times a day with a lightly wet mop. When you keep up on the floor cleanliness, you don’t have to break out a big bucket of sud water each time. Simply get the mop wet, and go over the surface. If you do this often enough, cleanliness is simple and easy. You hardly even realize you are doing it.

Keep it ecological

Always clean your floor with a biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning solution, especially if you have small children or pets. Babies get everywhere, and dogs will lick anything. You don’t want your child or your pets contaminated with toxic chemicals. A good vinegar and biodegradable dish soap solution will work, giving the floors a nice lemony, vinegar scent.

As a basic rule of thumb, you shouldn’t use any cleaning product from the grocery store on your stone, unless it is completely natural and biodegradable. Avoid chemical bubbles that claim to eat dirt. They may just eat the finish of your floor too.

A little bleach

Bleach works great at eradicating algae from pool and patio areas, but it’s important to rinse the areas well so the bleach isn’t left sitting in pools. It’s a great way to get rid of the dirt, but be sure you’ve also gotten rid of the bleach when you are done.

Get your floors professionally sealed

It’s also a good idea to have your floors sealed by a professional so they can keep their natural quality for years to come.

For more tips on maintaining your natural stone floors visit our floor care section.

Prevention is worth an ounce of attention

Tile floors are going to get dirty from time, no matter what you do. You don’t live in a continual plastic bubble, so dirt is going to get tracked across them. Stains happen. Food gets stuck and sometimes fossilized. Pay attention to the little details of your floor. As marks develop, deal with each one immediately. It will result in a cleaner floor that shines through the test of time.

Clean spills right away

Stains only get worse when they are ignored. By cleaning up spills immediately, you’ll minimize them and protect your floor. Don’t let them dry on the floor. They may leave a permanent stain, made all the worse by collecting dirt that sticks like fly tape. Sweep and mop the floor often. Dirt that’s quickly removed is kept from being ground up on the surface of your tile. Be consistent and thorough. The more you sweep and mop, the easier the job will be because dirt won’t want to stick around.

Use mats to catch the dirt

Mats placed in strategic locations can work wonders. They are good at catching the dirt in well-trafficked areas, protecting your floor from grunge as well as wear and tear. Choose a mat that’s easy to clean. You can focus your cleaning more easily on the mat if it catches the majority of the dirt.

Elbow grease works wonders

When it comes down to it, you just have to get down and dirty with the dirt and scrub. Check with the floor manufacturer for recommendations on what kind of cleaner to use. There are many all-purpose cleaners available, but test them on a small surface before hitting the entire floor. Some seem to do their job by burning through the dirt, but can damage your floor in the process. You may want to choose a brand that’s environmentally conscious. You can probably find a natural solution that can get rid of the dirt without contaminating your kitchen.

A hot water lemon and vinegar solution is a nice natural cleanser that won’t pollute your home and it leaves a nice smell. You get the fresh smell of lemons without wondering where the chemicals have been.

Sweep before you wash

Always sweep or vacuum your floor before you start scrubbing. Washing an un-swept floor can encourage the dirt to stick and stain, creating more damage than it’s worth. Clean all dirt with a broom and dustpan or a vacuum if you prefer the electrical approach. It saves the dirt from being kicked back and forth, as well as prevents it from being caked on to stand the memories of time.

Do a final towel dry

You may want to dry off your tile floor at the end to keep dirt from re-sticking to it. It may also help to wear a pair of old socks when you are washing the floor, so you can move freely on the washed areas without leaving dirt stains.

Tile floors are beautiful and easy to maintain. All it takes is regular cleaning and sweeping to keep stains at bay and keep your home looking beautiful. Keeping up on it and running a broom across every day or two saves time at the end of the week. Don’t let the job pile up. Keep it clean and down to size with regular care and maintenance.

For more floor care tips & suggestions, visit us at:

http://www.colesfineflooring.com/floorcare/