How to deep clean grout lines in tile

Tile and grout cleaning is much more than just mopping. In fact, mopping essentially just pushes all the dirt from the tile into the grout lines. So in effect, it cleans off the tiles but makes the grout even more dirty than it already was. No wonder grout lines are always so much harder to deep clean than the tile!

So when cleaning grout at home, that’s why it’s so commonly thought to use a tooth brush. What else can you scrub the grout lines with that will fit inside the grout lines? There are some better tools out there that help you get off your hands and knees like this one though, because you can buy a wool pole to attach it to! Doing this with a strong, neutral pH cleaner like this one can be very effective, but it has to be done regularly. It’s also best practice to use absorbent microfiber pads to dry the surface after cleaning, rather than traditional mops that push the dirt back into the grout lines.

When we clean grout, we do a combination of a safe but heavy duty pre-treatment, aggressive scrubbing with a brush and then high pressure (1000 psi) washing with hot water (up to 220 degrees). This combination allows us to do highly effective tile and grout cleaning that cannot be achieved with home remedies. The above photo is a bathroom we cleaned last week in Lake Stevens and the client was thrilled! If you have questions about how to clean tile and grout, or would like to schedule a professional tile and grout cleaning in Lake Stevens, Edmonds, Seattle, or the surrounding area, contact us here!

Best way to get pet hair out of carpet

As much as we love our pets, I think I speak for all of us when I say that I hate finding dog hair all over my house. It gets embedded in the upholstery, hair balls pile up in the corner, and it gets all over my kids!

When it comes to keeping the carpet clean, pet hair can be a challenge. Even if you have a higher end vacuum like a Dyson, Shark, or otherwise, some hair (and other soils) get so embedded into the carpet that they can be extremely difficult to remove without proper equipment.

Here’s a trick some homeowners don’t know about: go to a carpet cleaning supply shop, or go online and find a carpet rake (pictured below). You can use these before vacuuming to pull the deeply embedded hairs out of the carpet!

In order to remove even more hair and debri from carpet, we use a counter rotating brush machine. This tool has spinning brushes that penetrate all the way to the backing of the carpet and pull deeply embedded hair and soils out. The picture below is just after using our counter rotating brush machine on the carpet in two rooms at a home with two small dogs…and that’s also after vacuuming! Sometimes you can’t even see all the hair and dirt that’s deep down, affecting the air quality in your home.

If you are having trouble keeping up with your pets, let us come in to do a deep carpet cleaning and improve your air quality!

How to get rid of dark lines on carpet edges and under doorways

We’ve all seen them, especially those that have white or cream colored carpet. Those awful dark lines that develop along the edges of carpet- typically in hallways, on stairs, and under doorways. What are those dark lines in carpet and how do you get rid of them?

First of all, the dark lines on the edge of the carpet are called air filtration lines. It’s the dust, pet dander, allergens, and other things that get pushed off to the side when you walk down the hall or up the stairs. Think of it like driving on the freeway- there’s rarely any debri where your tires go. It’s all brushed off to the side by the wind from the vehicles passing. These lines are full of dirt and grime, and can be tricky to clean out once they get bad. In order to keep them from appearing, we recommend using the hose attachment on your vacuum to vacuum the edges of your carpeted rooms every 1-2 weeks. It’s a pain, we know! But it will be much more work to get rid of if you let the air filtration lines to develop.

How do you clean the dark lines in carpet? Of course, the best (but also most expensive) way is to hire a professional. We have special products and tools designed specifically for these air filtration lines. If the lines are in a room anywhere near a kitchen, it’s very common that cooking oils will settle onto these lines, so we recommend a good citrus based cleaner to help pull out the oils. Outside of that, you can use our free Spot Out cleaner or Folex from the store. Put some on the filtration line, gently work in with a towel and let sit 5 minutes (don’t let it dry). Then scrub aggressively with a terry towel or microfiber towel to remove the spot. Repeat until there is no more change.

If you can’t remove them yourself, feel free to call or text Sno-King Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning at 206-801-0161!

Should I vacuum before carpet cleaning?

Here’s a popular question that we often get asked, and one that you might like the answer to. In short, yes, the carpet should always be vacuumed before cleaning. While many carpet cleaning companies will ask you to vacuum before they arrive, we do the vacuuming for you! In addition to that, there are a few keys to a good vacuuming job:

• Of course- use a good vacuum! Don’t get duped by infomercials and creative marketing. The flashiest, fanciest looking vacuums typically are not the best. We recommend going with trusted brands like Sanitaire and ProTeam (both of which you can buy commercial versions of for the same price or cheaper than high end homeowner styles)

• Go slooooow. The “pull pass” (meaning as you pull the vacuum back toward you) is where you pick up the most amount of soil. Focus on the pull pass and go slowly.

• Get the corners. I know, it’s tedious. But it really is that important to use the accessories to get the corners of rooms up against the baseboards. Otherwise, over time, you’ll see unsightly dark lines of dust and dirt start to build up. Surprisingly, those can be very difficult to get out.

Of course, if you have any questions about vacuums or anything related to them, you can always reach out to us and ask!

Best carpet spot cleaner

In an ideal world, a professional cleaner like us could come out to clean up each and every spill on your carpet or upholstery, but in reality that would get very expensive! So it’s good to have some spot cleaners at home that you can use to help reduce the noticeable spots in between professional deep cleanings.

So what spot cleaner is best for carpet or upholstery? Our own! When you hire us, we give you a free spot cleaner with free lifetime refills!

If you don’t hire us, or run out and need some in a pinch, we recommend getting Folex from the local grocery store. Folex is very safe and effective, and it won’t harm your carpet like Resolve or OxiClean, or anything with optical brighteners. It can be effective at getting spots out of carpet like dirt, grime, food spills and even wine stains! For more troublesome spots like urine, feces or blood, special cleaners and equipment are needed to properly sanitize the area.

Best spot cleaner for carpet

What's the best spot cleaning product for carpet? Is it Resolve, OxiClean, or something else? Well...the answer is definitely something else! The two mentioned above have what's called "optical brighteners." These are disguised in the ingredient list with really long names, but essentially what they do is make the carpet look brighter so it looks clean. However, they're not actually cleaning. Over time they can make the dye in the carpet unstable, leaving it susceptible to bleaching.

For store bought cleaners, we recommend using Folex. But if you hire us, we give you a free lifetime supply of our Spot Out spot cleaner! Even if we're not at your place to clean, we'll just drop one off at no charge!

Why take your shoes off inside?

In many other countries, taking your shoes off upon entering a home is commonplace. Not only is it nice to do, but it's good for the air quality of the house residents and guests. Along with regular vacuuming and regular maintenance carpet cleaning, this is one of the best ways to keep your carpet looking fresh. See the WSJ article below to learn more!

https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-it-healthier-to-remove-your-shoes-at-home-1491649200

Best vacuum for household use?

Customers are often asking us "What vacuum should I buy?" Well, it depends on what your budget is, but we can certainly give some helpful guidelines. 

• Don't buy a Rumba or other small vacuum. Although they are wonderfully automated, they are not very effective. Think about it...if all the dirt and debris they pick up can fit in that tiny little machine, is it really cleaning up very much? Also, they don't have the suction or brush power required to do a proper vacuuming job.

• The flashy $500+ vacuums are not worth the money. Our high end commercial vacuums are about $500 and massively outperform the fancy looking ones you see at the store.

• If you need suggestions on specific vacuums, please feel free to contact us! We're always happy to help.

How to get blood stains out of carpet

Unfortunately, we sometimes see the aftermath of tragic situations. In these times, we try to graciously serve our customers and take care of their cleaning needs. We understand that in these situations, the carpet or upholstery is not the main concern, but we want to be able to help ease the stress of the situation by making the carpet or upholstery look just as good as it did before the accident. Below are photos of before and after our cleaning of a blood stain.

As for home remedies, cold water will almost always rinse the blood right out. However, you want to be very careful to wear the proper gear, as well as have a means to extract the water that you put into the carpet, and dispose of that waste water properly and safely.

If you know anyone who needs blood, or any other stain, cleaned out, let them know that we service both Snohomish County and King County.

Best home spot cleaner for carpet: Resolve or OxiClean?

Here's a situation: You are eating in your living room in your Edmonds home and you reach for your drink, only to have it slip from your hand and fall on your white carpet. Or for some of you, you walk into the room to find that your toddler has decided that instead of drinking their juice, they will spill it out all over the carpet. What's your first reaction? Well, run to the closet and grab the Resolve, OxiClean, or other similar product of course!

Before you proceed, read below:

Many of these common carpet cleaners can actually end up being more harmful than helpful. In them is what are called optical brighteners which are dangerous to put into carpet, upholstery, or even clothing. Essentially what optical brighteners do is create a "whitening" effect by reflecting more blue light and less yellow. This makes the carpet appear cleaner without actually cleaning. Most importantly, the optical brighteners create unstable dyes in the fibers of the carpet, upholstery or clothing and can cause a bleaching effect. This will rarely happen right when the cleaner is applied, but once something else is mixed with it (solutions from a professional carpet cleaner, another household cleaner, etc), the bleach will seemingly magically appear, leaving you with a permanent spot.At Sno-King Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, we have two solutions for this. The first is to have us clean for you and as a new customer you will receive a free bottle of our own spot cleaner-free for life! If you want to purchase your own, a good cleaner that we recommend is called Folex. Thank you for reading!