Tile and grout cleaning in commercial condo building

People are often aware of “high traffic” areas in their home, such as a hallway, stairs, or living room that is commonly used. But what about the high traffic areas in commercial buildings? One area of flooring that gets a very large amount of traffic is the entrance to a condominium or apartment building, with residents going in an out all day. Though tile is often a good choice for flooring in this area, it gets very, very dirty!

Below is a video of the tile floor in an entrance to a condo building in Edmonds, WA that we recently cleaned. It had only been two years since we last cleaned this floor, but you can see the heavy build up of soil that happened in that short amount of time. You can see details of our thorough tile cleaning process here.

We offer free quotes for tile and grout cleaning, carpet cleaning, or any of our other services. Contact us here or call/text 206-801-0161 and we will be happy to serve you!

Professional office carpet cleaning

Fortunately for many businesses, workers are coming back to the office. Unfortunately for those business, that means the floors are getting dirty again! If you have an office, church, apartment building, condo building or association, restaurant, bar, or other building with commercial carpet cleaning needs, we have a specialized cleaning process designed just for commercial-style carpet. The benefits of our commercial process include:

• Less intrusive- there are no hoses (trip hazards) running through the building during the cleaning

• Faster drying- dry times are only a couple of hours, typically even less

• Eco-friendly- our products are all non-toxic and environmentally friendly

• 20% discount for non-profit organizations

• See a full description and list of our commercial carpet cleaning process by Clicking Here

Not only do you get these benefits, but also the benefit of your carpet looking much better for your employees and guests! Below is a before and after photo of an office in Lynnwood that we just cleaned last week. If you have a building like this in Edmonds, Shoreline, Seattle, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, or the surrounding area, Contact Us and we’ll be happy to give you a free quote!

Should I seal my tile grout?

This is another very common question we get- “Should I seal the grout between my tiles?” or “Should I seal my natural stone?”

The answer is the same, in almost every case: yes. Virtually the only time where sealing grout is not beneficial is if you have epoxy grout, as it never needs to be sealed. Otherwise, it’s highly likely that you have cementitious grout, which is comprised of cement and sand. Over time soil, especially acidic soils (particularly around a toilet or in a shower), will eat away at the grout, causing damage. Having a proper sealant on/in the grout will help protect it from breaking down over time.

So what type of sealer should be used? Rather than the inexpensive spray on sealers you can purchase at a big box store, we used penetrating sealers that soak down into the grout (or stone) and protect them from the inside out. These also last much longer than topical sealers and don’t wear off as quickly with foot traffic.

How often should I seal grout? It depends largely on where the tile/grout is located. In high traffic or high moisture areas, it should be done more often.

• General rule: every 1-4 years

• In showers or other high moisture areas: 1-2 years

• In high traffic areas such as kitchens, hallways, and entryways: 1-3 years

• In low traffic/low moisture areas (walls, rooms that hardly get used): 2-4 years

Can grout that has been damaged be salvaged? Possibly. If it’s slight damage from wear over time, we may be able to correct it with acid etching. However, if it’s severely damaged, it would require a company that can repair and regrout those areas.

See below the kind of transformation we can do to tile and grout!

Best carpet cleaner near Edmonds

There’s a common saying in business: “You can be, at most, two of the following- the best, the fastest and the cheapest. You can never be all three.” In the industry of carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, tile cleaning, hardwood floor cleaning, and area rug cleaning, this is very true. We strive to be the best, thus we cannot possibly be the fastest or the cheapest; we don’t cut corners to save time, and we have to cover the expense of providing superior service. But what goes into a high quality cleaning company? Here’s a few things:

• High quality, safe products. We use only non-toxic, pet and kid friendly cleaning products. This means there are no harmful fumes or residue left on your carpet or any other surface.

• Professionally trained technicians. Unlike some of the big companies, we don’t sub contract and we don't hire just anybody. Our interview process is several steps including multiple interviews, background checks, drug screenings and several references. Our technicians are all professionally trained and regularly receive continuing education training sessions.

• A commitment to your satisfaction. Our guarantee is simple: If you’re not happy, you don’t pay. We will never leave a job without doing the absolute best we possibly can. In the rare event that we do not properly clean a surface, we will return with a smile and at no charge to fix it. Your complete satisfaction with our cleaning quality and customer service is our number one goal.

Whether you hire us or anyone else, be sure that the service is backed by a 100% guarantee like the Sno-King Guarantee: If you’re not happy you don’t pay- it’s that simple. Whether you’re our neighbor in Edmonds, or surrounding cities like Shoreline, Mukilteo or Seattle, call us for a free quote and top not service: 206-801-0161!

Wash cushion covers in washing machine or get them professionally cleaned?

If you have a couch or chair with removable cushion covers, you’ve probably either thought about putting them in the washing machine or already have done so. Sometimes this can be a convenient and inexpensive way to clean your cushions, but it can also have negative results on the covers.

Upholstery manufacturers are legally obligated to give information on the tag about the upholstery. However, they are not obligated to disclose the exact fiber content of the outside fibers, but only the inside. How crazy is that! This means that sometimes, even if the tag only says polyester, there could be some cotton or other difficult to clean fiber mixed in the outside fibers. If that is the case, putting the cushion covers in the washing machine can cause them to shrink, brown out, or become otherwise discolored. If the covers are 100% synthetic, there is much less concern, but there is always a risk of shrinking.

When you hire a professional upholstery cleaning company like us, we ensure that our cleaning method properly matches the type of fiber, construction, soils, etc. that we are dealing with to not only get your furniture looking clean, but also to make it last. Unfortunately, washing and drying machines can be more harsh on cushion covers than our equipment, leading to quicker degradation, pilling, worn out patches, etc.

If you need an upholstery cleaner with good reviews in the Edmonds, Shoreline, Mukilteo, Seattle, Everett or Eastside areas, feel free to contact us here!

Schedule carpet cleaning online

Have you ever asked “how to I schedule a cleaning appointment online?” Well even if not, we have a great new tool for you! If you click here, you can see our new online scheduling form where you can select a date/time, give details and choose what you want done- carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, tile/grout cleaning, hardwood floor refinishing, or area rug cleaning.

We have done this to streamline the booking process and cut back on the back and forth communication so that you can schedule cleaning appointments faster and easier. With our convenient online scheduling form, you can select all the details and type notes that apply to the work you want done, and we will respond however you select (phone call, text message or email) to finalize the appointment.

This is just one more way we’re trying to make your life more convenient and stress free!

Answered- What is the Best Vacuum Cleaner? The Definitive Guide to Purchasing a Vacuum

As promised in our last post, we want to address another common question- “What is the best vacuum?” Along with that, people often ask- “What is the best vacuum for pet hair?” That fits perfectly into our answer to the first question, which is that it depends on what you’re dealing with and what your budget is! Here we will quickly breakdown what to look for in a quality vacuum.

What to look for (in no particular order):

• CFMs produced by the vacuum motor- this will indicate how strong the suction power is, and you want something that’s is 85 CFM or higher. But remember, regularly cleaning your vacuum and keeping it clog free is the only way to get the full CFM power!

• Ease of maintenance- Some vacuums are very easy to pull apart in order to clean, maintain, and replace parts. Others require just short of an engineering degree to be able to put them back together properly.

• Bagless vs Bag- Many people will tell you that vacuums with bags can do a better job than bagless vacuums, but this is not necessarily true. As long as the specs like CFM check out, then you don’t need to worry too much about if it has a bag or not.

• Quality brush roll- Look for brush rolls that are made from metal or wood rather than plastic. These will last longer and are a key part of getting the most out of your vacuum.

• Style- Upright vacuums are usually the best option for homeowners (and they typically include handheld attachments). Backpack vacuums usually produce better suction, but often require purchasing a separate accessory brush roll and can get very expensive.

• Filtration- Look for a vacuum with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. This means the filter will trap at least 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns, which are the hardest microns to trap, so that they don’t get realeased back into the air

• Price- There’s a saying that “You get what you pay for.” For the most part, this holds up as true with vacuums, but there is one major caveat, and that is Dyson (see below for more details on that). The vacuums we recommend below range from about $300-600, and anything below that likely won’t be effective over a long period of time, and you’ll end up paying more in the long run by having to replace the vacuum.

Brands (Good and Bad):

• Best overall- ProTeam and Powr-Flite. These are the brands we use at on-site cleanings and in our high end area rug shop. The ProTeam X1500XP is a workhorse and will last for many years without breaking down, but when it does break down it can be very labor intensive to fix/replace parts. The Powr-Flite 15” Upright is our favorite for an effective, household vacuum that doesn’t break the bank and it has a whopping 135 CFM, all while being easy to maintain and replace parts.

• Best for pet hair- While “best” is somewhat subjective, the Shark DuoClean line is very good (here is one good option) due to their dual brushes to pull out the pet hair that’s deeply embedded.

• Not recommended- all Dyson vacuums. We know, we know, but hear us out on this one! Dyson has incredibly convincing marketing, but their vacuums just don’t measure up. We have gone in with our ProTeam vacuums into countless jobs that have already been vacuumed with a Dyson, only to pull up loads of pet hair and soil from the carpet. But here’s the real red flag- Dyson does not release the specs on their vacuums. Virtually any time a manufacturer keeps those secret, it means the specs are not good so they don’t want you to know. Great marketing, but average to above average performance and not worth what they cost.

If you have further questions regarding vacuums, feel free to contact us here or call/text us at 206-801-0161.

How often should I vacuum carpet?

Clients often ask us “How often should carpet be vacuumed?” Our answer: it depends! The main questions that we ask when thinking about carpet maintenance are as follows:

1. Do you wear shoes inside?

2. Do you have kids and/or pets?

3. How often do you have your carpet professionally cleaned?

These are (roughly) listed in order of importance, as vacuuming regularly is the single most important thing you can do to maintain your carpet. The reason for this is that small rocks, sand, dirt, etc. create small scratches and damage to the carpet fibers as you walk on the carpet. Over time, this damage becomes more apparent and starts to make the carpet look dirty, as the light can no longer reflect properly, thus creating the appearance of soil. This is why very heavily soiled high traffic areas of carpet sometimes never look uniform, no matter how many times or how well the carpet is professionally cleaned. According to the IICRC (International Institute of Cleaning and Restoration Companies), 79% of damage to carpet is from dry soil, not from liquid messes and spills. That shows how important a thorough vacuuming is!

So back to our original question: How often should you vacuum carpet? For most homes, once per week is sufficient. If you have multiple kids, pets, or shoes being worn inside, then even 2 times a week would be ideal. This is to lessen the amount of dry soil that is in the carpet and left there to be walked on. It’s also wise to use the hose attachment to vacuum the edges of each room and around furniture every other time you vacuum to lessen the chance that dust build up will create air filtration lines (which are very hard to remove once they are present).

Now that we know how often to vacuum, what type of vacuum is best? We will tackle this question in detail in our next post, so be sure to follow us on Facebook to see our next post!

How to Clean Cranberry Sauce off Carpet (and Other Thanksgiving Spills)

As we all know, Thanksgiving looked a bit different this year, but even with smaller gatherings, spills still happen! So while we hope you had a great Thanksgiving meal, you might now be wondering how to get cranberry sauce, gravy, or other spots out of carpet, upholstery or area rugs. Below we will lay bullet points to make this a quick read and easy guide for you. Of course, you can always contact us with any questions or to schedule a carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning or area rug cleaning if you’re in the Edmonds/greater Seattle area.

• First of all- do not use vinegar! If you look up how to spot clean online, the most common suggestion is vinegar. However, it is so rare that this would ever help that we recommend just staying away from it completely. Another common recommendation is dish soap- if you do this, use only very sparingly, otherwise it will leave a residue in your carpet.

• Second- one of the most important aspects of cleaning is bringing the surface being cleaned to pH neutral. The best spot cleaners will be safe, yet effective pH neutral cleaners (we recommend Folex for anything store bought). If you are one of our clients, we provide a lifetime supply of our free spot cleaner. This is why using vinegar is not helpful and can actually set stains in- because it’s acidic.

• Hydrogen peroxide is your friend! For virtually any organic stain (wine, caffeinated coffee, most food spills), you want to add oxygen to the spot to help remove the stain. We recommend avoiding big name products like Oxiclean, Resolve, etc. as these have damaging ingredients in them. Instead, you can pick up 3% hydrogen peroxide from the drug store, and at this dilution it’s even safe for wool! Put it on the spot, scrub gently with a brush, let sit 5-10 minutes and then aggressively dab with a towel.

• For cranberry sauce, we again recommend hydrogen peroxide. However, you want to be careful with how much you use, and start with a neutral pH spotter first. After using, be sure to speed dry with a fan (even a small household fan would help).

• Lastly, if it seems like an especially tricky spot, call us! Especially if it seems like the spill may have seeped down into the carpet pad or upholstery cushion, it’s very likely that self-spotting it would actually make it worse. Whether you’re a client or not, please feel free to call us so we can help you troubleshoot any difficult spots you may have.

Remember, if you’re in Edmonds, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Seattle, Mukilteo, Bothell, Lynnwood, Everett, or the surrounding areas- we are here to serve you!

Removing Pet Urine From a Wool Rug

Pets are wonderful, and wool rugs are wonderful. However, pet accidents and wool rugs do not go well together! But the good news is this: we have the processes and expertise to handle virtually any conceivable issue with area rugs. Our dedicated high end rug shop is set up in Edmonds to service wool rugs, silk rugs, oriental rugs, or any other high end rug.

What you get with your rug cleaning:

• Up front pricing and explanation of our cleaning process

• The industry’s most thorough cleaning process

• 1 week turnaround time

• Consistent updates of what stage your rug is in and when to expect it to be finished