Cleaning your own upholstery with 1001

One of our customers recently tried to clean her own sofa by using 1001 stain remover.

Unfortunately she didn't realise that many DIY cleaner contain bleach, which in time after use will turn the area sticky and attract soil if it is not thoroughly washed out of the fabric. If you leave these DIY products on a fabric the bleaching element will also continue to work, resulting in white marks once you have had your sofa professionally cleaned.



She also brush the pile so much trying to clean that she damaged the fiber permanently.

Before attempting to clean your own upholstery always seek advice from a professional cleaning company first, so that you can buy the correct cleaning solution and the right cleaning equipment for the job, call Art of Clean on 01223 863632

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

cleaning a grease mark from sofa - hairspray on upholstery

If your furniture is heavily soiled and you need assistance please call our friendly team on 01223 863632 or visit www.artofclean.co.uk to find out about our services.

4 reasons to have your carpets, rugs and upholstery protected

Spills and marks can easily deteriorate your precious fine fabrics and furnishings and cause per-mature replacement.

Firstly, lets start with a little more information about protector. Modern protective applications are carbon molecules or the combination of carbon molecules to make fabrics more moisture resistant and thus prevent spills becoming permanent stains. There are 2 options on the type of protector that can be applied to your carpets, rugs and furnishings


Water based or Oil/Solvent based.

Why water based and why oil/solvent based protector?

Water based protector - Art of Clean product of choice in most cases - offers the lowest environmental impact. It drys fast and is safe to use on all wet cleanable items.

Oil based or solvent based protector on the other hand can offer a greater protection solution on sensitive fabrics like cotton velvet.  Oil based protective treatments can be ideal for protection of new fabrics and furnishings (if safe for the fabric).


Here are 5 reasons to have protective coatings applied:

1.    Prevent spills and marks penetrating into the fabric and less likely to permanently stain.
The application of protector usually allows for the liquid spill to sit on the surface of the fabric for long enough to quickly wipe it up. Use a kitchen or white cotton towel to dab away.
2.    Dry soiling is easily removed by vacuuming
Dry soil do not stick to the surface of the fibers easily and therefore stay cleaner for longer.
3.    Carpet/furnishings/rug will last longer
Due to dry soiling being easily removed during vacuuming – the dry soil is not present to wear out fibers so easily and therefore help them to last longer
4.    Better cleaning results
The next time you get your fabrics and furnishings cleaned professionally it will respond much better than untreated carpets due to stains and marks not being able to easily adhere to the fabric

All the above benefits can be yours with the application of a protective coating. And, best of all, modern safe fabric protectors do not change the look or the feel of fabrics at all.

For more information regarding our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632, or access our website at www.artofclean.co.uk

How to find the right professional carpet or upholstery cleaner

Its time you get the cleaners in to refresh or restore your favorite family sofa or the carpets in your home. After several years of use it looks like it can do with a new lease of life. Now finding a cleaner you can trust and making out witch one to choose is a challenge in its own.

So many contradicting pieces of advice and so many promises … where do you start and what do you look for?

Well it's really straight forward and here are the steps you should take:

Be clear on your objective
Do you want just a surface clean to spruce the item up or do you want to ensure the cleaning is as deep through as it can be?

Compile a list of potential cleaners

A good place to start is on the Industry Training websites.  It is a bit like looking for a gas engineer, you will find all the good ones on the gas safe register!
We recommend you head over to the websites www.ncca.co.uk (National Carpet Cleaners Association) and also the www.iicrc.org (Institute for Inspection Cleaning Restoration Certification) To be a member of these organisations you always need to keep up with further training and keep
your insurance current.
****Don't just rely on somebody stating they are Trained! This is a statement anyone can make*** To be a member of these organisations you always need to keep up with further training and keep your insurance current.

Make contact
Did you struggle to get through? Were they polite and helpful? If they we're unobtainable or unapproachable then remove them from your list right away - just think, if something went wrong would this person be prepared to make amends?

Invite the companies round for a formal quote
If they give you a quote over the phone and haven't seen what they are working with then remove them from the list. How would they be able to recognise the carpets might shrink and how would they know your upholstery is wet-cleanable if they did not see it?

You should now have a reduced list.  Here are a few more things to watch out for:

• Did they confirm they are coming?
• Do they turn up on time?
• Do they treat your home with respect?
• Do you feel comfortable with them?

Now the technical side

What cleaning system do they use?
Shaw,  the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, recommends hot water extraction or steam cleaning as its also known.  Be careful, some firms use small portable extraction cleaners that are not only totally under powered but also circulates the dirty air within your home leaving you with a very unhealthy living environment.

What's your guarantee?
Does the company offer a guarantee? What happens if you are unhappy about the clean? Don't be afraid to ask, sit back and make sure you are happy with the answer.

Are they trained
When last did they attend training? Some firms send staff on one course then expect them to know it all.  IICRC registered firms (take note – being IICRC trained is not the same as being an IICRC registered firm) are required to keep up to date with training.

Finaly:


“SPY ON THEM” – yes that’s right – Spy on them – With the modern age you can easily find out a lot about people and companies – Search their Facebook page – look at LinkedIn – Google+ and YouTube





Now should have a very good understanding of the businesses available to you and what they can offer.  For more information regarding our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632, or access our website at www.artofclean.co.uk

What to do with your old sofa?

Your lounge just had a facelift, new carpet is fitted and the new curtains shows off really well against the freshly decorated walls. You even splashed out on a new chandelier and the room is light up beautify in the evenings.
The only thing now missing is a new sofa. Though what to do with your old sofa before the new one gets delivered?

Here are a few options on what to do with your old sofa:
A general website packed with information on how to responsibly dispose of your sofa can be found at http://www.frn.org.uk/ 

Other sites for sofa recycling  include:
Freecycle   https://www.freecycle.org/
A UK wide network where you can post all your unwanted items on to help you find a good home. Rule is that you give the sofa away for free.

Charities that deal in sofa reuse / recycling
http://sofareuse.org/
SOFA is a registered charity whose mission is to:
• Maximise the donation of furniture and electrical goods from the people of Leicestershire to promote re-use and thereby benefit the environment.
• To help local people in need by selling furniture and electrical items at affordable prices.
• Provide a real work environment for volunteers seeking to improve their life opportunities

http://cambridgereuse.org.uk/
Cambridge Re-Use is a volunteer based service helping people on low income to furnish their homes
The generosity of our donors and a dedicated team of volunteers enables our service to help hundreds of people on low income every year
Our store is open to households on a low income.

Contact your chosen charity to arrange collection or delivery and discuss their requirements first.

Do note that some items might not be accepted for health and safety reasons - Read our blog on dangerous fabrics
Always ensure the sofa you want to donate has a fire safety certificate attached. The fire safety certificate is usually attached to the base frame of the sofa.

Upholstery cleaning in Cambridge

Our client's daughter is a hair dresser so she uses  a lot of hair spray. The sofa was quite new but over time, the mark was quite visible. This mark is probably a combination of hair-spray, other hair care products and body oils. Our cleaning process made the sofa looks brand new after the clean!

 

See what we could remove!