Chimney soot be gone!

For those of you with a chimney, you probably know the science...or maybe you don't.

Not to worry, this article's going to tell you of the beauty, the comfort, the science behind and the frustration of chimneys and having one in your home.

So, soot; a by-product of the combustion process. Burn stuff and you get ash, fair enough. The remnants of an inefficiently burnt source of fuel - wood. If said soot is left inside the chimney (and you don't get a 'Sweep' out to clean it) it's very likely to find its way onto your carpet. Those pesky black, sticky particles cling to anything fabric.

www.merchantcircle.com

A problem you don't directly think of is your health, soot's a hazard! To your lungs and your family's. In gaseous form and once inhaled, these particulates are classified as carcinogens and mutations.

Now I'm being a drama-queen here...probably, but cleaning your chimney makes not only health sense, but financial and fashion sense too. Beige carpets and black grime just don't go well together.

How to get rid of that soot? Generally, you'd call a professional. We happen to know a few.

www.flickr.com

Chimney Corner have been cleaning your chimney, or your neighbour's chimney for nigh on fifty years and in that time, they've seen a thing or two. Now, working in conjunction with Art of Clean, Chimney Corner will do the sweeping, while we do the hoovering.   

As sweep professionals, Chimney Corner look to mitigate the dirt that falls from your chimney (frequency of sweeping helps to limit excess soot damage) but on occasion, it can't be helped and, let's be fair, after a good going-over of your chimney, they're gonna be a touch to mucky to help. That's where Art of Clean comes in. 

Nowadays, fireplaces have taken on a decidedly more modern frontage. Yes, many homes still have that rustic persona, but when installing a new hearth, many move more towards the stylish to complement their designer homes.

www.remodelista.com

But no matter how young of old your chimney may be, it will always require attention. Heating your home the traditional way is a joy and should be treated with respect.

For sweeping or carpet cleaning, call the professionals.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

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

Why carpet cleaning? The Art of Clean Maintenance Plan

Let's face it, carpet cleaning is not something you spend a lot of time thinking about. That is not until you need to get your carpets cleaned. There are some key stage in life when carpet cleaning becomes necessary.

They are:

- When you give up your first rental home to move onto your own house - The carpets need cleaning so you get your deposit back.

- Once on your own how you might choose to buy a VAX or similar to deal with small accidents on the carpets and furnishings. That is until that first big decoration job start and you move the bed and the sofa when you realize how dirty the carpets became. Now for some this is ideal to have the carpet cleaned once the decoration is done. Others might decide to have new carpets installed and once installed this is a perfect time to get your carpets protected with a Stain protector. This will help keep them cleaner for longer and prevent spills becoming permanent stains.

- All the furniture is back in place and the house is spick and span - What now? How can you keep the carpets looking that good for as long as possible. This is ideal to now consider a solution that gives you a more regular clean. A cleaning plan that will give you a spot clean when you spill that galls of whine on the carpet. It is also advised to have protector re-applied as it does wear off over time.

What is our Maintenance Plan?

The Art of Clean Maintenance Plan is just this type of carpet cleaning service. You get a deep clean and application of protector every 12 months as well as a free stain removal call out service to deal with the cleanup of any accidental spill.

The Maintenance Plan is an on-going maintenance plan designed to keep your floors and soft furnishings clean, healthy and looking good all year long, year after year. You will actually save more money than you realise because you can expect your floors and soft furnishings to last two to three times longer before you need to replace them. And best of all, they’ll always look good.  You get clean healthy floors and soft furnishing all year – which makes your home healthier! Would you like to find more information about our Maintenance Plan? Just click HERE.


Give us a call on 01223 863 632 and we will be happy to help.

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

Consumer, Re-user - A good reason to clean the old and not buy new

In this consumer economy, one we've all lived for a generation now, we find ourselves spending and spending and never truly getting. Our budgets increase, our wages decrease and our homes fill to the rafters with countless items we don’t actually need or, more often, want - after the first thrill of the purchase.

Whether you’re buying food, drink, clothing, furniture or cars, at the end of the day, there’s only so much space and the world is only getting smaller. This is not our rant on the buying culture, it’s our suggestion that moderation and economy can be a revelation as well.

How often have you crawled into your attic, or rummaged through the clothes at the back of your closet and found that gem? That jumper your uncle bought you in 2005 that was hideous then, but is fashion now? That little table you found at the local car boot sale and thought, I’m going to sand and polish that, and never did?

Reusing, re-working, renewing.

Now look around your living room. What needs replacing? That rug. Are you sure? That sofa. Really? Isn’t it possible that those items you bought haven’t lost style, they’re just lost their va va voom.
Rugs, carpets, wooden floors, sofas, chairs…they all need upkeep. They all need a wash, just like you.

It’s not sexy.

Cleaning a rug is dull…until it’s clean, then it’s a marvel you didn't see the difference before.

You know what is sexy? Looking at your bank balance after that clean and comparing it with what it would have been, if you’d gone with your first instinct and bought a new sofa or rug.

We’re not suggesting you stop spending, far from it, we all like to buy things. What we are suggesting is you think what you need and decide what is needed.

Your wife needs those flowers, your husband needs those socks, but do you really need a brand new sofa, especially when there are so many deals to be had and reclaimed wonders to be discovered? 

This example doesn't exactly compound my argument, but taste is subjective.

Found on kitsch-nitsch.com

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

How to clean Dralon

Fashion from a by-gone era....BACK!

Don't remember Dralon? Ask your Mum. Still not getting it? Well this video might leave you even more confused, mainly because it's in German, but we'll do our best to expound. 

Dralon is an artificial fibre developed in the 1950's to be useful across a range of fashions, upholstery, work wear, furniture, etc. The benefit of a manufactured/developed fibre over a naturally occurring one is durability and overall usefulness. No dry-cleaning is required and when you have a Dralon carpet, it's even dirt-proof, or so they say, but you'll still need to vacuum it from time-to-time.

When it comes to cleaning your Dralon sofa or chairs there is one thing to be wary of, above all else, Do Not use water over 50 degrees Celsius or 122 degrees Fahrenheit. If you hire a cleaning company and they come with a steam cleaner, advise them to keep walking...it isn't going to do your sofa any good at all.

If you choose to clean it yourself, it's a case of following the instructions we provide there:

Step One; brush the sofa or chair with a soft brush, it's a soft sofa after all. Remove all the unwanted dirt and sweep it into a bin bag or some such receptacle. 

Step Two; using the upholstery nozzle thing, give it a good vaccing. Centre on the arms and headrests as they receive the most grease and oils from you head and hands.

Step Three; if you need it, there's a grease solvent that can remove a good deal of stains. Simply apply and blot.

Step Four; apply a dry foam upholstery cleaner with a synthetic sponge.

Note: always follow the instructions on the bottle!

Step Five; when it's cleaned and dry, just brush it and vacuum it once more...to restore the texture of the sofa and also for good luck.

Another Note: if there are creases, you can do away with them by simply brushing the area with a damp cloth. The pesky dent or crease will rise.

Remember, not all cleaning jobs are fun and few are as easy as a 'How To' guide makes them seem. If you're in any doubt, call the Professionals.

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

Maintenance Plan on Commercial Carpet

It is very important to clean the carpet regularly in busy traffic area.

The cost of replacing a commercial carpet can be very expensive and if the maintenance is done on the carpet, the carpet will last and stay clean longer.

Don’t wait till it is too late. When you start to see the wear and tear, it is almost too late... So give us and call and we will be happy to come and have a look for you.

We look after many carpets and we make sure it is cleaned on a regular basis and also very important stains and spots needs to be removed as soon as they appeared. After the clean we will apply a carpet protector to protect the commercial carpet and it will ensure that spillage will not to become permanent marks.

We offer a Carpet Cleaning Maintenance Plan for company that want a beautiful carpet all year around.

See the amazing result:

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

Dirty carpet cleaning with amazing result

Today was a great challenge to clean a carpet that was badly stained and full of blue tack and food. Our client has got 3 children and a dog so it is very difficult for her to keep the carpet clean. Her family was coming from abroad so she needed a clean done as soon as possible.

The result was really amazing and we had another happy client :)

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

What is the best carpet cleaning methods? Dry Clean or Wet Clean?

The dry cleaning methods – which are dry foam, dry chemicals and dry compound – do not rinse your carpet in any way. Instead, they may leave a dirty residue.

These are good maintenance methods to keep clean carpet and upholstery clean, but you have to use them every few weeks.

The most effective cleaning method is hot water extraction or steam cleaning, which is the most popular method used today.

 Hot water extraction means a hot water cleaning solution, under high pressure, is forced into your carpets and upholstery and then sucked out.

 Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, recommends hot water extraction as the primary method of cleaning carpets, carried out by an IICRC approved firm.

Carpet and upholstery cleaners use one of two types of hot water extraction. If they use a large unit that operates from a van or truck outside your home/facility, it’s called 'Truck-Mount' extraction. If they use a smaller unit that can be brought inside, it’s called a portable extraction. However, we would only recommend the larger Truck Mounted machines … as these are far more powerful than the portable machines you can hire from stores and also more powerful than smaller portable units many other carpet cleaners use.

The problem with the smaller portable type is that although they can break up the dirt, bacteria, chemicals and pollens in the carpet and upholstery, they don’t have enough suction (or what we call ‘Air-Flow’) to draw the dirt and chemicals out of your carpets and upholstery.

 Our equipment will clean deeper and leave your carpets and upholstery dryer, fresher and more importantly healthier than any other system!

Here is our cleaning process in action:

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

What is carpet cleaning hot water extraction?

Hot water extraction is a fancy way of saying that a hot water cleaning solution under high pressure is forced into your carpets & upholstery and then sucked out again.

In a recent Technical Bulletin, Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer ‘recommends the hot water extraction system, which research indicates provides the best capability for cleaning’.

This is the method we recommend for most cleaning. On which type to choose, Shaw’s Technical Bulletin states: “Cleaning can be done from a truck mounted unit outside the facility with only the hose and wand brought inside, or where a truck mounted unit cannot reach, by a portable, self contained system brought into the facility”.

Shaw Industries recommends extraction cleaning. And this isn’t surprising.

You see, this system cleans much better because it heats the water to a safe temperature – and shoots the cleaning solution into the carpet. This breaks up the dirt, bacteria etc. in the carpet. Then the machine produces huge vacuum volume to draw the dirt and solutions out of your carpets & upholstery.

This is the method Art of Clean use. No question, the most effective way to clean carpeting & upholstery is with a truck mounted hot-water unit. It’s the most powerful cleaning machine on the market and the only machine that cleans your carpet & upholstery of dirt, harmful bacteria, fungus, chemicals, pollens and tobacco residue and dust mites. Some people believe that hot water damages your carpets & upholstery, but this is not true. By washing and then rinsing your carpets & upholstery with hot water, we clean them completely – in the same way that the person who showers and rinses off the dirt and soap will be much cleaner than the person who only takes a sponge bath.

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

Emergency Tips for Spills and Stains on carpet cleaning

Important - Always read and follow the care instructions and any warnings provided by the carpet manufacturer. If in doubt contact us for advice.

GENERAL TIPS

* Do not over wet into backing materials

* Always test any detergent on an inconspicuous area of carpet prior to treating a stain

* Use detergents at recommended dilution ratios

* Scrape up or blot up any access prior to treatment

* Never rub or scrub

* Do not use inappropriate detergents on carpets or upholstery i.e. (washing up liquid, wash powders, household bleach, disinfectants)

* Always work from the out side of the stain inward to avoid spreading

* Always apply the cleaning fluid to the absorbent spotting material not directly onto the carpet or fabric

* Encourage quick drying

* Deal with stains as quickly as possible for increased chances of success

* Keep the fabric or carpet as dry as possible.



Greasy Stains (i.e. Chocolate, Butter, Lipstick, some Oily Food stains, some Ink)

Apply small quantity of Surgical spirit to some cotton wool or Q-tip (cotton bud). - Using the lightly soaked cotton wool apply to the edges of the stain working inwards to the centre. - Gently press (Blot) either Terry towel, or kitchen roll, and repeat as necessary until the stain no longer transfers.

Do not allow penetration into the back of carpeting or foam filling materials! Some fabrics may darken initially during this process. - Using a detergent solution on cotton wool, dampen the area and follow up by blotting with kitchen roll or terry towel. - Dry, using hair dryer, continually moving over the damp area. (This will help to prevent water marking)

Water Based Stains (i.e. Tea, Coffee, Fruit juices, Wine, some Basic Food stains)

Soak up immediately using absorbent cloth or suck up with a wet pick up vacuum. - Rewet the area using water on a small piece of sponge or cotton wool. - Blot with dry absorbent material Terry towel, kitchen roll, (Repeat as necessary…) - Dry with hair dryer keeping the dryer moving all the time, (this will help to prevent watermarking).

Dried In Stains - Detergent Solution: Two litres of water + a quarter of a teaspoon ONLY of carpet shampoo + one eggcup full of white vinegar - Re-wet the stained area using the detergent solution applied on a piece of cotton wool. - Blot using kitchen roll or terry towel as above. The final procedure for carpets following the wetting and blotting procedures should be as follows: - Place 5-6 layers of kitchen roll on the affected area and place a telephone directory (covered in a plastic bag) on top. Allow to dry over 24 hours, this will absorb any stain in the base of the fibre’s that are likely to wick up to the surface during the drying process. Whilst the stain removal guide may be simple and basic, it will assist in the professional’s chances of success should you find expert assistance required. If followed it should help prevent some quite common and expensive DIY stain removal damage.

NEXT STEP: Contact Art of Clean  on 01223 863 632

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