By: Mark Simpson

Bissell steam cleaner is a name that has been around for many years. Today they are known for getting the job done right. With 9 different models to choose from, this set of steam cleaners has a use in every American home.

One of the main advantages of using a steam cleaner over a conventional vacuum cleaner is the stain removing power of the steam cleaner. Most standard vacuum cleaners are great at dust and small particles but stains, vomit and other problems that are encountered in a home that has carpeting the steam cleaner can do the job better. Most standard vacuums can pick up most material including pet vomit, but there will still be a smell. This is because it has not been thoroughly cleaned just most of it picked up.

A Bissell steam cleaner will use a hot soap solution to help dislodge any of the unwanted material from your carpet and suck it up into its reservoir. The rotating brushes assist in this action to help dislodge even the smallest amount that could be there.

The end desired result is a clean fresh smelling room. This is accomplished by removing even the smallest amount of the unwanted material from the carpeting. The heated cleaning solution along with the rotating brushes is the key to accomplishing this task.

When done the reservoir will need to be cleaned along with the suction channel of the steam cleaner. This will remove all the residue from the cleaner and the last of the unwanted material from your home. This is easily done by using plain water that is sucked up into the reservoir then dumped.

By: John D. Mangano

When showing a house to potential buyers, you want it to not only look good but smell nice, too. If your house has lingering pet odors, that alone could turn buyers away. One of the first things to handle when doing a home staging project is pet odors. Here’s how!

Start at the beginning. Always try to clean up pet messes right away. However, if it’s already gotten out of hand, have no fear, for we are here to give you the solution.

For carpeting -
First you need to locate the specific problem areas. Sometimes this is easier said than done. If so, a good way to find them is to turn off the lights and use a black-light to illuminate them.

After you’ve found the spots, clean your carpet. There are a few methods here. You can rent or buy a water-extraction machine or a carpet-shampoo machine and use this with cool water (don’t use chemicals or cleaners). Then there’s also the usual steam cleaning for non-urine pet odors.

Now that your carpet is clean, put a light coating of an enzyme-based odor neutralizer on it. These are available at pet stores and vets’ offices. This is the key step to rid your carpet of smells as these neutralizers contain bacteria that break down the proteins that cause the odors, thus, eliminating them permanently. Neutralizers also help with stains. Baking soda can do the trick, if less effectively.

At this point you can sit back and relax for the next 8 hours while you let it sit. When you wake up from your nap it’s time to vacuum! Then wait another 24 hours and see how it is. If there is any remaining odor, simply repeat this treatment. In severe cases you may need to replace your carpeting.

On a regular upkeep basis, sprinkling baking soda on your carpet and letting it sit for a while before you vacuum can really help freshen up a room. If you want a deep clean, however, use a steam cleaning company. It’s worth it!

For wood floors -
Clean the area with paper towels and scrub it down with white vinegar to remove the stain and smell. Rinse the area with warm water and blot it dry. Dry it completely to avoid water damage; leaving liquid on the floor can warp the wood. Finally, dust the area with a specialized odor remover that contains enzymes to help offset future occurrences.

For older pet stains on wooden floors you’ll probably need to sand down the wood to find out how deep they go. If the damage is severe you may need to replace part or all of the flooring. Commercial bleach will sometimes do the trick, but for this we recommend using a professional as it can be dangerous. If you’ve sanded your floor, reseal it with a shellac based primer.

For furniture -
Clean up the mess with a white rag or paper towels. Then dab on a solution of ¼ tsp mild laundry detergent to 1 cup warm water. Repeat this step until there is no coloration coming off onto the rag or paper towel. Next, coat the area with a solution of 2 tbsp ammonia to 1 cup of water. Rinse this away with warm water. Repeat this step and blot dry. Blot the area with a solution of 1 cup white vinegar to 2 cups of water and rinse. Cover the area with a few layers of paper towels and place a weight on top. Change the towels out regularly until your carpet is dry.

This method may also be used on carpeting but remember to scrub lightly! Hard scrubbing forces the odors further into the carpet fibers which is exactly what you don’t want. Saturation, soaking, and LIGHT scrubbing, is the most effective way to get rid of pet stains in your carpet.

Most of what we’ve talked about here has been for minor pet smells or urine based odors.

For feces on carpeting or furniture -
Pick up feces and discard. Blot the affected area with an ammonia solution (see above) and let it sit for a few minutes. Blot out excess solution and repeat this until the stain is gone. Rinse the area with cold water and blot until dry. And don’t forget to train your pet for the future!

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
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By: Tom Dahne

In the past and still nowadays, carpeting is really common and is the most practical, stylish, and flexible selection of flooring out there, since it also accounts for a higher degree of all flooring purchases that are made each and every year. A lot of people prefer carpeting for their homes. It gives warmth, safety, and flexibility in just about any room. But, what if you’re taking care of pets at home?

Most folks like to keep some pets at home whilst the pets do have fleas on their bodies. Fleas have been around for millions of years, bothering animals and the human race. You can encounter them upon pets, mammals, in carpetings, or couches, in addition to other family and farm goods. In a typical room, 5 percent of the fleas will be encountered on pets, 10 percent are in the form of flea cocoons in the carpetings, 35 percent in the stage of flea larvae and 50 percent are flea eggs, once more in the carpets.

Fleas are those pestering small blood-sucking pests because they come into your household clutching that outdoor dog or cat. Their bites could cause itchiness and red bumps, in addition to misery, for both your pet and you. Adult fleas spend their entire time riding on their hosts, which are generally your pets, and do not spend time hanging out in your carpetings or other fabric family items. Eggs, as well, are discovered on animals; the mature fleas lay their eggs in the hair or pelt of your pets. The phase at which fleas genuinely spend a lot of time in your carpeting is at the larval stage. Here, they feast on dry blood and some other matter left behind in areas where your loved pet lies down, including carpeting.

You know what will come about whenever there are fleas on your carpeting, whilst you and your family enjoy lying on the carpeting too, watching TV and even eating. They are not healthy for your family’s well being. You have to put work in to clean the carpeting and get rid of the fleas from it. I would like to share with you a few tips how to kill carpet fleas.

Use Vacuum Cleaners Ohio State University just brought out a study that foggers and different pesticides fleas are getting resistant and it is highly recommended that just vacuuming daily will at the least rid the household of 94% of live adult fleas and that the vacuum whether it has a bag, upright or canister will wipe out the live adult fleas.

Apply Baking Soda and Salt

To eliminate larvae/eggs and fleas with baking soda and salt. Scatter baking soda and salt all over and allow it to sit over night, the baking soda will suffocate live fleas/larvae whilst the salt slits open the eggs. It is a natural method to rid the carpet of fleas and salt pulls dust/dirt and other fine particles from carpets to make them look clearer.

Hot Water Extraction.

The hot water extraction system is highly recommended, since it’s considered to be one of the better ways for carpet cleaning. Also best-known as steam cleaning, the task comprises of spraying a mixture of water and detergent into the pile and retrieving the water and dirt with a strong vacuum cleaner that puts it into a holding tank. You can use a truck mounted unit or a man-portable self contained unit too. This process is easily among the best, and is perfect for dirty carpets or pet stains that you’ve yet to get out of the fibers.

Keep Your Pets Clean.

If you’ve got a pet, make a small tube for your pet to wear on a string around its neck filled with pennyroyal and a couple of drops of eucalyptus tree oil. The tube can be replenished and oiled every few days to maintain freshness, endeavor to keep pets away from damp, and dark areas. This is where fleas often lay their eggs and form the right conditions for hatching.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
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By: Marty White

For most people, a vacuum cleaner is not really a very inspiring object. Let’s face it, you don’t really care how it works and you probably do not even want to endure the chore of vacuuming in the first place. However, almost everyone who doesn’t want to live in a pig-sty needs one (note: students need not apply!). Recently, however, things have begun to change. People’s attitudes are changing. Vacuum cleaners are becoming interesting and it’s all thanks to a guy called James Dyson, inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner.

Thanks to Dyson, vacuum cleaners have taken on a personality and life all of their own. The same tactics employed by the likes of Apple to successfully ply their iMacs and iPods to the mass population (think: design and color) have now been used to great effect in the vacuum cleaner industry. And with the same results; the proliferation of styles, colors and the general level of gadgetry associated with these newfangled vacuum cleaners (the new Dyson DC15 has 182 patents filed for it), not to mention the clean lines and chic design, means that you no longer have to hide it away in the back of a darkened cupboard. It can become a design statement in its own right, and even a topic of conversation at a dinner party. It may be sad, but it’s very, very true. Premium vacuum cleaners, as they’ve become known, are all the rage and models like those in the Dyson range are bizarrely becoming the next “must-have” purchase for the hip-and-trendy crowd!

Let’s break down the decision that faces the would-be purchaser of one of these premium vacuum cleaners. First, you have the choice between the upright or cylinder (canister) versions. The uprights require you to use them in the traditional push-and-pull fashion, although the latest offering from Dyson, the DC15, has even turned this on its head with its “The Ball” technology, which lets it glide effortlessly around your house in any direction you please. The canisters on the other hand come with a hose attachment for greater flexibility and control - you can easily and accurately get into all the hard to reach places. There’s not really much difference between the two and it’s mainly down to personal preference, although the upright vacuum is probably best suited to large carpeted areas.

Second, you should consider the power of the motor and the efficiency of the filtration system. Allergy suffers in particular should pay close attention to the filtration. Dyson has been very successful by marketing the benefits of its patented “Cyclone” technology which does not suffer a deterioration in suction like traditional vacuum cleaners, because there is no bag or filter to get clogged up (which is the main cause of diminishing performance). So, if you’re looking for a vacuum cleaner that will always deliver maximum efficiency, you can’t really go far wrong with a new Dyson like the Dyson D14 or the newer Dyson DC15.

Of course if you are really feeling super adventurous, you want to stay ahead of the curve and you happen to have some spare cash burning a hole in your pocket, you could opt for one of the increasingly popular robot vacuum cleaners such as the ZA01 from Electrolux or the cheaper iRobot from Roomba. While you busy yourself at work all day, this gizmo will scuttle around your house of its own accord, vacuuming it’s little heart out so the place looks spic-and-span for when you get home! It even has the smarts to return to its “base” when it’s running low on battery power in order to recharge itself!

So you see, something that is perceived to be boring - the humble vacuum cleaner - can actually be quite interesting when you look into it. What you may think of as the purchase of a necessary, almost commodity, item can actually turn out to be a technology purchase or a design statement that will keep you way ahead of the curve. I wonder if Daniel Hess, who filed the original patent for the “hoover” back in 1860, had any idea how his invention would turn out 150 years later?

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
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