Professional Tips on Caring For Your Carpet

Cleaning Service Austin Texas

For many homeowners who don’t want to deal with the difficulties of tile or hardwood flooring, carpet is an excellent choice. It's also safer for children and the elderly, and a clean carpet can be a gorgeous sight. However, a carpet that is not properly maintained and cleaned can easily become a problem. If you follow these tips from The Steam Team, keeping your carpet looking clean and soft can be simple and easy.

How To Prevent Stains

Nothing ruins a good carpet like a stain, and sometimes one small spill is all it takes. Here is some helpful advice to avoid staining your beloved carpet:

• Train your pets well to avoid them urinating on the carpet. 

• Make use of rugs in areas of the carpet where spills are common, such as underneath the dining room table.

• Remove your shoes when entering the home. 

Avoid These Mistakes

You might think cleaning a carpet is easy, and it can be! But many homeowners make mistakes that only worsen their carpet, here are some common pitfalls to avoid:

• Using carpet powders. Carpet powders are advertised as easy ways to eliminate unwanted scents from carpets, but these powders can leave residue in the carpet and do damage over time.

• Rubbing stains. Rather than rubbing, dab and press on stains to remove them from your carpet. Rubbing stains will only push them deeper into the carpet.

Proper Carpet Care

Nothing is more important to the cleanliness of your carpet than well.. Cleaning it! Here are the proper ways to regularly clean your carpet:

• Vacuum with baking soda. Vacuuming regularly will help keep dirt and debris out of your carpet. Adding baking soda before vacuuming will help remove odors.

• Remove stains immediately. Any stain left unattended, even for a short while, will sink deeper into the carpet.

Call in the professionals. Even with all other methods in this article properly utilized, it’s good to occasionally have your carpet professionally cleaned to keep it looking its best. This is why The Steam Team offers professional carpet cleaning. Call The Steam Team for your carpet cleaning needs today!

3 Tips for Caring for Tile and Grout

Let’s face it: caring for tile and grout cleaning isn’t as easy as others may think it is! It’s in the kitchen, the bathroom, your living room floor is tile… on cleaning day, it may seem like it’s everywhere and impossible to keep up with, but that’s not the case! Though grout is difficult to keep clean (just think of all of the use your shower gets) with a little willpower and maybe a professional’s touch, it can be simple to maintain. Below are three tips for doing just that: keeping your tile and grout looking brand new: 

Understand Why Grout is Difficult to Clean

Grout is porous in nature, which means that it easily absorbs moisture, dirt, dust, and many other debris. Sometimes a scrub brush can be all that it takes to remove debris, but other times, more extreme measures should be taken. 

Make Sure Your Grout is Sealed

Sealing your grout provides it with a protective layer against spills, stains, and grime. If your shower is used often enough, you may need to seal it once to twice a year. It’ll help the grout to repel stains, and keep your bathroom looking new for longer!

Call in The Steam Team!

Whatever is lurking in the pores of your grout doesn’t stand a chance against The Steam Team’s high powered, professional-grade steam cleaning equipment! Today, a lot of grout-cleaning products that are on the market contain harsh chemicals that could damage your tile or grout. But a steam cleaner uses nothing but pressurized water and intense heat, making it the ideal option for cleaning! It reaches deep within the pores of grout to extract everything from dirt, to slime and grime! You’ll be thankful that you gave us a call. 

Caring for Floors in Your New Home

Luxury Home Cleaning

Alas- after much anticipation, preparation, and hard work, you’re all moved into your brand new home. And you stand in the entryway, marveling at its immaculate state, you wonder… How am I supposed to keep my house this clean?

While we can assure you that this task is totally doable without the acquisition of superhero strength, there are still a few tools of the trade that we think you should know!

Hardwood

Well Friends, there’s no easy way around it: you’re going to be doing a ton of vacuuming. On the bright side, this is more efficient than sweeping, and isn’t as demanding on the body. You can use an attachment to reach dusty corners, or those creepy dark spaces beneath appliances. After the dust and dirt has been removed, use a spray mop to finish it off! Spray mops are typically lightweight and very simple to use.

Carpet

In addition to frequent vacuuming and spot treating, we recommend hiring a professional steam cleaning company. Occasionally, carpet collects enough dust, dirt, and general wear that it needs a professional’s touch: this includes expert technique, and professional-grade equipment!

Tile

Tile flooring should be periodically mopped with warm water and a cleansing solution, but in the interim, a dry dusting mop will be your secret weapon.

Marble

To maintain that new, spotless look in your marble flooring, you’ll need only two things: a soft sponge, and a cleanser that is specially formulated for marble/stone. With warm water, sponge away spills immediately after you discover them. With this habit in place, and frequent dust mopping, your floors should sparkle!

Don’t dwell on all of the accidents, spills, scrapes, chips, and scrubs that will inevitably take place all over the flooring in your new home. Instead, gear up to establish a thorough, effective cleaning routine to keep your home looking like the day you moved in. And of course, for a professional’s advice and expertise, contact The Steam Team today!

3 Tips to Maintain Your Flooring Through the Winter

Water And Fire Damage 

The holidays are a hectic time of year for most people! We’re exhausted from working long hours, tying up the year. We’re frazzled, running on fumes, and full of doubts like “Does Timmy already have this set of Legos? Are gift cards still a ‘thing?’” In the middle of preparing for family gatherings and a season spent indoors, it’s difficult to keep up with cleaning routines! But with the right amount of focus in the correct areas of your home, you can keep your flooring in great condition throughout the winter.

1. Prepare for Increased Foot Traffic

During the winter time, it’s likely that our pets will be spending more time indoors, cuddling up next to us on the couch or beside the fireplace. Wherever their spot is, they’re bound to leave a mess behind.

Having more people in our homes means more foot traffic, and thus more dust and dirt to clean up at the end of the day! Keep the necessary supplies on hand for your convenience, or add a couple of area rugs to your living room.

1. Vacuum, Instead of Dust Mopping/Sweeping

Dust mopping and sweeping both have a way of merely pushing dust and dirt around the room, instead of collecting it. Vacuums are more effective, efficient, and will save you frustration this winter as you’ll be cleaning up more frequently.

1. Have Your Carpet, Tile, or Hardwood Flooring Regularly Cleaned by a Professional Steam Cleaning Company

Having a professional tend to your flooring is a wonderful way to optimize its condition. Whether you have carpet, tile, hardwood, or concrete flooring, a professional cleaning and restoration company has the right equipment to get the job done.

For professional results, you’ll need a professional’s experience and expertise. Give The Steam Team a call today; we’ll have your flooring looking like new, just in time for the holidays!

5 Tips for Making Sure Your Home is Free of Mold

Certified Mold Remediation Austin, Texas

Mold can easily spread to take over our homes, compromise our health, and strain our budget. It’s worse for those of us who have allergies, asthma, or financial restrictions. The very last thing you want for your home and health is for mold to go undetected. But don’t worry; today the professionals have a few tips to help you detect and prevent mold growth within your home.

1. Monitor Humidity Levels

Mold likes to set up camp in wet, humid environments. It thrives and spreads the fastest in moisture. You may have a humidity problem if you notice condensation collecting on windows or walls. Dry these areas immediately and address any problems that may be causing them!

2. Check for Broken Appliances & Other Issues

It’s important to check your home for broken pipes, malfunctioning appliances, or puddles/damp areas. All of these could be creating excess moisture in your environment.

3. Dry Spills & Damp Areas Immediately

We don’t want to alarm you, but keep in mind that mold only requires 24 hours to grow! This means that all spills and wet areas should be tended to immediately.

4. Run Exhaust Fans While Showering

This is a very simple routine you can add to your day. Exhaust fans are installed in our bathrooms and kitchens to prevent moisture from lingering too long, so be sure to run them while you shower. Also make sure your shower curtain is adequate and not causing any water to spray onto the floor.

5. Call in the Professionals

Mold isn’t something to play around with. If you notice a growing problem in your home, don’t hesitate to call in the experts! That’s us, The Steam Team! We’re confident that we can defeat any mold infestation, no matter its severity.

3 Reasons to Clean Your Drapery

Window treatments certainly add an incredible appeal to your home wherever they are - there’s no doubt about that. However, they are also one of the most neglected areas when it comes to cleaning in the home. No matter the material of your drapes, you can guarantee that allergens (like dust and pet dander) are going to be drawn to them. That’s why it’s imperative to take regular care of your drapery. Well, that’s one reason at least - the others are to protect their lifetime and, of course, to keep them aesthetically appealing. So, let’s explore these a bit further!

Eliminate Allergens

Those allergens that we just talked about will only collect as long as you let them. So, put a stop to them! Keeping your drapery clean prevents any buildup of allergens and enhances the fabric to be vibrant and fresh.

Elongate Lifetime

Drapery and other window treatments typically have a certain sentimental value along with them. Whether they be family heirlooms, a steep investment, or anything else - it’s important that they last as long as they can, right?

Consistently keeping up with cleaning helps to prevent damage and eliminate buildup of grime. This ensures that the drapery will last longer and keeps it in better condition throughout it’s elongated lifetime.

Maintain Appearance

Lastly, but certainly not least - the aesthetic appeal of window treatments is one of the main (if not, the main) reason homeowners decorate with them. That’s why maintaining their appearance is almost always high on the priority list for drapes. The best way to do this? Schedule a regular cleaning!

There you have it, folks. Don’t ignore your drapes! Give The Steam Team a call today to schedule your next cleaning.