Category Archives: Rug Cleaning

Hot Chocolate Stains

Published December 17, 2017 By Aladdin

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This is the perfect season for you to come closely together with your friends and family, enjoying the warmth of togetherness. This calls for holiday parties, rife with guests and delicious food – and who can forget hot chocolate. It’s the perfect drink that seems to warm you up from the inside – even warming your heart and spirit. However, hot cocoa is a notorious stain culprit – which is why the rug stain removal experts at Aladdin have prepared this brief guide to mitigating the damage that hot chocolate can cause to rugs.

Removing Wax from Carpets

Published December 8, 2017 By Aladdin

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With the warmth and coziness of holiday decor, your carpets and rugs will likely come across some risk of being stained with candle wax. There’s no replacement of the feeling of being in a cozy home with lit candles burning bright – but wax can pose a danger to your pristine rugs. Here’s a guide from the rug cleaning experts at Aladdin on how to remove wax from your carpets or rugs.

Cranberry Sauce Stains

Published November 18, 2017 By Aladdin

One of Thanksgiving’s classic dishes is cranberry sauce – the perfect tart complement to turkey or savory vegetable dishes, rife with all the fresh savor of Autumn. However, despite its magnificent deliciousness, cranberry sauce is a notorious carpet stainer, perhaps only rivaled by the dastardly beet. Here’s Aladdin’s guide for carpet cranberry sauce stain removal, so you can remain calm, confident, and really enjoy your family get together this Thanksgiving.

First, scoop up the majority of the sauce with a knife, being careful not to press it down into the carpet fibers (if it’s the more solid, gelatinous kind or has whole cranberries,) then blot the area with a clean cloth or paper towel to absorb as much of it as possible. Then wet a small towel with water, and continue blotting away.
Cranberry sauce produces a stain due to it’s tannins – these stains can be removed easily with detergent and hot water.
Don’t use natural soap for this, as natural soap make tannins harder to remove from carpets. Make sure, if you’re using bleach, that you use color safe bleach.
If the stains don’t come off, repeat the above steps. Just don’t use heat to dry it, as it will set the stain in.
If the Cranberry sauce isn’t 100% natural and has food coloring, use an oxygen based color safe bleach like OXO Brite-in or OxiClean according to package directions. Dip a clean rag into the solution and work from the outside edge of the stain inwards in order to prevent spreading it around. Don’t’ get it too wet. Let the solution stay on the stain for at least a half an hour before blotting it up.
Use a clean white rag to blot away any moisture, but don’t rinse it. Oxygen bleach usually turns into water within a couple hours – simply let it air dry away from direct sunlight or heat. Then vacuum to restore the pile of the carpet.
It’s essential to remember not to get the fabric of the carpet too wet with the cleaning solution as it can cause mildew.
If none of these steps work, contact a licensed carpet professional, like those at Aladdin!

Rug Cleaning for a Healthy Home

Published August 23, 2017 By Aladdin

Here at Aladdin, we understand exactly how important area and oriental rugs are to keeping the warm ambiance of a home. It’s our business and passion. Rug cleaning is an essential part of keeping your home clean and welcoming. Oriental rugs become the focal point of the rooms they are put in, with their every pattern, coloring, sizing, shaping, and texture melding well with all the room’s furniture. It’s important to consider how to maintain the room’s durability and beauty over long periods of time.

A dirty rug can easily become home for dirt, dust, allergens, pet dander, bacteria, pieces of decaying food, and insects – which pose health risks for children, seniors, and everyone else. Here’s why rug cleaning is an important part of keeping a healthy home.

Causes of Area Rug Damage

As time passes, stains, spills, pet dander, dust, pollen, dirt, hair, waste from shoes, and other debris can get stuck in rugs, pressed deeper by walking feet. Direct sunlight can even cause rug damage, albeit not with the associated health hazards of particulates.

Correcting Rug Damage for Home Health

Vacuuming

Make sure to vacuum your carpets and area rugs almost every day in order to keep out dry soil and dirt that can quickly accumulate.

No Shoes Policies

By implementing a no shoe policy inside your house, you can keep your oriental rugs and area rugs clear of allergens. All sorts of allergens stick to the underside of your shoes, including dirt and allergens from outdoors, and germs from everywhere you walk.

Professional Rug Cleaning

The best way to keep rugs clean and your home allergen and germ free is by ensuring that your rugs get cleaned regularly and meticulously. By making sure your area rugs and oriental rugs professionally cleaned, you will ensure that they last longer, and are healthier and cleaner for your home. Contact Aladdin today for a professional rug cleaning!

Carpet Cleaning Myths

Published February 23, 2017 By Aladdin

There’s tons of false information being spread about carpet cleaning, just the same as in in any other industry. However, it’s important to have accurate information if you want to make sure that your rugs and carpets are taken care of as well as they truly deserve. By understanding the common myths about carpets or rugs, you can make sure that they are truly taken care of.

Myth Number One

Amateur Carpet Cleaning Works

Home carpet shampooing machines purport to be able to clean carpets just as well as a carpet or rug cleaning professional, but the truth is that they do not. These machines create unwanted levels of moisture inside carpets and rugs – and if this moisture does not get fully dried, even just a little bit, it can lead to fungus and mold growing throughout the entire carpet. Carpet manufacturers recommend getting your carpet or rug cleaned by a professional using water extraction equipment only available on an industry level. Next time you need your carpet cleaned, trust the experts at Aladdin.

Myth Number Two

If my carpet doesn’t appear dirty, it doesn’t need a professional cleaning.

Don’t ever wait till your carpet appears extremely dirty before having it cleaned. That approach actually incurs damage to carpets and rugs because the longer that dirt remains inside the carpet, the higher the chances it will rip the delicate carpet fibers. Don’t wait to clean the carpets or rugs, as dust can also affect the health of your family members or anyone inside your home. Some experts estimate that just a foot of the average carpet or rug can hold over a pound of allergens, dirt, dust, and other particulates – which are especially hard to spot when your carpeting is tan or brown.

Myth Number Three

Carpet Protectors prevent all Stains or Spills from Causing Damage

Carpet protectors don’t really protect your carpets or rugs as well as they are known for. Scotch guards or any other protecting material that’s placed around or over carpets/rugs only provide a small amount of protection. Stains can still damage carpets or rugs when carpet protectors are placed down – however they simply won’t soak into the rug as quickly as they would without one in place. All stains even on rugs or carpets with protective materials should be handled as soon as possible by dabbing them up with paper towels, and then dabbing a mixture of white vinegar and water to blot out the stain from the carpet.

How to Ensure a Rug’s Longevity

Published February 21, 2017 By Aladdin

In this quick blog post, the experts at Aladdin will show you how to increase the longevity of your rug or carpet – whether it’s a long-existing family heirloom, or a brand new purchase from an dealership. By following these tips, you can ensure the longevity of your rug or carpet for years to come.

Change Walking Pathways

Set down furniture forms pathways of foot traffic on rugs or carpets that over years leave an impression on the material. By moving around furniture on the rug, you will change the natural pathway that people take. This will prevent a worn area from accumulating in a single spot.

Rotating Carpets

By rotating your carpet, you will also affect the wear of foot traffic placement. If you rotate your rug on a yearly basis (or for more heavily trafficked areas, every half-year) you will ensure the even wear of the rug.

Padding

Place a high quality rug pad beneath your carpet or rug in order to protect it from wear, dirt, mold, or slippage.

Cleaning

By having your rug or carpet professionally cleaned, you will ensure its protection from bugs, mold, decay, rot, or any of the normal issues that usually affect rugs and carpets. The experts at Aladdin have special technology that can handle rug and carpet cleaning with far more success and efficacy than amateur operations.

Vacuum

By vacuuming your rug or carpet often you will remove any impacted dirt that can cause warping or slow damage, as well as restoring a sense of youth and life to the fibers of the rug. Make sure never to vacuum a rug’s fringe as that can damage it – simply use the end of a canister vacuum’s hose.

Longpile or Shag Rugs

These special rugs have long fibers that can be caught and ripped by the swirling bar of most vacuum cleaners. It’s ideal for these rugs to clean them using a special safe attachment, but you can flip the rug over and clean off the bottom with the usual attachment.

When to know to clean your rug

Published December 8, 2016 By Aladdin

Some people think that when rugs need to be cleaned they can just beat them against a hard railing to get rid of all the dust. However this isn’t the best approach because it doesn’t provide the most thorough clean. Most fine rugs are made of wool. Wool not only acts as a warm surface, but also as a filter for removing dampness, dust, and bacteria from the air. In many ways, a wool rug or carpet acts as an air filter. Unfortunately, that makes them susceptible to becoming quite dirty over time – so dirty that a simple beating won’t work at all to clean it.

How to know it’s dirty enough to warrant a cleaning

If you want to check how dirty your rug is and if it needs a professional clean, pick up a corner of the rug and kick it’s underside.. If dust and wool fiber fly out don’t worry, that’s normal. But if a massive cloud flies out – it’s probably time to get your rug professionally cleaned. Another cleanliness test can be conducted by rubbing the rug’s fabric f or 10 to 15 seconds, and if your hand comes off dirty, it certainly needs a clean.

Cleaning Methods

The best way to clean is by placing a rug in a utility room or area where you don’t mind getting dirty. A somewhat clean outdoor area is the best. First, vacuum both sides of the rug. Then shampoo the rug with cool water and soap – the best kind is a rug shampoo. Never use ammonia or a harsh detergent. Always test the shampoo against any color run in a small area of the rug first. Then use a soft long hair brush or a firm sponge that doesn’t shed. Brush or rub it against the rug in the direction of the weave when it’s fully covered in soapy water. Wash fringes as well, and always brush them away from the rug. Then rinse off the rug with water – you can use a window squeegee to get out all the excess water – but always do so in the direction of the weave. Lay out the rug flat to dry, and once the exposed side feels fully dry, flip it over to allow the other side to dry. If the rug is way too stiff, brush it gently or vacuum it lightly. If the stain still remains, take it to a professional rug cleaner.

Getting Oil off a Carpet

Published June 23, 2016 By Aladdin

If either you or your children make a big mess in the kitchen, it might behoove you to train yourself with some rudimentary carpet cleaning skills. One of the toughest kitchen stains to deal with is grease or cooking oil stains – the good news is we have your back. If you’re trying to deal with a cooking oil or grease stain, check out our tips and tricks on how to remove oil from a carpet.

Step One: Blot

First, blot up as much of the oil as possible. Use an absorbent fabric like a rag or towel – or in a punch, a brown paper bag. Don’t use newspaper because the ink can easily run and make the stain worse. This can help you get rid of the bulk of the stain.

Top Causes of Residential Water Damage

Published May 23, 2016 By Aladdin

It can happen to any household, at any time. There’s a billion ways it can happen. You walk in, and notice that the entire floor is soaked. This is the extreme scenario. In another, common and more subtle version, a small unchecked leak causes thousands of dollars of damage over the course of a long period of time. Here’s the 4 major causes of residential water damage that require professional intervention.

Nature

You can’t help this. Homes in certain locations are more vulnerable than others. Natural disasters like hurricanes or storms can flood your home with water – and if your home is within a flood zone, just a moderate rainstorm can cause rampant overflowing in nearby creeks or streams, causing water to enter your home. Earthquakes or tremors can make your water pipes crack, causing flooding. There’s no way to prevent a natural disaster from happening, but when it does, it’s important to do everything that you can to safely mitigate the damage.

Removing Chocolate Stains from Carpets

Published May 5, 2016 By Aladdin

There’s no doubt about it; chocolate is simply the best. Even if it’s not at the bottom of the food pyramid, we can all agree that chocolate simply makes life better. However, regardless of how yummy it is, we simply can’t deal with indelible chocolate stains on your favorite carpet or rug. Chocolate stains are some of the most deep, hardest to remove stains around. Let’s say you’re already dealing with a chocolate stain; here’s how to treat it.

Carefully Scrape it Off

Since chocolate melts quickly in higher temperatures and quickly solidifies in low temperatures, carpets and rugs can get ruined by melted chocolate that becomes a mold as the temperature drops. If you notice dried chocolate on your rug or carpet, try gently rug cleaning method of scraping it off – the key word is ‘gentle’ as you can cause more structural damage to the rug if you’re too rough. While this won’t completely remove the stain, it will help make it less thick and much easier to handle. This way you know that even if the carpet or rug gets exposed to higher temperatures that the chocolate won’t re-melt and spread, causing a larger stain.