Carrara Companies Cleaning & Restoration Services Blog

Halloween Fun Scares Up Carpet Cleaning Nightmares

Each Halloween, trick-or-treating brings smiles, laughter and months worth of candy. But even when the chocolate bars and sticky, gooey candies are eaten, traces of Halloween fun can still be found lurking on our carpets and rugs.

We've listed here some carpet cleaning tips and tricks for removing those scary Halloween stains. (Please remember these are general guidelines, and carpets and rugs with natural fibers or dyes may require special treatment. Never use a circular motion when attempting to remove stains, as it can destroy the texture of the carpet.)

• Chewing Gum: Freeze the gum with an ice cube for about five minutes or until the gum becomes hard. Break up the gum with a dull knife and vacuum the pieces. Detergents containing a citrus base may remove the stickiness of the gum, allowing it to be easily removed.
• Gooey Candy: Using either a dull knife to scrape, or a white paper towel to blot, remove as much of the candy as possible. Using a detergent solution, blot the affected area until it is covered with detergent. You want to avoid any detergents that contain bleach and/or lanolin. Rinse with a spray bottle containing water, blotting until you remove the stain. If this does not completely remove the stain, you may need to moisten the area with a 3 percent hydrogen-peroxide solution. Let it sit for about an hour, and repeat as necessary. Light causes a chemical reaction with the peroxide so you do not have to rinse. Once the stain is removed, use a towel or paper towel to ensure the area is dry.
• Chocolate: Begin as you would with candy, and use a dull knife or paper towel to remove as much as possible. Once completed, mix cool water with ammonia (1 tablespoon of ammonia to ½-cup water) in a spray bottle, and cover the affected area lightly. Blot continuously with a white paper towel until the stain is removed.

Carrara Pressure Washing Practices Featured on Bobvila.com

Carrara Companies president and owner, Justin Sucato, is featured on bobvila.com this week to offer best practices on pressure washing. 

In the article, Justin describes the benefits of two types of pressure washers - electric- and gasoline-powered - the four basic elements of pressure-washer performance, as well as tips on how to determine the best pressure washer for the job, big or small.

Follow this link to check out the article.

Find more information on residential pressure washing or commercial pressure washing from Carrara Companies.

Four Basic Principles to Mold Mitigation

I remember watching an episode of CSI in which the case involved a man found in his home with half his face sunken in and no other apparent trauma. At first, the investigators thought he was a victim of foul play, but after the medical examiner conducted the autopsy, they found the real killer. They went back to his home, and found the smoking gun ... in this case it was a leaky pipe behind a wall. The man had died from mold inhalation over a long period from mold and mildew growing in the interior walls.

After watching this, mold became my new four-letter word. The problem was I did not know what mold actually was, or how to combat it. Molds are microscopic life forms, which occur naturally, both indoors and outdoors. They can settle inside carpet, upholstery, wood, within the ceilings and walls, and tend to collect on damp areas such as on a shower curtains or sinks. It can even get into your heating/ ventilation/ air conditioning (HVAC) system and cause problems and spread.

Most molds are not hazardous, and go about their time breaking down organic components fulfilling nature's cycle. Some molds, such as Stachybotys, are highly toxic. Since molds are fungi, they produce mycotoxins, which are chemicals that may cause toxic responses in humans. These range from simple allergic reactions to respiratory and nervous system disorders, as well as immune system dysfunction.

How do you handle such a problem, and how do you know what to do? This is something, which is not as hard as it seems, if you follow these four basic principles to mold mitigation: Investigate, Remove, Cleanup and Prevention.

• Investigate the area in which the mold is occurring. It is best to know what type of mold you are dealing with so you can properly resolve the situation, and take the steps necessary to prevent it from returning. If it is a small area (10 square feet), most home improvement stores sell self-test kits for around $10. These allow you to test indoor and outdoor exposed areas, and have an optional mail-in lab analysis from an accredited lab telling you the type of mold you have. If the surface area is large, it is best to contact professionals who are trained on the hazards involved. Once you have identified the type of mold you are dealing with, the next step is to treat the cause. Mold needs two things to survive — an organic food source and moisture. If you remove the moisture, the mold cannot grow. Therefore, make sure you fix any plumbing problems right away, and properly clean the affected area making it as dry as possible. Using a dehumidifier to reduce the amount of excess humidity is often required.

• Removal and Cleanup. If the area is small enough, (10 square feet) the 10/1 rule may be applied. This is ten parts water to one part bleach, and will temporarily remove the mold. It is best to return to the home improvement store and purchase a mold mitigation, or cleaning kit, with the proper detergents. Make sure you wear the appropriate protective gear of gloves, goggles, and respirator should you chose to clean the affected area yourself. If the area is bigger than 10 square feet, you should automatically contact a restoration services professional. This is probably the best and safest practice, as these professionals are trained and certified on the removal, cleanup, and restoration of the areas involved.  They will insure the mold and mildew removal is done right and, most importantly, will be performed safely.

• Once removed, prevention is the last and most important step. You do not want to go through the above steps only to have the problem resurface. If the affected area is carpet, it may be best to replace it and move on. Mold can grow in the porous spaces and it is very difficult to remove completely. Until removed, never paint or caulk over the affected areas. Make sure you do not keep organic or porous materials in damp places, which give the mold an opportunity to return. If your basement was an area in question, look into getting it repaired and waterproofed.

Mold can be a four-letter word, but knowing how to properly handle the situation will make it easier to control. Knowing what to do can help you and your family live in a healthier and safe environment. For more information on molds and mildew, check out the EPA's detailed section located on the web.

Todd Ellebruch is the IT/Special Projects Manager for Carrara Companies.

Winterize your Home with Proper Air Duct Cleaning

With the colder months approaching, many of us will spend the majority of our time indoors. But, the indoor air we breathe is often more polluted than the air outdoors.

So when opening windows for fresh air is not an option, air duct cleaning can be an important home-winterizing approach to keep clean air circulating during these next couple of months.

Though no study has proven contaminated air ducts cause health problems, air ducts filled with dust, pollen, animal dander and microbes can circulate these harmful spores throughout your home or office, contributing to allergies or illness.

What’s more, air duct cleaning has been shown by NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaning Association) to improve efficiency and, therefore, heating savings, by 10-30 percent. Dirt — the No. 1 cause for failing heating systems — not only absorbs heat, but also restricts airflow.

To determine whether or not your air ducts need cleaning, check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) checklist.

Once you’ve detected a contaminated system — you’ve inspected your air duct for visible spores, mold and dust — what should you look for in an air duct cleaning company?

•    First, be sure to evaluate their process. Proper cleaning services should include cleaning of all registers, the interior of the ducting, the furnace fan and the interior of the heating and ventilating system. It is extremely important that all components are properly cleaned or else the entire system can be exposed to recontamination.
•    Then, be sure the company uses a high-efficiency filtration system, such as HEPA, to protect your carpet and furniture from the extracted contaminants.
•    Lastly, to be sure your air duct received proper cleaning, review the EPA’s Post Cleaning Consumer Checklist. 

Lyndsey Walker is a PR 20/20 Internet Marketing Consultant and content developer for Carrara Companies.