What are the facts?

Carpet beetles deserve to rank near the top of your list of uninvited guests. These oval-shaped flying insects can ruin your carpets, rugs, upholstered furniture, and clothing as well as cause irritating dermatitis in children and sensitive adults. These are unwelcome guests you really want to“show the door”as quickly as possible.

Life Cycle of a Carpet Beetle
The four life-stages of carpet beetles are egg, larvae, pupae, and adult. Female carpet beetles lay up to a hundred eggs, which hatch into larvae in approximately 35 days. This stage is the most damaging because larvae feed on carpets and clothing. The larval stage lasts 6 to18 months, during which these voracious insects do the most damage. The final part of the larval stage is metamorphosis, after which the adult beetle emerges. Adult carpet beetles can live up to a year.

Identifying Carpet Beetles
The larvae are very small, so it can be difficult to spot them. Larvae look like tiny, hairy worms and prefer dark, undisturbed areas such as under furniture, rugs and in closets. Adult black carpet beetles are black with brown-colored legs, and their length in inches ranges from 1/8 to 3/16. As larvae, these pests shed skin and fecal pellets, each of which can cause allergic reactions in some people. Carpet beetles do not bite people or animals. The irritation caused by contact with carpet beetle larvae can be confused with bites from bed bugs or fleas. Property damage from carpet beetles is very similar to moth damage. Small, irregular-shaped holes in clothes and rugs are a tell tale sign of either a carpet beetle or moth problem. If it is a moth problem, you will usually see moths in the area. Adult carpet beetles prefer to live outdoors and graze on pollen.

Fighting back
Maintaining cleanliness may not be enough to avoid an infestation from carpet beetles. Since these pests can enter on food packages, luggage and on shoes, they are difficult to avoid—especially if you have a pet, as larvae feed on animal fur and dander. Along with vacuuming, professional carpet, rug and upholstery cleaning are essential. Detergent and hot water kill the larvae, so this is an important means of limiting carpet beetle populations indoors. Other recommended measures to reduce the likelihood of a carpet beetle problem are:

• Effective sanitation including routine vacuuming and housekeeping of pantry shelves and pet feeding and sleeping areas helps reduce the breeding sites and food sources;
• Storing items like wool clothing, leather and fur coats in sealed garment bags;
• Checking flowers, patio plants, and any second-hand items carefully before bringing indoors;
• Dry cleaning and using a clothes dryer on high heat to kill carpet beetle larvae in clothing and drapes;
• Ensuring that air ducts are clean and attics and crawl spaces are free of animal nests or carcasses.

Pesticides may be necessary to eliminate an existing infestation. Choose a pesticide designed for carpet beetles and follow label directions. Eliminating a heavy infestation is best left to a professional pest control specialist.

If you suspect that you have a carpet beetle problem or want to avoid one, call A Cleaner Carpet Cleaner so that we can clean your carpet, upholstery and drapery. That is a logical first step to eliminating these destructive invaders.

While you are unlikely to run around your house in an apron happily swiping at dust with a quaint feather dust-er, you probably do have to worry about dust removal. In fact, Americans spend over $10 billion a year on dust removal products. Add in vacuum cleaners, air filters, furnace filters and so forth and it is easy to see that household dust is big business.

But have you ever wondered what is in household dust? Is it just a nuisance or are there health concerns? When it comes to your home looking good and being clean dust is serious business.

The Dangers of Dust
Household dust contains all sorts of things from the outside atmosphere including dust from volcanic eruptions, forest fires, disintegrating meteors, silica, mica, clay and other minerals from wind erosion. Other constituents of dust come from inside the house including human and animal hairs, paper fiber, dead skin, deteriorating paint particles, ash and soot from fireplaces, candles, stoves and furnaces; sugars, starches, salt, crumbs and other food particles.

Some particles are of concern to humans, especially allergy sufferers: pollen, air pollution, pet dander, mold spores, dead insects, dust mites and their waste. There is growing concern about residues from pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers used both inside and outside our homes. Even roadway dust from automobile tires, brake linings and exhaust becomes household dust, and may contain carcinogens. There’s also dust from construction, demolition and deterioration of buildings.

The list goes on and on. In fact, you might just say that almost everything you look at is turning to dust. Need-less to say, there is no way to make your home completely dust-free. But preventing the buildup of dust will make your home a healthier place to live. The good news is that dust control doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s just a matter of changing the way you do a few things.

Following these easy tips will improve your air quality significantly:

• While it is nice to let the fresh air in, keep windows and doors closed when pollen is high or it is windy outside.
• Brush pets outdoors away from the house and use a damp pet wipe to remove remaining dander be-fore allowing them back into the house.
• When cleaning around the house, do your dusting with an electrostatic cloth, duster or damp wipe so you are picking up and removing dust, not just pushing it around.
• When dusting, work from high to low areas and work your way out of the room. Wait about an hour to allow the particles to settle before vacuuming.
• Vacuuming is a great way to remove dust. However, it is important that you use a vacuum cleaner that has an efficient filter system. A vacuum with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration improves air quality while you vacuum.
• Don’t forget to vacuum your furniture too.
• Install a high efficiency filter on your HVAC system and replace it monthly. For added protection, there are air purifiers designed to be attached to your duct system. Generally, these units require profession-al installation by a licensed contractor but they can be worth the cost if you have allergy sufferers in the home.
• When dust becomes bonded to carpet and upholstery fibers by sticky or oily residues it’s time for professional cleaning. Call A Cleaner Carpet Cleaner every 6 to 12 months to keep dust from building up deep in your carpet fibers or your favorite chair.

When you are in the business of cleaning, questions often arise regarding disinfecting and sanitizing. Recent Flu epidemics and the MRSA strain of bacteria have raised concerns among people regarding how to protect from possible infection. Fortunately, antimicrobials offer protection from unseen germs and bacteria on many surfaces. There are three levels of antimicrobials that kill or limit microbes and the spores that they use to reproduce.

Sterilizer
A sterilizer kills 100% of microbes and spores. In the spectrum of antimicrobial activity, a sterilizer is the strongest. Sterilization is impractical for everyday use because bacterial and fungal spores are extremely difficult to destroy. Extreme heat is one method of sterilization, but it is not practical outside of a medical environ-ment. Chemical sterilizers are toxic, corrosive irritants that are not safe for use by the general public.

Sanitizers
To sanitize a surface means to reduce levels of harmful microbes to a safe level. Most chemicals sanitizers have little or no effect on certain bacteria like Tuberculosis, and improper use may create resistant strains of harmful bacteria.

Disinfectants
Disinfectant is an EPA regulated term that can only be used on the label of products that have been tested and proven to kill or destroy at least 99.9% of all micro organisms; this doesn’t mean they destroy spores. There are a variety of disinfectants available to consumers, including common household bleach. Caution must be exercised when using bleach or any other EPA registered disinfectant to follow label directions carefully as misuse can lead to damage to materials or health risks. Disinfectants are named as to what kind of organisms they kill. The suffix cide, meaning “to kill” is added after the type of micro organism it targets. So a bactericide kills bacteria, fungicide kills fungi, and a virucide destroys viruses. Read the label to find out what the product is designed to do.

Making the Choice
What should you use? Since sterilizers are only needed for critical jobs like surgical instruments, we are left with disinfectants and sanitizers. As we have seen, sanitizers do not have the “kill power” that disinfectants do.So why would you choose to use a sanitizer instead of a disinfectant? You make the decision by weighing the risk presented by the micro organisms against the risks involved with the chemical itself. For example, there are chemical sanitizers that are used in commercial kitchens which are designed for treating food preparation surfaces. These products control bacteria on relatively clean surfaces but present almost no risk because of low toxicity. In a hospital things are different with known health issues at stake. People with a variety of sicknesses create the potential for contamination of many surfaces. Also, there are people with compromised immune systems who could become seriously ill from exposure to common microbes. When the risk from infection are greater, the necessity for a high-grade disinfectant becomes apparent. Although these tend to have higher levels of toxicity, the potential risk warrants their use. Your home is similar. Your kitchen counter is generally clean. Therefore keeping it clean usually means simply maintaining a sanitary condition. If you prepare raw meats on the counter you may consider using a good sanitizer/cleaner. In the bathroom a stronger disinfectant might be appropriate. You could also use a surface disinfectant in sick rooms to kill infectious microbes. A clean home is important. But, the most important thing to remember is that all cleaning agents, sanitizers and disinfectants should be stored and used according to the label directions. Failure to do so could cause more harm than good.

You may have seen some of the commercials on television that show a bottle of spot remover that can quickly and easily remove stains from carpet and upholstery like magic. Red wine, ketchup, coffee, fruit punch, spaghetti sauce, grass stains and more are removed in seconds with no rubbing or scrubbing. Just spray and blot!

If only it were that easy!

The truth is that advertisers are not being completely honest with you. The spots are usually on new carpet that is most likely olefin or polyester–two fibers that are difficult to stain. They choose spots that are easily removed by the chemistry of their spotter. The same cleaner on dried mustard on a three-year-old nylon carpet would produce less than stellar results.

In reality, the ease or difficulty of spot removal will vary depending on fiber type, age and condition of the car-pet, age of the spot, the type of stain, and even the cleaning agents and methods previously used on the car-pet.

The first step is to identify the spot. Sometimes you can’t be sure what it is, so with unknown spots, we play“detective.” Using clues like the color, location, texture, odor and shape we figure out what it might be.

The next step is to categorize the spot. There are four categories of spots:

Category 1: Water-soluble
Water-soluble spots respond to water-based solutions. There are several spotting agents that fit into this category. Acid spotters work best on alkaline soils. Alkaline spotters work on common acid-based soils. Enzyme spotters break down protein spots like blood, milk, eggs and grass.

Category 2: Solvent-soluble
Solvent-soluble spots are best treated with solvent-based spotters. This category includes tar, petroleum grease, lipstick, ink, dried paint, gum and adhesives.

Category 3: Insoluble spots
Insoluble spots include substances that cannot be dissolved with water or solvent spotters. Some examples are graphite, carbon, fireplace ash and powdered copier toner.

Category 4: Specialty treatments
Specialty treatments include strong acids, oxidizers, reducing agents and specialized chemical reactions. Rust, food dyes, urine stains and mustard fall into this category.

First things first. Before applying any spotting agent we determine the fiber type. It is important to be sure that the spotting agents and cleaning method will not harm the fiber.

Once we have selected the correct spotter and qualified the fiber content, spot removal will follow 5 basic steps:

1. Remove excess material with scraping or blotting.
2. Apply the appropriate spotter to the spot. Do not oversaturate the carpet.
3. Agitate gently. Never scrub or rub the carpet.
4. Rinse.
5. Blot with a clean white towel.

These are the basic steps. Our techniques, tools and processes will vary depending on your unique situation. Any remaining discoloration after the spot removal is a stain, and will require more expertise and specialized methods.

A Cleaner Carpet Cleaner technicians are experts at identifying, categorizing and treating the spots and stains that other companies can’t. Call us today if you have questions or need help removing spots, odors and stains from your carpet.

Fall is the perfect time to do some maintenance on your home’s exterior. Warm weather and the higher humidity of summer cause materials to shift and expand, then as the weather cools and the humidity decreases the process reverses. This can leave your home with areas that water, pests and rot can penetrate. Now is the time to act.

As Winter Approaches
Paint, caulk, shingles, wood, rubber, vinyl and siding are all affected by high temperature and UV radiation from the sun. As a result, the exterior envelope of your home may not be as “tight” as it was in the spring. As weather gets cooler, materials tend to shrink and harden. Air is drier, resulting in further shrinkage as materials lose moisture. Rubber seals around doors and windows become brittle. Caulk separates from siding and trim, allowing outdoor air and damaging moisture to enter.

The wood around doors and windows can rot. High moisture levels encourage insects and termites to make your home their home. Hidden mold growth on wood, drywall and other porous surfaces causes millions of dollars in structural damage every year. Moisture is the primary cause. You can take a few easy steps to ensure your home is in good shape as winter approaches. Following is a list of things that you can check out and another list the ambitious home owner can do,or which you can hire an inspector to check out for you.

Easy Fall Checkpoints
As fall approaches take a slow walk around your house and check the following:
 Visually check out all windows and doors. Look at the wood trim to ensure it is not rotted or pulling away. Check the caulk to ensure it is flexible and well-sealed. Pound in loose trim nails andre-caulk if necessary. Remove brittle, deteriorated caulk before resealing.
 Check weather stripping to ensure pliability and good seal. If you can see daylight around the door or window then you may need to install new weather stripping.
 Look around windows, doors, soffits and other areas for water intrusion. If you see dark stains or rotted areas you may have a leak and want to call a professional. After the leak is fixed you can replace damaged wood. Or, check out this great product called “Git Rot”, available at marine centers, for repairing rotted wood.
 If you have a basement check it for leaks by touching the wall, especially where it meets the floor. Sometimes, minor water issues can be corrected with sealing paint.

Getting Professional Help
If you are a very handy home owner then do the following checks as well. Otherwise, hire a pro to:
 Have your gutters cleaned and checked. Ensure all downspouts are directed away from your house. If you don’t have gutters, consider having seamless gutters installed; they are actually quite inexpensive compared to other home improvements.
 Have the roof inspected. Many roofing companies will do this for free, just be sure to pick a reputable one. Ensure they look for gaps and issues around the chimney, plumbing stacks and any other roof penetrations.
 If you have a crawl space under your home, hire a professional to crawl under it once a year and check it out for plumbing leaks, structure issues, and animal infestation.

The old saying says that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It can save you a ton of money in the long run as well.