Candles. There’s nothing more appealing than the sweet scent of a burning candle. Retailers tend to believe that the sweet smell of candles more closely resembles the sweet smell of profits.

After all, candles are big business, with sales of over $2 billion dollars this year alone. It’s nearly impossible to enter a department store, clothing store, drug store or the corner hardware store, without finding candles on display.

Aromatherapy candles have touted relaxation benefits and mind/body healing. But, however soothing candles may be to your mental state, however appealing their odors, and however romantic a mood they set, candles may
be causing irreparable damage to your home.

Candles – scented candles in particular – give off soot as they burn. Soot is a natural by product of burning petroleum products such as wax. Scented candles are made by mixing fragrant oils into the candle wax.

Blow Out the Candles… Quick!

The more oil put into a candle, the stronger the fragrance that is produced. More oil produces more soot while burning. You wouldn’t think that a simple candle could produce that much soot, but if you try this little experiment,
you’ll be surprised and convinced:

Light a candle and hold an old dinner plate about 4 inches above the flame for 30 seconds. The bottom of the plate will be covered in oily, black soot.

The fact is, a scented candle will produce more pollution in one evening than a room full of cigarette smokers. Homes that frequently burn candles are actually causing daily smoke damage to their interior surfaces.

The soot collects on ceilings, light fixtures, electrical outlets, artwork, furniture and walls. As the soot lands on walls, gravity pulls the excess soot to the floor, where it collects on the carpeting around the perimeter of the room.

What was previously believed to be “soil filtration lines” in carpeting, could very well be caused by candles.

In an extreme example, we once inspected a home where the homeowner kept 8 – 10 candles burning constantly. The homeowner was convinced that the furnace was faulty and was the cause of all of her “smoke damage.” It cost the homeowner a small fortune to restore the damage.

Anybody that has tried to remove soot from a hard surface knows how difficult a task it can be. Carpeting and upholstery, which can be highly absorbent, make the task even more difficult. The key is to get the soot cleaned up before it settles and bonds to the fabric.

If you wait too long, it can be nearly impossible to remove.

So, enjoy those candles, but in moderation. If you have any questions, please call us (904) 642-0706.

Call A&C Carpet Cleaning to setup an appointment for your carpet cleaning.

True or False???

#1: It doesn’t matter which method of cleaning is used.
FALSE. The method of cleaning used on your carpet has a great deal to do with how clean your carpet gets (how much dirt and residue is pulled out), how healthy for your family your carpet is and how long your carpet ultimately lasts.

There are basically 2 methods used to clean carpet. One is dry cleaning which consists of using dry power or foam. This method’s benefit (your carpet doesn’t get wet so it doesn’t need to dry) is also its biggest drawback. This method tends to leave dirt & other pollutants behind because the carpets are not rinsed.

The recommended method by the largest carpet manufacturer is the hot water extraction method as the preferred method of carpet cleaning. This method uses high pressure to force hot water cleaning solution into your carpet, then this solution is sucked back out effectively pulling dirt & pollutants from your carpet. The main reason this method works better is that the water is heated to boiling point that easily breaks up the dirt, pollens, pollutants, and bacteria in your carpet. Then using high powered suction to extract all the grim away from your carpet. Hot water extraction, performed by a trained technician with a truck mount unit, is like a deep cleaning and massage for your carpet.

#2: You shouldn’t have your carpets cleaned too often.
FALSE: I’m not saying you need your carpets cleaned every month, but carpet cleaning on a regular basis will serve to make your carpeting last longer and your home to be healthier.

WHY? Dirt & grime are destructive to your carpets. They are abrasive, and every time your walk on your carpets your grind the “sandpaper dirt” into the carpet fibers. This grinding causes carpet fibers to wear out much faster than it should. Regular maintenance like vacuuming helps, but vacuuming alone isn’t enough to pull the dirt and other pollutants out of your carpet.

How often should you get your carpets cleaned? That depends a great deal on how many people and animals you have in your home. As a general rule, if you have young children and pets, you should get them professionally cleaned every 6-8 months. If you don’t have those conditions, you can stretch it out to annually.

There is also your family’s health to consider when deciding how often to have your carpets cleaned. Your carpet is really just a very big filter for all the dust, allergens, bacteria, and grime that find their way into your home. Like any filter, your carpet functions best when its clean. When a carpet is clean, it traps these unwanted guests into fibers. As time goes by, those fibers become full and are no longer very effective in trapping those unseen nasties. This is why, more so than appearance, I believe in the important of regular, effective deep cleaning of carpets.

If you or someone you love suffers from allergies, asthma or other breathing problems, one of the first things you should do is to have your carpets professionally cleaned. A dirty overloaded carpet can be a problem source of irritants for allergy & asthma sufferers. A professionally cleaned & maintained carpet can be an effective tool in the battle against these irritants and allergens:

There are 3 major benefits to regular cleaning:
1. Your carpet will look great
2. Your carpet will last longer
3. You & your family will enjoy a healthier indoor environment

#3: All carpet cleaning companies are basically the same, so I should just go with lowest price.
False: Sadly, this just isn’t true. Too-good-to-be-true low prices are often the doorway to bad experiences when it comes to carpet cleaning. Besides being a tactic employed by less than ethical bait & switch companies, low prices are often the sign of under trained technicians & companies using out dated methods and/or equipment.

The truth of the matter is, despite the coupons, no one can do a good job, much less make a living, cleaning carpets for a low price. Most of my loyal clients have found the tactics of these bait and switch ads, are just to get into the home. After an unethical cleaner has access to the home, the price is dramatically increased for their “deep clean”, or the customer is being pressured into services that are not needed.

#4: I can do just as good a job with one of those do-it-yourself rental machines.
False: The problem with the rental machines is that they do not get the water hot enough to truly get your carpet deeply cleaned, and they do not have the suction power to remove the dirt and grime fully from your carpet.

The cost of a rental machine is generally around $300 and the cost of my professional truck mount machine is $25,000. Which of these machines do you think does a better job? The other question to ask yourself is “How much is your time worth to you?”

After you drive to the store, rent your machine, pay for the non-professional strength chemicals, try and clean the carpets, but then leaving them so wet that it takes days to thoroughly dry, then potentially still calling me because your carpets still didn’t get as clean as you had hoped. Is it really worth it to try and save a few dollars?

Call A&C Carpet Cleaning to setup an appointment for your carpet cleaning.