December 2018 Client Newsletter

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Why do Spots Come Back?

Naturally, you expect your carpets to look better after cleaning than before. So it may come as a surprise when some of the spots return. There are two reasons that this can happen: re-soiling from various residues and soil-wicking.

Re-soiling

Re-soiling is the result of new soil that is attracted to an oily or sticky residue on the carpet. One of the most common residues is left behind by common spot removers. Some of the products sold at grocery and home improvement stores can leave behind sticky, soil-attracting residues, especially when they are over-applied or not thoroughly rinsed.

Other residues that cause rapid resoiling are food grease, animal body oils, adhesive-tape residue, petroleum-based oils, moisturizing lotion, hair-spray, tanning oil, and sugar from spilled drinks. Once the visible soil is cleaned away from these areas, the carpet will look clean. However, the invisible residue acts as a soil magnet, leading to rapid re-soiling. This can take days or even a few weeks to occur.

Soil-wicking

Soil-wicking is another, common reason that spots reappear after cleaning.

Soilwicking is a result of how carpet is made and how it dries. Carpet is made up of multiple layers. Each of these layers plays a role in soil wicking. The yarns that you see in the face of the carpet are stitched into a thin, woven fabric called the primary backing. This primary backing can be seen by parting the fibers of the carpet and looking down between the rows of yarns.

During “normal” carpet cleaning, the intent is to clean the face yarns only. But sometimes spots, spills, and pet urine penetrate the primary backing. If you look at the back of the carpet, you will see the secondary backing, a coarser, stiffer woven material designed to give the carpet more strength and stability. The secondary backing creates a capillary action that can spread a spill out to a much larger area than you see on the surface. Just a 2-4 ounce spill can create a 12-inch diameter spot on the back of the carpet.

Between the primary and secondary backings, there is a layer of latex adhesive holding it all together. Some spills can penetrate into this layer and dry. These deposits can be “reactivated” by normal cleaning and wick to the surface of the carpet fibers during the normal drying process. These returning spots can be as much of a surprise to your carpet cleaning professional as they are to you.

The reason the spots return has to do with the mechanics of capillary action. As carpet dries, water evaporates from the tips of the carpet yarns, drawing some of the remaining moisture behind it. If there is any kind of soil or spill at the base of the yarns or in the backing, it too can be drawn up to the yarn tips. Unfortunately, while water readily evaporates, soils do not. So the spots that were hidden in the backing system are now at the top of the carpet where they can create a visibly noticeable spot. Correcting recurring spots may simply require a thorough rinse. Other times, specialized cleaning agents and more intensive cleaning techniques are needed.

While we do our best to prevent recurring spots, it does happen sometimes. If you ever see a spot come back after Professional Carpet Systems cleans your carpet, please call us as soon as possible so we can return and properly address the situation. Once we find the cause, we’ll use special techniques to correct it and leave your carpet spotless again.

November 2018 Client Newsletter

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Food Spills on Carpet.

A Few Do’s and Don’ts

You vacuum twice a week, like clockwork. You ask everyone to take their shoes off at the door, leave your muddy shoes on the garage stoop, and toss your throw rugs in the washer every weekend. You do your level best to keep dirt outside where it belongs and pollutants inside your home to a minimum.

But no family is perfect.

Despite your best efforts at keeping spaghetti in the kitchen and dirt in the garden, no matter how careful you are, sooner or later it will happen. Someone will spill food or drink onto your carpet. You may see it the second it happens, or you may not spot it until it has dried and set. Either way, you will panic. You will fear that your beautiful carpet is ruined forever.

And you will wonder what to do.

What you need to know is that whether a simple spill comes out or becomes a permanent stain depends just as much on what you don’t do as what you do. Here are a few recommendations to help increase your chances of a successful stain treating outcome:

DO NOT rub or scrub the carpet with a towel or brush. This will distort the face yarns and cause permanent damage to the surface, which will only amplify the look of any stain.

DO pick up any chunks and then remove the excess liquid by gently blotting or scraping up as much of the spill as you can. If it is a liquid, such as coffee, wine or soda, use a white towel and blot up as much of the spill as possible. Keep blotting until your towel stops absorbing liquid.

DO NOT spread the spot. When scraping up thick spills, such as spaghetti sauce, work gently from the outside edges of the spot toward the middle. Scrape up as much as possible before using any spot cleaners.

DO call a reputable professional cleaning company as soon as possible. Experienced carpet cleaners will have a specialty spotter for just about any type of spill. In addition, they will have the equipment to promptly remove the stain and flush it with fresh water. Prompt professional attention is your best chance to remove spills without damaging the color or texture of your carpet.

DO NOT use cleaning agents from the grocery store. Most often, these products are low quality and ineffective. But even high quality products still need to be used carefully. A cleaning product must be carefully chosen for the type of spot and the kind of fabric that your carpet is made from. If you try to use the wrong product, or use it incorrectly, you may make the spill more difficult or even impossible for even the most experienced professional to remove.

While nobody can guarantee that every spot and stain will come out, by following these tips you will make cleaning up spots and spills much easier. You will be more likely to remove the stain completely, leaving your carpet looking good and helping your carpet to look good for years to come.

 

October 2018 Client Newsletter

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Water Damage

An absorbing subject

Water intrusion into your home or business can quickly cause significant damage from water absorption into structural materials, furnishings, cabinetry, and woodwork. Act fast and call Professional Carpet Systems if your home or business should suffer a water intrusion. Waiting only increases the severity of the damage and expense.

One of the first things we do when we arrive is to remove as much water as we can. After removing bulk water, our focus turns to drying wet structural materials and contents. This requires an understanding of how water affects different materials.

Concrete, ceramic tile and stone are examples of materials that can remain wet indefinitely without damage. Other materials like structural wood framing and wood subfloors can be saturated for hours or even a few days without permanent damage if they are properly dried and cleaned.

Hardwood floors will show signs of swelling and damage within the first few hours of a water intrusion. If not addressed quickly and properly, hardwood floors begin to swell, cup and eventually buckle, requiring replacement or expensive repairs.

The rate at which building materials absorb and hold moisture depends on porosity and permeability.

Porosity is a measure of how much open space there is within a material. These open spaces can be large and visible, such as in a sponge, or much smaller such as in a piece of wood. Even granite and marble are somewhat porous, so water can pass into and through these seemingly impenetrable materials.

Permeability is a measure of how easily moisture or water vapor can be absorbed into materials. Highly permeable materials like drywall absorb water quickly. Semi-permeable materials like wood studs and floors take longer to absorb water. Low permeance materials such as concrete, hardwoods and natural stone resist moisture absorption the longest.

Generally, highly permeable materials that readily absorb moisture can be dried quickly and easily. Low permeance materials like marble and granite absorb moisture slowly, but once they do, it is much harder to remove absorbed moisture.

Drywall is very absorbent due its high permeability and porosity. Water on the floor can wick up two feet or more into drywall through capillary action. Absorbed water reduces the integrity of drywall making it soft and easily damaged.

Mold is another concern. Most drywall has a layer of thick paper on the outside. When drywall remains moist for an extended period, mold grows on the surface and inside wall cavities, creating a health risk to occupants in the building.

Structural wood can absorb up to 30% of its weight in water. If this water is removed quickly and properly, damage is minimal. Mold will begin to grow on wood that remains abnormally moist for an extended period. Drying materials as quickly as is practical minimizes damage and prevents mold growth.

Hardwood floors, cabinets and woodwork require special care.

Permanent damage such as shrinking, cracking and warping will occur if hardwood materials are dried too rapidly. We use specialized drying equipment and methods to remove moisture from these deeply saturated, low-permeance materials to avoid causing additional damage.

The trick in managing all of these drying challenges lies in understanding the different materials and how water affects and moves through them. We use electronic moisture meters to monitor material moisture content, surface temperatures, humidity levels and air temperature along with professional drying equipment. This level of expertise enables Professional Carpet Systems to dry structures and contents effectively, saving expensive replacement and rebuilding costs. That’s why we should be your first call if your home or business ever suffers a water intrusion.

 

September 2018 Client Newsletter

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How to enjoy better air quality at home

Fall is a glorious time of year. The weather is getting a bit cooler and the days a bit shorter. If you are like most Americans, your family is spending more time indoors as the outdoor activities of summer wind down. That’s why right now is a great time to think about your indoor air quality.

Air pollution is a major concern in the U.S., especially near heavily populated areas. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that indoor air is often 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. How can this be? And can you do anything to help?

The amount of air pollution in your home is affected by several factors and there are many sources of pollution. Some of these sources come from outside your home. Other sources come from inside. Some you can control; others you can’t.

Outdoor pollutants and allergens enter your home by infiltration and ventilation, directly affecting the air in your home. Pollutants like car exhaust, pollen, smoke, insecticides, fertilizers and mold spores hitch a ride into your home on air currents, your clothing, shoes, hair, and pets.

When these pollutants settle on surfaces outside, wind, rain, and sunshine combine to neutralize, sweep and wash them away. Unfortunately, this is not the case inside your home. These same pollutants tend to accumulate inside your house on doors, furnishings, surfaces and in the air.

Because we live, eat, sleep, play and often work in our homes, we generate a significant amount of allergens and pollutants from inside our homes too. Did you know that you shed around a million dead skin cells every day? These dead cells are a food source for dust mites as well as other microbial life forms. Dust mite feces and dead dust mites are potent allergens and every home has millions of them. Housepets also contribute to indoor air quality issues.

Then there are the sticky and oily residues from cooking gases that eventually settle on surfaces. Certain types of furniture, plastics, and textiles also release gases that can affect indoor air quality. If you have a furnace that burns fuel such as gas, oil, or wood, by-products of combustion add to the problem.

After all of this, you may wonder if it is safe to stay in your home. Don’t be alarmed. There is a lot you can do to improve indoor air quality. Invest high-quality air filters for your HVAC (heat, ventilation, air-conditioning) system. These lters are rated based on their e ciency at trapping tiny particles. The rating is called MERV. The higher the MERV rating, the more e ective the lter.

Professional duct cleaning helps to remove contaminants that accumulate on the inner surfaces of your HVAC system.
Use a vacuum cleaner equipped with HEPA ltration. HEPA lters trap the smallest particles including dust mite feces, dead skin, pollen and mold spores. Other vacuum cleaners simply spew these tiny particles back into the air, making matters worse.

Use bathroom exhaust fans and range hoods to remove excessive humidity and cooking gases that can contribute to indoor air pollution. High humidity encourages bacteria and mold growth.

Cleaning carpets, upholstery, and area rugs returns them to a healthful condition and improves indoor air quality by removing pollutants and allergens that bond to these surfaces.

Cleaning your carpets, rugs and upholstery right now makes perfect sense. You are going to be spending more time indoors. You and your family deserve a clean, healthy home. If you have guests visiting for the holidays, your home will look, smell and feel fresh and clean.

Call Professional Carpet Systems today to schedule your fall cleaning. You and your family will breathe easier.

August 2018 Client Newsletter

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Deodorization After a Disaster…

How the pros do it

Whether we are dealing with property damage from water intrusion, storms or fires, odors can become a problem if not handled correctly. Unpleasant odors are sometimes an indication of a potentially infectious, hazardous or unsanitary condition. Bad odors can also cause psychological or emotional stress and even physical discomfort. Lingering odors may be an indication that there was unseen damage that must be addressed. As professionals, we have not done our job unless odors are effectively eliminated to the fullest extent possible.

Spraying deodorants and perfumes simply masks odors temporarily. Odor masking is not effective for long-term deodorizing success. Effectively eliminating odors requires an understanding of the principles of deodorization. The type of odor neutralizer and application process must be chosen based on the source of the odor, type of materials affected and the degree of odor penetration. To avoid a recurrence of the malodor, we use the following 4 step procedure:

Step 1: Find and remove the source. Odor is an effect.  Since every effect has a cause, our first challenge is to find and remove the cause. Imagine there is a carcass of a rodent inside your wall. In order to get rid of the odor, we have to find and dispose of the carcass. If the odor comes smoke, we must try to find the location of any burned or charred material and remove it. If the odor is from a water intrusion, say from a broken pipe, we must first dry the structure before we can treat any remaining odor. The same applies to odors from sewage, and mold. The source must be removed or neutralized before proceeding.

Step 2: Clean the affected area to remove any remaining odor-causing residue. We start cleaning in the source area and work outward until all residues are removed. Residues can be sticky or oily residues, crystallized materials or dust and soot. The type of residue and the material you are cleaning determines the cleaning method. For instance, removing soot from a brick wall requires different cleaning agents, tools and techniques than removing soot from silk drapes. Depending on the odor, source removal and meticulous cleaning may be all that is required. If not, we move on to the next step.

Step 3: Recreate the conditions of penetration. Recreate the conditions of penetration. This is where specialized equipment is often required. For example, if the odor is from smoke, it may have penetrated into wood, fabrics, drywall and many other porous and semi-porous materials. Any deodorizing products we use must penetrate the materials in the same manner as the smoke odor penetrated in order to neutralize the odors.

If odors have migrated into areas that are inaccessible, it may be necessary to use specialized fogging equipment, electronic oxidation, or dry vapor equipment. Generally, odors caused by mold and sewage will require the removal of porous non-structural materials such as drywall. This may be followed up by the application of a disinfectant solution to the remaining structural materials. In most cases, properly applying steps 1 through 3 will achieve the desired results. If there is still an odor, we proceed to step 4.

Step 4: Seal the affected material.  Sometimes odors penetrate into materials to the degree that it is impossible or impractical to remove them completely. In these situations, it is necessary to apply a topical sealant to encapsulate the odor causing molecules and prevent them from evaporating into the air. If the molecules can’t reach your nose, you won’t be able to smell them. The type of sealer we choose depends on the type of material, the nature of the odor source and the degree of penetration into the material.

If you have tough odor problems and need assistance, please call Professional Carpet Systems, and we will be happy to help.

July 2018 Client Newsletter

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Carpet Beetles.  What are the facts?

Carpet beetles deserve to rank near the top of your list of uninvited guests. These oval- shaped ying 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 to 18 months, during which these voracious insects do the most damage. The nal 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 di cult 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 eas.

Property damage from carpet beetles is very similar to moth damage. Small, irregular-shaped holes in clothes and rugs are a telltale 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 di cult 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 owers, 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 Professional Carpet Systems
so that we can clean your carpet, upholstery and drapery. That is a logical first step to eliminating these destructive invaders.

June 2018 Client Newsletter

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In Case of Fire, RACE and PASS!

You think it will never happen to you, but there are over 300,000 house res in the United States every year. It makes sense
to be prepared. The most important thing you can do is to have working smoke detectors on every level of your home. An early warning is your best defense against a house re.

Taking the right steps in the event of a house re could save your home and even your life. Make sure that all adults and older children understand how to RACE and PASS if there is a re. This doesn’t mean RACE around the house in a panic and PASS your spouse on your way out the door! RACE and PASS are simply memory aids for what you should do in case of a re.

R.A.C.E.

R is for Remove. Remove all occupants from the area of the fire.

A is for Alert. Alert the authorities; call 911.

C is for Contain. Close windows and doors to contain and smother the fire.

E is for Extinguish or Evacuate. Which one? That depends on the stage of the fire.

A house re goes through 4 stages:

Stage 1: Incipient. The fire is just starting and there is a good chance of extinguishing it.

Stage 2: Growth. The fire spreads to other combustible materials. You should evacuate.

Stage 3: Developed. The hottest, most deadly stage; evacuation is your primary objective.

Stage 4: Decay. The fire is running out of fuel or oxygen but still smolders; a deadly backdraft is possible.

If the fire is beyond the incipient stage and spreading rapidly, you should evacuate and let the fire department handle it. A deadly flashover is imminent! If you are con dent that you can safely extinguish the fire, do so only after you have gotten people out of the area, sounded the alert, called 911 and contained the fire if possible. Make sure you have an escape route. Then use a portable re extinguisher to put out the fire using the PASS method.

P.A.S.S.

P is for Pull. Pull the pin out of the handle.

A is for Aim. Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire.

S is for Squeeze. Squeeze the handle to discharge the extinguisher.

S is for Sweep. Sweep from side to side at the base of the fire.

Remember, portable re extinguishers are designed for use during the incipient stage when the likelihood of successfully extinguishing the fire is greatest. During the growth stage of a fire, a portable extinguisher can be useful for escape.

Keep portable re extinguishers in strategic locations of your home such as the kitchen, utility areas, garage and storage rooms. Contact your local re department for recommendations about the type, size and number of re extinguishers needed in your home. Familiarize yourself with how your fire extinguishers work.

The fire is out. Now what?

This is where Professional Carpet Systems can help, so make us your first call. After a home has suffered even a small fire, proper cleanup needs to be done. There may be re extinguisher residue, charred materials and smoke residue to clean up. Water-damaged contents, floors, walls and structural materials need to be dried and cleaned. Strong, lingering odors often require a combination of techniques for successful treatment.

Professional Carpet Systems will work directly with your insurance company to make sure your house is clean, dry and odor-free. We hope you never have to make that call, but if you do, we’ll be there to help.

 

May 2018 Client Newsletter

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Total Carpet Care

What you need to know to get the most out of your investment

There is nothing like new carpet. It smells new, feels soft and fluffy, looks beautiful and makes a perfect statement about your style and taste. Compared to other floor coverings, carpet is relatively inexpensive to buy and install. Still, your carpet represents a sizeable investment in your home or business.

In order to get the most out of your carpet, you need a total carpet care program. A total carpet care program is a “retailer to-recycling” approach to carpet care. To be effective, the program should include proper selection, professional installation, daily soil control, interim maintenance, scheduled restorative cleaning and the application of an appropriate carpet protector. The following tips can help you develop a simple carpet care program.

Carpet selection and professional installation–It may be “too late” for the carpet you already have, but carpet selection is an important part of making sure your carpets perform as expected. Some fibers are more resilient than others. Certain colors look cleaner longer because they hide soils better. Pile height, face weight or density and carpet construction all play a factor in how well your carpet will hold up. In a future issue, we will do an entire article on carpet selection and proper installation. For now, let’s focus on the carpet you already have.

Soil control: Prevent soils from getting on the carpet by using walk-off mats and keeping walkways and hard floors clean. If you remove your shoes when entering and wear clean house shoes, you will stop much of the soil from ever entering the home.

The most damaging soils are dry, gritty particulate soils that abrade and dull the surfaces of carpet fibers. This leads to an overall loss of luster in the high traffic areas. Regular use of a well-maintained vacuum cleaner is the single most important part of a total carpet care program. Remember to change vacuum cleaner bags when they are about half full.

Prompt attention to spots and spills is also highly important. Spots can eventually become permanent stains if allowed to age and oxidize on the carpet. It is best to attend to food and drink spills immediately. We will cover simple spot and spill removal techniques in a future article.

Interim maintenance: Some areas simply require more attention than others. The main entry of the home and the high traffic areas in the family room or just outside the kitchen tend to collect the greatest amount of soils. In most cases, it makes sense to clean these traffic areas between regularly scheduled cleanings. Maintenance cleaning usually goes quickly, dries fast and involves little or no furniture moving, so it is far less disruptive to your daily routine.

Scheduled professional cleaning: There comes a time when your carpet requires deep, restorative cleaning. This should be done before soil becomes visibly noticeable. By the time you see soil buildup, damage is already being done to the fibers. How often you need professional deep cleaning depends on several contributing factors including the number of occupants, presence of pets, vacuuming frequency, lifestyle and other considerations.

Protector application: Virtually every carpet manufactured in America comes with a factory–applied protector. Over time, this protector wears off and your carpet loses its ability to resist common household spots, spills and stains. It is important that this protective finish be reapplied after every professional cleaning. Your carpets will stay beautiful and last years longer.

Call Professional Carpet Systems for more information on making your carpet last longer or to schedule your next carpet cleaning. We are happy to help.

April 2018 Client Newsletter

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Flood Insurance…Are YOU Covered?

Believe it or not, everyone lives in a potential flood zone. You don’t have to be near a river, lake or ocean to be flooded. Floods can be caused by storms, melting snow, hurricanes, water backup due to inadequate or overloaded storm drains, as well as broken water mains.

For the purposes of insurance, the term “flood” means:

• “A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of 2 or more acres of normally dry land area or of 2 or more properties (at least 1 of which is the policyholder’s property) from: overflow of inland or tidal waters; or unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or mudflow; or

• Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined above.” (source FEMA National Flood Insurance Program)

You may be surprised to find out that flood damage is not covered by most homeowners’ insurance policies. Sadly, this can lead to devastating losses, both financial and emotional.

You should consider protecting your home, business, and belongings with flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) whether your flood risk is high or low. With very few exceptions, anyone in a community that participates in the NFIP can buy building and/or contents coverage.

It is a good idea to buy even in lower risk areas because 25 to 30 percent of flood insurance claims occur in low and moderate risk areas.

Flood insurance is very affordable. The lowcost Preferred Risk Policy is ideal for homes and businesses in low-to-moderate-risk areas. Homeowners can insure buildings and contents for as little as $119 per year and renters can insure contents for as little as $39 per year.

About 90 private insurance companies nationally offer affordable flood insurance backed by the federal government. Policies are available to homeowners, renters, and Flood insurance is easy to get through private insurance companies and independent insurance agents. You can even purchase flood insurance with a credit card.

Contents coverage is separate, so renters can also insure their belongings. Up to $100,000 contents coverage is available for homeowners and renters. If you own your home or business, make sure to ask your insurance agent about contents coverage. It is not included with the building coverage.

There is usually a 30-day waiting period before coverage goes into effect. Plan ahead so you are not caught without insurance if a flood threatens your home or business.

But doesn’t the federal government help people who have suffered a flood? Federal disaster assistance is only available if the President declares a disaster. And in many cases, the assistance is a loan that must be paid back with interest. Flood insurance pays even if a disaster is not declared. And of course, you never have to pay it back.

Unfortunately, the possibility of flooding is an unpredictable fact of life for property owners. Dealing with the aftermath of even a small flood can be overwhelming.

We hope you never have to go through flooding in your home. But if you do, call Professional Carpet Systems as quickly as possible. We will work directly with your insurance provider to help minimize the damage and restore your home.

March 2018 Client Newsletter

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Here’s our March 2018 Client Newsletter!

 

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Bacteria, Fungi Spores, Oh My!

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 o er 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 di cult to destroy. Extreme heat is one method of sterilization, but it is not practical outside of a medical environment. 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 microorganisms; 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 microorganism 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 microorganisms 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.