1. Keep your carpet clean. Sand and dirt act little razor blades that cut carpet fibers. Damaged carpet stains more easily, and it’s harder to remove the stains from it as well. Vacuum often to remove dirt, and your carpet will last longer.

2. Use rugs. Put rugs outside and inside the front door, and any other entrances. They can catch much of the dirt that people bring in on their feet. That means less vacuuming and longer carpet life.

3. Remove shoes. This is a sure way to make carpet last longer. If you have a nice home with nice carpet, people usually aren’t offended by this policy.

4. Clean stains quickly and properly. If using a cleaning solvent other than water, apply it to a cloth first, and work it in from the outside of the stain to the center, so you don’t spread the spot. Apply the cleaner, extract (blot), rinse, extract, and repeat until you can’t get more of the stain out. Extract solvents completely, and dry the carpet quickly when you’re done. If there is any stain remaining deeper down in the carpet, quick drying prevents it from wicking up to the surface.

5. A shop-vac. is a great help when cleaning stains. You can’t just suck out the stain, but you can repeatedly wash and rinse the area, and suck the solution out each time. It’s more effective than blotting up the water with cloth, mostly because you won’t have the patience to wash, rinse and extract enough times if you’re using paper towels or cloth.

6. Vacuum before cleaning. If you use a portable machine, at least get the water as hot as you can, and dry the carpet quickly, using fans to move the air around. You won’t match the results of a good truck-mount hot water extraction unit. However, if you want to save money, doing your own cleaning can lengthen the time between expensive professional cleanings.

ProSand receives’ numerous calls every week from customers concerning sunlight damage. Discoloration to hardwood floors are a common problem with large window openings. Customers generally notice discoloration when a rug or large piece of furniture is moved. Yellowing or amber colors are common flooring problems whether pre-finished or site finished.  Once the damage has occurred, the only solution is to sand the floor. A preventive measure is to filter out harsh sunlight  by using a clear protective UV film on the windows. Surprisingly this is a very economical and affordable solution.

When steam cleaning, vapors can and do recombine to form liquid water that sit on and wick into wood. With water wood floors naturally expand and contract. This expansion and contraction result in two major forms of wood deformation: “cupping” and “crowding.”

Cupping (The concave deformation of wood floor) and Crowding (the convex deformation of wood floors) are common issues that develop with high humidity. Both problems occur across the width of the flooring material.

Cupping is when the edges of a board are high and its center is lower. This occurs after water spills onto the floor and is absorbed by the wood. If the wood expands significantly, compression set can result as the boards are crushed together, deforming the boards at the edges.

Cupping is caused by a moisture imbalance through the thickness of the wood: The wood is wetter on the bottom of the board than on the top. Conversely, crowding occurs when the wood is wetter on the top of the board.

The first step in repairing a cupped floor is to identify and eliminate the moisture source. In the kitchen, it may be a leak from the dishwasher or icemaker. From outdoors, it might be the terrain of the lot, with rain and runoff not moving away from the house and foundation. Indoors, the humidity may need to be controlled, or a plumbing leak may be causing excess moisture in the basement, which migrates up into the subfloor and from there into the wood flooring.

Once the source of the moisture is controlled, cupping can usually be cured. The floor may improve on its own as it dries out over time. Other times, fans may be needed to speed the drying process. Once the moisture content has stabilized, the floor can be reassessed. Choices may be to do nothing at all, to recoat the floor, or to sand and refinish the floor.

It should be noted that some slight cupping and crowning may occur naturally, and should be tolerated. The bark side of lumber shrinks and swells more than the side closest to the center of the tree. Largely seasonal in occurrence, it’s common in wider planks. Its appearance can be minimized by using a beveled-edge flooring product with a satin finish, rather than square-edge flooring with a high gloss finish.

For more information on getting your floors fixed, ask your ProSand Flooring specialist.

We recommend using one of the many chemical-free, non-toxic cleaners on the market today, combined with a microfiber applicator pad. We use environmentally-friendly Bona products, which are wax- and silicone-free. These cleaners also contain a drying agent to speed up the drying process, a real plus because moisture and wood don’t mix.

Microfiber pads pick up dirt, dust and moisture instead of just pushing it around. Even better, they’re machine washable, so you can use them again and again.

We like Bona Cleaners so much we give every client an introductory supply and sell it too. It’s also available at Lowe’s, Do It Best Hardware and Target stores.

Splatter areas in the kitchen near the stove and sink, entryways from the outside and entryways to wet or dirty areas, such as a garage, pool or patio, need protection too. Rugs are an easy answer. Make sure when you vacuum the rugs to vacuum underneath as well to remove any grit or dirt that could scratch the floor.

Never Wax a Urethane Floor – If you have a polyurethane finish on your hardwood floors you should never apply a wax. The wax may leave a sticky film on your floor which will attract and hold dirt. Always use the manufacturer’s recommended polishes and cleaners.