Odors come from everywhere and everything from pets, cooking, smoke, mildew, sports clothing, etc. There is something there that is unpleasant that needs to be cleaned up right away. Of course, clean the troubled area first but remember you don’t want to mask the smell that has been building up, you rather remove it.

1. Have your air ducts cleaned…see our Air Duct and Dryer Vent Cleaning.

2. Thorough cleaning of carpets and upholstery furniture, see Carpet Cleaning and Upholstery Furniture Cleaning.

3. Heavy duty cleaning of walls, wood furniture, cabinets, blinds, draperies, etc. Especially with cooking and smoke smells. There are many methods of removing these areas and items. Check with the manufacturers suggestion of cleaning. Try cleaning an area that is not noticeable to make sure there is no discoloring or its not ruining your items.

4. Painting the walls and ceiling after cleaning them will remove the smells.

5. Pet Urine smells are difficult to completely remove. For this reason, contact Sams Carpet Cleaning & Repairs for an evaluation and estimate. See Pet Urine Removal.

There are plenty of things you can do inside your home to reduce allergen levels, from cleaning and vacuuming regularly to keeping humidity levels low. Here’s an overview of a few simple steps you can take.

1. Keep your home cool and dry by keeping humidity levels below 50%. To maintain this level, you may need to use your air conditioner along with a dehumidifier.

2. Get rid of things that may have gotten wet. If any carpeting in your home gets wet from a flood or a burst pipe, thoroughly clean and dry it within 24 hours. Sams Carpet Cleaning & Repairs can help you with this type of situation with our 24-hour water damage restoration services.

3. Vacuum often. Vacuum at least once a week. A vacuum that has a special double-line bag, a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, or combination of both will trap more of the carpet allergens.

4. Have carpets professionally cleaned. Common household particles, such as dust, pollen, pet dander, etc., fall to the floor. Carpet fibers trap the particles, reducing their continued circulation in the air. Professional carpet cleaning effectively removes dust and allergens from the carpet and helps keep them out of the air we breathe. See our carpet cleaning services.

5. Dust frequently. Clean the hard surfaces and shiny floors in your home weekly with treated dust rags, damp mops, or damp rags. Don’t use a dry cloth or feather duster, since you’ll just fling the allergens in the dust back into the air.

6. Keep furnace filters clean. Regularly clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioners according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Generally, when they’re in use, you’ll need to replace them (or clean them if they are the reusable type) monthly. Also look into our air duct cleaning process.

Every time you dry your clothes in the dryer, always remove the lint from the dryer filter. You can test the filter to see if it’s clean by running hot water over it. The lint filter is made of mesh material and sometimes the hot water just sits on top of the mesh. It doesn’t go through it at all. Dryer sheets sometimes causes a film over that mesh and that’s what burns out heating units. You can’t SEE the film, but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free – that nice fragrance too! The build up is also what causes dryer units to catch fire.

One of the best ways to keep your dryer working for a very long time is to take that filter out, wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every 3-6 months. When the hot water runs through it, you will know that it’s cleaned.

Another way to keep dryers working for a long time, have your dryer vent cleaned. At Sams, we provide this service.

Rotate your furniture occasionally to prevent premature carpet wear and soiling in regular traffic areas of your house.

Carpet should be professionally cleaned before soiling shows and more often with high traffic areas. When carpets and rugs become excessively soiled it will make cleaning more difficult and shorten the carpet’s useful life.

ACT QUICKLY! Most carpets available today has been treated with a stain-resist treatment, so many spills can be removed if immediate action is taken. The longer the delay, the higher the probability of a spill becoming a permanent stain.

Using indoor and outdoor mats at entrances to your home or business will reduce the amount of dirt tracking in to your carpet.

Vacuuming thoroughly and frequently is the most important process to keep your carpets looking fresh and clean. Especially in high-traffic areas and under any area rugs. Removing loose soil while it remains on the carpet’s surface is important so that it is not walked into the carpet pile. The removal of sandy, gritty soil is essential because it can have sharp edges that can cut the carpet fiber and reduce wear life.