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Grout Color Sealing!

Grout Color Sealing!

Hey, Cincinnati! Did you know that color seal is the best way to restore damaged grout lines without having an extensive remodeling expense!?
Have you been trying to clean, and trying to clean AGAIN, and then trying to clean YET AGAIN that grungy grout?  If all cleaning attempts have failed, there IS another option!
Yes, Grout Color Sealing could very well be the way to go to restore your grout without a massive remodel! It is DEFINITELY worth looking into and we at Cincinnati Maintenance are happy to provide you with an estimate to bring your tile and grout back to beautiful life!
Here’s some more info:

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Two Reminders to Protect your Floors & Carpet During this Insane Weather!

Two Reminders to Protect your Floors & Carpet During this Insane Weather!

It’s nice, it’s ugly, it’s sunny, it’s rainy, it’s icy, it’s rainy again, it’s sunny, it’s ugly, it’s nice, it’s icy, it’s rainy again. Ugh! Crazy Cincy weather!
Here are two important reminders to protect your floors and carpets during this time of ever-changing weather in Cincinnati:

  1. Salt, rock salt or other ice-melting compounds are baaaaaad for floors and carpet! Tracked in, it can get ground in to your nice hardwood and it also can really damage carpet and rug fibers. Be SURE to have an mat outside your door as well as one inside to get rid of salt before it gets tracked in. Another note: ice-melting mixtures can be poisonous to pets – so be mindful! Vaccum up any rock salt that gets indoors right away.
  2. Mud gets tracked in during this rainy time! Yuck! The best thing to do for mud or clay on your carpet is to scrape up what you can with either a plastic spatula or plastic spoon. Allow the remaining soil to dry and then vacuum it up. Most of the time, this process works. Just keep in mind, you don’t want to force the soil into the carpet any further, so try to avoid smearing or rubbing the dirt when wet.

If you have any questions about floor or carpet care or you need our cleaning assistance, Cincinnati Maintenance is just a phone call away – (513) 827-6150.

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It's Not Madness! It's our March Specials!

It's Not Madness! It's our March Specials!

It’s a fun time of year for basketball fans – MARCH MADNESS! We have a bit of “madness” of our own – not really, IT’s NOT MADNESS – IT’s OUR MARCH SPECIALS at Cincinnati Maintenance – Cincinnati’s expert for carpet and upholstery cleaning, tile and grout care, hardwood care, dryer vent cleaning, and more!

$50 Dryer Vent Cleaning when Combined with Any Other Service

$25 Off a Service for all NEW CLIENTS – tell your friends!

SERVING GREATER CINCINNATI WITH:

  • Low Moisture Carpet Cleaning
  • Upholstery Care
  • Tile and Grout Cleaning & Restoration
  • Area Rug Cleaning
  • Dryer Vent Cleaning and Maintenance
  • Tile Color Sealing

Contact us today!

Offers Expire March 31, 2017 – Minimums Apply, May Not be Combined with any Other Offers

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How to Quickly Address a Coffee Spill

How to Quickly Address a Coffee Spill

Oh, man! A coffee spill on your carpet. Great way to start the day, huh?
Addressing a coffee stain can be very tricky. Depending on the type of coffee, it has the potential for permanently staining fibers. Did you know that deluxe or supreme blended coffee as well as decaf coffee all have artificial dyes to make the color uniform? (Makes you think, doesn’t it?)
To try to take care of it yourself, we at Cincinnati Maintenance recommend a two-part approach:
First, blot with a clean towel to get up what you can. Now, you will need two spray bottles. Fill the first one with water and one drop of liquid dish detergent. Fill the other bottle with equal parts of water and white distilled vinegar. Spray the area with the detergent mixture and use another clean towel to blot the stain. You may also use a brush to “tamp” the spot. Once you no longer see the coffee spot, spray the vinegar/water mixture on the carpet and blot. Remember, less is more. Using too much detergent will leave a residue. We do not recommend any type of oil-based cleaning agent. For example, WD-40 will definitely leave a residue behind if not properly rinsed (which is hard in itself to do!)
If the coffee stain is on a light-colored carpet and there is still a little color, you can MIST 3% hydrogen peroxide over the spot and blot. And, we mean mist only. You cannot use too much because it is a bleaching agent.
As always, feel free to contact Cincinnati Maintenance to discuss your carpet and upholstery cleaning needs, schedule an appointment, or receive a free estimate.
 

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That Delicious Goodness Isn't So Good for your Carpet and Furniture

That Delicious Goodness isn't so Good for your Carpet and Furniture

We’ve all done it. You know, had a delcious, buttery piece of corn on the cob on your plate and began carrying it to the couch to eat while watching your favorite TV show. Oops, the corn rolls right off the plate, hits the couch and then lands on the carpet. Ugh!
When dealing with oily spots or spills, corn starch or baking soda will be your best friend. They will absorb most if not all of the oil.  The main trick is to take care of the oily stain immediately!
Here are some simple steps to follow get that butter or oily stain out:
First, try to scrape off as much of the oily offender as you can.  The back of a butter knife is a great tool for this.
Then, sprinkle the stain with baking soda or cornstarch.  Let the absorbent baking soda (or cornstarch) sit there for maybe half an hour. Be SURE to vacuum it up thoroughly. Hopefully at this point, most of the oily residue has been lifted.
Time to clean it now with water and a mild dishwashing liquid. NOTE: always, always, always test your cleaning mixture in an inconspicuous spot before applying to carpet or upholstery. Use a white cloth to apply the soapy mixture and a new cloth to rinse well with water. Always blot, don’t rub.
If the oily stain is persistent, please feel free to call Cincinnati Maintenance for advice or to have us come out and take care of it for you!
 

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Your Furniture is Important, too!

Your Furniture is Important, too!

Your furniture is important, too!
So, how often should you clean your upholstery? We at Cincinnati Maintenance recommend professionally cleaning upholstery every 8-12 months. Especially for people who have pets or small children.
People eat on their couches, they sweat on their couches, dogs and cats sleep or lie on the couches (think pet dander, hair and drool — ewww!).  In fact, upholstery, for the most part, can be dirtier than carpet!
Look at it this way: how often do you vacuum your carpets? Now, how often do you vacuum your upholstery?  People sit on their furniture just as often as they walk on the carpet the furniture is placed on, but it’s likely that the carpet gets vacuumed far more often…
Add your furniture to your vacuuming schedule and have your upholstery professionally cleaned a minimum of once per year.  It will make a tremendous difference in the cleanliness, look and lifespan of your furniture!
 

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Having Carpet Installed? Things to Know

Having Carpet Installed- Things to Know

New home? Remodeling? Great! It’s an exciting time and “picking out” carpet and other features is a lot of fun. When it’s time for your carpet to be installed, here are a few things to know:
Have your old carpet removed and properly disposed of – if possible, recycle!
There is a great website for Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) that can assist you in finding proper disposal means in your area.
Decide on who will do your installation. 
Most likely, where you purchase your new carpet provides installation or recommedations for installers.  Be sure to look for professional installers who are certified and who follow professional protocals for carpet installation.
Be sure to keep fresh air moving after installation.
Ventilate the area well where your new carpet has been installed by opening windows and running fans or the fan of your AC. The new carpet “smell” will dissipate quickly with proper ventilation.
Care for your new carpet!
Always vacuum your carpet on a regular timetable, and Cincinnati Maintenance‘s recommendation is to have it deep cleaned by a professional a minimum of once per year (twice is better if you have children and/or pets).

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A Little Bit about "Wicking" – What is It and How to Deal with It

A Little Bit about "Wicking"

So, let’s talk about “wicking.”  On Monday we blogged about low moisture carpet cleaning. Cincinnati Maintenance is a big believer in this type of carpet cleaning which is also called encapsulation. You can see from that blog that we usually adhere to this type of cleaning because it dries fast, is non-toxic, and does not create a large “footprint” in the enviroment.
But, there is another reason we employ the encapsulation technique when serving our residential and commercial clients. It’s called “wicking.”
And, you don’t want it. Wicking, that is.
Have you ever had your carpets cleaned – particularly a specific stain – and it looks great but in a few days, that stubborn stain mysteriously shows back up? Frustrating, huh?  Well, THAT’S wicking.
Wicking is caused when a stain is created – usually from a spill – and it has penetrated deep into the carpet.  Then, when the carpet cleaned – commonly by a “wet” (water) extraction method – the part of the stain that has deeply penetrated the carpet is not completely removed.  After this type of cleaning is performed and the carpet has dried, the residual portion of the soiled area “wicks” its way to the surface of the carpet fibers.
Then, BAM! The carpet looks bad again because the stain has creeped back up to rear its ugly head.
With Cincinnati Maintenance’s green, low moisture technology, dry time is often only 45-90 minutes and also prevents that nasty wicking or reappearance of stubborn stains.

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After a Professional Cleaning, Who Wants their Carpets to Dry FAST?

After a Professional Cleaning, Who Wants their Carpets to Dry FAST?

After you have a professional come out to clean your carpets, do you want the carpets to dry quickly so you can get back to your normal household or business routine?  Well, sure you do! 
Cincinnati Maintenance knows that low moisture cleaning – called encapsulation – is the most advanced way to clean and maintain carpet in your home or business. Low moisture technique solves many problems commonly associated with carpet cleaning. Among these are waiting hours and hours for the cleaned area to dry, possible exposure to unwanted or unsafe chemicals, and – for the environmentally conscious – having a tremendous water-wasting footprint.
The great news is, with encapsulation, carpets dry fast! Really fast.  Homeowners are happy because “regular life” carries on and commercial clients are happy because their place of business has very few interuptions and no fear of a slip-and-fall hazard.
And, guess what? Most all encapsulation cleaners are PH balanced.  Not only are they safe for all carpet fibers, but they do not require the application of rinsing agents.  The carpet is fresh and there is no sticky residue that attracts unwanted soil.
Lastly, Cincinnati Maintenance continues to be on the cutting edge of green cleaning technologies.  Our low moisture cleaning is enviromentally responsible by cutting out waste of thousands of gallons of water, as well as being safe, effective, and clean without causing environmental hazards or exposing anyone to toxicity.

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Which Comes First? Do You Dust Before You Vacuum or Vacuum Before You Dust?

Which Comes First?

Ask people this question: Do you dust before you vacuum or vacuum before you dust?  You will get a plethora of answers – and different rationalizations for each anwer.
The same goes for baseboards. Should you clean the baseboards before you vacuum or after?
Well, if inquiring minds really want to know, this is what we at Cincinnati Maintenance recommend:
Dust first, then vacuum. Why? Pet hair, dander, dust, and other allergens are are always “floating” in your home, even if you can’t always see them. A good rule of thumb when cleaning is to wipe down your home’s surfaces first  – on a side note, we always recommend using microfiber cloths for dusting and other surface cleaning.  These help trap the particles and allergens in the cloth.
What you don’t want to do is vacuum, then dust, and then watch your surfaces appear dusty once more when the disturbed particles settle once again.
Neither notion of “which comes first” will ensure that all dust in the home is removed, but dusting and cleaning the baseboards first will trap most of the dirt and dust in your microfiber cloths, and then vacuuming afterwards will clean up any remaining debris that fell onto the floor or carpet when you dusted.
So, now you know.
 

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