Winter can raise havoc on your carpet. Throughout the season, your carpet sees it's share of messes. Muddy paws, dirty boots and melting snow can leave the surface of your carpet stained and dingy. As this debris dries into your carpet, it becomes stiff and loses it's plush feeling.
But the snow, dirt and moisture can also cause other problems. As the moisture moves downward into the padding, it can become a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. This moisture can destroy your padding, and create unpleasant odors in your carpet. In addition to the moisture brought in from the outside, you carpet is likely to have dust and dander buildup in the fibers from months of the house being closed up. Such dust and dander can promote dust mites, allergies and skin irritation. Spring is the best time of the year to clean your carpets to remove all this buildup that has been left behind in you carpet through the winter months.
When cleaning carpets, especially this time of the year, it is important to not just clean the visible surface, but also to clean the padding. The best way to do this is with a carpet cleaning machine. There are a number of benefits to cleaning your carpet with a machine. Carpet cleaning machines allow you to release enough water into the carpet to ensure the water reaches the padding, where it is crucial to remove the moisture that can promote bacteria and mold growth. Many machines also allow you to control water temperature. Using warm water allows the carpet fibers to extract in a manner that loosens debris they have trapped inside of them. Perhaps the most important advantage to using a machine is the extraction of debris in the carpet. The suction of the machine will pull out excess water, agitate particles trapped in the fibers and thoroughly rinse your carpet.
When looking for the best carpet cleaning solution, Genesis 950 works unlike other cleaners. Genesis 950 is a green, surfactant based cleaner. A surfactant based cleaner works with water to make stains water soluble. When a stain becomes water soluble, it loses adherence and can break away from the surface it is attached too. The vast majority of carpet cleaners are soap based. Soap works in a manner to attract dirt. When cleaning with soap, the oils from the soap pull dirt towards it. This might be helpful when cleaning on a solid surface, but when cleaning a carpet with soap, that soap travels downward in the carpet and pulls the dirt with it. As a result, the dirt is not pulled out of the carpet, but rather absorbed into it with the soap. When this happens, it can trap dirt below the surface, stiffen the fibers or cause stains to reappear. Even with continual rinsing, this can still occur as the soap's bubbling and foaming simply agitate the cleaner and cause it to spread.
Unlike soap, Genesis 950 breaks the stain down rather than attract it to an area. Once a stain has been broken down, it can be flushed out of the area with clean water.
Another issue with soap is that it does not kill all the bacteria or germs that might be in the padding. Genesis 950 has properties to kill germs, bacteria and mold that might be present in the padding. This is very important as the process of carpet cleaning requires water to be used. If a carpet is cleaned with a soap based cleaner that does not have antibacterial properties to it, the liquid added to the carpet can further promote the growth of bacteria and mold. Unlike soap based cleaners, Genesis 950 does not just remove such growth, it prevents that growth from continuing after the carpet has been cleaned.
Soap can also leave a residue behind in the carpet. This residue can make the carpet fibers feel firm, slimy and lifeless. Even rinsing with clean water can not remove this layer of film as the bubbling of the soap from the agitation of water simply creates suds which resettle right back into the carpet. because Genesis 950 is not soap based, such foaming does not occur and a thorough rinsing after initial cleaning will remove everything that has been broken down by the Genesis 950.
Recently, there have been many shifts in cleaning that center on health issues. Cleaning products can be dangerous. One of the most dangerous cleaning products is actually carpet cleaners! Many carpet cleaning solutions contain perchlorethylene or ammonium hydroxide. Perchlorethylene is a corrosive element. As it breaks down stains in your carpet, it also impacts those in the household. Skin irritation, eye irritation and respiratory damage have all been traced to this element. Ammounium hydroxide is a carcinogen which can damage the kidneys, liver and nervous system. Cancer, allergies and overall health issues have been traced to elements in chemical based cleaning products. While your carpet might appear clean, it actually becomes an unseen danger for you, your family and your pets when cleaned with such toxins.
Genesis 950 does not contain any of these toxins. In fact, Genesis 950 is a green, sustainable, environmentally friendly product. Using Genesis 950, you do not have to worry about putting you family in harms way when cleaning. Because it is a surfactant, it uses science to break down stains. Making a stain water soluble is far more effective on stains than attacking it with harmful chemicals. You shouldn't have to sacrifice your health to have a clean carpet!
There have been some homemade remedies and alternatives to chemical based carpet cleaners, however they do have issues. One of the most common is the use of vinegar in carpet. If you have pets, this is the WORST thing you could possible use to clean carpets. Even the Humane Society warns against using vinegar (or ammonia) to clean carpets if you have pets. Animals are drawn to urinate in a spot where they smell they have gone to the bathroom before. For cats, this means a litter box. For dogs, they smell out certain spots - preferably outside. Urine has an acidic base. It is this acidic base that helps animals find where they have gone in the past, and in turn where they should continue to go. Vinegar, like urine, has an acidic base. If a carpet is cleaned with vinegar, the odor of that acidic base can be picked up by both cats and dogs. Because animals can not differentiate between the acid base of urine, and the acidic base of vinegar, your pet is likely to urinate in that spot. This is often one of the reasons an animal might continue to go in a pot that was previously "cleaned" with vinegar. Genesis 950 will not only clean pet stains in carpet, but because it has antibacterial elements, it will kill the urine and remove the acidic odor of that urine.
HOW TO PROPERLY CLEAN CARPETS
There are several types of carpet cleaning machines. One of the most popular models is the Bissell Pro Heat. This machine is comparable to a vacuum cleaner in size and extremely easy to use. Many brands such as Bissell have 3 compartments. One compartment for fresh water, one for cleaning solution and one for dirty water. Machines like this also have settings to vary the amount of solution being used when cleaning. Based on the level of cleaning needed, you can select various settings such as Light, Medium or Heavy. Obviously, the dirtier the carpet, the higher the setting. You selection increases or decreases the amount of cleaning solution being mixed with the clean water as the machine is in use.
When cleaning pet stains, the higher setting is the most desirable. When using Genesis 950 at this setting, the machine will take a higher amount of solution. Slowly go over the carpet releasing the mixture. After you have gone over the carpet, allow the mixture of Genesis 950 and water to sit for about 30 - 40 minutes. This will give the solution ample time to soak into the carpet and padding to break down the stains. After that time period has passed, select the "Rinse" setting and go back over the carpet. This setting will only release fresh water onto the carpet. In doing so, the fresh water will flush out everything that has been broken down and extract it from the carpet. If the carpet has not been cleaned for sometime, this water may come back almost black. If this happens, repeat rinsing until the water starts to come back clear.
Other carpet cleaning machines have what is refereed to as a 2 in 1 tank. The Bissell Powerlift is an excellent machine with this type of system. This tank allows you to mix both the cleaning solution and the water in 1 tank. Typically, these tanks have a fill line as to how high you should fill the tank with solution, with the remaining space for clean water. With Genesis 950, you can follow the same guidelines for mixing solution and water, or you can increase the amount of Genesis 950 based on the stain type. For general cleaning, 1/3 950 to 2/3 water is perfect. This will break down surface stains, protect your padding and give a clean scent to your carpet. For heavier stains, or really bad pet odor, this ratio can be increased to a 50/50 mix. Once the tank is filled, go over the carpet. Allow this mixture to sit in the carpet for about 30 - 40 minutes to properly break down stains, odors, bacteria, dirt and dust. After that time has elapsed, fill the tank with ONLY clean water. Go over the entire area nice and slow. The clean water with rinse and flush out the stains that have been broken down. If you see your return water coming back black, you might want to rinse multiple times until the water begins to come back clear.
Carpet cleaning machines can also be rented at hardware and department stores. Typically, these machines have a 2 in 1 tank system allowing you to mix the solution and water in one tank. Again, you can mix the 950 to water from as low as 1/3 950 & 2/3 water, to as much as a 50/50 mix between the two. One of the keys with Genesis 950 is to never go higher than a 50/50 mix. It is water that activates Genesis 950. Because of this, having more Genesis 950 than water can actually lessen the cleaning impact.
Make your carpets look and smell professionally clean this Spring. Clean your carpets with a green cleaner that is not just safe for you, but also safe for your family, pets and the environment.
Read The Genesis 950 Reviews:
