"London's finest cleaning" » Technical bulletin

Professional colour repair of carpets

designca — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 21:49:13 +0000

Here is a short video showing how we professionally colour repair carpets. Colour repair can be a simple alternative to tearing out and replacing an entire carpet that has been contaminated by bleach and other harsh chemicals.

Carpet Beetle on the rise in London

designca — Thu, 05 May 2011 20:07:08 +0000

In the last year I have noticed a huge increase in the number of London homes that have carpet beetle infestations. I thought it might be useful to post some information about the carpet beetle. The aim is to help homeowners to better understand the carpet beetle and know how to prevent, or deal wIth an infestation.

First of all here is a short video produced by the Manchester museum which shows the Varied carpet beetle in action.

The Life cycle of the Carpet Beetle

The adult carpet beetle flies outdoors in late spring or early summer. It searches for pollen and nectar and also mates among the flowerbeds. At night the beetles are attracted to bright lights and enter your home though open windows or doors. Whilst indoors they will lay their eggs out of sight in cracks and crevices. The adult beetles themselves only live for six weeks and they cause little damage. It is the larvae ( aka wooly bears) which hatch from the eggs that cause all the problems. The larvae will continually eat through the winter months devouring woolen textiles including carpets, rugs, wool curtains and clothing. They love to hide in dark places where they can continue to feed undisturbed by light and vacuum cleaners! Often the first signs of damage to your carpets are found under beds and furniture, or around the edges of rooms. As spring approaches the larvae pupate for 2 to 3 weeks before the adult beetle emerges and the life cycle begins all over again.

How will I know if I have an infestation?

Irregular holes in wool or silk carpets and fabrics are a sure sign of carpet beetle larvae feeding. Also if you look underneath/behind furniture you may find evidence of carpet beetle larvae or the skins that they shed as they grow.

What can I do to prevent an infestation?

Remove any potential infestation sources. Particularly old birds nests, dead birds, or stored woolen items in the roof/loft of your house. Carpet beetle larvae feed on these and can directly access the top floors of your home from these sources. Eliminate accumulations of lint, hair, dead insects, and other debris that serve as food for carpet beetles. During Spring and Summer check any cut flowers that are brought into the home for adult beetles.

Initiate good cleaning standards. Carpet beetle larvae thrive in dirty undisturbed areas. Regular and thorough cleaning of rugs, draperies, upholstered furniture, closets, and other locations where carpet beetles congregate is an important preventive and control technique. Thoroughly vacuum your home several times per week. Ensure that all items of furniture are moved and that the area underneath all furniture is thoroughly vacuumed. Also make sure that the carpet edges are vacuumed using a crevice tool. As you clean inspect closely for any evidence of larvae or larvae cases. Frequent, thorough vacuuming is an effective way of removing food sources as well as carpet beetle eggs, larvae, and adults.

Make sure that your carpets and wool fabrics are cleaned professionally on a regular basis. This will make your carpets less attractive to the larvae once the food stains, spills, body oils and perspiration are removed.

Use special carpet beetle traps in the summer months. This will give you an early warning of the presence of adult carpet beetles before too much damage occurs.

What should I do if I have an infestation of Carpet Beetles?

Continue with the cleaning standards with particular attention paid to the areas that are infested. After vacuuming infested areas, dispose of the bag promptly because it may contain eggs, larvae, or adult insects.

Seek professional help and advice. Carpet Beetle infestations are notoriously difficult to deal with and wil often require the use of pesticides and methods not accessible to the general public.

Innovation award for our Woolsafe cleaning solution

designca — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:23:54 +0000

At the recent 2011 UK Cleaning show our supplier Chemspec Europe has received an award for their carpet cleaning product “DFC 105″. Chemspec anticipate that DFC105 will become the industry standard for responsible carpet cleaners.

At Designcare, we have been using DFC105 to clean our clients carpets since it was launched. We have found it to be the most effective cleaning solution with the added benefit that it is safe, natural and approved for use on wool carpets. It is perfectly safe for chemically hypersensitive individuals, children and babies. DFC stands for Detergent Free Cleaning.

Draught Marks (a.k.a. Filtration Soiling) on carpets

designca — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:21:12 +0000

What is draught marking?

Draught marking appears on carpets as dark soiled areas or spots around the edges of rooms or under doorways. In extreme cases it is found across the middle of a room in the configuration of the floorboards.

It is also known as filtration soiling, fogging or dust marks. The cause is always the same. Contaminated air blows through or across the carpet and the carpet acts as a filter, removing the dirt from the air. The resultant draught marking is both unsightly and a problem to remove.

The contaminated air gets to the carpet through:-

gaps under the skirting board
gaps between the floorboards
holes in the carpet caused by nails or carpet fitting tools
gaps under doors

Prevention?

The best method of preventing draught marking ruining the look of your new carpets is to specify a draught proof installation. This prevents the movement of air through the carpet and may involve the following steps before the carpet is installed:-

Laying sheets of hardboard on top of the existing floorboards
Taping all the hardboard joints to prevent leaks of air
Laying paper on top of the hardboard to add extra draught proofing
Using flexible mastic to seal the gap between the skirting board and the floor.

If these measures are carried out before the carpet and underlay are installed then it is unlikely that very much draught marking will occur, except in doorways.

Cure?

Most draught marking can be removed by cleaning, but not cured. The microscopic airborne soiling is tenaciously oil bonded to the carpet fibres. The degree of success in the removal of the soil depends on the nature of the soil (pollution) and the length of time that it has been present. At Designcare we have researched and tested many ways of removing draught marking and we are now confident that we can remove the majority of this soiling. However a draught marking problem can’t be cured by cleaning as the soiling will return if the contaminated air is allowed to continue to flow through or across the carpet.

Detergent Free cleaning – How it works?

designca — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:44:13 +0000

The Detergent Free products we use to clean your carpets and fabrics are the ultimate healthy cleaning solutions. Detergent Free products utilise natural minerals to enhance the cleaning power of water.

These natural minerals are:-

Sodium Chloride (salt)
Sodium Citrate(used in medicines, cheesemaking and soft drinks)
Sodium Carbonate(water softener and used in the manufacture of soap and paper)
Sodium Bicarbonate ( used in baking, drinks and medicines)
Lactic acid(found in milk, wine and fruits, used as a food additive

These natural ingredients help to convert soiling and staining into soap and improve the rinsing power of water. The cleaning results we produce with these products are exceptional

Our Detergent Free cleaners do not contain any petrochemicals, solvents, surfactants, phosphates or other man made chemicals. All our cleaning solutions are VOC free and will not contribute to indoor air quality problems.

The benefits of Detergent Free cleaning are:-

No re-soiling as all residues are rinsed away
Safe for human health and the environment – 100% natural food grade ingredients
No smell or chemical odour
Exceptional cleaning results

Safe, non toxic and environmentally responsible cleaning solutions

designca — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:53:16 +0000

Many people are now much more sensitive to the use of chemicals in the home. This is primarily an awareness of the potential danger of chemicals to the health of their family and also a desire to protect the environment we live in.

For some time we have been testing the full range of cleaning chemicals available for use in the cleaning of carpets, fabrics and natural stone. Our aim was to find the best performing, non toxic, environmentally responsible solutions to use in your home. On completion of this testing process we have adopted a policy of using detergent free cleaning solutions that have been approved both by the Green Seal and the WoolSafe organisation.

These solutions have been proven to provide:-

Effective cleaning.

Excellent after cleaning appearance with no re-soiling

Safe for all home occupants including individuals with Asthma, chemical hypersensitivity, children and pets

Reduced impact on the Environment.