"London's finest cleaning"

Slate rescue project – St Johns Wood

designca — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:21:06 +0000

The client brief was to restore these slate tiles to their original colourful natural condition. Over the years the slate had been treated with several coats of high gloss sealer which had never been successfully stripped during previous cleans. This had resulted in a slate floor that was both shiny and dull through the accumulation of soiling in the layers of sealant. As you will see in this video managed to remove all of the contaminated layers of sealant and clean the floor to return it to an “as new” condition. The floor was finally sealed with an impregnator to repel future staining and soiling, without changing the natural appearance of the slate.

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.

Tile restoration challenge in Regents Park

designca — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:42:39 +0000

An unusual and tough tile restoration project in Regents Park, London. Due to poor drainage – 20 years of hard water deposits had built up on this outdoor balcony.

Britains Got Talent – no buzzer for Designcare

designca — Wed, 25 May 2011 21:42:43 +0000

Britains Got Talent choose Designcare

With the live finals impending, its all hands on deck to prepare Fountain Studios for this years show. Designcare has been able to contribute to this in a small way by cleaning some of the speciality fabrics and rugs in the executive areas.

One of the best parts of our job is the variety of interesting places we are privileged to work in. It was a pleasure to work for the nice people who organise this incredibly successful production.

Good luck to all of those involved in the show!

Chemspec Europe – Walking for Sue Ryder Care

designca — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:34:54 +0000

It’s great to see your suppliers working up a sweat especially if its all for a good cause. In this case it is the team at Chemspec Europe who are walking/staggering the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in aid of Sue Ryder Care. See the attached link if you want to know more or possibly donate.

Chemspec Europe Charity Walk.

Stone restoration – A visit to Cheshire Marble Works

designca — Fri, 20 May 2011 05:36:15 +0000

Many thanks to Cheshire Marble Industries for an interesting and informative guided tour of their stone processing works in Cheshire. It was fascinating to see the huge pieces of slate, marble and granite being cut and polished to produce exquisite worktops and tiles.

Furniture indentations – carpet

designca — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:28:22 +0000

It’s very annoying when you rearrange your furniture only to find you have indentations in your carpet that will not vacuum out. There is, however, a simple solution that will work in most instances. Simply place an ice cube on the indentation and allow it to slowly melt. Avoid the temptation to touch the carpet until it has completely dried. As the carpet dries the fibres should extend and the indentation will disappear.

Note : Only try this on carpets that are water tolerant. It is probably best to try one indentation first to make sure that it is safe to carry out this procedure on your carpet. If in doubt you can contact Designcare for advice.

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.

Carpet cleaning – draught marking

designca — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:09:08 +0000

Take a look at this video of a carpet we cleaned in Kensington. Like many carpets in London there was extremely bad draught marking around the edges of the room

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.