Fall Cleaning Checklist

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fall cleaning
Everyone knows about spring cleaning, the time when we clear our house of the dust, dirt, and accumulated “stuff” of our winter hibernation. Fall cleaning is just as important, even though no one ever talks about it.

If spring is a time of renewal, a time when we want to release what’s old and stale in order to let in new light and fresh air, then fall is a time of gathering. When the air turns crisp and cool and the leaves begin to fall from the trees, it’s time to harvest what we sowed in the spring in order to create a warm and comfortable, homey space for the coming winter.

So what does a thorough fall cleaning look like? Follow this fall cleaning checklist to make sure your home is ready for a warm and cozy winter!

  • Warmth: Clean the woodstove or fireplace, bring in firewood or order fuel, bring space heaters out of storage and dust them off.
  • Coziness: It’s almost time to bundle up and hunker down! Bring winter clothes and blankets out of storage and launder or dry clean them so they’ll be ready for cozy nights around the fireplace with hot chocolate.
  • Air Quality: Closing up the windows and settling in for winter means the air circulation in your house may be reduced. In order to keep the air clean and healthy throughout winter, you’ll need to change the air filters on your furnace or HVAC system. Don’t forget to bring air purifiers and humidifiers out of storage, as well.
  • Deep cleaning and dusting: Your family is going to be spending a lot of time indoors over the coming months, and breathing so now is a great time to clean and dust in all those places that get ignored during the busy summer. Sweep or vacuum under furniture, dust the curtains and blinds, and clean underneath the fridge and other appliances.
  • Carpets, rugs, and upholstery: To ensure your home is the coziest it can be during the cold winter season, you’ll want to deep clean your carpets, rugs, and upholstery! Five Step can help with this process, of course! Give us a call at 828.237.3237 or drop us a line to get your free estimate today!

 

 

What We’re Thankful for in 2022

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We’ve been spared so far from chilly weather here in WNC this fall, but the leaves have changed color and cold, wintry days are just around the corner. The leaf peepers have come and gone, and we’re settling in for a cozy winter. Thanksgiving is just a week away, can you believe it?!

In the spirit of the holiday, we’d like to take a few minutes to talk about what we’re thankful for this November.

  1. Clean sofas and chairs! (And carpet, rugs, hardwood floors, and tile.) We are thankful that we’re able to bring a non-toxic, eco-friendly, and sustainable clean to so many area homes and businesses. There’s something about a freshly cleaned sofa or armchair that adds warmth and coziness to any home, and we really appreciate the opportunity to help provide that extra level of comfort for so many local families.
  2. We are safe, healthy, and warm. Let’s not take it for granted. Not everyone is so fortunate as to have a sturdy, dry home; good health; plenty of food; and friends and family to share it with this Thanksgiving.
  3. We live in Asheville! We truly do live in one of the most gorgeous places in the world, and we are so grateful to call western North Carolina home. From the breezy hot afternoons of June to the quiet snowy mornings of January, the weather is nice almost all year round. We get to take in the most breathtaking mountain views just driving to our clients’ homes and businesses every day. There are so many fun things to do and experience in WNC—from delicious cuisine to waterfall hikes to musical events to brewery tours. And this area is populated with some of the loveliest, kindest, and most interesting people on earth. We wouldn’t trade our home here for anywhere else.
  4. New friends and associates! We are very active in our local business networking community, and with the gradual reopening of the economy after the pandemic, 2022 has been a great year for meeting new people and establishing mutually beneficial business connections. We love being a part of this vibrant community, and we look forward to all that 2023 has to offer.
  5. Pumpkin recipes! Not everyone loves pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, and all the other pumpkin items that make their annual appearance around this time of year. But for those of us who do, this is the time of year to appreciate all of that pumpkin delight. Get it while you can, because those pumpkins are going to disappear from the supermarket before Christmas!
  6. Our fantastic customers! Our clients are the best. Really. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank YOU for your trust, your support, your business, and your friendship. We strive every day to give you, our customers, the high-quality work and friendly service you deserve and expect from us. We heartily extend our gratitude to you for helping to make our business a success!

We hope you have just as many things to be thankful for this year as we do, and that your holiday is filled with joy.

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Five Step!

 

Fall Cleaning Checklist

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fall cleaning

Everyone knows about spring cleaning, the time when we clear our house of the dust, dirt, and accumulated “stuff” of our winter hibernation. Fall cleaning is just as important, even though no one ever talks about it.

If spring is a time of renewal, a time when we want to release what’s old and stale in order to let in new light and fresh air, then fall is a time of gathering. When the air turns crisp and cool and the leaves begin to fall from the trees, it’s time to harvest what we sowed in the spring in order to create a warm and comfortable, homey space for the coming winter.

So what does a thorough fall-cleaning look like? Follow this checklist to make sure your home is ready for a warm and cozy winter!

  • Warmth: Clean the woodstove or fireplace, bring in firewood or order fuel, bring space heaters out of storage and dust them off.
  • Coziness: It’s almost time to bundle up and hunker down! Bring winter clothes and blankets out of storage and launder or dry clean them so they’ll be ready for cozy nights around the fireplace with hot chocolate.
  • Air Quality: Closing up the windows and settling in for winter means the air circulation in your house may be reduced. In order to keep the air clean and healthy throughout winter, you’ll need to change the air filters on your furnace or HVAC system. Don’t forget to bring air purifiers and humidifiers out of storage, as well.
  • Deep cleaning and dusting: Your family is going to be spending a lot of time indoors over the coming months, and breathing so now is a great time to clean and dust in all those places that get ignored during the busy summer. Sweep or vacuum under furniture, dust the curtains and blinds, and clean underneath the fridge and other appliances.
  • Carpets, rugs, and upholstery: To ensure your home is the coziest it can be during the cold winter season, you’ll want to deep clean your carpets, rugs, and upholstery! Five Step can help with this process, of course! Give us a call at 828.237.3237 or drop us a line to get your free estimate today!

 

How to Clean Velvet Upholstery

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clean velvet upholstery

Who doesn’t love the beauty and luxuriousness of rich, velvet upholstery? No one! But this upholstery can be one of the trickiest types to clean. Stains don’t only stick to the surface of the velvet, they also coat the individual fibers and seep into the backing, causing quite a mess! So how do you clean a velvet sofa, chair, or ottoman? Follow these tips to find out how to clean velvet upholstery.

What type of velvet is your upholstery?
If your upholstery is synthetic velvet (or velveteen), you should be able to DIY it without too much trouble. If, however, the velvet is made from cotton, silk, or wool, you may want to call in an expert. Cotton velvet is especially finicky, and the fibers can bunch and kink when they come into contact with soap, water, or cleaning solutions.

To get stains out of synthetic velvets:
Clean the fabric as soon as possible after staining occurs. Do not allow the stain to dry on its own, as it will set into the fabric and become much harder to clean. With a clean cloth or towel, gently press the stain to absorb any moisture and wipe away any loose debris. Prepare a mixture of lukewarm water and dish soap, then apply the suds to the stain. Rinse by dabbing with a damp, soap-free cloth. Allow the velvet to dry and then gently brush it.

For regular maintenance:
Clean your velvet upholstery with a furniture brush to remove dirt, lint, and fuzz. Vacuum regularly with the furniture attachment on your vacuum cleaner. Velveteen can be safely steam cleaned. For cotton, silk, or wool velvet, check the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions.

If you’re not sure whether your upholstery is synthetic velveteen or natural fiber velvet, you’re likely better off calling a professional upholstery cleaning service to handle the job. If you live in the Asheville, NC area, we would be happy to help you with your velvet couch, chair, or other furniture.

Give us a call at 828.237.3277 or drop us a line for an estimate today. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

 

An Easy Way to Get Dents Out of Rugs

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Rearranging your living room only to find unsightly dents in your beautiful area rug? Not a problem! Divots left behind in your rug by the legs of your furniture can easily be removed and fluffed out easily. Just follow these four simple steps to get dents out of rugs.

  1. Lay a damp towel over the dent.
  2. Run an iron over the towel on medium heat, checking periodically to see if the rug fibers beneath have begun to lift. The heat of the iron should gradually cause the fibers to spring back to their original shape.
  3. Leave the towel on top of the dent until completely dry.
  4. Finally, vacuum the affected area. The suction from the vacuum cleaner will pull the fibers up to their normal height.

This simple process should remove even the deepest divots from your rug. If you find that you need additional help to make your area rugs look brand new, give Five Step a call at 828.237.3237 or drop us a line today. We offer a full range of effective, sustainable, and friendly floor cleaning services, and we love nothing more than making our customers happy!

 

Cigarette Smoke Odor Removal in Asheville

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cigarette smoke odor

Over the years, we’ve received a lot of calls from ex-smokers. They’ve made the decision to quit smoking, and they’ve followed through on that decision, making huge improvements to their health and their quality of life. But there’s just one problem: their houses still smell like an ashtray. It doesn’t take long before that odor becomes unbearable, and that’s when they give Five Step a call. That’s why we’ve become the top source for cigarette smoke odor removal in Asheville.

Years of indoor smoking invariably leaves behind strong, unpleasant odors. Even worse, it is now known that exposure to this “third-hand” cigarette smoke can pose severe health risks, even after months of not smoking in the room. Infants and young children are especially at risk. Studies have shown that even small amounts of third hand smoke exposure are correlated with respiratory diseases and developmental delays.

These nasty, unhealthy odors cannot be eliminated by airing out the house with fans, by deodorizing the carpet, or merely re-painting the walls. These things can help, but they are band-aid solutions that will not entirely fix the problem. Something needs to be done to get the lingering residues out of your carpet, upholstery, and rugs.

Well-meaning friends and family might have advised you to just replace the carpet and furniture, insisting that there’s no way those smells will ever come out. But that’s not true. Good, professional carpet, rug, and upholstery cleaning CAN eliminate both the unpleasant odors and the harmful residues left behind by years of cigarette smoke and tar.

If you’ve recently quit smoking, congratulations! Give yourself a big pat on the back. You’ve made a smart decision, and your hard work and commitment to quit is commendable. Your next step should be to rid your home of the stinky and harmful odors and residues left behind by your former habit.

If you’ve got a lingering cigarette smoke odor problem in your carpets, rugs, or upholstery, we can help! If you live in the Asheville, NC area, give us a call at 828.237.3237 or get in touch via our contact form today!

 

5 Ways Rugs Can Improve Your Home

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rugs home improvement

Is it time to update the look and feel of your home? If so, there are a lot of things to consider, and one of them should be whether or not to invest in area rugs! Would your home benefit from the addition of rugs? Here are 5 benefits of adding rugs to your interior design.

  1. Rugs protect your wood floors. Fact: Floors are meant to be walked on. It just can’t be helped. But over time, all that walking can cause residual damage to your beautiful hardwood or laminate wood floors! One awesome benefit of area rugs is that they protect the bare floor underneath. If you’ve noticed scuffs, scrapes, gouges or staining on your wood or laminate floors, placing area rugs in high-traffic areas can put a stop to the problem. Over time, this will save you money on floor repairs and refinishing.
  2. Rugs prevent cold feet. You get out of bed in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and by the time you get back, your feet are so cold that it takes you thirty minutes to get back to sleep. Or you lay in bed after the alarm clock goes off, dreading the moment when your bare feet make contact with the frigid wood or tile. Socks don’t help, and even your fuzzy slippers let in the cold. Sounds like it’s time to insulate those floors with some nice, soft, warm rugs!
  3. Rugs can tie a room together. Maybe it’s a lack of color or vibrant patterns that help to tie together the interior design of your living space. Or maybe your living room just feels stark and somber with all the bare hardwood. Either way, there’s something missing, and it can only be remedied with rugs!
  4. Rugs make a room more welcoming and comfortable. A home full of hard surfaces is an unwelcome place for guests. They might not say anything about it, and probably they aren’t even consciously thinking it. But somewhere in the back of their minds, they are subconsciously yearning for the lush, soft comfort that only rugs can provide.
  5. Rugs help keep your little ones safe. Babies love to roll around on the floor. But hard, bare wood or tile floors are not conducive surfaces for infants to roll around on and explore! Introducing area rugs to your living space will make your little ones more comfortable and less likely to be injured.

At Five Step Carpet Care, we don’t sell rugs, but we do clean them! We even offer a convenient pick-up and drop-off service! If you live in the Asheville, NC area and need professional rug cleaning, give us a call at 828.237.3237.

 

How to Get Oil Stains Out of Upholstery

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oil stain

Oil can be one of the toughest types of stain to get out of fabric. And when the fabric in question is attached to a sofa or armchair, it can be an even bigger head-scratcher. It’s not as if you can just spray stain remover on and throw the sofa in the washer! But don’t worry. Grease and oil stains can often be removed by tried-and-true DIY methods. Here’s how to get oil stains out of upholstery.

Whether it’s a splash of vinaigrette, a pizza grease stain, or smudges of oil-based lotion or makeup, getting oil and grease stains out of upholstery can feel a bit daunting. But there are a few cleaning tricks that can be tried using items you probably already have around the house. Try one of these methods to get that oil stain out.

If the stain is fresh and still wet, use a rag or plastic utensil to remove the oil that hasn’t yet seeped into the upholstery fabric. Then begin with the following methods.

The WD-40 Method

WD-40 is great for lubricating squeaky hinges and wheels, but did you know you can also use it as a stain remover? This lubricant contains solvents that break down oils and lift stains to the surface of the fabric. As always, perform a spot test in a small, out-of-view area of the upholstery to make sure it doesn’t damage the fabric. If you get the go-ahead, then spray the stain lightly with WD-40. Let sit for five minutes, then wash with a mixture of mild dish soap and warm water. Blot dry.

 

The Baking Soda Method

Liberally sprinkle baking soda onto the grease stain. Let sit for ten to fifteen minutes, then scrub lightly with a toothbrush. Vacuum the remaining baking soda and repeat as needed.

 

The Vodka Method

Alcohol can lift oil stains from fabrics as well as carpets. Spray the stain with a bit of vodka, then blot dry. Follow up by blotting with a wet cloth to remove any remaining alcohol. You may have to repeat this trick a few times.

 

If these DIY methods don’t do the job, it may be time to call in some professional help. If you live in the Asheville, NC area, give Five Step a call at 828.237.3237 today!

How to Care for Fine Rugs

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how to get dents out of rugs

If you know how to care for fine rugs, you can enjoy them for a lifetime—and beyond! Persian, Oriental, antique, and handmade rugs require regular maintenance to keep them looking beautiful as they age. By following a few basic care routines, you can protect your fine rug’s value and enhance its beauty for many years to come. These rugs may even become family heirlooms that not only you, but your children and grandchildren will treasure.

Environmental Considerations

Fine rugs should not be exposed to constant direct sunlight, damp environments, or excessive heat. Keep rugs in climate and humidity-controlled rooms to prevent rot and decay, and use blinds or curtains to prevent sunlight from gradually fading the vibrant colors of your rugs. Never place your fine rug too close to a fireplace or heat source, as constant or excessive heat can cause drying-out and weakening of the natural fibers.

Vacuuming

Fine rugs should be vacuumed regularly to remove dirt, debris, and microscopic mold spores and other toxins. If the regular maintenance is not done, contaminants will build up over time to give your rug a dirty, yellowed, or dingy appearance.

Stains

Stains and spills do happen, but it is imperative that you do not use any cleaning agent on your fine rugs that might damage the fibers or bleach out the colors. If you have care instructions from the manufacturer or merchant, follow the directions for spot cleaning. Many stains can be tackled with a mixture of water and mild dish soap. But when in doubt, call in the experts!

Insects

Some insects like to burrow in and/or eat the natural fibers in fine rugs. In particular, moths can be a nuisance since they like to lay their eggs in the close-knit fibers. When their larvae hatch, they will go to work devouring your rug. To prevent this disaster from happening to your rugs, stay on top of regular vacuuming and don’t leave your fine rugs in dark storage areas without double-layer plastic protection.

Protect the Back

We don’t often think of rug backings as something that needs to be protected. We’re more interested in the beautiful top side of the rug—the part we can see! But the bottom of your rug can become damaged from wear and tear, too. To protect the backs of your rugs, make sure they are placed on smooth floor surfaces—never on rough-hewn stone or brick, for instance. You can also use non-slip mats underneath your rugs to both protect them and keep them from sliding out of position, bunching up, or causing a tripping hazard. Five Step carries Duo-Lock rug pads to prolong the life of your rug and prevent unwanted movement.

Professional Cleaning

Fine rugs should be sent to a professional rug cleaner every five years or so. At Five Step Carpet Care, we give your Persian and Oriental rugs a luxurious spa treatment and return them to you refreshed and revitalized. Learn more about our rug-cleaning process.

 

We would love to be your trusted source for fine rug cleaning! If you live in the Asheville, NC area, give us a call at 828.237.3237 or drop us a line today!

 

 

Attention, Hendersonville! Pet Odor Removal is Possible!

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Is pet odor in your carpet a lost cause, or is there a way to rid your home of bad pet odors without shipping your furry friends off to the farm? Don’t worry, Hendersonville. Pet odor removal is not only possible, we do it every day!

Did your puppy have a few accidents in the family room before he graduated potty training? Or does your cat track litter into the carpeted hallway? Maybe you have a sick or elderly pet who has continence issues. Or perhaps you just have that unmistakable “dog smell” from fur and dander being ground deep into your carpet pile, where the vacuum can’t reach it.

Chances are, the odors are actually coming from the bottom of the carpet, or the padding underneath. But you don’t have to rip the carpet out and replace it to get rid of the odors! Quality professional carpet cleaning can address those smells (and stains) for good.

Even if your pet odor problems are in your furniture’s upholstery, the problem can be fixed!

At Five Step Carpet Care, we help homeowners and property managers with pet odor problems all the time. We’ll get rid of those smelly spots so that you and your pets can enjoy your carpet (or furniture) again. Best of all, our sustainable, non-toxic five step process will take care of those odors without leaving any chemical residues behind.

If you live in Hendersonville, NC (or anywhere in western NC) and you struggle with pet-related odors in your home, give Five Step a call at 828.237.3237 or drop us a line.