Friday 30 August 2013

Caring for Upholstered Furniture

Proper cleaning, care, and maintenance of your upholstery will allow it to look its best for a very long time. It pays to be consistent with your upholstery, and this is not difficult to do. Below are a few tips you need to keep in mind regarding upholstery care.

Cleaning spills

In the event of a spill, the first thing to do is blot the affected area immediately with paper towels. Keep doing this until much of the liquid has been removed. You can use a hair dryer or other heating materials to dry up the spill, but be aware that this can cause shrinkage or make the stains permanent. Afterward, stop and consider whether the damage wrought is acceptable or not. If in doubt, consult an upholstery cleaner for further treatment.

Turn the cushions

You can contribute to your upholstered furniture's longevity by turning over loose cushions. This allows for the even distribution of wear and tear. Plus, it prevents your cushions from developing indentations too quickly. Fluffing them after you've cleaned them also helps retain their shape.

Vacuuming the upholstery

Vacuum your upholstered furniture once a week. This will prevent accumulated dirt to become embedded in the fibers. You can also use a brush to comb the dirt away, just make sure to always use a soft-bristled brush, and brush gently so you don't create snags in the fabric.

Sunday 25 August 2013

Tips on Choosing a Quality Carpet for Your Home

Carpets make your home look comfortably snug and warm, making them a perfect addition for the approaching cold months. When you're looking to buy new ones, make sure that you get one that's in great condition and is of high quality and durability. Here are some tips:

Fiber content is perhaps the most important thing to check in a carpet, since your choice will affect the way your carpet will keep your home warm and comfy. Polypropylene can endure foot traffic well and can last a long time, while nylon can withstand stains and fading. Wool is also very resistant to wear and has excellent insulation properties, but it needs to be cleaned regularly to keep it away from stains.

If you're placing carpets in rooms where there is a lot of ultraviolet light coming in, opt for colors that can effectively resist fading. Light-colored carpets tend to fade less than darker ones, but they are stained easily. In short, opt to balance color choice with the room's propensity for spills or dirt stains.

High-quality carpet pads are available to protect your carpet. Although they might turn out expensive, they are actually good investments as they provide more comfort for the feet, stand up to wear, and function as carpet covers. This, plus proper care and carpet cleaning, assures you that your carpet will last a long time.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Fascination with Oriental Rugs

Oriental rugs are hand knotted rugs that originated from Asia. In historical accounts and fictional novels, they are often associated with luxury and affluence because they are made from high quality materials like silk, linen, and wool. In ancient Egypt, for instance, these rugs were only found on royal households. Aside from their superior quality, oriental rugs are also identified through their vibrant colors and intricate patterns.

With these amazing qualities, it is no surprise that many homeowners are interested on getting oriental rugs; some interior designers consider rugs as a great addition to the home as well. In fact, a June 2013 issue of the Sydney Morning Herald offered suggestions on how to spruce up one's rental home, and one of these included using an oriental rug. The article also mentioned that these rugs are great as covers for wood floors that have seen better days.


Meanwhile, American business magnate Martha Stewart shared another reason behind the fascination with rugs. She cited that the elaborate patterns of an oriental rug are similar to a book that tells the story of the people who weaved the designs. Since these rugs are known for their depth of color and well-defined patterns, it is critical that owners make an effort to care for them to preserve their quality.

Monday 12 August 2013

On the Unswerving Upkeep of Upholstery

You buy furniture on the belief that it will serve you well for many years, yet you should also be ready to accept that such fixtures could meet their end in time. Misusing furniture, as well as keeping it unclean can drastically shorten its useful life. Nobody wants to sit on a chair whose upholstery is bursting at the seams with white stuffing all over.

Upholstery is one of the most challenging things to clean in any home since they're attached permanently to furniture. It takes one careless spill to discolour a throw pillow and sofa, and the stains will be next to impossible to scrub away. Before you resign to defeat, you should know that it's possible to hire professional cleaners who can wash upholstery clean without damaging or stripping it away from the furniture it's attached to.


Armed with an array of cleaning equipment and solutions, cleaners can easily and effectively remove any stains left on upholstery using a combination of blot cleaning and vacuum. These experts can also offer to delouse furniture if any of the pieces is suspected to harbour the bloodsucking parasites. Upholstery can be a royal pain to clean, but thankfully you could simply leave it to professionals.

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Take a Closer Look: Common Carpet Microbes

While Melbourne usually doesn't have the dangerous wildlife that Australia is known for, that doesn't mean that a home in this city is 100 percent safe. Even something as simple and as unassuming as a carpet can contain dangerous contagions and bacteria that can cause sickness if left unchecked. To be fair, these harmful microbes are present everywhere, but this only stresses the importance of getting rid of them as quickly as possible.

Molds are possibly the most common microbes in the carpet; albeit also one of the hardest to kill. Coming in various shapes and thriving in different environments, molds are also quite difficult to identify since the relatively-harmless molds (like Alternaria) can resemble the potentially-lethal ones (like Stachybotrys). The difficulty in killing them comes from the fact that molds originate as spores which are virtually invisible to the naked eye until they've grown large enough to be noticeable.

Salmonella bacteria are also commonly found in carpets, especially in households with pets, and can cause digestive problems like diarrhea. This bacteria is one reason why it is never wise for your kids to pick up food that fell from the table since Salmonella is quite resilient even though it has a short life. The Norovirus is similarly resilient though it can survive for six weeks; and causes similar problems, but is more commonly found in dusty areas.


Always make sure your carpets are well-washed to keep your home clean. For this, it's best to call carpet cleaning professionals.