A1 Carpet Care Blog

In today’s homes, hard surface flooring is playing an increasingly important role. Examples of popular flooring materials include wood (solid, laminate or engineered), vinyl (tiles or sheet goods) ceramic tile and natural stone.  These flooring materials seem to be easy to clean, however soils on hard flooring materials seem to build up progressively. Eventually, home and business owners need cleaning services that extend beyond simple vacuuming and a damp mopping. That’s the time to call in a certified professional for help!

Certified firms and technicians, like A1 Carpet Care, have the specialized training and experience to select the proper cleaning solutions, equipment and techniques for restoring the original beauty of hard flooring surfaces. They can even offer advice on how to maintain the appearance of beautiful hard flooring, not only for optimum appearance, but also for extended flooring life.

A1 Carpet Care cleans tile and grout surfaces using a two-step, six-point process designed to leave your floor or countertop looking its sparkling best.

STEP 1:  Pretreat tile and grout with an alkaline solution to break down dirt and oils; scrub the tile and grout, creating agitation, to further break down dirt and oils; high pressure rinse the tile and grout; extract all the solution, water and soils that can be removed.

STEP 2: Pretreat tile and grout with an acidic solution that will break down any remaining dirt and oils the alkaline solution did not take out; scrub tile and grout, creating agitation, to break down remaining dirt and oils; high pressure rinse the tile and grout; extract the solution, water and soils that can be removed.

Sealant is a topcoat of protection that helps prevent staining from spills, resists soiling and makes for easier maintenance. There are a variety of sealants to accommodate whatever look you’re trying to achieve from matte to high sheen. The sealant penetrates the grout to protect against water and oild based staining. It is non-yellowing and does not change the appearance of the grout. This is the sealer most commonly used when no stains are present.If your grout lines are old, stained or discolored, A1 can completely change its appearance by applying a colored dye to give the appearance of freshly regrouted lines. The dye does not affect your tiles and any excess material is wiped from the tiles after the grout lines completely dry. The dye contains an impregnating sealer which acts as a repellent to soils and makes routine cleaning easier.Call on the tile cleaning professionals to come to your home or office to clean and refurbish your tiles and grout - making them look brand new.

Everyone has that favorite spot in the home to relax. Let A1 Carpet Care clean that favorite chair, or spot on the sofa where your family loves to relax at the end of a long day.

At A1 Carpet Care, we know how much you care about your fine furniture and upholstery, and we want to help you rest your head on a clean and comfortable surface. A1 Carpet Care’s upholstery cleaning technicians are expertly trained in all types of fabric care. So whether your favorite surface is cotton, silk, microfiber, suede or leather, A1 Carpet Care will leave your upholstery dust mite and allergen-free and looking like new!

A1 Carpet Care technicians use specially designed equipment to effectively clean your upholstery. Using non-toxic cleaning solutions, A1 removes dirt, dust mites, germs and other allergens that build up in your furniture, causing allergies and odors in your home.

Here are some tips for taking care of your upholstery between professional cleanings:

Avoid Direct Sunlight: By keeping your upholstered furniture away from direct sunlight, you can reduce the risk of fading over time.

Vacuuming: Regular vacuuming will remove abrasive dirt and dust particles. Do this as often as practical. On high-use furniture, beat the cushions and rotate them.

Keep printed materials such as newspapers from making direct contact with your upholstery. They contain inks that can stain.

Try not to cover your upholstery with dark colored blankets or sheets. They contain dyes that can rub off and stain your furniture.

Keep dyes, paints, nail polish and inks away from your furniture. They can alter the color of the upholstery fabric.

Fully 50% of the jobs we book include some degree of pet damage to the carpet.  Urine, whether human or animal, has three main components: 1) Urea, a slightly sticky substance; 2) Urochrome which gives urine its yellow color; and 3) Uric Acid - a mild acid, rich in nitrogen.

Uric acid contains non-soluble salt crystals, which present the biggest challenge to removing urine from surfaces, fabrics and fibers.

The first two components of urine can be washed away with ordinary cleaning and commercially-available urine odor products. But the uric acid crystals are extremely insoluble and remain tightly bonded to surfaces. After initial cleaningand drying with ordinary products, it may appear that the problem is solved. However, any type of moisture will reactivate those remaining crystals and the smell returns, as strong as ever.

Our unique cleaning process includes the use of protein-digesting enzymes that will literally “eat away” uric acid crystals. Once the crystals are broken down by the enzymes, they are easily extracted from your carpet by our steam cleaning process. In more severe cases, pet urine can penetrate into the carpet padding and sub-floor. We offer several levels of treatment from applications of specialized deodorizers, up to removal and replacement of contaminated carpet, padding, and sealing of sub-floor. We can provide a treatment that fits both your needs and budget.

Hot water extraction is sometimes referred to as “steam cleaning”. Actually, this is a misapplied term, as real steam is too dry and too hot to clean carpet properly. In this method, a hot cleaning solution is sprayed under pressure onto the carpet and is immediately extracted with a vacuum source. The dirty solution is collected in a recovery tank and is usually poured into the sanitary waste system. The advantage of this process is that it has the ability to flush out large amounts of soil and contaminants in carpet. It is the most preferred method by all of the major fiber producers such as DuPont, Monsanto and Allied Signal, as well as the carpet manufacturers like Shaw, Mohawk, World and Queen. Because this method removes more contaminants than the other carpet cleaning methods, hot water extraction is favored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is the preferred method of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Most higher quality carpets that have extended appearance and texture retention warranties require this type of cleaning every 12-18 months in order to retain the warranty coverage.

Let us prove to you that our company is different from the rest! A1 Carpet Care has been built on customer satisfaction because we have made that Priority One from day one.  It is our goal to be the vendor of choice for all of your  floor cleaning needs.  To that end, we employ only trained, certified carpet cleaning technicians who are willing to undertake any professional challenge, meet it or exceed it,  and deliver cleaning services that meet or beat your expectations.  Not only does A1 Carpet Care stand behind our guarantee, our entire staff upholds this standard.  We can do that because our work is done right – the first time, every time. 

Mine is the voice of A1 Carpet Care and it gives me great pleasure to launch our company blog on the second anniversary of my employment.  The happy faces you see are David, our owner, and Leslie (that’s me!) our manager.  Together we are Mission Control.  We share a vision of making our band of merry men the biggest and best carpet cleaning company in the Las Vegas Valley.

Please join us here often, asking questions or posting comments.  We plan to provide carpet care information, recognize valued customers, share a little humor and a lot of information. offer blogger bargains and much, much more.