Carpet, Rug, & Furniture Cleaning Blog | Five Step Carpet Care

Best of the Five Step Blog!

March 30, 2016/in Carpet Care /by Scott Finney

Greetings, readers! Spring has finally sprung in Asheville, and we are loving the warm weather. Hope you’re enjoying it, too!

This week, we thought we’d do a round-up of all the best and most informative blog posts we’ve published on the Five Step blog over the last year. From great before-and-after photos to the importance of maintaining a vacuuming schedule in your home or business, we’ve touched on a lot of topics over the last twelve months. So, without further ado, here are our 8 best blog posts from 2015!

Green Carpet Cleaning — What are the Five Steps?

In this post, we tell you how we do what we do. How do we get carpets and rugs so clean, without leaving behind toxic residues or harming the environment? Check out this post to find out.

How Often Should I Vacuum?

Houses don’t come with instruction books. Many people ask us, “how often should I be vacuuming my carpets?” But there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on many factors, such as what kind of carpet, quantity and type of traffic, and other variables. So we created this informative blog post to help you answer that question.

How Often Should I Have My Carpets Cleaned?

To follow up on the post about how often to vacuum, we did a post on how often you should have your carpets professionally cleaned. This, too, can vary a lot from person to person, home to home, or business to business. But taking into account the factors explained in this post can help you make an informed decision!

How Can I Protect My Carpet?

Carpeting for your home is a big investment, and you want to make sure it has a long life and remains in good, vibrant condition. There are ways to protect your carpet to ensure a longer life. This post goes through a few ways to keep your carpets maintained and cared for.

How Healthy Is Your Home?

Ever wonder what kind of microscopic critters might be hiding in your home? This post takes you through a list of health hazards that could be present in your floors, and tells you what you can do to minimize the risks.

Upholstery Cleaning: Rental or Pro?

This is a great article to consult if you’re trying to decide whether to hire professional upholstery cleaners or to rent a machine and do it yourself.

DIY Carpet Cleaning: Should You Risk It?

In this post, we offer a non-biased (well, maybe only slightly biased) breakdown of the factors you should consider when deciding whether to have your carpets professionally cleaned, or to DIY it.

Best of the Before-and-After Pics

We publish a lot of before-and-after photos of our work. But this one is our absolute favorite. To the left, you can see what this fine rug looked like BEFORE we cleaned it. Click over and see what it looked like AFTER! Even we had a hard time believing our eyes, and we do this every day!

Well, that’s it. We hope you enjoyed this round-up of our best blog posts from 2015. If you live in the Asheville NC area, or elsewhere in western NC, and you need carpet, rug, tile, slate, upholstery, or wood floor cleaning services, we hope you’ll call us at 828.772.1824 or click over to our handy contact form to get in touch with us today.

Fine Rug Cleaning – Before and After

March 19, 2016/in Before and After Pics /by Scott Finney

Hi, everyone! We’re back this week with more amazing before-and-after shots of our work. It’s something we like to do on the blog from time to time, because we’re really proud of our work! This time, we have a couple of fine rug cleaning photos we’d like to share with you.

This fine rug came to us looking a little worse for wear, as you can see in the picture on the left. The lighter colored areas of the rug are dingy-looking, and there are some areas of gray discoloration–probably from dirt staining. Sometimes, fine rugs just need a nice, long, luxurious bath! So that’s what we did.

As you can see in the shot on the right, our fine rug looked much better after its spa day! The lighter colored areas of the rug look bright and clean, the texture looks softer, and even the dark red border seems to pop a bit more.

Our rug cleaning solution contains no bleach, soap or enzymes, so the rug’s dyes and fibers are protected. There are no harmful toxins or chemicals, either, so our five step system is safe for your home, kids and pets. Best of all, we use much less water than our competitors, so our system is much more sustainable and environmentally friendly!

We also offer affordable rates and a convenient rug pick-up and delivery service. Check out our rates for fine rug and area rug cleaning below.

Check our website for current pricing.

If you live in the Asheville, NC area and are in need of high-quality, professional fine rug cleaning with great results, contact us today via our contact form, or give us a call at 828.772.1824.

Asheville Tile and Slate Cleaning

February 18, 2016/in Tile and Slate /by Scott Finney

Did you know that Five Step Carpet Care is also Asheville’s top source for tile and slate cleaning? That’s right. In addition to cleaning WNC’s carpets, upholstery and wood floors, we also take care of tile and slate needs for our customers.

If you have tile or slate floors or walls in your home, you know they can start to look dull and dirty over time. The grout between the tiles can become stained, yellow, or aged-looking. Periodic deep cleaning is necessary to keep your floors looking new, but going the DIY route can leave your knuckles scraped and your knees aching. Not to mention the amount of time it can take without specialized equipment!

Instead of going it alone, give us a call! Our professional crew will make your tile sparkle, your grout gleam, and your slate shine!

We can handle any surface, including:

Bathrooms- tubs, showers, and floors
Kitchens- floors, backsplashes, counters and walls
Outdoor areas- terraces, decks, patios, pool areas
Traffic areas- foyers, hallways, staircases

As always, our cleaning procedures are sustainable and non-toxic, using just a fraction of the water our competitors use, and keeping harmful pollutants out of our precious waterways. Just one more reason to choose Five Step!

If you have dirty tile and grout or slate that needs a little TLC, contact us today or give us a call at 828.772.1824. We promise you’ll be glad you did!

Use this Carpet Cleaning Checklist to Prepare for Your Cleaning!

February 2, 2016/in Carpet Care /by Scott Finney

Sometimes our customers ask what they can do to prepare for their carpet cleaning. There’s not much you need to do—we’re pretty self sufficient. But there are a couple of simple preparations you can make to help ensure that your carpet cleaning goes smoothly and quickly.

Here’s a carpet cleaning checklist that you can use to prepare on the day of your carpet cleaning.

Schedule your carpet cleaning for a day when you won’t need to use the room. For instance, if you’re having the carpets cleaned in your den, and your son’s soccer team comes over on Thursdays after practice for pizza in the den, don’t schedule your carpet cleaning on a Thursday. Once the carpet has been cleaned, keep your family members and pets out of the room for a minimum of 3-4 hours to allow the carpet to dry.
Pick up small items. Before the crew arrives, go through the room and do a quick pick-up. Move toys, magazine racks, sit-arounds, and other small items out of the room.
Remove breakables from the room. Our professional staff is very careful and conscious when it comes to the safety of your belongings. When using our equipment, we always try to remain conscious of our surroundings to prevent any mishaps. But, better safe than sorry. If you have fragile items hanging on the walls, for instance, it might be a good idea to get them out of the way before your scheduled carpet cleaning.
Get cats and dogs secured in another area of the house. Our carpet cleaning solutions are non-toxic and totally safe for you and your pets, but dogs and cats can get in the way when we’re cleaning. Or they might be frightened of our equipment. So the best bet is to get your pets secured in another room while the carpet crew is at your home.
Move heavy furniture out of the way. We will move smaller items or furniture that can be slid from one side of the room to another, but please move all heavy items out of the room before our arrival. Or, our strapping crew can move your heavy furniture for you for an extra charge.
Vacuum if you want—or don’t. Some of our clients prefer to vacuum the carpet before we arrive, but it’s not necessary. We will vacuum prior to cleaning.
Prepare to be amazed! Your carpets are going to look GREAT after we’re done. If you’re prone to knee-weakness when you’re pleasantly surprised, you might want to get a chair ready to collapse in!

And that’s it! We’ll take care of the rest.

We hope you found this carpet cleaning checklist helpful. If you are looking for a sustainable, green carpet cleaning service in the Asheville, NC area, contact us or give us a call at 828.772.1824 today!

Wood Floor Cleaning Hendersonville NC

January 13, 2016/in Hardwood Floor Cleaning /by Scott Finney

We don’t just clean carpets! Clients in Hendersonville, NC and across western North Carolina call us for their wood floor cleaning needs, as well. And just as we’ve made a name for ourselves with expert quality carpet and rug care, our reputation for great, expert level hardwood floor cleaning and polishing has grown by leaps and bounds over the years.

Even though you keep your wood floors clean through regular cleaning, you might start to notice them looking duller and dirtier as the years go by. Pine and hardwood floors require periodic polishing to maintain their beauty and shine, and even engineered wood floors benefit from occasional deep cleaning. After years of foot traffic, the floor’s finish can slowly wear off. Or if you wax your floors, the floor’s luster could be hidden under layers of floor wax.

But DIY deep cleaning of your hardwood floor can take a lot of time and excessive elbow grease. Plus, there can be a lot of confusion surrounding the process, and without the proper tools, you may end up doing more harm than good. There are hundreds of cleaning agents on the market, and it can be hard to figure out which one is suitable for your wood floor. Liquid cleaners are not recommended for many types of wood flooring, which require special coatings in order to truly shine. Plus, engineered wood floors can‘t be polished because the polish will not adhere to the engineered floors.

Our superior wood floor cleaning process can restore the radiance of your floor, making it look brand new. And at Five Step, we only use 100% all natural and biodegradable cleaning products. Our cleaners are non-acidic and contain no bleach, no enzymes and no dyes or colors. Our impact on the environment is just as important to us as our customers’ satisfaction.

If cleaning alone isn’t enough to make your wood floor shine, we can remove the older urethane or wax coating and refinish your floor in new gloss, leaving your old wood floor looking as good as new.

Give your old wood floor new life and brilliance with a thorough deep cleaning from Five Step Carpet Care NC. We are your source for Hendersonville hardwood floor cleaning. If you live in Hendersonville, NC or the surrounding areas, give us a call at 828.772.1824 or use our contact form to get in touch today!

Cigarette Smoke Odor Removal Asheville

January 4, 2016/in Carpet Care /by Scott Finney

Over the years, we’ve had many ex-smokers call us for carpet or rug cleaning. They’ve taken a huge step to improve their lives and their health by quitting cigarettes, but their houses still smell like old, stale smoke. For a newly-quit smoker, it doesn’t take long before the odor becomes unbearable, and that’s when they give Five Step Carpet Care a call. We’re the best source for cigarette smoke odor removal in Asheville.

Cigarette smoke can leave behind powerful, unpleasant odors that just won’t go away no matter how much you air out the room with fans, or deodorize the carpets. 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 susceptible. Studies have shown that even small amounts of third hand smoke exposure are associated with respiratory disorders, developmental delays and reduced IQ. So even months or years after adults quit smoking, their children or grandchildren may still be subjected to health risks from exposure to the residues left behind in carpets, upholstery and porous surfaces in the home.

So if you’ve taken the momentous step to quit smoking, congratulations! You’ve made a really smart decision, and your hard work and commitment to quit is commendable. Your next step should be to remove those stinky and harmful odors and residues from your home. One step most ex-smokers take is to repaint the walls. But just as important, if not more so, is doing something about your upholstery, carpets and rugs. Some people, when faced with this challenge, understandably think that the only solution is to rip all the floor coverings out and replace them. But that’s not the case! Good professional carpet, rug and upholstery cleaning CAN eliminate both the unpleasant odors AND the harmful residues left behind by years of cigarette smoke.

In addition to helping out ex-smokers, we’ve also cleaned carpets for homeowners who purchased a house in which the former occupants smoked cigarettes, and for landlords whose tenants smoked in the house. Whatever the reason, if you’ve got a lingering cigarette smoke odor problem in your carpets, rugs or upholstery, we can help! If you live in Asheville or the surrounding area, give us a call at 828.772.1824 or use the contact form to get in touch with us today!

Asheville Oriental Rug Cleaning – Before and After

December 8, 2015/in Rug Cleaning /by Scott Finney

If you think you’ve got an oriental rug on your hands that’s too dirty to clean, trust us: we’ve probably seen worse.

It’s not uncommon for a client to call us and say “Hey, I just picked up this great oriental rug at a yard sale for twenty bucks. But it’s not in the best shape…”

Look. We work miracles with rugs. To prove it, here are some before and after photos of some of our recent work.

As you can see here, this rug has been through the ringer. In this before photo, you can barely even see the pattern of the oriental rug beneath the thick, gray staining. It’s hard to tell by looking at it whether the dirt is the only problem, or if the stains are just masking more permanent damage underneath.

Not to worry! Our gentle, effective five step cleaning process will remove all the dirt and let the rug’s beauty shine through.

And here’s the After picture! Wow! The difference is amazing. Now you can actually see the gorgeous pattern of the rug. The colors are vibrant, the texture is soft and plush, and even the fringe looks much better.

So if you happen to see a fine rug rolled up in the corner at someone’s garage sale, and it looks a bit worse for wear… chances are, we’ll be able to restore it to its original beauty and vibrancy. We also offer convenient pick-up and delivery service to make the whole process as smooth and easy as possible for you.

If you live in the Asheville area and have a fine rug on your hands that you think might be too dirty to clean, give us a call. Trust us, we’ve probably seen worse. Call us at 828.772.1824 or use our contact form to drop us a line today.

Want to see more of our amazing before and after photos? Check out these articles:

Asheville Area Rug Cleaning – Before and After

Asheville Upholstery Cleaning – Before and After

Asheville Carpet Cleaning – Before and After

We wish you a happy holiday season!

Clean Carpets for the Holidays!

December 5, 2015/in Carpet Care /by Scott Finney

Are you planning to entertain this holiday season? Preparing the home for a holiday party, or just for family to visit for Christmas, can be a major source of stress for many homeowners. We get it. You’re busy decking the halls and fa-la-la-la-la-ing. With all the presents to buy, meals to plan, and decorations to put up, there’s often little time left for the deep cleaning you want to give your house before the guests arrive.

But there is one thing you can go ahead and check off your list, without having to worry that it gets done properly, and that’s clean carpets and rugs. Our friendly team of professionals can get your carpets looking like new in short order. And with our area rug pick-up service, you can get your area rugs, or even your fine oriental or Persian rugs cleaned without setting foot out of your house. We’ve even been known to make it to our clients’ homes in weather conditions that stop the mailman! Instead of trudging through the wintry weather, you can snuggle up by the fire with a glass of hot mulled cider and a good book. That’ll help you get into the Christmas spirit!

Neither rain nor snow can stop Five Step Carpet Care!

And even if you’re not planning to host any get togethers this holiday season, having vibrant, clean carpets and rugs in your home is a great way to start the new year off fresh, so consider making carpet cleaning a New Years resolution for your home!

If you live in Asheville, NC or the surrounding areas and are looking for a top-quality, professional carpet cleaning service, give us a call at 828.772.1824 or drop us a line via our contact form. There’s still time to get those carpets and rugs spotless for the holidays!

Asheville Rug Cleaning- Before and After

November 2, 2015/in Before and After Pics /by Scott Finney

We’re back this week with more great before and after photos for you. (If you didn’t catch last weeks blog post, you’ll want to click over and see the amazing things we can do with upholstery.)

For this post, We want to showcase some of our recent work in the realm of Asheville rug cleaning. A lot of people don’t know that we can actually pick up your area rugs and take them to our facility for a luxurious spa treatment. (or you can drop them off at our facility yourself and pick them up when they’re done.) Here is a picture of a couple of area rugs lounging in our rug bath.

Area rugs love bubble baths!

A lot of the rugs we clean look something like this before they go into the bathing pit. Dirty, stained, and a bedraggled. But that’s nothing a little elbow grease can’t fix.

After coming out of the bathing pit, the area rugs look a little more like this.

What a difference!

As always, the results speak for themselves. If you live in the Asheville, NC area and are looking for top quality Area rug cleaning from friendly professionals, give us a call, or get in touch with us via our contact form.

Asheville Upholstery Cleaning- Before and After

October 27, 2015/in Uncategorized /by Scott Finney

It has been a busy and exciting year so far for Five Step Carpet Cleaning. We’ve been getting some great before and after shots at some of our recent Asheville upholstery cleaning and carpet cleaning jobs, and we couldn’t wait to share them with you here on the blog!

Here are a couple of photos of the sofa that we cleaned recently, and as you can see, it was in dire need of attention when we arrived. It certainly looks like it’s been put through the paces of busy family life for several years. But we see stains like this all the time and we know what to do with them.

Here you can see the same sofa after we were through cleaning it. It’s almost like we went down to the furniture store and bought a brand-new sofa! But no, this is the same sofa as in the picture above!

We think our results speak for themselves, and our friendly service can’t be beat. We clean carpets, upholstery and more in Asheville NC, Hendersonville NC, and beyond. So if you’re in need of upholstery cleaning in the Asheville area, give us a call today or use our contact form to get in touch with us!