Important Tips For Keeping Your Leather Furniture In Great Condition

Cleaning Austin, Texas

You might have heard that leather furniture is high maintenance, or that you shouldn’t get it because it's just too much work. That’s not necessarily true. In fact, with the right knowledge and the right products, taking care of your leather furniture can be easy! Here are some tips from experts at The Steam Team.

Dealing With Spills

If you’re able to clean up spills quick enough, they won’t ruin your leather furniture or leave any marks. If you wait too long after a spill or take too long in getting the cloth to clean it with, you’ll likely end up with a pretty pesky stain. When you wipe it, use a soft cloth and allow it to air dry, leaving your leather furniture clean and stain-free. If you’re not able to get your hands on a soft cloth in time, go ahead and spread the spill to the edges of that section of leather. Though this may sound like you’re making it worse, by spreading the liquid you’re actually eliminating the outline of the watermark, which is the most obvious sign of a stain.

Proper Conditioning

It’s easy to forget that the leather on your sofa or chair was once part of a living animal. When that was the case, the leather was being regularly treated with the body’s natural oils. Now the job of keeping it properly conditioned has fallen to you. Leather conditioning should be applied every 6 to 12 months. The tag of your specific item of leather furniture should specify when and how to condition.

Hiring Professionals Can Help

Leather furniture certainly does require a little more care and knowledge than most furniture. That’s why The Steam Team is here to help! Our leather technicians can clean your leather and bring it back to its original, pristine condition in no time. For more information visit The Steam Team website.

Planning A Deep Clean Of Your Home? Don't Forget These Areas!

Deep CLeaning of Home in Westlake Hills, Austin Texas

Home ownership comes with a lot of responsibilities, including the occasional deep cleaning of your home. Wiping down all the surfaces and doing detailed cleaning of appliances and all the nooks and crannies of your home can be exhausting, especially without any professional help. Because of how big of a task it can be to clean your entire home, there are many areas that people forget about entirely. Let’s talk about those commonly overlooked areas, and how you can clean them like a pro.

Drapery

Most homeowners will clean their windows, but forget about the drapes completely, or think they don’t need cleaning. Dust, dirt, pollen and even mold can accumulate on drapes left unchecked. Many drapes can’t be cleaned in the washing machine, and require special attention. So be sure you know what kind of clean your drapes need.

Air Vents

Dusting and cleaning surfaces is important for maintaining clean, breathable air in your home. But are you making sure to also clean the source of that air? Dirty air vents can affect your everyday health, and unfortunately most people don’t clean them as often as they should. Next time you wonder why your cabinets are so dusty, check the vents.

Underneath Appliances

Under and behind many appliances might just be the dirtiest places in your home. Many people never clean these areas at all! Dirt, dust, grime and food can build up in these areas, and you can’t avoid cleaning them forever! If you don’t want to pull out that refrigerator or washing machine and clean all around it, call The Steam Team and let us do it!

Baseboards

Baseboards are often never cleaned, even though cleaning them doesn’t take too much time or effort. They can easily collect dust and dirt over time. Cleaning them can be done with just a damp cloth or a wipe.

How We Can Help

If these areas are too difficult or too inconvenient for you to clean, keep in mind that The Steam Team technicians can do it all! So stop letting these areas of your home get dirtier by the day, give us a call. Visit The Steam Team website for more information.

Don't Forget About Cleaning Those Window Treatments

When it comes to cleaning the house, window treatments don’t typically need regular maintenance every day. Over time, however, that becomes a different story. Since our draperies, blinds, and other window treatments are often the most neglected areas in our home when it comes to cleaning, they tend to build up dirt, dust, and other grime quickly. In some instances, this could be contributing to continued dust around the home or even those allergies that have been tickling your nose lately! So, what’s the best way to clean any type of window treatment?

A regular vacuum attachment is a good option for an every-now-and-then clean, but ultimately steam cleaning is one of the best options for cleaning drapes, curtains, and any other type of window treatment.

How It Works

Not only is steam cleaning effective, but it’s an extremely efficient cleaning method. We’re not talking about removing all of your window treatments and hand-washing them (if they’re fabric), nope! Everything can stay just where it is, there’s not much you’ll have to do besides let our technicians handle the job.

We’ll use a low moisture, hot water extraction method, or a dry cleaning method to safely remove dust, dander, dirt and other particles from your draperies. Since steam cleaning uses such low moisture, your window treatments will be dry in no time!

Expert Tips for Ongoing Care

While they’re not the most obvious piece of furniture or decoration around your home that needs to be cleaned, we can’t let you forget about your window treatments and their need for some regular TLC. To best maintain any curtains or drapes and keep them around as long as possible, rotate them every so often just like you might a rug or an armchair. This keeps the harsh sunlight from damaging their fabric so they’ll wear evenly.

If you need any more help with the window treatments around your home, don’t hesitate to call in The Steam Team. We’re here to clean those fabrics and bring them back to life!

Who Does Clean Up After Construction?

Cleaning up in Austin

Construction work is never easy. From making the plans, getting the permits, hiring help, and finally breaking ground on a project, it seems like an impossible feat. So when your walls are up, your remodeling is finished, and your project is complete -- you want to start experiencing your hard work right away.

The only problem? Everywhere you look there’s a mess. Whether it’s scraps of old wood, sawdust covering everything, or pieces of materials you don’t even remember using, the cleanup process can be just as grueling as the work. So, whose job is it to clean up after construction?

Who’s Responsible?

You most likely know the answer, but that doesn’t mean you’ll like it. Most construction companies are hired for the work, but after that last nail is in place, they’re out of there. And the cost to hire a one-stop-shop type of company? It’s enough to make your head spin!

Which means that you’re left with the backbreaking task of tediously cleaning all of the debris.

What Can You Do?

In this case, you have two choices: You can either clean the site yourself, or you can call in the professionals.

The Steam Team is skilled in all things construction cleanup. We’re pros at getting all of the dangerous scraps cleared away, all of the particles swept up, and making your new space look (and feel) spic and span! We’re happy to sweep the floors, make sure the environment is safe, and turn your new site into the dazzling location of your dreams.

So as you’re planning your new home addition or office space, don’t forget to plan what happens after the hammers stop. Let someone else deal with the messy cleanup, and enjoy the space the way it was meant to be: shiny, clean, and ready to be lived in.

5 Ways to Keep Flooring Looking Fabulous in Austin, TX

Cleaning Austin, TX

Your flooring may already look fabulous to you, but who knows what’s truly lurking against the grain of those beautiful planks? Dirt and dust can hide quite inconspicuously. Not to

mention, at some point in time, a wet mop will have to make its way out of the cleaning closet (for best results, that is). Below, you’ll find five ways to care for your hardwood flooring!

Dust Weekly with Microfiber Cloth or Dry Mop

Dust seems to attack from all corners of the house: the back door, the front, foot traffic, our animals… it even cycles around beneath ceiling fans. Try dry dusting with a microfiber cloth (so that the dust sticks, and doesn’t spread!) or even better- with a dry mop!

Vacuum Regularly

We’re not talking about carpet, here. In fact, many vacuums function on hardwood floor, as they come with a setting suitable for bare floor. If you don’t have time to dry mop or dust often, we suggest finding a vacuum cleaner suitable for your hardwood. It can save time and so much energy!

Use a Wet Mop

It’s unavoidable, especially if you spot a neglected spill. Before using a wet mop, make sure you’ve prepared properly by purchasing the correct floor cleaner. Using a solution that isn’t designed for hardwood can cause damage, or at the least, smudging and obvious track marks!

Clean Spills Immediately

Rule #1 of cleaning: if it spills, it stays… until somebody comes to clean it up. To keep your hardwood flooring looking clean and pristine, tackle spills and stains right away! Don’t let them settle onto the flooring- it’ll only be more difficult to clean in the long run.

Call The Steam Team!

If properly cared for, hardwood floors can last forever. Every one to three years or so, The Steam Team can assist you in deep-cleaning your floors. Or if you’re in need of a hardwood floor refinishing, we’ve got your back! Don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’re available around the clock!

3 Fun Facts About Steam Cleaning

The Steam Team Austin, Texas Official Sun Glasses

Who said cleaning can’t be fun? Steam cleaning may not seem like it could be exciting to you, but when you see the effects it has on various surfaces and environments everyday - it’s certainly intriguing.

Check out these awesome facts about steam cleaning!

1. Steam cleaning can help improve air quality around the home.

Ridding flooring (and other surfaces) of common allergens, dust particles, and grime build up keeps these things from circulating around the home. With all of these particles, the air quality around your home will start to improve.

Don’t forget to clean your air ducts and you’re sure to breathe clean air!

1. The steam cleaner was first invented over 150 years ago.

Since then, it’s come a long way! The technology integrated with steam cleaners now is entirely different. Machines are able to be used on various surfaces, materials, and fabrics for a variety of reasons, too. Not only can flooring be steam cleaned, but furniture, window treatments, appliances, air ducts - you name it!

What we know now versus what we knew when steam cleaning was initially invented is monumental.

1. Carpet should be professionally steam cleaned every 12-18 months.

Regularly cleaning carpets with a steam cleaner helps to eliminate any grime build-up but also keeps allergens and pollutants at a minimum around the home. Remember; steam cleaning is a much more thorough and deep clean versus regular vacuuming. Scheduling a professional to come into your home every 12-18 months has shown to be the most effective and efficient way to protect, clean, and maintain carpet flooring.

If you need a professional to take a look at your carpets, give us a call at The Steam Team today!