Having cleaned carpet, upholstery, and tile/grout in the Memphis area for years now, I have been able gain a little insight into the minds of our local busy moms, hurried professionals, and homeowners. Truth be told, they are all seeking the same thing out of their homes and furniture. Yes, they are all supposed to look good, but aesthetics has little to do with their discontent. Homes have always meant to be lived in, not just looked at. And as such, dirt, grime, and stains inevitably accumulate. Most families can live with a little of each, but far too many live with far too much for far too long.
Their home starts to lose that feeling of newness, but most disparaging is that their home starts to lose that sense of refuge. So they come to the belief that they need new carpet, new furniture, or perhaps even a new home. Yet, with budgets getting tight, they hold off and allow the chocolate smudged fingers of their kids and mud covered paws of their pets to do their dastardly deeds and take over the home one stain at a time.
Perhaps they try a little resolve carpet cleaner, please don't by the way as that stuff is just the worst (we recommend Folex or a Pinterest concoction instead), or they scurry on over to the grocery or hardware store, and purchase one of those rental carpet cleaning machines. (Rentals can cost as much as hiring a pro after buying the special detergent and paying all the hidden fees.) And then, just before the despair of still dirty carpet overtakes them, they call me.
I love what I do because I am not just cleaning, but I am in the business of restoration. I love the look on my customer's faces when they see their new carpet, tile, or furniture for the first time. In fact, I actually love to show them progress half-way through. Take a look at the picture below and I'll let you go ahead and guess which part is the before and which is the after.
There is a time and place for everything under the sun and yes, there might be a time to purchase a new home, carpet, or furniture. But there is never a time to feel despaired in your own home. Not while I have the industry leading tools at my disposal. Call me first and I'll give you a free quote guaranteed and backed by the owner himself. That's me by the way. You would be surprised how many customers told me I saved them the cost of an entire carpet replacement or new furniture. Then take that saved money and treat the family to a memory that will actually last.
Making your home feel new again, it's what Nelson Carpet Cleaning does, Memphis. God bless and check out the rest of my work at nelsonclean.com. Check out my 5-star reviews on Google & Yelp, and over 75 grade-A reviews on Angie's List. Fight on Memphis and don't let the despair overtake you.
As a Memphis father of 3 children myself, I have gone through the full continuum of children and dirty floors. When your first child drops his pacifier on the floor, you feel the need to call out the full Ebola Hazmat team to disinfect and remove any alien species that might now be breeding on it. Then by your second child, you are certainly more relaxed as you think back on all the items the child put in their mouth from shoes to that thing your child swallowed before you could even find out what it was. And by the time your third child rolls around, when they drop the pacifier, you pick it up, find a pile of dirt to rub it in for good measure and then just pop that thing right back in their mouth. It's true whether you like it or not and if you are the third plus child in your family, I'm pretty sure your parents won't admit to what they let happen. But clean floors are still a source of comfort for any family and cleaning floors throughout the Memphis area, I know that families simply want what is best for their kids in the end. I'm just here to tell you that living life is what is best!
Yes, we all drop food on the carpet, sometimes the dog does his business a little too soon, and if you are entirely honest, potty training your child is not without incident. However, in a scientific fact that I just made up, I think we can all agree that 90% of the dirt that is tracked into our homes comes from the feet. We all have 2 of them and all but the coolest pets have 4 of them even. You might have heard the phrase, "we follow in the footsteps of giants", but let me go ahead and coin the phrase, "we follow in the footsteps of some dirty dirty people." It is just life, no need to worry.
But until people learn how to hover in their homes, I have always felt that job security would never be a problem. Because dirty floors is just proof you are living life people. Life can be messy and in fact the most fun parts of life are rarely sterile and quarantined. Life produces dirt and that is ok. Here me now when I tell you, it is ok to have accumulated a dirty floor or two in life. Because in my opinion, you haven't lived life until you have lived enough of it to dirty your floors up a bit.
Occasionally I run into a customer who says to me that they feel embarrassed how dirty their carpets have gotten and they almost didn't want to call me as a result. But rather than judge, I want to shake their hands and thank them for living life. Your kids will not grow up dirt free if you are doing this parenting thing right and yes, sometimes in life no matter what people have told you, the answer to a problem is to just rub a little dirt on it.
I have industry leading products and a machine that will clean your floors to a degree you not thought possible. Your floors will be like new again. And yet, while I admittedly have a selfish reason for hoping the following comes true, I hope you dirty those floors right back up. I hope you live life, with your families, children, and pets, I hope you live life. If you call me out on a Monday because your family felt like a dance party in a Sunday afternoon rainstorm was appropriate, then that makes me smile like no other. It's life people. Live it, dirty it up, call me out, then live it and dirty it up again. It is what I'm here for and I'm honored you allowed me to be any part of it. Live life Memphis and Nelson Carpet Cleaning will take care of the rest.
Halloween is upon us Memphis, and with that, much of the nation is musing about their various fears and phobias. So I thought I would let you in on a few of mine. Carpet cleaners have all sorts of tricks of the trade to deal with some of the worst stains you can imagine. We can work with everything from red wine, pet stains, and even bubble gum. I've got top notch equipment, industry-leading products, and a never ending supply of elbow grease. I'm fascinated by every new stain I see because it gives me an opportunity to put my most creative solutions to work. However, I am but a man and I do have my fears. So in the spirit of Halloween, I am going to share them with you.
Stains are kind of like squatters in a vacant house. Sure, you know they shouldn't be there, but the longer they sit, the more you come to accept them as part of the neighborhood. And before you know it, you are inviting them over for Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl. In fact, I have even seen people rearrange the entire flow of their living room furniture for years just to accommodate a stain squatting in their own house. So my advice is here is to jump on it early or just go ahead give the squatters the guest room and a key to the house.
The truth is, there comes a point where a stain has been there so long, my best efforts may not be able to evict it from your carpet. I will try, but I am always sure to be upfront with my clients about the odds for success. I have been able to work some magic in the past, but if you are calling me to remove the stain caused by your child when he was 10 so you can host his College graduation party next week, the odds are dim.
If you follow this blog long enough, you will realize that I have a particular disdain for Resolve Carpet Cleaner. If homeowners use it sparingly and according to instructions, then myself and Mr. Resolve can mutually coexist most of the time. However, that is rarely the case.
Resolve is an abrasive, harsh, foamy product that seduces homeowners into thinking the answer for that tough stain is just a lot more Resolve. So when I get a call for that particular stain, my machine basically revives the foamy nature of Resolve like Frankenstein himself and it can wreak havoc on the equipment. It's all part of the job and I handle it with grace, but make no mistake about it, Resolve is my Frankenstein.
Again, I have never met a stain that I won't try to slay, but dried Wood Varnish might be my toughest monster yet. If you think about it, wood varnish is designed to penetrate hard wood. So when given enough time, it works its way into the carpet. And once dry, it is nearly impossible to remove. Despite that fact that people are not typically juggling open cans of wood varnish in the living room, these stains happen more often than you would think. I will go ahead and tell you that if you if you spill an entire can of wood varnish on the carpet, then your best bet is probably to get on the phone with a floor gallery for some carpeting because that carpet is deader than the Mummy himself.
However, most wood varnish stains come via wood furniture getting wet, or perhaps a dog relieving himself on one of the couch legs. And while it might not be as bad as spilling an open can, if let too long, that little spot on the carpet might as well wrap himself in cloth and start moaning like the Mummy. Honestly, now that I think about it, I don't even know how you kill the Mummy in the horror movies. But all that to say, wood varnish and carpets don't play well together and when I know that is what I am facing, I have to get my monster-slaying game face on.
There you have it Memphis, this is what terrifies me in my line of work. I wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable Halloween and if your kids decide to over-do it on candy and vomit exorcist-style on your carpet, give Nelson Carpet Cleaning a call, because that doesn't even give me the chills.
As a carpet cleaner serving the Memphis area, I pretty much have seen every side to this debate that you could imagine. Of course, I'm talking about the great debate of whether or not to have a shoes off at the door policy. Now, when I come and see you professionally for your dirty carpet, I am going to have these sweet little sterile hospital like shoe covers that I use while I work. So whatever the policy might be for your home, I got your back. But for most families, it is actually a larger debate than one might think. That is unless you are reading this blog from Japan where everyone takes off their shoes and the question is already settled. But since Tokyo is a little outside my service area, I'm going to talk to my friends here in Memphis to give you just a couple of points to consider from your friendly neighborhood carpet cleaner.
First of all, let me just say that the dirty water my machine sucks out of your carpet is nothing to be ashamed of. That is why you called a carpet cleaner in the first place. But when you actually get a chance to see the liquid version of what was in your carpets it can be a little shocking. So you have to ask yourself, where exactly did it come from? Sure you might have pets, perhaps you spilled last night's lasagna right on the carpet, and kids have a magical ability to create dirt out of thin air. But for most, the dirt sneaks into your home on the bottom of your sneakers like a thief in the night.
Remember that odd looking puddle you stepped in while walking through the parking lot? Ever been the unfortunate soul to walk in your house from outside only to catch that dreaded smell informing you that Fido's best might be on your shoe? It is common sense that our feet bring in some dirt. Yes, it can go beyond dirt. Bacteria, chemicals, and bubble gum are part of the package as well. So if you are a "shoes off at the door" family, then you have some pretty solid science and human observation supporting your plan. But that doesn't mean you get a free pass to not call me! For even the shoes off policy can't keep a floor forever clean. If you don't believe shoes off families, then I'll show you the water when I am done to prove it! But let's talk about the other side of the coin.
First of all, I kind of like that question. You have a great point and you can always call me. But it is the stream of thought for many who oppose the shoes off at the door policy. Most figure their carpets are going to get dirty anyway, so why inconvenience people by having them take their shoes on and off every time they walk through the door. Many people with the shoes off policy often just make it for their families. When guest come over they don't make a big deal when they don't kick off their shoes. Then again other people halt the Pope, President, or Police at the door to insist they kick them off before they take another step.
So rather than burden others, they just let what happens happen in a sort of laissez-faire attitude and trust it to work itself out. And you know what, it does. Families who wear shoes in the house are just as healthy and happy. Certainly, their floors will inevitably need a little more of a deep clean. But again, that's what I am here for. However, I am here to tell you as dirty floor expert, the shoes off at the door policy has some advantages. It is really just up to you how stringent you want to enforce it. And then if you don't care either way, I won't judge you. Because take it from me, everyone's water is dirty when I am done. So no need to try and keep up with the Joneses and act otherwise. Because the Joneses are probably a client of Nelson Carpet Cleaning anyway. Enjoy the rest of your day Memphis and kick back those feet and relax. With or without shoes.
On the off-chance that Jeopardy ever has a "Carpet Cleaning" category on its quiz show, let me clue you into the fact that November and December are without a doubt two of the busiest months for a carpet cleaner. For families, it can also be a stressful time as homes across America will begin the annual deep clean that comes from getting ready to host family, friends, and the mother-in-law you just know is going to point out the one stain in the carpet. However, I humorously discovered that there is an entire separate camp of holiday cleaning taking place in Memphis. This camp doesn't care what their friends and family think about the carpets when they visit, they just know they want them clean now after all these people were in their house spilling gravy and pie. And to be honest with you, these people seem to be the most stress-free and relaxed of them all. So as this Thanksgiving approaches, I'd like to take a little bit off your plate and assure you that it is going to be ok.
Honestly, I have always seen a little bit of logic behind both camps of cleaning. Whenever you are hosting a large gathering, there is nothing wrong with wanting to put your best foot forward. Besides, most people have been putting off getting their carpet cleaned all year and it took an event such as this for them to finally give me a call in the first place. So we get the carpets looking new for the big day, but then your cousin Eddie's kid has trouble chewing with his mouth closed and now there is pie all over our new carpet. And what was a stressful pre-holiday rush for you to prepare your home has no become a post-holiday stress on how to repair it.
In walks the post-holiday clean crowd. They know their family too well and as far as they are concerned, they might as well have asked over Clark Griswold and family. They knew what they were getting into by volunteering to host. So for their sanity's sake the other 364 days of the year, they just want me to come and make the holiday evidence disappear! As a result, it allows you as the homeowner to just relax as you watch the pie and gravy fall rather than watch it descend in slow-motion as you leap to catch it. Both camps have merit, so there is no judgement from me as to where you fall. To be honest, unless you are asking me to clean up a human sized chalk outline, I don't have any problems with that ever motivates you to give me a call.
But I will say this to all those busy moms scrambling to get everything done in the next few weeks, it's ok for it not to be perfect. There will be Turkey, Football, and someone falling asleep on the couch no matter how you spin it. There is nothing wrong with taking a little pressure off yourself and asking for a little help. Whether you clean your carpets before or after the gathering is up to you, but there is nothing wrong taking advantage of the extra help. We don't even have to tell your mother-in-law about it.
As busy as I am this time of year, I always count my blessing that seasons like this exist. My kids are not getting any younger and it reminds me to slow things down a bit to enjoy the time I have with them. Because when it is all said and done, if you can't enjoy the process then it seems silly to spend countless weeks of stress all for the one day of the year where the entire nation is forced to watch the Detroit Lions lose a football game. Sorry Lions fans. But after all, isn't asking for a little help pretty much the original Thanksgiving tradition?
I'm happy to come and perform my best work for you if it takes one more item off your pre-holiday checklist. The timeframe between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be booking up over the next few weeks with both camps of cleaning. Pre-Holiday or post-holiday cleaning, check out our ratings and reviews at NelsconClean.com and let me help you move one step closer to a stress-free holiday. Happy Thanksgiving Memphis from your friendly local carpet cleaner.