Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver is a non-profit organization seeking to eliminate poverty housing in the Greater Vancouver area.  Through volunteer labour and donations of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity works with partner families to build simple, decent housing.  Families invest 500 hours of their own labour, called “Sweat Equity” into building their own houses and those of other families.   Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver is currently building a 27-townhouse community in Burnaby, B.C.

At Easy Care Restoration, we are the leaders in our industry for corporate responsibility and community involvement.  We have supported many charitable organizations and communities over the years and we are very excited to be supporting Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver.

Along with a cash donation, our goal is to donate 225 hours of labour towards the building of Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver’s current 27 townhouse community project in Burnaby.

We are proud to continue providing quality work…honestly, ethically and with integrity to the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Easy Care has been providing flood, fire and trauma restoration as well as quality carpet and upholstery cleaning since 1979.

For your disaster emergencies or carpet cleaning needs, call Easy Care and help us make a difference!

For further information on Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver visit www.vancouverhabitat.bc.ca

Easy Care Restoration… We treat your home and business like our own!

Have a spill? Try these tips and tricks right away to break up those nasty stains and then call a professional carpet cleaner in to get out the rest.

Coffee and soda
Unfortunately, these two beverages will wreak permanent havoc on your carpets or rugs if not treated immediately. They will dye the fibers and once dry it is very difficult to remove the stain completely, although the color can fade. Club soda is a lifesaver and a household necessity. Pour it onto the stain and blot it. Another trick is to use 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with four cups of warm water.

Chocolate
Once again, get club soda on the stain right away. Use a paper towel to get any excess pieces of chocolate off, then use a carpet spray cleaner like Resolve or Spot Shot.

Candle wax
Wax can seem like an impossible item to get off of carpet, but it’s actually quite simple. You simply need to freeze the wax completely with ice. You can place plastic baggies of ice directly onto the wax and leave it there for awhile. When the wax is rock hard and cold, you can begin to remove it. Use a blunt edge tool to crack the ice and then vacuum it up quickly. If there are any particles of wax left, scrape it with a blunt object. This method is great for gum, too!

Pet urine
Fido is great but pet urine on your carpet is not. Apply baking soda to the stain as soon as you can, and use a paper towel to quickly blot up excess moisture. Dampen the area with water and apply additional baking soda, letting it set overnight. In the morning, vacuum it up. You can also use a vinegar solution of 1/2 cup of white vinegar mixed with 1/4 cup warm water. Pour onto the stain and then place a dry towel over it. Let is set overnight and apply a heavy object to the towel since the pressure will help the towel absorb the stain.

Maintenance
If you’ve picked up nothing else, hopefully it’s the importance of having club soda in the house! It will help on nearly any stain, from mud to wine. Professionals recommend having carpets and rug steam cleaned at least once a year and it is surprisingly affordable (keep an eye for specials and coupons). Vacuum at least once a week, but two or three times a week is best!  Also invest in a good spray cleaner made for carpets. They help out in a jiffy, too!

Gum - Freeze gum with ice cubes and chip off what you can with the blunt side of a kitchen knife. A cleaner can remove the rest.

Oil, grease, magic marker and ink can be difficult to remove.

WD40 or Orange Clean can work wonders at removing these stubborn stains. Rubbing alcohol removes ink. Blot on, allow to set 30 minutes and blot to remove. Rinse with sudsy water. Magic marker is generally permanent and you may not be able to remove it.

My dog has urinated on the carpet and I can’t get the stain out. Do you have any suggestions for removal of pet stains?

Pet stains are known as ‘absorbed spots’, meaning the fluid penetrates the fibers of the carpet and the backing.  As such it may take several cleanings to remove the spot completely.

The ability to remove the spot completely however, is affected by how many times your pet has urinated in the same spot and whether you have attempted to clean the area yourself.  Off the shelf enzymatic pet stain removers only treat the problem on the surface and do not extract out the urine that has penetrated down to the base.

As well, by not cleaning the stain thoroughly, your pet is more likely to pick that spot again.  The risk then becomes that the urine penetrates the underlay and smells, and eventually removes the dye from the carpet.

The best course of action is to absorb as much of the fluid as possible with a weighted down towel and then call in a professional cleaner to treat the area with professional grade spot removers.  This will not only treat the problem as thoroughly as possible but will decrease the likelihood of your pet choosing the same spot again.