Here’s the deal – And this is really VERY simple. The only thing that an advertiser absolutely guarantees is that they will SEND US A BILL. We’ve tried Yellow Pages, Radio, TV and all the rest and not one of them guarantees that we will actually GET paying customers for their $800 a month contract. We would much rather GIVE AWAY FREE SERVICES to our CUSTOMERS when they send their friends to us. This is a much BETTER deal for YOU and for US. In fact we will clean one room of carpet FREE, for each NEW customer that you send our way. What’s more; there is NO expiration date and NO LIMIT on the number of folks that you can send. We would LOVE to have to clean the carpets in your entire home at NO COST to you, because you sent us seven or ten or however many NEW customers. All you need to do is start spreading the word!

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When is a Carpet “Expert” – NOT An Expert?

There are carpet cleaning companies out there who will do almost anything to get their foot in your front door. One of the things they will resort to is lying. Of course they don’t think of it as lying, they see it as “creative marketing”. One of these lies is to make you think that they have far more expertise than they actually do. They offer to perform a “free carpet audit” that will give you all sorts of helpful information about your carpet as well as carpet cleaning tips. The problem with this is that there is no such thing as a “carpet audit”. This term was invented by a marketing guru, to help carpet cleaning services get their foot in your front door and their hands on your wallet.

The “carpet audit” was conjured up to create the impression that you are getting an expert evaluation of your carpet, when, in fact, all you are getting is a glorified estimate of carpet cleaning prices.

I started my carpet cleaning company in 1979, over 30 years ago. In 1993 I enrolled in an educational program to become and IICRC Certified Senior Carpet Inspector. After completing the training and a one year probationary period, I became one of only three IICRC Certified Senior Carpet Inspectors in the state of Kansas. You can check out my credentials by going to iicrc.org and doing a search for Carpet Inspectors in Kansas. It shouldn’t take you long to find the name Mike Brummett, under Senior Carpet Inspectors. IICRC stands for the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. The IICRC is a legitimate non-profit educational entity serving the carpet cleaning services industry. The highest designation available through IICRC is that of Senior Carpet Inspector. Senior Inspectors are true experts who act as unbiased third parties in determining if a carpet has manufacturing related defects. Since 1993 I have performed hundreds of inspections commissioned by carpet manufacturers, retailers and consumers. I have also acted as an Expert Witness a number of times.

If you want a legitimate expert, with real credentials, and experience to take a look at your carpet, and help get your carpet clean please don’t hesitate to give me a call at (785) 330-5266. I promise you that I will be 100% truthful with you about the carpets at your home or business.

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Have you ever walked into a business and found yourself feeling genuinely disgusted with how the place looked? Did you know that on average, within the first 30 seconds of meeting you, that people make eleven decisions about you based solely on how you look? Do you think that the physical appeal and cleanliness of your business space is any different? You can be the absolute best at what you do, but none of that matters if customers get a negative first impression when they walk in the door. This is even more critical if your target market is higher income people with greater disposable income. Keeping carpets cleaned and vacuumed, floors wept and polished and furniture cleaned periodically will help improve your bottom line. Years ago, UPS proved this by wasing their delivery trucks. They did not was them weekly, or three times per week, they washed them EVERY DAY. As a result of having clean, bright trucks, they created the impression that they really had their act together. People perceived that, if their trucks looked this clean, every day, they must be very effecient at delivering packages and getting them there on time. It costs UPS money to wash tens of thousands of trucks all over the world every day, but it pays off in real dollars. Another great example is McDonalds. They invest a great deal of time and money making certain that every inch of their restaurants are spotless. They inspect their restrooms EVERY 15 MINUTES throughout the day, so that they can continue to maintain their reputation of being the cleanest restaurant franchise in the world. Again, there is a cost involved, but ask yourself this question: Is it a “maintenance” cost or a “marketing” cost? UPS and McDonalds are two of the best run and most highly profitable businesses in the world. They know that keeping clean is great marketing. Your business is no different. BASIC can help you keep your furniture, carpets and floors looking great all the time. The money you spend to keep things looking nice will come back to you in the form of profit, and that’s a fact. So, if you want to have an edge on your competition, and increase your profits, call BASIC today at 785-979-6851!

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1) PREVENT SOIL FROM GETTING TRACKED IN. This is one of the most effective things you can do. USE ENTRANCE MATS OR RUNNERS – Put them at all of the entry points of your home or business. If possible put a heavier scraper type mat (like a rubber mat or 3M Nomad mat) just outside the entrance and a mat with absorbent pile just inside the entrance. Remember that the mats can only hold a limited amount of soil, so you will want to clean them often. For the outside mats, turn them upside down on the driveway and shake them vigorously. Flip them back up and hose them out with a garden hose and/or pressure sprayer. Stand them upright or turn them upside down to dry. Inside mats should be the inexpensive kind that you can simply toss in the washer. Buy extra mats so you can rotate them while the others are being washed. TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF – It’s added insurance that you will not be tracking anything in. If going shoeless is not your thing, buy some inexpensive house slippers to wear around the house. You might even buy extras in various sizes for visitors and guests. SHOE COVERS also provide added insurance. The plumber or cable guy won’t want to spend 10 minutes unlacing his work boots, so this is a great alternative. You can get these at medical supply stores. Be sure to get the XXL size. If you have difficulty finding shoe covers, just call us at BASIC and we will give you a couple of pairs free. 2) VACUUM OFTEN – Dry matter comprises up to 75% of the soil in your carpet is dry particulate. Particulate matter includes stuff like dust, sand, hair, pet dander and so on. When you walk on your carpet, this gritty stuff cuts into the fiber and causes your carpet to die before it’s time. The less dry matter that stays in your carpet, the better. If you don’t vacuum often, this junk builds up and accelerates the problem. If you can spend ten or fifteen minutes vacuuming the highest traffic areas DAILY, it will pay dividends. You don’t have to move all the furniture, because you don’t walk under the furniture. This can be done every two weeks or so, with no ill effects. A GOOD VACUUM CLEANER does not have to be expensive or the latest high tech model, but you should avoid buying the cheapest models as well. We recommend something that has true HEPA (High-Efficiency-Particulate-Air) filtration so soil doesn’t simply get sucked up and blown back out as fine dust. Vacuums that have been tested and evaluated for their HEPA effectiveness will have the CRI-Green Seal Label. To find a list of Green Seal Certified vacuums, go to Carpet-Rug.org. You will also want a machine with a beater bar or agitator, because it helps vibrate and loosen soils so they will let go of the carpet fiber. Keep the dust bin or bag emptied or changed often. When your vacuum is only 20% full, it loses up to 80% of its suction – so keep it emptied. 3) CLEAN UP SPILLS RIGHT AWAY – If you get busy removing the spot immediately you will have far greater success than if you wait until tomorrow. Most of today’s carpets are treated with some kind of stain resistance at the mill. This means that you should be able to remove most household food and beverage stains with just a damp cloth. For a detailed listing of how to remove spots and spills and what products work best, visit the “Spot Cleaning” area on this web site. 4) HAVE YOUR CARPETS PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR – Even if you follow every suggestion here, and your carpets look “fine”, they are more soiled than you realize. Waiting until your carpets look dirty is a mistake. There are invisible things that stick to your carpet like microscopic soot from your furnace, airborne cooking oils from your kitchen and lots of other stuff. If you have kid’s, pets, and lot’s of traffic, cleaning more often will not harm your carpets or cause them to wear out faster. If you are retired empty nesters with no critters you can hold off for 18 to 24 months. YOUR CARPET WARRANTY actually requires that your carpets be professionally cleaned a minimum of every 18 to 24 months, at the least, or the warranty is voided by the manufacturer. 5) RENEW YOUR CARPET PROTECTOR – About every other cleaning, have a Scotchgard type product applied. Even if your carpet came with built in stain resistance, over time it does tend to diminish in its effectiveness. Scotchgard does two things; 1) It creates an invisible protective barrier that keeps food and beverage spots from penetrating into the fiber and becoming a permanent stain, and 2) This invisible coating actually causes your carpet to release more dry soil when you vacuum. The bottom line is that carpet protector will extend the life of your carpet.
QUESTIONS? We Are Always Happy To Help – Call (785) 330-5266 or E-Mail mike@basiccarpetcare.com

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BASIC can make your wood floors look great with NO SANDING!
Left photo is 1920′s floor BEFORE. Center is after our “secret” process. Right is the AFTER, final result. No DUST, No MESS, No STRONG FUMES! Earth Friendly and LESS EXPENSIVE than sanding. Even OLD floors like these come out very nice. CALL us for a FREE Estimate!

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For EACH NEW Customer that YOU send our way, BASIC will clean one room of carpet for you absolutely FREE. Send us THREE NEW Customers and we will clean THREE rooms FREE. Its as simple as that. No fine print, no expiration dates. All you have to do is REMIND your friends to TELL US YOU REFERRED them to BASIC Carpet Care.

Click here for more information.

Request an in-home professional carpet consultation or phone quote.

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People ask me this question all the time, probably because I’ve been cleaning carpet for 31 years.  I do have a somewhat biased opinion regarding this question.

Let’s start by talking about the stuff that the carpet is made from—the fiber. 

The very best fiber, the gold standard, is wool. There is no synthetic fiber that will match it in terms of comfort and longevity. There are two main problems with wool: first, it is very expensive; second, it is very absorbent. In fact, wool is the MOST absorbent fiber there is. Consequently, it will absorb food and beverage stains very easily, and they don’t always come out with cleaning. So, if money is no object and you can manage to never spill anything on it, get a wool carpet.

I have one room of wool carpet in my home, in the guest bedroom, and we rarely go in that room. I love the feel and look of it, and it will last for years.

Nylon is the most durable man-made fiber and there are two types used by carpet mills. Type 6, which is a bit softer and more absorbent, and type 6,6, which is harder and not so absorbent. 6,6 nylon is more expensive, but it is well worth it. Most 6,6 nylons for residential use also come with Scotchgard or Teflon applied at the mill. This would be the next best fiber, just below wool. It will cost a lot less than wool and it usually cleans up a lot better than wool. The only real difference is that it won’t last twenty or thirty years. 6 nylon is good too and also often comes with built in stain resistance.

Polyester is next. It’s cheap and resists water based substances pretty well, but it flattens out in the traffic areas really fast. Last is Olefin (Polypropylene) which is super cheap and has such poor durability that it makes polyester look good. These last two have their place. (Not in my house!) If you have rental property and know that you are going to have to replace the carpet every 3 to 5 years anyway—go with the cheap stuff.

This covers 98% of what’s available in the consumer market. There is a trend towards natural fibers like cotton, jute, sisal, sea grass and even bamboo. Natural is great until you get a spill, then the honeymoon is over. With the exception of cotton, you can’t get most of these fibers WET without ruining them.

There is a new fiber out that is partly derived from corn, which is branded as SORONA. I honestly haven’t cleaned enough of it yet to be able to give you an informed opinion. The fact that they blend it with polyester causes me to be somewhat skeptical. Besides, corn is for EATING, not making carpet!

NEXT TIME: Carpet CONSTRUCTION and SYLES

Request an in-home professional carpet consultation or phone quote.

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MOST LANDLORDS DON’T WANT YOUR DEPOSIT MONEY! Their main priority of is to get the unit TURNED as QUICKLY as possible. If your apartment is nice and clean with zero damages, they it will rent much faster. On the other hand, if the unit is left with dirty floors, dirty carpets and dirty walls with lots of holes , it COSTS them MONEY. The TIME that it takes to patch, paint and clean everything could be a couple of days or even a week. That means LOST PROFIT for them, PLUS the COSTS of labor and materials to get things looking NICE for the next tenant.
1 BE STRAIGHTFORWARD and HONEST with your Landlord
If your roommate spilled bleach on the carpet, and it now has white spots, then TELL THEM about it. You might be thinking that you will be buying new carpet, but this is rarely the case. Remember that it may take several days to get old carpet removed, and new carpet ordered and installed. Your Property Manager would prefer to avoid that, because that is RENT money LOST. A Better, Cheaper and FASTER option would be to have the bleach-spot re-dyed or sectioned in by a PROFESSIONAL CARPET EXPERT, like BASIC Carpet Care. This will still cost you a bit of money, but not $1200! $75 to $125 would very likely take care of the problem. Your Property Manager will be FAR MORE UNDERSTANDING if you are completely truthful and forthcoming rather than being dishonest or trying to hide things.
2 PLAN AHEAD – GET YOUR STUFF OUT
Getting all your stuff out and getting your apartment as spotlessly clean as possible is going to take MORE TIME than YOU THINK. Get all the stuff you do not absolutely need boxed up well-ahead of time. If possible, move it to a holding location such as a storage facility, or a friends place or even your car. The LESS furniture and “stuff” in your apartment, the EASIER it will be to clean.
3 READ YOUR LEASE and MOVE-OUT REQUIREMENTS
Know what you are responsible for and what you are NOT responsible for. Look at what their charges are for various kinds of cleaning and repairs. It might COST YOU LESS in time or hassle, to simply let them take care of some things.
4 CLEAN YOUR APARTMENT FROM THE TOP DOWN
Dust ceiling fans and light fixtures first. Replace burned out light bulbs. Next sweep cobwebs and dust from ceilings, corners, vents and registers. Dust the blinds and window trim next. Wash the walls EVERYWHERE including the closets, doors and trim. Patch any nail holes. Clean patio door glass. Clean bathroom fixtures, toilets, tubs and cabinets. Next the kitchen appliances, cabinets, range and refrigerator inside and out. Spray the oven the night before. It will clean up much easier the next day. Sweep hard floors thoroughly then clean them with a Swiffer-mop or even a thick towel. Don’t forget to get behind doors and that tiny space behind the toilet. (Attention to details on the bathrooms and kitchen will score big points towards getting your deposit back!)
LAST: Thoroughly vacuum the carpets to get them ready for professional cleaning.
5 DO A “DRESS REHEARSAL” with A PRE-INSPECTION Ask your property manager if they could look at your apartment about 7 to 10 days BEFORE your final move out inspection. Ask them to point out any problems with the cleaning or anything else. This will give you extra time to fix anything that comes up short so you can use that deposit cash stuff you NEED for your NEW place instead of stuff they find wrong at your OLD place. Your manager will love this idea because she probably has a gazillion units to look at on the last day of the month. Any apartments she can cross off of her list ahead of time, will be just fine.

Request an in-home professional carpet consultation or phone quote.

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