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Why We Re-Apply Carpet Protector

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We have all heard that old myth that carpet gets dirtier faster after each carpet cleaning. As I have covered in the 9 Carpet Cleaning Myths blog post, that can be true. If the person cleaning your carpet does not rinse all of the cleaning agents from the carpet at the time of cleaning, it does get dirtier faster. However, there is another reason why this could be true: if your carpet cleaner does not Re-Apply Carpet Protector after cleaning your carpet.
When carpet is manufactured carpet mills apply a soil-resistant carpet protector, which allows the carpet to go much longer between cleanings. Over the course of time the mill applied carpet protector will wear off (especially in high traffic areas). If your carpet cleaner does not Re-Apply a soil-resistant carpet protector it will appear as if your carpet is getting dirtier faster than usual (because it is!).
Even though this is not the carpet cleaner’s fault, it can be prevented. That is one of the reasons why Fresh Floors includes the Re-Application of carpet protector in our cleaning process. We want to provide our clients with the BEST possible carpet cleaning experience.Why

9 Carpet Cleaning Myths

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  1. You should wait until your carpet looks bad to get your carpets cleaned.

Dirt is to carpet fibers as sandpaper is to wood. When you walk on your carpet, the fibers are cut and damaged by the dirt, just like wood is scuffed up when you rub sandpaper on it. Once the carpet fibers are damaged, they cannot be repaired. As much as one pound of dirt can be found in one square foot of carpet without the appearance being greatly affected. The longer you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more damaged it will become.

  1. Removing dirt is the only reason to have your carpets cleaned.

Removing dirt is a very good reason to have your carpets cleaned. However, there are many other contaminants that can be found hiding in your carpet: dust mites, air pollution, chemicals from automobile exhaust, pollens, fungus, grease, pet dander, and tobacco smoke; just to name a few. According to the U.S. EPA, poor indoor air quality costs the American Economy $60 billion in lost worker productivity every year.

If maintained properly your carpet can act as your homes largest filter, but if left unclean, it can contribute to allergies, and poor indoor health quality.

  1. All methods of carpet cleaning are the same.

While I agree that all methods of carpet cleaning have a time and place where they are effective based on the needs of a client, they do not all reach the same level of effectiveness. Many methods of carpet cleaning, such as encapsulation, dry foam, dry chemicals, and dry compounds are excellent forms of maintenance cleaning, but they are not a deep clean.

Hot water extraction (often called steam cleaning) from a truck mounted unit is the most effective form of carpet cleaning when it comes to the removal of dirt, grime, bacteria, chemicals, and other pollutants that are embedded in your carpets. A few reasons this is the most effective form are:

  • The cleaning solution is sprayed deep into the carpet with a pressurized sprayer.
  • The water from a truck mount unit used in rinsing the carpet reaches about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much more effective in breaking up the contaminants in your carpet.
  • The vacuum, which is connected to the engine of the van, uses powerful suction to extract all of the cleaning agents and contaminants out of your carpet, leaving it fresh and clean.
  1. Having the right equipment is all a cleaning company needs to clean carpet properly.

Oh, how I wish this was true. I could have saved lots of money that has been spent on education. Unfortunately, some unethical carpet cleaners out there grab anybody and their brother off the street to wet your carpet down. It is important that the technicians have been properly trained prior to cleaning your carpets.

  1. The Company that advertises the lowest price is the one I should hire.

If they have the lowest price there is usually a good reason for it:

  • They bid the project incorrectly and will try to cut corners to make up for the mistake.
  • They do not invest in education for their employees and may do an inferior job.
  • They do not buy the best machines, cleaning agents and protectors, which your carpets deserve.
  • They do not have the proper insurances to be doing work in your home. Did you know that if a company does not have workers compensation, and an employee is injured in your home, you may be required to pay for the medical attention they receive?
  • The price you see advertised is not the price you will end up paying. Once the company gets their foot in the door with the unbelievable price, they may try the ol’ bait and switch or the hard up sell to make up the difference.
  1. Honest carpet cleaners should be able to give me a quote over the phone.

Honestly, most trustworthy carpet cleaners price their services by the square foot and they only charge for the actual amount of carpet they clean. There are so many factors that go into the proper cleaning of your carpets, that a good accurate price cannot be achieved unless the carpet is inspected.

  • The amount of carpet to be cleaned. I believe it is important to measure the true amount of carpet to be cleaned, subtracting areas under beds, cabinets, and other furniture that will not be moved.
  • The level of soiling. Carpets that do not have large amounts of spots will be cleaned faster than carpets that have a lot of spots.

I find it much easier to evaluate the job and give an accurate quote before the day of the job, so there is no pressure and the proper expectations are set and able to be met.

  1. Your carpet gets dirtier quicker after every carpet cleaning.

This can be true if the person cleaning your carpet does not properly rinse your carpet. If there are cleaning agents left in the carpet, it would be just like washing your hands with soap, but not rinsing them off after scrubbing. Yes, your hands are clean now, but all the dirt that you encounter the rest of the day is attracted to your soapy hands. It will not take long for your hands to get gross. It is imperative to rinse the carpet well so that your carpet returns to its natural state. 

  1. Carpet Protector is not important, it is just an add-on sale to make carpet cleaners more money.

Unfortunately, this belief is perpetuated by the fact that some carpet cleaners try to pressure customers into adding it on during the cleaning process. I prefer to have carpet protector as part of the process, because it is an important part. When carpet is manufactured, carpet protector is applied to your carpet, but it does wear off over time due to wear and tear. Re-applying carpet protector after cleaning is important because:

  • It makes the carpet fibers more resistant to soil, minimizing the amount of wear that shows in your carpets.
  • It allows you more time to clean up spills, so they do not become permanent stains.
  • It makes vacuuming more effective, because the dirt and contaminants in your carpet are less likely to stick to the carpet.
  1. Hot water damages your carpet.

Some people think that hot water damages your carpet, but that is just not true. The truth is that technicians who do not know how to operate the carpet cleaning machines properly damage carpet, but hot water leaves your carpet more sanitary than cold water or non-rinsing methods of carpet cleaning ever would.

If Jesus was here…

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The main focus I as a Christian should have is sharing the gospel of Christ.  The Good News of the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus.  How that by Jesus coming to this earth and dying on the cross for our sins, we have the opportunity to live forever with Christ in heaven.

We at the Central Baptist Church have been focusing a lot on the importance of our personal evangelism.  How spreading the gospel should be a FOCUS for each one of us.  During a discussion recently, it was brought up that much of our conversation to others on their need for salvation focuses on eternity.  This is absolutely true, and should be an important factor in a person’s decision to follow Christ and accept him into their heart as their personal Savior.  But what if we put more of a focus on the benefits of living a Christian life right now!?!  Would that help influence more to listen to the message?

Back to the title of this post, “If Jesus was here….” how awesome would that be?!?  I have never ran a poll on this, but my belief is that Jesus would be a top vote getter in the ole’ question: “If you could have lunch with one person past or present, who would it be?”  This post could go in the direction that we do have that opportunity through prayer (this is TRUE!), but not the direction I want to go in this conversation.

Instead, lets look at a group of people who had the opportunity to eat lunch with Jesus, his disciples.  For years, they followed Jesus around.  They listened to the parables.  They witnessed demons cast out of men and into pigs.  They walked next to the formerly lame.  They saw blind men gain their sight.  They talked to people who had not previously been able to speak.  (Now I’m starting to sound like a Christmas song) Though they experienced ALL THIS AND MORE, Jesus said to them, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” – John 16:7

Now there is some perspective.  The disciples did not want Jesus to leave, but He knew it was better for them if He did go.  Not just better “someday in the distant future”.  Better Today.  Better Tomorrow. Better for eternity.  Jesus wants to change our lives NOW, all we have to do is let Him work…

Snapchat Tutorial

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My SnapChat expert (my niece Abby) says that teenage girls teach themselves how to use snapchat, so this Snapchat tutorial video is for everyone who is not a teenage girl!

Below is the ‘script’ I worked off of for the filming of the video.  Let me know what you think, if you watch…. Thanks!!

 

Create Login and Username for Snapchat

Download the Snapchat application for your iOS device

The main screen you come to is the camera.

Highlight the functions on this screen

  • Top left – is the flash. Lightning bolt with x is flash off, just the lightning bolt is flash on
  • Top Center – it is the snapchat logo – that will take you to another screen, which you can get to by swiping top to bottom; WE will look at this other screen in a few minutes
  • Top Right – switch between the camera view front of phone/back of phone. This function can also be achieved by double tapping anywhere on the screen in camera mode.
  • Bottom left square – takes you to your contact list; if there is a number there, that is the number of private snap messages that you have received. (We will spend more time on this screen later)
  • Bottom Right – takes you to the public story list of people you follow and paid snaps by popular companies/media outlets. If there is a number present that is the number of public stories that have been updated from the people you follow since you last looked at this screen
  • Bottom Middle is the main camera button
    • If you push it one time, it takes a picture
    • If you push it and hold it down, a video will record until the red circle fills up

Now we will look at basic editing of pictures

  • Take a photo. Now new icons will pop up on the screen.
  • Top Left – x – just deletes the photo and takes you back to main camera
  • Top icon that is a square with the corner turned up.
    • This allows you to bring in emojis
    • Once the Emoji has been selected you can move it around by pushing in and moving it around
    • You can resize the emoji by pinching and stretching out your index finger and thumb
    • You can rotate the emoji by rotating your two fingers in a circle
    • You can delete the emoji by pushing on it and dragging it to the garbage can that replaces the square icon at the top of the screen
  • Large T at the top right had side of screen- adds text to your snap
    • It is limited to one line (36 characters)
    • You can type more in the Notepad and Copy/paste it from there as well.
    • Once you click done you can move the text up on the screen or down on the screen
    • You can click on the t again and it will bring up a different font. This font can be moved up, down, rotated, and resized by swiping with you fingers, like you did with the emoji.
    • To delete the text single click it and delete it with the keypad that pops up
    • If you have the second text selected, and you single click on it, you can change the color of the font as well
  • Top right pencil icon= this allows free scribbling, and you can also select the color that you wish to use.
    • In this screen, by pressing the curved arrow, it will undo the last thing you drew
    • Black and white are not on the color graph, but if you start at the top and swipe down all the way to the bottom, it will be black. For white start at the top right and swipe all the way to the left.
    • IN this screen, press the (back arrow) in the top left of the screen to go back to the picture screen
  • Bottom Left is a stopwatch icon with a number in it. By clicking on this, you can control the amount of time the picture will be displayed on the screen to wherever you send it (a private message or by adding it to your story)
  • The down arrow with a line under it in the bottom left portion of the screen, saves your edited picture to your camera roll
  • The square icon with the plus sign in the bottom portion of the screen updates your ‘story’
    • Your Story is the content that you publish to everyone that you follow or to everyone that has snapchat, depending on the setting that you set up (which we will get to later). Your story stays published for 24 hours, unless you manually delete snaps (more on this later)
  • The Arrow pointing right in the bottom right hand portion of the screen is the ‘publish’ button. Once you click on this, you can send it to one of your friends, add it to your story, or send it to multiple people, which can or does not have to include your story… (I have blurred the names to protect the innocent.
  • Adding filters
    • Swipe left to right or right to left to scroll through the different filters.
    • Some of these filters are specific to your location; some just randomly change because snapchat likes to keep its users on their toes…
    • You can add a second filter by holding one finger on the screen and swiping a second finger from right to left or left to right to scroll through additional filters that are available

Taking Video

  • Video functions pretty similar to photos, accept you must hold your finger on the circle for as long as you want up to until the red circle fills up. Once the red circle fills up, your video will end, whether you want it to or not.
  • The only option that is new to this screen from the camera screen is the sound icon in the bottom left hand portion. If you push the icon so there is a line through the speaker it will mute the video. You can publish your video muted or you can turn the sound back on before you publish it.
  • If you are going to edit your video by adding text, emojis, drawings, etc., I would recommend muting it while you edit. If not the video will continue to loop until you send/publish it.
  • On a side note, if your phone is on vibrate, the sound to the video will not play, but will be published with sound, unless you mute it.

Taking a special photo/video

  • These change pretty often-based on snapchat. They are fun to investigate periodically
  • Hold your phone in ‘selfie’ fashion with the camera pointed at you. Make sure you have a good view of your own face and hold your finger on the screen on your face (I usually aim at my nose) until your facial dimensions are outlined.
  • This action will bring a scrolling list at the bottom of the page. Scroll through them and have some fun. Opening your mouth activates some, some are activated by raising your eyebrows, and some are just what you see.
  • You can take a video or picture like you normally would by pressing the large circle in the center bottom of the screen.

SWIPE LEFT TO RIGHT FROM MAIN CAMERA SCREEN

To go to your contact list.

  • If you have a bunch of contacts, you can search their name at the top of the screen
  • Once you find the person you want to send a snapchat to, click on their name and swipe from the left to the right.
  • This will bring up the messaging window. Type your text in here.
  • Once you have the text typed, you can hit send, and it will send just like a text message that will be able to be read to the person you send it to for as long as they keep the text box open. Or you can press the yellow button with a circle in it
  • This will bring that text up on the camera screen where you can take a picture, take a video or bring up a picture from your camera roll.
  • At this point press the right arrow if you want to send it. Once again this photo will only be available on the receivers phone for a limited time. (KEEP IN MIND, THE RECEIVER CAN TAKE A SCREEN SHOT)
  • Going back to the main messaging screen, you will see the three lines icon in the top left hand portion of the screen. By pressing this button you will see the contacts:
    • Snapcode (this code is unique to each user) so if you find someone you want to follows code, you can take a pic/screenshot of and follow (more on this later)
    • Their name
    • Their snapchat score (you get points for sending snaps, earning trophies (we will discuss later), completing different functions in snapchat, followers, verifying your email, phone number, etc.…
    • A place to edit their name, if you want it to appear differently. If you have a bunch of people in your list, maybe add an a to the front, so they come up higher in the contact field or use a nickname
    • A place you can block them or remove them from your contact list

Go back to the main camera page (press the right arrow)

Now from here swipe from the top to the bottom or just hit the ghost icon at the top middle of the screen to go to your snapcode.

From here you have several options as well:

  • Top left is a help icon that tells you how u can add another person to your contact list (this may change, don’t know)
  • Top middle is your trophy case. You can achieve trophies by performing different functions in snapchat. I have
    • Scanned 5 snapcodes
    • Flipped my camera during a snap 5 times
    • Scored more than 100 points
    • Screenshotted a snap
    • Sent a snap with a filter applied
    • Sent a video snap
    • Verified my email
    • Verified my phone number
    • There are a bunch of others, that I will hope to achieve at some point, I’m sure a quick Google search will reveal them, if you must know….
    • Press the back arrow to go back to the snap code main page

Top right hand screen is the settings icon

  • The name, you can edit to whatever you want but your friends will see this name, so make it one that people know
  • This is where you can update your birthday, verify your phone number, email address, change your password, turn sound notifications on or off
  • Snapcash is an add on that snapchat has with square. We will not be covering that on this video
  • The manage section covers the ability to turn filters off and on. You can turn travel mode on to limit data usage. You can edit the friend emojis for the friends that you have the most. This function will probably be more important to the teenage girls out there, and they have already trained their selves, so push the back arrow 2xs to go back to the main setting window.
  • Scrolling down, you will see the who can… Send me chats and view my story. These can be edited to include everyone (which would be anyone searching for you in snap chat that you have not blocked) or just your friends. The who can…. View my story can also be customized to include certain friends…
  • The other options should be pretty self-explanatory.

Moving back to your snapcode page, you can click on your snapcode to

  • Take or retake your pictures by pressing the large circle in the bottom center of the screen. A picture will take every couple of seconds for 4 total pictures. These pics will be your new snapcode.
  • By pressing the ghost icon with the circle arrow around it will remove the pictures and make it a blank screen
  • The 3-sided box with the arrow pointing up out of it allows you to share this snapcode via email, message, twitter, Facebook, etc. You can also save the image or video to your camera roll to send out separately through an individual app.

Pressing the back arrow to the main snapcode screen you will see your name as it is listed in the settings, your snapchat screen name, and your snapchat score

Under your snapcode you will see:

  • Added me – this is a list of people who have recently added you to their friends list
  • Add friends – Here you can add friends by:
    • Knowing their exact user name. (Search function here is not great) make sure you know their exact user name
    • Add from address book –This allows you to add people who are in your iPhone address book that have snapchat accounts verified by the email address or phone number you have listed for them. At the bottom of this list is a list of people in your address book that do not have corresponding information in your address book. You can invite them from this screen.
    • Add by snapcode – you can scan a snapcode that is in your camera roll. This can either be a picture you have taken of a snapcode or a screenshot
    • Add nearby – this will require someone else to be on this same screen on their device in close proximity to you
    • Share username is another way to send a message to someone with a URL link to your account. The standard for this is: https://snapchat.com/add/screenname Make sure the http has an s at the end (stands for secure) the link will not work without that s
  • My friends- is a list of your friends with the best friends at the top. Also there is a place at the top to click on that are your contacts that you can add or invite, same as last screen…

GO BACK TO THE MAIN CAMERA SCREEN AND SWIPE LEFT TO RIGHT TO GO TO THE STORY SCREEN

  • At the top you will see the search bar that will allow you to search specific screen names
  • Next is “my story”. This is a link to all-content you have published within the last 24 hours to your story.
    • If you click on it, you can watch your entire story. If you single click on the screen it will automatically move to the next snap in your story.
    • If you click on the three buttons to the right of ‘my story’ it will drop down a list of snaps that make up your content that has been published in the last 24 hours.
      • ON the far right hand side of this line there is a circle with a down arrow inside it. If you push this icon your whole story will download to your camera roll.
    • From the drop down list you can see each individual snap that you have published. If you click on a specific snap you can:
      • View how many people have viewed or screenshotted each snap. You can delete individual snaps, or download individual snaps to your camera roll.
    • Under that is the discover heading. You can scroll through the paid advertisers who have stories to watch. Some of these are good, but they are all advertising
    • Under that is the live heading
      • This lists live events that are happening around the country that you can watch curated content from people who are attending that event.
      • To submit to these stories, you must be present at the events. When you go to publish your snap into your story, there will be an option to publish it to “our story”. A snapchat person who then can add it to the live feed will then evaluate the snap.
      • This is pretty cool to see a live event from many different perspectives of people attending.
    • The next heading is recent updates. This section lists snaps from people you follow, but have not watched yet
    • The last heading is all stories. This section lists all friends that have stories still live, but which you have already watched.
    • The globe on the top right hand portion of the screen will take you to the list of stories in the discover section
    • The camera in the top left portion of the screen will take you back to the camera.

This concludes the video. I don’t know that I have covered everything, but I have definitely given you a pretty thorough introduction.   If you have any questions, comments or want to see some other stuff I may be up to go to www.stephentknox.com

 

5 Reasons to Have Your Carpet Cleaned in the Winter

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I realize it is 60 degrees, but I already had the post written…

So, I know what most people think about having your carpets cleaned in the winter, “It will not dry fast enough.”  Well, let me tell you, that is not the case.  Carpets dry according to the relative humidity in the air.  Relative humidity is connected to the relative temperature. Warm air holds more moisture.  If you have ever been to Florida in July, you know this to be true!  So, conversely cold air holds less moisture.  Therefore, its drier.  The air inside your home just after your carpets get cleaned is wetter than the outside air even if it is 40° outside and raining.  What!?  Yep, the rain is merely falling through the drier outside air it is not a part of it.  I know, it is hard to believe, but I am a scientist… (Well, not really, but it is still true.)

It is also important to remember that the heat is probably on in your home and holding that moisture in the air, inside.  That is a good thing since I instruct my clients to open a window at both ends of the house to aid cross ventilation and the migration of wetter air to drier air.  Nature seems to like equal distribution of moisture in the air.  It’s a law.  I am not an attorney, but I do play one on TV.

January is when you get to sigh that big sigh of relief.  The relatives are gone from your Holiday festivities.  Well, almost! It appears they may have left a few things behind, namely dirt, crumbs, and just a little chocolate that was hot when it landed on your carpet.  January would be a great month to return peace and harmony to the home, along with clean and FRESH (pun intended) carpets.  You could put it off until March but that just adds stress thinking about the candy under the coffee table, and who knows about the couch in the basement!?

In Cincinnati, we are in the 5th Season, Flu Season.  You may not realize it but your carpet is the largest filter in your home.  Everything that was once airborne eventually settles into the carpet.  Dirt, dust, cooking grease, asphalt, spores, germs, and dust mites (they really are nasty looking creatures).  Like any filter it should receive regular cleaning.  You might just have a healthier in the winter.

The last reason is:  You can pick your schedule.  The sixth season, SLOW Season, often runs with the fifth season.  You can keep a hard-working, honest, and somewhat adorable carpet cleaner out of the soup line.  You can take YOUR stand against unemployment.  Give us a call to schedule your appointment to make your home a healthier place to be!!!

 

Diversifying My Content

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I have long tried to keep the content on this blog to certain areas of my life.  Everyone says niche down as specific as you can.  As a matter of fact, I have said that myself.  However, I have changed my mind.  From now on all the content I write, videos I make, and audio I record will be published to this website.  I have been working on a video to explain basic Snapchat functions, I have a bunch of carpet cleaning posts, and lots of marketing material that will be coming soon.  If none of that interests you, send me an email to tell me what might interest you (maybe I’ll write on that too)…

I recently heard Seth Godin say that everyone should blog everyday.  One of the biggest reasons why is because it causes you to live intentionally (which is a buzz word for my life these days).  If you know that you have to publish something today, you will be more aware of the things happening around you.  You will be more mindful of lessons that you can learn from everyday life.

Snapchat

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I am on snapchat. I used to be against it. I heard the stories about people abusing it, and thought, “I’m going to stay away from that!”  My niece, Abby, set me straight though.


What she helped me realize is that snapchat, like most apps, hammers, money, bricks, and whatever else you can think of, are just tools.  Tools can be used to make things better or to destroy.  It is the person using the tool that makes that decision.

So, choose your friends wisely…