Monday, April 28, 2014

How often should I clean my carpet?

We hear this question quite frequently, how often should I clean my carpet, and is it bad to get it cleaned too often?  Cleaning your carpet is actually very good for your carpet as long as it has been done by a true professional and not a "fly by night" cleaner.  The method that is recommended by most manufacturers is the "Truck Mounted Hot Water Extraction Method." The cleaning needs to be done by a professional who is IICRC certified every 12-24 months depending on your carpet manufacturer's specific recommendations.  This is also necessary to maintain your carpet warranties, so please take the time to get your carpet cleaned.  They will look better and last longer.  Capell Flooring and Interiors in Meridian, Idaho, can always help point you in the right direction on who to use for your cleaning, so please contact us to help protect your flooring investment.

About Matt Capell – is the primary owner of Capell Flooring and Interiors in the Boise, Idaho, and the surrounding area. He loves flooring, business, and meeting people. His company tries to educate about flooring and the Treasure Valley and make the floor covering process a fun and great experience each and every time.  Feel free to connect with me!
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Read other articles I have written here.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Boise Parade of Homes Spring 2014

Spring time is great in the Treasure Valley here in the state of Idaho.  Flowers are starting to bloom and Boise State University recently had the Blue and Orange Spring game on the Blue.  In April, we always have the Treasure Valley and Ada County beautiful Parade of Homes for us to see; put on by the BCA of Southwestern Idaho and the wonderful builders of the Treasure Valley.

We find that it is a great time to showcase some of our work here at Capell Flooring and Interiors and this year we had the privilege of working on the Ramsey Construction parade home in the Legends Subdivision in Eagle, Idaho.carpet, tile, and other flooring turned out wonderful in this newly constructed home.  The builder’s name is Jason Ramsey, and we have been fortunate to work with him for many years now.  He builds great homes and is a high quality builder and person. 
Boise, Idaho Parade of Homes 2014 - Capell Flooring and Interiors

We encourage you to go look at the parade homes in Boise this year. Here are dates and times that you can go look:
  • April 26th – May 11th
  • Monday – Friday 5 pm to 8 pm
  • Weekends – Noon – 8 pm
Again, we just want to help get the word out so all of you take advantage to look at all these top of the line builders and to get great ideas from this yearly event in the Treasure Valley.   If you want a sneak peak at some of our work that we did for the Ramsey Construction house please go to this link here.  Enjoy and feel free to contact us!



Hardwood Flooring - Expansion and Contraction and what does that mean?

It is winter time again here in the Treasure Valley, and I thought this would be a good time to talk about hardwood flooring and a few characteristics that can sometimes be a little confusing.  Hardwood will expand and contract due to the moisture contact that is in all wood.  
During the winter time, and especially in Boise, Idaho with our dry climate wood will shrink, and there is a good chance that you will see some small cracks throughout your hardwood floors.  This is the contraction of the wood flooring.  This does not mean that your flooring is defective, it is just one of the realities of wood.   The gaps will start to shrink when the weather warms up in the spring and summer, and this is when the wood typically will expand in our area.  It is best after installation of new hardwood flooring to try to keep your house’s temperature consistent through the year as much as possible.  Also, running a humidifier is a great way to keep moisture in the air during the winter, or even boiling some water on your stove to counter act the dryness of the climate is a good way to minimize gaping of hardwood floors.  If you have questions about hardwood please feel free to contact us.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Water, Wood & Steamer Problems – Let’s Investigate

 
Water, Wood & Steamer Problems – Let’s Investigate

Recently it was brought to my attention that several large cleaning companies have been advertising that you can use their floor steamers on hardwood floors to clean them.  We thought we better address this issue on our site a bit.   We have found most people have heard the old adage – “wood and water don’t mix.”  When we have hardwood floors delivered we have to take several precautions during the new construction process because of this.
  • ·         Make sure the house is done being painted and that the paint has dried so extra moisture isn't absorbed by the wood
  • ·         Check the wood moisture content before installing the wood to make sure it is in range for your area  in Boise the range is 6 to 8% depending on the hardwood floor specie.
  • ·         Let the hardwood acclimate before installation, especially on remodels
  • ·         Remind homeowners to use minimal amounts of water when cleaning their floors.
  • ·         Boise, Idaho and the surrounding areas just has a very dry climate that fluctuates seasonally so precautions are necessary with wood flooring.

Our company, as well as the hardwood manufacturers highly recommend NOT using a steamer on their floors and in fact, it will void their warranties on the product if a customer does just one time. It is always important to do what the hardwood flooring company says in regards to their warranty, especially if you want to keep it.  Not only will it void a warranty, but the combination of steamed water and heat will open up the wood grain and the moisture will be absorbed from the steamer, at an even greater rate than if you were to just mop the floor.  Your hardwood floor will swell and buckle.  One can read on the internet from homeowners and the steamer manufacturers that if a floor is sealed that moisture will not get into the floor; however, no hardwood floor is sealed underneath – the sealing is always the top part of the wood only, so that just isn't true (see pictures below) so the hardwood flooring will be exposed without any protection. 
In summary, my advice would be to just use caution and not use steamers on hardwood and to remember the old adage that water and wood don’t mix and play it safe, so you can keep your hardwood floors looking better longer and not damaged and swollen.


PS – Everything in this article also applies to laminate wood flooring as well.