The question on when to clean carpets is never an easy question.  If there are pets and kids – well the mess is usually evident.  But as you can see below from the guidelines set out by Aaron Kadoch of Naturally Clean The carpets can hide some pretty scary stuff!    We love to give the homes a fresh spring clean with carpet cleaning and Aaron does a great job — no chemicals and very little water.  Can’t get much greener then that!  http://www.itsnaturallyclean.com/    

How Often Should I Professionally Clean My Carpets?    Carpet and rug vacuum and professional cleaning frequency really depends on the type of traffic you have on your carpet and how you maintain it.  Some people can get by with professional cleanings every couple of years, while other people need their carpets cleaned every three months or so.     Appearance alone should not be the determining factor when deciding when to clean the carpet.  Today’s carpets are engineered from the fiber up to hide soil.  In fact, a tan, residential grade saxony carpet can hide up to a pound of dirt per square foot before it becomes noticeably soiled.  Once a carpet reaches this degree of soiling, it is not just in need of maintenance, but restoration as well.   

     Use the attached EPA cleaning frequency guide chart for a general idea of the best cleaning frequency for your environment.  A “no shoes policy,” application of carpet protectant, frequent thorough vacuuming, and spotting with our residue-free carpet spotter are all excellent ways for you to keep your carpeting vibrant and healthy and extend the length of time between professional cleanings.  Call us if you have questions about specific spots or would like a deep, thorough cleaning for all the carpet in your home or office. Naturally Clean, (541) 419-7873. 

Light Soil  Vacuum – 1x / week           Spot cleaning – Daily or as soon as spots are noticed   Heavy Use Area -  Traffic areas every 12-18 months   Restorative Cleaning – Every 2 yrs or per warranty Normal Soil    Vacuum – 1-2x / week(Families w/ children)     Spot Cleaning – Daily or as soon as spots are noticed    Heavy Use Area – Traffic areas every 6 – 12 months   Restorative Cleaning – Annually Heavy Soil     Vacuum – 2-4x / week(pets and smoking)  Spot Cleaning – Daily or as soon as spots are noticed        Heavy Use Area – Traffic areas every 3-6 months   Restorative Cleaning – Semi-Annually Extreme Conditions    Vacuum – daily(big families, lots of pets)    Spot Cleaning – Daily or as soon as spots are noticed    Heavy Use Area – Traffic lanes every 2-3 months    Restorative Cleaning – Quarterly

It is amazing how much time I spend discussing dryers – do they work, are they hot enough, are they fast enough.  The bigger the house, the more laundry.  The more laundry, the more time it takes to get everything washed and dried.  If a home has more then 4 bedrooms (or some bunk beds) and it used a great deal then a second set might be just the ticket. 

When purchasing a large washer/dryer or a second set – what do you get?  Often we are attracted to the new High Effeciency machines.  We are now getting rebates for purchasing these machines.  I must say the dryers  are not worth it.  The HE machines have smaller motors.  What does that mean to you — longer drying times.  A large duet machine doesn’t even have a drying cycle less then 50 minutes.  So 5 sets of sheets and towels – assumming you can double up would be at least 4-5 loads.  At 45 minutes a wash and 50 minutes to dry — you have 5 hours of laundry!!! 

So how do you reduce this time – put in a second dryer or just use the big style, old fashion, energy hog dryers.  They are hot and fast!  And with 2 dryers – you cut off at least an hour.  Double the machines and you are down to just 2.5 hours.  

Of course there are other ways to cut down on laundry time – request your guests to do 2 loads before they leave.  Limit the number of towels and bedding the guests have access to.  I have found that if the sheets or towels are available – the guests will help themselves and RARELY do they do the laundry.  So if you have 2 sets for every bed and the guests use all those, plus all the towels and spa towels — well you might as well start your own laundry mat! 

A vacation home is a santuary, a place of peace and rest (or endless recreation).  Sometimes the second home ends up as the catch all for things you no longer want at your primary home.  After a number of years it can be such an easy update – with a little paint and new furniture.  Home Fridays just managed an update one of our owner’s homes and the results are amazing!  New paint, furniture and window coverings and the interior looks brand new!  They also had the cabinets, counter-tops, and appliances replaced.  It was a fun job to manage – such dramatic changes every day as each step was completed.  I am so amazed at the improvement and can hardly remember what the old kitchen looked like.  A couple of local companies provided excellent service and superior products to finish it all.  Ed at  www.pgcbuilding.com   performed all the construction.  Pamela, a senior designer at www.norwalkfurniture.com  provided amazing furniture for the new improved rooms.   And while we wanted to have a burning party for the old couch, we refrained and donated it to someone in need.   Carrie at Classic Window Coverings www.hdwfg.com   provided some great windows coverings that are a huge improvement over the old drapes.   This summer is going to be busy as many of our owners are taking on some great improvement projects.  Building or improving what you have is an easy and quick way to improve your enjoyment.  And with Home Fridays here to manage the project, you can simple go away and come back when the job is finished.  What could be easier?       

Home Fridays is in the press this month – both Oregon Home Magazine and Cascade Business News.  Cascade Business News was a story about spring clean up similar to my posts.  Oregon Home Magazine did a multi page spread on 2nd home owners and one of our great clients mentioned us.  So we were included in a subsequent article about myths.  Our myth busted was about 2nd homes staying maintenance free.  Yeah, that doesn’t happen.  The 2nd home needs care and feeding just as the primary home.  Not exactly a big surprise.  So pick up a copy and check it out.   www.oregonhomemagazine.com  and www.cascadebusnews.com  

If you don’t change the oil on the car — it won’t keep running.  If you don’t make that dreaded trip to the dentist – your teeth will fall out.  Are houses any different?   I think not.  Take care of it today and it will look great, appreciate and in value and provide you loads of pleasure.  Ignore it and your savings this year will put you in the ‘money pit’ category in future years.  If you don’t take care of the house… it won’t keep appreciating.  Pretty simple concept, but not one that every home owner practices.    Ongoing maintenance costs are estimated at 1.5 to 4% of the purchase price annually.  Here is an interesting article from Coldwell Banker about estimating maintenance costs http://www.coldwellbanker.com/servlet/News?action=viewNewsItem&contentId=700662&customerType=Buyer 

At Home Fridays we walk the walk and encourage, plan and execute regular maintenance for our home owners.  Not taking care of the furnace – will mean replacement, not painting will save you money for a few years and then cost more when the paint job requires siding replacement.  Decks look great if you seal annually, but ignore them for years and you might be looking at a major replacement job. 

I have been hearing about some companies that offer inexpensive ‘drive bys’ to home owners as a means of checking on their homes.  What the heck is a drive by?  What can you see from outside the home that is helpful to maintaining the home?  What about the back side of the house?  What about inside?  What about the temperature?  What about water leaks? What about pest intrusions?  What about propane leaks?  What about the hot tub status -  is it cold, did the top blow off?  None of this can be detected from the outside of a house.  Save your money – driving by won’t tell you a thing about the house.  A proper inspection inside and outside of the house is necessary to identify the issues.  And continued knowledge of the house is helpful to spot anything that is running amiss before it becomes critical. 

At Home Fridays we are inside and outside the house every week.  We know the house and watch it closely to see what is happening, what needs immediate attention and what needs to be kept a close eye on.   Some things (like ice damns) might melt away safely on their own – or they might not.  But if you only show up once in a while how will you know?  If you drive by what do you know about the ice damns on the back side of the house?   Spend your money wisely and stay away from ‘drive by’ home management.  Here is a link to questions you should ask when hiring someone to watch your home.  http://www.homefridays.com/property-management-questions.php 

It is very important to use licensed and insured contractors and workers on your home.  At Home Fridays we insist on this requirement.  Accidents do happen and it is important to be covered.  The snow removal guy might slide into the garage or the house cleaners might knock over a lamp.    One tool is the Oregon Construction Contractors Board.  They have a great website http://oregon.gov/CCB/  where you can input the contractors license and make sure they are current and do not have any complaints filed against them.  In the case of a dispute, you can use the contractors board to help you reach a solution.