Over the next few months, the temperatures will climb along with the humidity, which represents one of the carpet cleaners’ biggest challenges in their never-ending quest to clean your carpet. Humidity often prevents the cleaners from cleaning as aggressively as they would like, especially areas like stairs, which are all done by hand. For the best results, run your air conditioning for four or more hours prior to our arrival for cleaning. This will take the relative humidity down to a reasonable level. Continue to leave your air on while we are there to maintain the humidity level. Then when we leave, let it run for a minimum of eight hours to help ensure fast drying. Air conditioning is a great tool not just for your comfort, but also to allow us to give you the best job possible.

The carpet on your steps acts like an area rug. You don’t have to match the carpet upstairs or in the adjoining rooms on the main floor. It is very easy to fall into the comfort zone of running the same carpet throughout the house. Since it is difficult to coordinate the needs of bedrooms with that of the family and dining rooms, you normally end up with a neutral cut-pile with little visual interest. Using the stair carpet as a rug accent is a great way to break up the sea of beige.

 Visually, it is more important for the steps to flow with the main floor than the hallway at the top of the stairs. When looking up the steps you only see the hallway carpet for about an inch of fold over the nose on the top step. When you look down, you are normally standing on the hall carpet and just looking at the steps. Basically, don’t worry about trying to match the steps with the hall. I wouldn’t have them compete with each other (e.g. mixing hot pink with pumpkin orange, or diamond pattern with squares).

So, with the options open…where do you start? Do you have an area rug at the bottom of the steps that we need to consider? Just like putting two area rugs next to each other, you want them to complement, not compete. We can change the scale of the pattern or swap the primary color for an accent color to make the combination look intentional.

 If you don’t have any competing patterns near the bottom of the steps, then you can really have some fun. Look around your house or those of your friends and family. What is your favorite room? What about the room feels good to you? Is it the color? Maybe geometric patterns or floral patterns are attractive to you. Do you like a lot of color or is the idea of adding a different color to your stair carpet unnerving?

When doing the steps in my own home, I had a different challenge. I had to stay very versatile with pattern and color because I am constantly redesigning. I see so many beautiful and fun rugs and paint colors and change my home so often that my steps need to flow with my changing style. I chose a casual diamond pattern in the same color as three other textures of installed carpet in my home.

Why have carpet on your steps?

One unexpected benefit is a safer environment for both children and their parents. Most staircases in the Naperville area are carpeted. Often you see your steps bare while the house is new or undergoing a remodel.  While undeniably attractive, a plain wooden step presents an opportunity for mayhem. 

The only one who regularly benefits from having exposed wood steps is Edward Hospital. Almost weekly, we hear stories about customers falling down the stairs. This last year alone, we have had a handful of broken bones, a lost pregnancy, and temporary paralysis. All it takes is one slick step. Even the pets of the household have ended up in casts.

This might sound gruesome, but it is a cautionary tale…please be careful on your stairs. If, for any reason, you decide to pull the carpet off your steps prior to your installation, just tread lightly and hold the hand rail.  

 “It’s a Step Up.” 

“Moving Up in Life.”

“Up, Up and Away.”

Upward movement holds very positive connotations in most of our society. So what about in your home? Do you get that warm, fuzzy feeling when ascending your steps? There normally isn’t much to look at other than the carpet (or exposed wood) of the steps in front of you. Do your eyes focus on the spilled coffee spot from three years ago? Or do you subconsciously fall into that alley of crushed carpet running up the center of the treads?  Ah, the ruts of life…. Let’s break out!  

What if the carpet on your steps helped hide that everyday traffic? What if a little bit of pattern brought more warmth and style to your foyer? By picking the right fiber, pattern, color and style to fit your home and lifestyle, walking on your steps can give you a positive feeling again. Over the next couple of weeks, we will write about some of the nuisances of steps.

As the mercury drops… the pet spots skyrocket. Just imagine how excited you would be to use an outhouse with ice on it! We can beg and plead with our pets but sometimes there is no escaping those little “accidents” that inevitably occur. The most well-known solution is to blot up all the excess liquid and apply a chemical to remove color and/or odor. This works for the short term, but often a residue is left behind that will cause a future issue. Understanding the science behind it will help.

The odor in urine comes from bacteria that will suspend itself when dry. After the spot is created, and the excess liquid is removed, the moisture will evaporate away leaving the bacteria behind. Most cleaning chemicals on the market won’t get rid of the odor or completely remove the bacteria. These crystals of dried micro-organisms will be re-activated when introduced to water, even in small amounts. This is why the odor may seem more prevalent during periods of high humidity, with the minute particles of water in the air activating like bacteria crystals. Likewise, they will come alive if a liquid is innocently spilled in the area of the stain. The professional approach is to attend to the spot quickly and find a solution that can remove the urine crystals.

The product we use for pet spots is “Nature’s Miracle,” and with the proper usage it just may live up to its name. It’s essentially a natural enzyme that uses a benign bacterium to breaks down urine crystals. When you encounter a fresh spot, it is best to completely saturate the area with the solution. As the chemical dries it attaches the urine crystals and changes their structure to something not unlike sugar (C12H22011), which is completely water soluble. After that you can rinse the spot and remove a majority of the offending bacteria. On occasion a spot may have to be treated repeatedly with the previously mentioned method to help with the odors.

We love our furry friends and can empathize with their lack of desire to go outside sometimes. The Nature’s Miracle is still only a first step. At some point, it’s still very important to have the spot and the Nature’s extracted with a professional cleaning. I would keep in the back of your mind that the Nature’s Miracle takes time to work. The longer it sits on a spot, the more it is able to break down those crystals. It is most effective after a minimum of two days time. Left untreated, pet spots can cause permanent damage to your floor coverings and subfloor.

While it’s not practical to bundle your pet up to go outside, maybe extra pets and love to warm them up when coming back in will help with the cold weather transition. A bottle of Nature’s Miracle can help for other times.

Do you remember that moment when you first realized that your Mom was right? I recently bought a short healed pair of Bandolino shoes for a business trip. I’ve bought many shoes before; normally I just pick up a quick pair from Paylessand move on. I never realized that shoes can be both sexy and comfortable. Now that I think about it, the shoes that Mom has purchased for me always seem to last a lot longer….

So why have I always bought disposable shoes? Well, for one, it’s cheaper. Another reason, it’s easier. Ah, cheap and easy, just what I always wanted to be. Now we really are living up to our mom’s expectations. Okay, I digress. What I am really talking about is the use of wool carpet in our homes versus synthetics, such as nylon, or Smart Strand.

Do I believe that wool is the best fiber to run through every whole house installation, in every room? No. We all have different needs in our homes at different times of our lives.

If your three kids eat in the family room, we don’t want to install a white wool for fear of spills. On the other hand, if your three kids come into the house with muddy boots and shoes year round, wool by the front door and every other major entrance to absorb mess and keep it from tracking through the rest of the house is an excellent idea.

If your dog or cat has a loose bladder regularly in a particular room… wool is not the best product. If you feel the pet hair and dander is always out of control in your house… wool will naturally trap indoor air pollutants and retain them for up to 30 years. It will also vacuum better than a synthetic, leaving you with a cleaner, fresher home.

Russell Martin was chosen along with only five other retail stores in the United States to participate in the Wools of New Zealand Premier Partner Advisory Council (WNZPPAC?) Okay it’s a mouth full. I just returned from Georgia where the advisory council met with the representatives of the wool farmers (Wools of New Zealand) and some of the major carpet mills in the United States. This coalition between the farmers, the weavers, and the retailers is highly unusual and an incredible honor for Russell Martin to participate in.

During the trip to Georgia, we (the Advisory Council) and the mills hand selected a group of products with special pricing that would work really well in your bedrooms, living rooms and family rooms. These new products will be available this fall in only Wools of New Zealand Premier Partner stores. There are only 85 Wools of New Zealand Premier Partner Stores in the United States. Only stores with an intensive training, knowledge, and representation of wool, combined with mill recommendations, and the approval of the Advisory Council can obtain partner status.

Sidenote: When my Mom proofed this article, she suggested we go on a trip to New Zealand. I assumed it was for work, but now I realize its for more shoe shopping.