The St. Louis Cleaning Experts

I had a school district where the boys restroom of an elementary school could be smelled from the front door of the school. You’re probably asking yourself what does this have to do with pet odors in concrete? Well my friends the problems are really the same. If you take unsealed concrete and over a period of time you allow urine to soak in you’ll have a smell.

The solution is the same in both cases. Obviously you should clean the surface with a good all purpose cleaner. The next step is what will eliminate the odor. After cleaning mix up one ounce of Arena disinfectant/cleaner to a gallon of water and spray it heavily on the surface. In the case of the little boys room spray the walls, urinal, floor and any place you suspect they may have sprayed. The basement where the pets were kept while the owner was at work should have the entire floor treated. Allow it to soak into the concrete and air dry. You should do this every day and in a week you’ll notice the smell has disappeared. The reason is you’ve killed the bacteria causing the odors. You can get this product in our St Louis store or order it online at www.okvac.com

Rich

Have you ever used a scrub brush to clean something? Using a scrub brush in conjunction with a cleaning chemical is like a one/ two punch. The scrub brush provides the mechanical action to remove the really tough dirt. If you believe the harder you press down on the brush when scrubbing the better you’ll clean you would be wrong. Brushes actually clean best when the tips are moved back and forth over the surface. If you press hard the bristles get bent down and you’re scrubbing with the sides of the bristle. Try this on your hand and you’ll see what I mean. It’s the tips of the brush that really do the work. Hope this helps more professionally.

Red wine in carpet isn’t the catastrophe most people think it is. The first thing you want to do is blot as much of it out of the carpet as you can. I like using an old white towel cut into rags for this. You should press down on the spot to draw as much of the wine out of the carpet as you can. Rotate the towel or switch to a clean one until nothing more comes out.

Now it’s time to get the red wine out of the carpet fibers. We sell a carpet spotter called Unbelievable. This spotter is as close as I’ve found to a one product removes most carpet spots. Spray the product on the red wine spot and agitate the spot towards the center so you don’t spread it. Once you see the wine releasing from the carpet fiber have your trusty towel available to lift the spot. It’s important to press down on the stain and draw it out of the carpet.

Stains that magically re-appear are due to wicking. If you don’t get all the stain out as the carpet drys it will bring the stain from the bottom of the carpet up the fibers much like a candle wick. You can avoid this by making sure you draw the stain up into the towel and repeating the process as necessary.

This product retails for $10.78 a quart. It’s a product everyone who has carpet should have in their house. It will remove most stains you encounter. One last thing after you use any chemical including this one flush the area with a little bit of water and blot it up. This ensures you’re not leaving any chemical residue in the carpet.

The vacuum cleaner was invented here in America and brought to market by the Hoover Company. Most of the leading brands of vacuum cleaners were made here in America. Hoover, Eureka, Royal Appliance were all made in America and used to be recognized for their quality. Sadly just as in the electronics industry the jobs have moved overseas. People in England used to call it Hoovering their carpet instead of vacuuming.

Their is one company moving the other direction. Tacony Corporation headquarted in Fenton Missouri decided 10 years ago to move production of some of their vacuums from Korea to Missouri. I’m proud to say they have continued this move until just a small handful of their products are still being made in Korea. The management of the company has stated their goal is to move all production to the United States.

The products are sold under the brand name Riccar and Simplicity. Compare these products to any vacuum made and you will see they have great quality. The vacuums carry lengthy warranties and have great features. You won’t find them in the discount stores because their factory isn’t that large. They choose to sell their products through independent dealers who will stand behind the products they sell.

Here at O.K. Vacuum it’s our number one selling line. Drop me a line if you have any questions. Please buy American when ever possible.

Have you ever had a problem finding vacuum bags for your vacuum? It’s a very common problem and, I can explain why. When you purchase a vacuum from one of the large retail chains they don’t have a financial incentive to carry bags and filters for the life of the vacuum. The buyers for these stores allocate space for products by how much revenue per square foot is generated. Unfortunately vacuum bags and filters don’t generate enough. You’ll find when you buy a vacuum the bags will be available but in a couple of years no. Ask yourself if you’d buy a car or major appliance from a company knowing in advance there won’t be parts available from the company who sold it to you.

The other way consumers get stuck is buying a vacuum from an infomercial. Often times these are companies testing the waters on a new model being considered for production or someone who thinks they can invent a better vacuum. the history of vacuums is littered with the names of companies who made vacuums and either went broke or decided it wasn’t for them.

This actually works out well for O.K. Vacuum in St Louis. We do a brisk business in vacuum bags for vacuums not made anymore. The Hoover Constellation you purchased in the 1960’s we have bags for. It’s a J bag in case you wanted to know. The only way we get truly stumped is when the manufacturer no longer has bags in inventory and all of our many sources for parts also don’t make them anymore. I hope this helps you and if I can help you find hard to find vacuum bags drop me a line.

                                              Rich at O.K. Vac

Cleaning soap scum and mineral deposits from the shower is a breeze if you understand their chemical composition. They are alkaline by nature and should be tackled with a cleaner containing an acid. Most good bathroom cleaners have an acid in them, (normally phosphoric) and a thickening agent so they’ll cling to a vertical surface.  If you try to remove an alkaline soil with an alkaline cleaner you’ll be doing some serious scrubbing before it comes off.

Spraying an acid based cleaner from the top down and allowing it to dwell on the surface for a few minutes usually only requires you rinse it off with the shower head. If you have a heavily soiled shower you may have to agitate it with a rag or soft brush. This process works well on sinks also. The cleaner I recommend is Mineral X. Always read the label on the product, and use it according to manufacturer’s directions.

Also if you’re cleaning natural stone in the bathroom do not use this product or any acid for that matter. There are special products designed to be used on stone and only those products should be used as you can damage the stone if you use anything else.

Just visit our St. Louis Cleaning Supply Store for more information or to purchase the products mentioned here.

It seems almost everyone in America has a pet. Unfortunately owning a dog or cat often means there are unpleasant surprises left by our animals on our carpet.  These can be addressed with a good pet spot remover. Make sure the product you buy also contains an enzyme.

The problem with pet stains is they often soak through to the padding under your carpet. You can remove the stain from the carpet fiber but you’ll never get the urine out of the pad. The enzyme in the pet stain remover will stay in the carpet and attack the bacteria left in the pad. If you encounter a stain in your carpet, blot as much of the stain up as you can with an absorbent cloth. I keep blotting, putting pressure on it until I can remove no more of the urine. Before you use the pet stain remover check it on an inconspicuous area of carpet for color fastness. If color from your carpet bleeds into the rag don’t use the product. Always read the directions on the bottle and use according to directions.

When you apply the spotter to the stain you want to have plenty of absorbent rags at the ready to help remove the stain from the carpet. You want to pull the stain from the carpet into your rag as the stain releases from the carpet fiber. You can agitate the chemical into the stain using the back of a spoon. Make sure you work the stain from the edges into the center so you don’t make it larger. It’s very important to put pressure on the stain with your absorbent rag to draw it up into the rag. You need to draw all of the stain out of your carpet. If you don’t get it all, the next morning after it dries your stain can magically reappear. This is called wicking. Your carpet fiber is working like a candle wick pulling the spot up from the bottom as it dries. If this should happen repeat the procedure until you’ve removed the stain.

Animals have a keen sense of smell and will go back to an area of carpet they’ve used before. The pet spotter we sell has a pleasant cover up fragrance in addition to an enzyme to prevent this. Unfortunately I can’t prevent your pet from finding a new spot.

Just visit our St. Louis Cleaning Supply Store for more information or to purchase the products mentioned here.

I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters. When they were very young they discovered chewing gum. How the gum made it from their mouth into my carpet remains a mystery. I only know I needed to get it out.

There are two ways to get gum out of your carpet that I’ve been successful with and I’m going to share with you my favorite way. I stock a product called Gum Out that when applied correctly freezes the gum into a rock hard lump. Depending how long it’s been in the carpet it often will pop off the fiber by using a metal spoon after freezing it. If it’s been ground in you may have to chip it out in pieces using the spoon. This method requires you to work fast before it defrosts and softens again.

You may have to repeat this a couple times before removing it all, but this is far better than having to cut it out of the carpet.  Just visit our St. Louis Cleaning Supply Store for more information or to purchase the products mentioned here.

There is a fantastic product I’ve found that cleans granite and marble countertops beautifully. This product comes in a 32 ounce spray bottle or a box of pre moistened towels. When used on granite or marble countertops it cleans and brings out the natural shine of the countertop.

These products are part of a line of stone care products we carry. Also the good news is they’re made in America by a company that specializes in stone care products. We have many customers directed to us by the craftsmen who installed stone in their homes. Never clean stone with a general purpose cleaner as you run the risk of damaging the stone.  For more information about cleaning granite countertops visit our St. Louis Cleaning Supply Showroom or call us at 314-822-8420.

When purchasing a vacuum there are two schools of thought:

• Go to a big box store or
• Buy from a local independent store.

When you buy from a big box store you are basically on your own. If you can find someone to wait on you they probably have no knowledge of the products beyond what’s written on the box. You will take it home in a box and have the joy of assembling your new vacuum. Heaven forbid you have a problem with it down the road. The big store where you purchased it doesn’t fix anything and after a couple years won’t sell the bags for that vacuum anymore. I call this buying a disposable vacuum.

Your other option is to go to a locally owned store where you can compare different brands of vacuums in one place. You will get the features and benefits explained and you stand a better chance of getting the right vacuum for you. Also it’ll be assembled for you no charge and if you have a problem the warranty service will be performed on site.

You can even get a vacuum made in America at least at our St. Louis Vacuum Store you can. Sadly all the major manufacturers have moved their production overseas. We offer their products but would love an opportunity to show you the quality of a made in Missouri vacuum.

When you buy a vacuum at a big box store you should ask yourself does this company really care about me. I can assure you the owner of a small local business cares very much for the people who frequent their business.