A new carpet is an expensive investment, one that requires ongoing maintenance to sustain both appearance and performance. That’s why it’s wise to take proactive steps to protect your carpet from premature wear and tear. Consider these five tips for maximizing your carpet’s lifespan: Read more

Have you noticed areas of your carpet that appear lighter or darker than the rest? At first glance, you might think it’s staining or fading, but what you’re more likely seeing is pile distortion—a phenomenon that occurs when certain sections of pile go against the natural “grain” of the carpet. In this article, we’ll go over some different types of carpet pile distortion and what you can do to minimize their effects. Read more

Hosting a big holiday get-together can be great. Surrounded by family members, friends and neighbors (and maybe their kids and pets, too), you can create a sense of comradery and memories that last a lifetime. But once the sofa bed is folded away and the last load of pots and pans runs through the dishwasher, reality sets in. Hosting for the holidays has turned your house completely upside-down.

Now it’s time to clean up, recover and get your home back to normal. Let’s look at some ways to restore order after hosting for the holidays.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors

During your holiday celebration, your hardwood floors probably endured much more foot traffic than usual. Read more

It’s often assumed that all carpet cleaning companies use the same cleaning techniques, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is that today’s carpet cleaners employ a wide range of methodologies, each of which utilizes different concepts, sciences and machinery. That’s why, prior to calling a carpet cleaner, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the different cleaning methods out there so you can make an informed choice. Here are the four most common carpet cleaning techniques being used by professionals today:

Hot Water Extraction (Steam Cleaning)
The most prevalent method in professional use today, hot water extraction relies on heavy-duty machinery to provide a deep, powerful cleaning. Read more

In the previous installment of our “Low-Impact Floors” series, we talked about flooring made from sustainably sourced materials. In this second half, we’ll cover an even more eco-friendly option: recycled flooring. If sustainable flooring ensures that harvesting and manufacturing are performed in an ecologically sound manner, recycled flooring takes things a step further by eschewing the consumption of new materials in favor of reusing existing ones. Here are a few of the top recycled flooring options: Read more

You probably know the importance of having a roof over your head, but another crucial consideration is what’s under your feet. Preferences vary when it comes to flooring, which is reflected in the vast array of products available. From the sleek sheen of hardwood to the natural coarseness of stone to the soft pile of carpet, there’s no shortage of options for consumers with sensitive soles. Along with distinctive aesthetic attributes, however, different flooring styles require different kinds of maintenance, which is why we’ve asked five Diamond Certified Expert Contributors to go over some flooring maintenance basics.

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Owning a home requires a fair amount of maintenance to keep things looking and functioning optimally. While some maintenance tasks are best handled by professionals, there are plenty of others you can perform yourself, even if you’ve never done them before. To highlight a few of these, we asked four Diamond Certified Expert Contributors to share their home maintenance how-tos.

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