Tips

Your new Abbey flooring represents a substantial investment in your home-an investment that you'll want to keep looking its best for many years to come. No flooring lasts forever, but by following the maintenance tips outlined below, you'll extend the life and beauty of your floor.

Use Entrance Mats
Place mats inside and outside entrances to trap soil before it is tracked into your home.

Vacuum Regularly
You can't vacuum too often. Using a vacuum with a beaterbar or rotating brush will loosen the dirt making it easier for the vacuum to remove soil. Vacuums with top-loading bags are preferred over bottom-loading bags.

Change the disposable bag or empty the vacuum often.

Carpet with thick loop pile construction (berber) may be sensitive to brushing, rubbing, or scrapping of the pile surface which may cause fuzzing and pile distortion. It is recommended that vacuums with suction action only be used on these styles.

Carpet sweepers and electric brooms are useful for picking up crumbs and surface soil, but it's important to know that they will not deep clean.

Clean Spots and Spills Immediately
For best results, give prompt attention to spots and spills.

• Use a spoon or dull knife to remove solid materials.
• Blot up liquid spills with a white towel.
• Never rub, scrub, or use a brush. This may cause damage to carpet fibers.
• Use a cleaning agent and procedure appropriate for the type of stain being removed.
• Apply all cleaning agents to the cloth rather than directly to the stained area to avoid saturating the carpet when spot cleaning.
• Clean the fibers, not the backing.
• Do not rush. Deep stains might require repeat cleanings because they can "wick" back up after initial cleaning.
• Work from the outside to the center of large stains. This prevents spreading.

Use the "Easy as 1-2-3" method to remove these stains as outlined below:

Step 1: Detergent Solution

Mix 1 teaspoon of mild laundry detergent (non-bleaching brands such as Tide or Surf) with two (2) cups of water. Stir the solution gently.

Using a clean white cloth, dampen the fibers in the stained area with the detergent solution.

If necessary, use your fingertips to work the solution into the base of the stain.
Re-wet the stained carpet fibers with clear, lukewarm water.
Cover the area with an absorbent, white towel and apply pressure to the blot.

Repeat the rinsing/blotting procedures until you are sure all traces of the detergent have been removed.

If the stains are removed, place white paper towels over the stained area.

Weight the towels with a heavy, colorfast object, such as a plastic wastebasket with a weight inside.

Change the paper towels as stains wick up until the area dries.

If stains remain (unless they are from coffee, tea or urine) proceed to Step 2. For coffee, tea and urine stains proceed directly to Step 3.

Step 2: Ammonia/Water
Note: Do not use on coffee, tea or urine stains

Mix one (1) tablespoon of non-bleaching, non-sudsing household ammonia with 1 cup of lukewarm water. Apply this solution as outlined in Step 1, rinsing the area in the same manner.

Note: Even if stains disappear after using the ammonia solution, it is necessary to use
Step 3—the vinegar solution—to neutralize the ammonia solution.

Step 3: Vinegar/Water

Mix equal parts of white vinegar and water. Apply this solution as outlined in Step 1 and 2.

Rinse and blot.

Fold paper towels with a heavy, colorfast object such as a plastic wastebasket with a weight inside.

Continue to change paper towels until the area is almost dry. Gently brush pile to lift tufts.

Allow carpet to completely dry before walking on carpet surface.

Note: you must use Step 3 if you first used Step 2. it is important to neutralize the ammonia solution.

Use Dry Cleaning Fluid to remove these stains:

*If the stain persists, add the vinegar/water solution outlined in Step 3 with the detergent solution outlined in Step 1. Follow Step 1 procedures.

**Freeze and remove solids before cleaning with dry cleaning fluid.

Professional Carpet Cleaning
Abbey Carpet recommends professional cleaning every 18 months-2 years or before the carpet becomes too unsightly.

Important-please note: Although your carpet may not look dirty, you are still required to have your carpet professionally cleaned regularly (every 18-24 months) to comply with some manufacturer's stain or soil protection warranties.

Warranty

As a consumer you are exposed to a variety of "wear warranties" for carpet products. If you read the fine print in those warranties, you will find that the specific guarantee is that the "Carpet will not be worn by abrasion more than 10% during the specific period of time stated on the carpet sample" or that " the carpet will not lose more than 10% of it's surface pile from normal abrasive wear" during the term of the warranty.

Based on those guidelines, no carpet product on the market today should ever wear out. It is virtually impossible. At Abbey, we believe that industry wear warranties are misleading to you, the consumer. If, however a wear warranty is important to you, this is our promise; Every carpet by Abbey, based on the guidelines above, is guaranteed not to wear out...ever!