Christmas trees are beautiful and popular holiday decorations, but live trees also have a tendency to cause annoying messes. Pine needles are like confetti – they can spread to all rooms of the house, settle into carpeting, latch onto furniture, and become entrenched into the edges and corners that are hardest to clean. ServiceMaster Cleaning by Simons offers these handy carpet cleaning tips as you enjoy the holidays this winter in Lincoln Park and nearby Chicago, IL neighborhoods.
There are several carpet cleaning methods for removing those pesky fallen pine needles. For spot cleaning, wrap a piece of duct tape around your hand so that the sticky side faces out. Gently pat the floor and collect the fallen needles on the tape. Repeat until all pine needles have been cleaned up. Never use a vacuum cleaner. The needles could put holes in the vacuum bag or harm the inside of the vacuum itself. Vacuuming pine needles also creates a horrible noise. Instead, try working with a rubber broom or brush. Use short strokes on carpeting and longer strokes on hardwood floors and linoleum to gather the needles efficiently.
The way you display your live tree could affect the amount of carpet cleaning you need to do. As time goes on, your tree will dry out and drop needles faster. To keep it well-hydrated, place it in a tree stand that will provide the right amount of water for your chosen evergreen. The National Christmas Tree Association recommends a rule of one quart of fresh water per inch of stem diameter. The organization also advises that homeowners check water levels in the tree stand daily. Water levels should never go lower than the base of the tree.
After the holidays, make your carpet cleaning efforts easier by placing large bedsheets under the tree before you start taking it down. This allows you to collect the pine needles before they have the chance to fall all over the carpeting. When it’s time to discard the tree, use a plastic tree bag or the bedsheets to wrap the tree and tree stand and carry it outside. Once outside, simply remove the tree stand and the bag before discarding the tree.
A gorgeous live Christmas tree doesn’t have to be a cleaning headache. ServiceMaster Cleaning by Simons provides residential carpet cleaning and hard surface floor cleaning services to families living in Lincoln Park and nearby Chicago, IL neighborhoods, both throughout the holiday season and year-round. Our goal is to bring you holiday cheer and peace of mind. Give us a call today.
