Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Ways to Help Clear Up Your Child's Allergies

 For many parents of toddlers or young children, it may be easy to miss the signs of nasal allergies. After all, kids are exposed to lots of new germs, and lots of new germs can result in plenty of runny noses and sneezing.

Children's Allergies

While it’s true a constant runny nose or sneezing could be nothing more than another cold, allergies are also one of the most common diseases in children. Signs of nasal allergies in kids include:

  • Runny and itchy nose
  • Congestion
  • Frequent sneezing
  • Chronic cough
  • Red, watery eyes
  • Mouth breathing, especially while sleeping
  • Exhaustion due to poor sleep
  • Dark rings under the eyes (allergic “shiners”)
  • Symptoms that last longer than two weeks

Nasal allergies can actually be more than just a nuisance. The constant congestion can lead to frequent sinus and ear infections. If a child has too many ear infections, he or she might not be able to hear well, which can lead to developmental delays. Eczema and asthma are also linked to nasal allergies. In many kids, allergies begin with patches of eczema as infants, progress to nasal problems as preschoolers and develop into asthma later.

So what causes nasal allergies in kids? Children are often allergic to the same things as adults, such as dust mites, pet dander and pollen. Some kids also have food allergies, including cow’s milk, that can sometimes cause nasal problems. Fragrances in household products like shampoos, detergents and soap can cause or worsen symptoms as well.

Children have a higher risk of developing allergies if their parents had or have allergies. Outgrowing allergies is possible; however, early food allergies are usually the ones that are outgrown. Nasal allergies have a greater likelihood of persisting.

The 9 Things You Can Do

The key to treating allergies in kids is pinpointing the trigger. Allergy blood tests work well in kids 3 and older, but they aren’t as effective in younger children. When trying to find out what might be making your child have symptoms, ask yourself if his or her symptoms have changed:

At different times of the year? When your child has been out of daycare for a few days? When you’re away from home or your pets? After home renovations, or a leak or flood?

Taking notes regarding changes in your child’s symptoms can also be helpful for his or her health care provider. With food allergies, an elimination diet can be another way to identify possible causes. Once you determine the cause, controlling your child’s environment can be very beneficial. Here are some tips:

  1. Get rid of stuffed animals, or wash them regularly in hot water. Stuffed animals can be a haven for dust mite matter and other allergens.
  2. Cover your child’s mattress with a dust mite-proof cover. Wash bedding every week in hot water with an extra rinse cycle.
  3. Professionally clean carpets and heavy drapes. They trap dust and allergens and need to be cleaned to stay effective. Chem‑Dry has been tested and proven to remove 98% of non-living allergens* from areas we clean.
  4. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.
  5. Use air conditioners to filter allergens from the outside. Clean or replace filters often.
  6. Reduce your use of chemical cleaners with strong scents.
  7. Don’t allow smoking in the house.
  8. Keep pets out of your child’s bedroom or playroom.
  9. Consider an allergy medication. Go over the pros and cons with your child’s provider, as there are some safe and effective medications available. Never start using an over-the-counter drug without a pediatrician’s recommendation.

Remember, your goal doesn’t need to be an allergen-free home. Little ones with nasal allergies can handle some exposure to an allergen without symptoms. Making a few smart changes and decreasing your child’s overall exposure may be sufficient to eliminate his or her symptoms.

*Based on results from a study conducted by an independent laboratory using the Chem-Dry Hot Carbonating Extraction process. Allergens tested were dog and cat dander and dust mite matter. Figures are an average across multiple homes.

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Ralphie Talks Pet Odor Removal - Professional Carpet, Rug and Tile Cleaning


Johnson County Chem-Dry provides Green Certified, Kid Safe, Pet Safe Carpet Cleaning that Dries in 1-2 hours! We are your local Pet Urine Removal Experts! We also provide Tile and Grout Cleaning and Sealing, Area Rug Cleaning, Wood Floor Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning, Mattress Cleaning, Granite Counter-top Cleaning and Renewal, and Flood Water Extraction and Drying Services. Johnson County Chem-Dry is Certified Platinum by The Carpet and Rug Institute. We are locally owned and operated in Johnson County, Texas for 30+ years, serving Johnson County and Hood County. Call Today! (817) 558-3113. Visit carpet cleaning near me or carpet cleaning Burleson for more information.

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

How to Manage Lingering Pet Odors

As a pet owner, you know there are two sides to having your furry companion live in your home: the constant comfort and joy they provide, and the drawback of lingering pet odors. The challenge with these odors is that they can be particularly stubborn and pervasive, especially if your home is carpeted. They can also leave you wishing there was a way to enjoy the presence of your pet without having to live with odors. We are here to help you deal with unpleasant smells and odors so you can make the most of being a pet owner without sacrificing your comfort at home.


Tackling Pet Odors Is a Multi-Step Process

When it comes to managing the challenging nature of pet odors, prevention, immediate action, ongoing maintenance, and support from professional carpet cleaners all play a key role. Learn more about these important steps below.

Preventing Excessive Pet Odors

While you can’t stop pet odors altogether, you can minimize their effect on your home through proper pet care. A regular grooming and bathing routine using pet-safe, odor-neutralizing products can go a long way to limiting off-putting smells. Because moisture can make these odors worse, you should always thoroughly dry your pet before giving them access to carpeted areas—whether they’ve just had a bath or are coming in from the rain.

As pet odors are so commonly linked with pet accidents, it is important to take preventative measures in this area as well. A structured house training routine is a must to avoid the lingering odors that result from accidents. This requires proper supervision, especially for younger pets, and establishing consistency by always taking them to a dedicated area to relieve themselves.

Taking Immediate Action When Accidents Do Occur

While prevention can help lower the frequency of accidents, you’re unlikely to escape the inevitability of an accident or two. As a result, it is important to be ready to take action as soon as you get wind of an accident on your home’s carpeting. The best thing you can do with limited supplies and knowledge is to grab a white cloth or paper towel, and blot at the spot. The more fresh urine you can soak up right after the accident occurs, the fewer urine crystals will be left behind when the spot dries, and the less pungent the odor will be.

Calling on Professional Carpet Cleaners for Proven Treatments

Even if you do your best to soak up pet accidents with speed, some urine will remain, settling in your carpet. Calling on our carpet cleaners for professional intervention will enable you to get rid of this residue and get your carpet back to looking and smelling fresh.

We use a special treatment known as our Pet Urine Removal Treatment (P.U.R.T.®) to target remaining urine crystals. Unlike many conventional carpet cleaners, we don’t try to mask pet odors. In fact, we know that such an attempt can often make these odors worse. Instead, we go to the source and address the problem at the molecular level to effectively eliminate unpleasant smells.

Maintaining Freshness with Regularly Scheduled Cleaning

You don’t need to wait until you suspect an accident to benefit from the odor-minimizing nature of our carpet cleaning services. In fact, getting started with routine cleaning can help keep odors from accumulating so you can enjoy a home that smells fresh on a consistent basis. Even after your pet has become well-trained, our cleaning process will remove the dirt, dust, and dander that could produce other types of unwanted odors in the absence of pet accidents.

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Spring Cleaning Tips

When it comes to spring cleaning, the first step is to go deep while covering all your bases. After all, what makes spring cleaning special isn’t the season in which it is done, but the extent to which cleaning is performed. This means you’ll need to block out some time in your schedule to get your hands dirty.


The good news? The results are totally worth it, and the newfound calmness and freshness in your home will give you a deep sense of satisfaction.

Here are a few tips from our experienced team of carpet cleaners to help get you started:

Tackle Dust

Thoroughly dust your home; this includes cleaning or replacing air conditioning and heating filters. Don’t forget to clean all ducts and vents to decrease exposure to pollen and other airborne particles. Other commonly overlooked areas such as ceiling fan blades, baseboards, blinds, lampshades, and behind the oven and fridge are also key during spring cleaning.

Stop the Spread of Mold

Remove mold and mildew in moist areas of the home. Mold is a fungus that can spark allergic reactions for many people, and spring is a tough time of year for anyone with allergies of any kind. Use non-toxic cleaning products and make sure bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens are free of harmful mold.

Deep Clean Your Shower

Give yourself the luxury of a deeply cleaned space in which to bathe. In addition to scrubbing the surfaces of the shower, consider bagging up the shower head in a vinegar bath to remove mineral deposits and reveal the sparkling metal beneath.

Get Grime Out of Grout

Don’t forget the tile, stone, and grout. High traffic areas collect lots of dirt and most weekly cleanings don’t do the job when it comes to giving these surfaces a thorough, healthy cleaning.

The grout between tiles and stone can be the toughest to get clean, which is why we recommend looking to our experts at Johnson County Chem-Dry to get the job done right. We can provide your tile, stone, and grout with a professional cleaning that eliminates stains and grime from extremely porous surfaces, helping you start spring off on a cleaner foot.

Call Professional Carpet Cleaners

If you really want to deep clean your carpets and eliminate the dirt that has accumulated over the winter months, vacuuming isn’t going to cut it. Instead, call the professionals at Chem-Dry to provide thorough results that will make your home feel fresher instantly.

Our carpet cleaners use a gentle, proprietary cleaning method, also known as our Hot Carbonating Extraction (HCE) process.  This low-water, carbonated cleaning process delivers a deep, long-lasting clean directly to your carpets. 
In addition to being incredibly effective, the carpet cleaning process employed by our team at Johnson County Chem-Dry uses 80% less water than typical steam cleaning. You’re sure to love the convenience of our speedy dry times – just a couple of hours rather than a couple of days.

Freshen Up Rugs and Upholstery

You can also reach out to our carpet cleaners to conduct the spring cleaning task of removing dust and soil from upholstery and rugs. These textiles accumulate much more dander, pollen, and soil throughout the year than you may think. An annual deep clean from our experienced team can make a huge difference in how your home looks and feels after spring cleaning.

This spring, celebrate the start of nicer weather by making your home feel equally inviting and refreshing.

Saturday, January 20, 2024

Carpet Facts From Professional Carpet Cleaners

 You may not give your carpets much thought in your day-to-day life. When they’re constantly underfoot, you may feel like they are more “out of sight, out of mind” than anything else. However, when your carpets start to look grungy or are marred by an accidental spill, you may realize just how big of a role they play in how your living environment. Our professional carpet cleaners can help you better understand the importance of maintaining your carpets through frequent cleaning, as well as how you can keep your home looking its very best by keeping them in great shape.



Important Insights From Professional Carpet Cleaners 

We’ve compiled a list of quick facts to give you some often-overlooked insights into how your carpets are contributing to your family’s health and what you can do to protect your carpets’ lifespan and integrity. 

1. Carpets work much like air filters in your home.

You may not realize that, without carpets in your home, there would be a lot more dust lingering in the air. Because of their spongey qualities and networks of dust-trapping fibers, carpets are able to take in and hold onto large amounts of airborne particles. 

This can be a positive thing for your air quality, at least until your carpets become so dirty that they can no longer do their job effectively. With regular deep carpet cleaning, you can have greater confidence that you’re enjoying all the positive aspects of a carpeted home. 

2. Embedded soil can shorten the lifespan of carpet.

Dirt and soil can easily get trapped towards the backing of the carpet where even the most powerful vacuums can’t reach. With the presence of significant foot traffic, these gritty contaminants will grind against delicate carpet fibers, weakening them and causing them to break. If protecting your investment is a priority, you’ll need to do more than vacuum since vacuuming only reaches surface-level dirt.  

3. Dirty carpets can contribute to asthma and allergies.

Have your allergy symptoms been ramping up without an obvious cause? Dirty carpets may be to blame. Excessive amounts of dust and pollen could be lingering right under your feet, kicked up with every movement. A consistent vacuuming schedule, as well as regular visits from professional carpet cleaners, is a must if you or a family member are dealing with respiratory issues.

4. A no-shoes policy can go a long way towards keeping carpets clean.

One of the best ways to protect your carpets and keep your home healthier in the process is to insist on a no-shoes policy. To help this policy stick, keep a shoe rack at all entrances to your home. When shoes are worn both indoors and out, dirt can easily be tracked onto and ground into your carpets, leaving stains and requiring more frequent cleaning. 

5. Carpets should be cleaned by professional carpet cleaners more often than you may think.

Most carpets should be cleaned by professionals every 3-6 months to keep them in good condition. If you have children or pets or wear shoes in your home, err on the side of more frequent cleanings. Homes with fewer inhabitants can usually get away with cleanings twice per year.

6. Carpets will look and feel different depending on the professional carpet cleaners you choose.

Don’t hesitate to do some in-depth research before choosing a professional carpet cleaning company. Different companies use different methods and cleaning supplies, producing vastly different results. For example, steam cleaners and carpet shampooers often depend on cleaning solutions loaded with detergents and chemicals, which can leave behind a soil-attracting residue on your carpet. In contrast, the Hot Carbonating Extraction process from Chem-Dry enlists the natural power of carbonation rather than relying on sudsy formulas, leaving your carpets fresh, healthy, and dry within hours.