 Hey and welcome today to ask a house cleaner. I'm super excited that you guys are joining me today And today I've got a really fun show planned I've got Sean O'Rourke with me here and he is the national marketing director of floor coverings International And he's gonna give us all the deets about how to clean floors properly And I know we get lots of questions from you guys about cleaning floors. What are the do's? What are the don'ts? How does it work all the things? So I'm really really excited to have him here today to join us So if you will I want you to jump in the comments. I want you to let us know where you're from I want us to let I want you to let us know your cleaning floor questions Because I know everybody wants to know a question about cleaning floors And we're gonna do our best to answer them all today. We only have one hour So we're gonna go as fast and as furiously as we can so please help me welcome Sean O'Rourke Well, hello Angela Well, hey there, how are you today? I'm doing awesome So you are the floor guy and I want to know how did you get to become the floor guy? Well, that is a good question Angela. I have been in the flooring business since 1990 it's all I've ever known it's the only Space I've ever worked in so I have been around flooring a very very very long time probably longer than somewhere for the age of your viewers Well, I know that you have a flooring franchise that is 225 franchise locations across the country in 40 different states I mean that is ginormous, and I know that you've probably been asked every question in the book about flooring There is always something new to be asked and I will tell you 33 years in the business I am still learning new stuff about this business International we're based outside of Atlanta in Noracross That's where we're headquartered, and we have as you said we have 220 fan franchisees I cooperating in over 40 states and We are rapidly expanding we want to be 250 franchisees by the end of the year and Certainly well over 300 by the end of 2024 Wow That's awesome. Well there might even be somebody on the call here that learns what you do and they go You know what that's for me. I gotta I gotta buy one of these franchises. So tell us what is floor coverings international? What exactly is that? Yeah, well as the name implies we are a franchise business All of our franchisees independently operate a shop at home Business it is a we're a mobile we operate from a forward transit connect and We bring the samples to your home and unlike a lot of other shop at home flooring services out there We have a dedicated Vehicle to bring to your home that has as many as 300 different options for you to choose from yet I said 300 I mean 3000 and you know a lot of other shop at home Flooring businesses out there they will come out with three to ten sample boards and this the selection is somewhat limited We have just an incredible selection of products in every category So there really isn't anything that we cannot provide it from you in a home or a commercial setting Actually, we also are and do some commercial business as well Wow I'm so impressed and my mind is blown. So tell me how does this work? I'm wanting to renovate my house and so I call up-floor coverings internationalists. They come out and help me pick out a new floor Yeah, that's kind of what it opera how it operates. So typically, you know a customer Person or a homeowner will decide. Oh, I need new flooring. I need new carpet. I need you this and It's not something that you purchase on a regular basis So most people maybe don't know where where to go for flooring obviously They know maybe Home Depot and Lowe's and some other box stores, but they want a more intimate service So they'll typically jump online as we do for pretty much everything today And they'll search floor covering near me and we certainly will be in the top three or top four entities that come up You can either connect connect us through either calling us through a contact form on our website Our Mobile showrooms also have QR codes on the outside of them So if you're sitting at a stoplight and you happen to see one of our very colorful shop at home vans You can click on your phone and you can grab us that way so multiple ways for you to get in contact with us And then an appointment is made um typically within 24 48 hours at the most and then the business owner who's the front who's the franchise owner is typically coming to your home and they will do a very in-depth Analysis of what you want what you don't like about your current flooring We don't show up at your door with a half a dozen samples We actually want to come into your home and find out what your needs and wants and what you don't want Before we even bring in a sample. So we do we really really do a very very different Way to market than typical floor covering whether it's brick and mortar or box store or other shop at home So it's a very intimate Service that we offer and we install everything that we sell Oh, wow So i'm guessing that also the floorings that you sell and install are also warrantied Absolutely, and that's the beautiful thing about having us one-stop shop is You don't have to go running after a subcontractor if you have an issue You have one phone call and again you are typically dealing with the owner of the business So they obviously have a lot that they've probably more vested in this than anybody other than you the the the buyer So it is a very very different type of a service And it's just the the the reviews that we get online prove that we have I think an nps score of something like 87 were in the Let me give you a second for those of us that don't know what is an nps score It's called a net promoter score and basically it's you you could go to a restaurant or get a service at a gas station or getting your car fixed and pretty much all industries use it and basically It's almost like a scoreboard between one and a hundred and typically, um, you know Services that are needed for in the home require a lot of installation Unlike purchasing a product. So obviously there's many ways for things to sort of go sideways And basically we score an 87 out of a hundred Whoa, this typical flooring industry And I don't want to name names, but typically in flooring it's below 40 and another building trades It's yeah, it's in the 35 to 45 range We score an 87 and again It's because of the very intimate service that we bring to to the owner We brought some really important points up because I remember when we bought carpeting for our house last We went down to the home depot like you mentioned and there were like four choices And we're like which of these four choices and we weren't fans of any of them And we said well, I mean I guess if we have to make do and we went to a couple other stores Like blows and they might have had one or two other choices and two of the same And we're like, okay, so we have six choices instead of four And then we chose the best of the few options that were available to us that were local And I think a lot of people run into that But right now as as cleaning business owners We are running to a lot of different flooring types And there's a lot of guesswork as to how are we supposed to clean these floors properly? But before we get into the cleaning, what are some of the considerations that homeowners should Think about or should pay attention to when choosing a flooring type I think that's probably the most important thing Um in any of this is making sure you choose the right flooring. I mean today It's very traditional. For instance, I mean if you go back 20 years ago or so People would put carpeting almost throughout the home while carpeting. Maybe isn't the best product obviously for a heavy traffic area Young kids. I think something like 65 percent of Americans now have pets So um, it's picking the right product and it's not to say carpet can't work in those spaces But it may not be right for you. And then also, how are you using the space? Um, you know, if it's certain Rooms in your home that are occasional like a dining room or Um, a more formal seating area You can do something very different in there than you would say in your bedrooms or your steps or your living areas And more and more today it is very even in apartment dwellings and Managed buildings certainly people are more and more putting a what we call a hard surface In the living areas and it's not unusual for carpet typically to be relegated to the bedroom So picking the right flooring is absolutely key Um, and then when you pick the right product, okay, you decide you want a hard surface Then really what that hard surface becomes is it hardwood? Is it laminate? Is it vinyl? Is it ceramic? Is it marble or some other product? um making making sure you make the right selection there both for your pocket book And obviously for how you're going to use that space So that's something obviously for recovery is international that we are We absolutely make sure that you buy the correct product to begin with. I'll just maybe use an example Um, I'm in a wealthy new development and there's only 25 homes in it And the builder he decided to put in obviously wood floors through all the living areas, which is great There's I love hardwood But the product the hardwood product they selected was a dark color in a maple and or birch And typically for living areas dark colors Um, they may look show all the dust They may look beautiful in magazine shoots and you know for dramatic decorating and what have you but for everyday living A pets or young kids Not very suitable. So again, you could pick the right product hardwood might be the right product But picking the wrong color and the wrong species Not so good Well, and I'm glad you bring that up because there are a lot of things as house cleaners that we've seen That I'm like, whoa, don't do that and because we see a lot of it There's I have a sensitivity to it But we're seeing things that a lot of people don't think about like when you have seen your parents, for example And you have carpet throughout your house It becomes very difficult for them to use wheelchairs and mobility aids with wheels on them to move around from room to room When with the hard surface flooring it's going to be a whole lot easier And like you said, there are a lot of pets now in homes And so with the thicker carpets those shag rugs that people used to have Oh my goodness And then the pet hair would get in them and you can't get it out and you use even the pet rakes and everything It's like ah, I mean it's it's frustrating. So I love that we're having this conversation Hopefully most of that carpet style is gone and if it's something you still have in your home Well, maybe you should maybe it should be gone too. Maybe we need to call floor coverings international So, um, I want to stop and say hi to our guests. We've got Emanuel here. This is good evening my great mentor and role model Oh, thank you so much. This is awesome. Nancy says hi. Hello, Angela and Sean from Illinois How might I remove a stain from the gripper backside of a bathroom rug? Okay, that's great. And I do want to answer that we have uh random Exploring says baking soda before vacuuming and vinegar using vinegar for vinyl flooring options or suggestions That's a great question as well. I'm going to start these so we can come back to these because I want to make sure we get these Answered Rachel Rowe says, uh, hello Sean two looking forward to learning so much tonight And I think Rachel is over in the uk. So hello and welcome and it is evening where you are. So thank you for joining us um, we have, uh Mary saying what is the best products to clean wooden not hardwood floors excellent question We have, uh, l sandra brach and says wow, I finally get to join one of the live chats Yes, and I'm so glad that you get to join. This is so cool. Thank you for joining us Kelly says tips for floor cleaning efficiently. Thank you and hi Thank you and hi as well you guys. I'm so excited that you've joined us today This is just a spectacular time that we get to come together and and Teresa says she jumped in and said hello from ireland Whoa, you guys are all over the place. This is awesome. That's obviously with a name like Sean or work That's where I was born and raised That's awesome. We've got friends and fans of Sean's already. This is fantastic Um, so my my question is as we're choosing the right kind of flooring, how do we know What the right kind of flooring is does the floor coverings international people guide us through some of the things like the Either the senior living or the pets or whatever that we may not have thought of And maybe help us future proof the the flooring that we're going to do in the future so it lasts longer That's exactly what we do Angela as I said We typically don't show up at an appointment or a home with samples in hand We want to come in and we want to we want to observe how you're using your space now Find out what you don't like about the existing flooring What you're are you looking to repurpose the space? And then we'll certainly make our suggestions based on all of those things and the other thing that we'll do obviously You know if we had unlimited budgets, you know, we would always want to put in the most durable Probably most expensive product, but that's not practical. So we will also work with you To set to set like a budget and we will give you options within that budget So for instance, uh, let's say you're doing your living areas. You're living room dining room hallway and whatever You measure up the space. Um, you really love this beautiful wide width hardwood Which might be plenty suitable for your application And then obviously the price is just more than you really really want to handle Well, certainly then we will give you an option of here's what it's going to cost if we do it in laminate flooring or vinyl flooring and We would make sure that whatever the options are we are offering They are suitable for your application. We're not going to certainly say Here's something that will fit your budget But it's not, you know, but it's not going to be suitable A suitable product for the use that you intended. We're not going to do something like that We would literally say, you know, that's not for us. Maybe you can find somebody else to do it We will make sure We install a floor that you're going to be happy with So when it comes to floors that you're happy with I'm really thick into the cleaning space and I get asked hundreds of questions a day about cleaning floors And so my question is how at a glance because many homeowners don't know what the cleaning requirements are of the floors And so if they think oh, I would like to have a marble floor or whatever and they don't know how to clean it How do they know if that's the best choice for them? And how do they know what the cleaning requirements are? Based on the type of flooring It's interesting you should ask it that way angela because because sometimes depending on I mean if you purchase the flooring you would probably know what it is But there's many people are going living in existing homes or apartments and they don't know what the product is I mean, it's very often i'll see in real estate listings that people are listing Hardwood floors and it's a laminate or a vinyl. So the first thing is going to be identify what product you have I mean, that's going to be if that's going to be the single most important thing Because that's then going to determine what product you're going to use The second thing is is just make sure you're not grabbing something from under the kitchen sink that you might have So you also have to make sure that you have a product that is specifically designed for the product Be it hardwood laminate or vinyl some of them do crossover, but certainly there are specific products and brands out there to clean them And then just um, you know one of the things that um And this is true of any maintenance product just whatever you have don't overuse it You know people might want to if the floor is dirty and grimy because you know, it's a winter in illinois, which I saw there was a A guest from illinois. You don't want to take like a mop bucket and start mopping your floor Just you know, obviously common sense has to rule as well. So in order, I would say make sure you know Identify what you have on the floor to clean And then just make sure that you have a designated dedicated product to clean that floor And then just don't overuse anything. I mean we all kind of know a spray bottle typically won't harm anything So there's lots of cleaners out there for hard surfaces. They come in a spray. They're premixed They're almost impossible to overuse And then there are products out there that come and concentrates You just have to obviously have to make sure you don't um, you don't under dilute or over dilute So there's lots of little things that you can just do to start the process correctly And obviously depending on whether it's carpet carpeting obviously requires very different cleaning than the hard surface does So so let's talk about the hard surface for a second because you just brought up hardwood laminate and Our luxury vinyl plank flooring and and vinyl. What are the differences in the different types of floorings for those that don't know the difference Um, okay, so hardwood floors typically come in two categories. You have the solid hardwood and the engineered Version solid hardwood is typically I'm going to say what your grandmother grandfather had It's typically much narrower two and a quarter or maybe three and a quarter inch wide and that's typically a solid wood There's less and less of it being used today Sometimes new construction. It's done on site if it's a wider plank It's typically going to be let's say it's an engineered hardwood Now one of the best ways you can tell if it's a hardwood or A facsimile is is twofold one is are the planks to the planks look somewhat uniform If they look somewhat uniform, then probably it's not a hardwood hardwood is a living breathing Item from nature So there's going to be individual planks and then really the other probably the best way you can do is Go over to where your baseboard or your vent is and pop the vent up And you will be able to see a cross section of the product And typically you will be able to tell if it's a hardwood Maybe a laminate or of see if it's a vinyl vinyl is going to be typically pretty thin Probably, you know less than Three sixteenths of an inch. So those are just just one quick way you can identify What the product is um And obviously I have to interrupt you for a second and say for every house cleaning company that's out there Did you just hear that tip if you'll pop up the vent? Which are usually on the floors in many homes and you look at the type of flooring that it is You'll be able to tell whether it's a hardwood or a luxury vinyl plank flooring or a vinyl So that's an excellent tip for those that are just not sure because we do live in an era where we're tricked a lot There is a ceramic tile that looks like hardwood floor, right? So there's a there's lots of flooring now that that tries to trick you into thinking it's it's hardwood So this is a great tip. Thank you so much for bringing that up. Yeah, believe me angela I say I've been in this business a long time and they The knockoff products if you want to call them laminate and vinyl I literally have to go down to my hands and knees and tap on them And sometimes I get it wrong. It is so difficult So I understand the challenge that some homeowners may have just the other things sometimes obviously if it's a concrete slab You typically won't have a floor vent But you can usually get an edge of a flooring somewhere typically in a door jam or something like that Um, that is typically, you know, you can typically find an edge somewhere and that would be the best way to find it If you don't have a floor vent Excellent tip. Oh my goodness. Okay. Cool. So what is the difference between luxury vinyl plank then and just regular vinyl? Like the old kind that just rolled out on a sheet Well, um sheet vinyl which came in a 12 foot roll Um, that was very popular in 70s and 80s and probably all the way through the 90s as well We still see it in some homes You do but I will tell you just based on the proportion of what is sold today It is that product has um It's done in very small single digits and sometimes it's done in um, maybe in lower cost housing or apartment buildings So it is highly unusual for single family or townhomes to put sheet vinyl in so If it's been installed in the last 10 years probably very unlikely It's a sheet vinyl and obviously if it's a sheet there's It's a 12 foot roll. So if your room's less than 12 feet, there's no seams and it's actually a flooring that Is very suitable extremely easy to maintain But unfortunately today what has happened in the industry there's fewer and fewer Installers can install that today So more than likely if there's somebody listening here and they've gotten a vinyl floor in the last 10 years I'm going to probably bet it's a plank or tile type Um, but as far as the finish on the surface typically they're not They're not the finish is not different So basically how you would maintain those vinyls whether it be sheet plank or tile Um, typically you would use exactly the same product. So all right, so That's my next question then. How do we maintain that? Okay, well, this is true of all flooring and you might hear me you repeat this again Two best things a couple best things you can do is obviously not take the dirt into your home to begin with So that involves having an outdoor mat and then perhaps an indoor mat And if you've got a covered porch, I'm a big fan of the microfiber mats because they will remove the dirt and they will remove the wet sticky stuff off your feet So don't take the dirt into your home to begin with And that's true of all flooring. So have a mat outside inside or covered porches. Certainly you can Probably do an indoor outdoor type mat to get the dirt off your feet And then just you know, obviously everybody leaves very busy lives today So maybe we don't have time to get them off or get the spray bottle out, but regular vacuuming Either with like one of those Dyson hard surface vacuums. It's got the soft roller So as long as you're keeping the dirt off the floor and then again, it's just true of every floor That will go a long way to keeping your floor looking new. So hard surface vacuuming Or even dry swiffer, which only takes takes minutes or seconds to do the areas You're typically working in around the kitchen in their entrance way So those would be the the fast ways to maintain your floor and then obviously Um on that weekend when you have a little bit more time It's really that time to do to get out the the swiffer type and there's many types out there that They have the they have a cartridge and it's preloaded and it has a trigger gun So those are an excellent quick way to clean floors and you can go to amazon or Walmart or home depot and just go to the flooring section. There's lots of cleaning products out there There's one from armstrong called once and done that has been on the market probably 30 years or more They're still making it Do you love it? Yeah, it has been say it has been in the industry for 30 years It's called once and done comes in a quart bottle. It's probably I don't know maybe seven eight dollars super inexpensive But again, if you go to the floor carving section, there's lots of products Root rejuvenate has also they have dedicated hard surface and vinyl cleaners They're premixed. So they're come some of them come in a spray bottle, which is very handy Some come in a just a regular corksized bottle and you have to sort of put it into either a spritzer bottle And I would recommend really more than anything, you know, I don't think anybody wants to be using the bucket mop type thing anymore so the the um The spray bottles with um a swiffer type mop is really good and then they're obviously Swiffer and some of the other brands out there. There's a company called bona bona they have cleaning mops with cartridges where you plug the cartridge in and it has a trigger gun and those are super easy to use because You're always applying the right amount of cleaner and you don't have to you don't have to ring in at the night You don't have to be ambidextrous and have three hands. So they are really an excellent way to clean your floors Can we can we talk about those mop buckets for a minute? Because when I started my cleaning business back in 1988 That's the way that my grandmother cleaned and that's the way that I was taught and at the time I had to admit this And I'm embarrassed for everybody that's watching. They're gonna go, uh Um, we dipped the mop inside the mop bucket We ringed it out and it was a string mop and we mopped the floor and then we dumped it back in the bucket And we wet them up again in the same dirty mop water that we just Put the mop in and then we ringed it out again and we kept mopping the floor So we were literally spreading dirt around And one of the reasons in the last 15 years we've really gotten away from mop buckets all together Is for that very reason. Yeah. Yeah, good. There are some new mop buckets on the market that have two Uh compartments one has clean water and one has dirty water But we still run the risk of too much water on the floor when the mop is not ringed out properly Can you tell us a little bit about having too much water on the floor when you mop? Yeah, that can be I say too much of anything is really a bad thing and water Is particularly bad obviously on hardwood floors and laminate floors. So there's where you can really start to create Damage particularly solid wood because obviously solid wood if it gets wet it's going to want to expand and all sorts of things will happen Laminate floors And again that there's kind of like a dividing line the laminate floors most laminate floors today are Topically waterproof. So they actually can take a fair amount of water. I shouldn't say water But certainly a wet mop, but if you have the older style And you get a traditional laminate wet. It's not going to like that either Typically vinyl flooring because it's plastic and most of them are waterproof there's no real Detriment there's no real detrimental effect to making them too wet, but certainly then If you if they're too wet If they're not then buff dried you're going to get streaks, of course. So Certainly the mop method is not ideal Granted there are some new fancy mops that can do a very good job, but More and more I really recommend the pre-loaded cartridges or the spritz bottle with a swifter type Again, if you're doing a commercial area I would say maybe the bucket maybe has more of an application because you're going to have to do larger areas But typically if you're just doing a kitchen living room, you probably don't need to be getting the bucket and mop Or I'm so glad you said that I know lots of us are moving to the steamers Which we're using as a dry mop not even plugging it in but using the handle because the handle is easy to use It's a lot like those spritzer mops that you're mentioning and using like a dry microfiber mop pad on it So we can do dry dry mopping dry dust mopping and then wetting just the mop pad Not the whole not using the steam or anything But just using the mop pad as damp so that we can use it as a wet mop because it's a flat surface And it's easy to use and then on those ceramic and tile floors using the actual steam itself If need be around toilets and things where there's you know Yeah, certainly that would be around tile. I would say use all the steam you want because you're not going to harm anything um, and certainly what you just described with the The dry mop head certainly. Yeah, absolutely. That would be recommended really for any hard surface tell us about ceramic and uh stone Because we've got two different kinds of flooring there and we're seeing a lot of stone and it's We we got lots of stuff on it and homeowners and house cleaners are Are wigging out because when you damage stone, it's very expensive And yeah, um, I would say certainly that is the category that probably challenges people the most And I will tell you just angela. Like I said, there's great facsimiles out there Some of the porcelain tiles can mimic limestone and granite and marble and you literally can't tell the difference So more and more new product is going that direction just simply because it's super easy to maintain But if you happen to have a natural stone Installed and again all natural stone isn't maintained the same way But typically you're going to want to use a neutral pH balance cleaner um, because obviously Some limestones and marble can adversely be React if you use a harsh cleaner it can literally stain them So yes, when you've got a natural stone, you have to be that That much more careful on what you're using and there's lots of good products out there in the market. There's a company called black diamond They have like a one gallon and That actually comes in quartz and one gallons. It's a marble stone and tile cleaner. So it kind of You can't go wrong as it were because maybe you mistakenly identify it, but it's a neutral pH balance cleaner um And they also I think they sell it in a premix version and to concentrate And then obviously my advice would be make sure you follow the directions on the concentrates because again if you dilute them too much or not enough you're going to have an adverse effect For those of you that are just joining us. We're talking with shauna roark from the floor coverings international It's a franchise. It's all across the country and they help you choose The flooring that you need for your home and then also, um, shawn is here today to to share with us how to clean that One of my concerns is that many homeowners do not understand the difference between a ready to use product and a concentrate Can you explain the difference to us between that because you just mentioned them both? Yeah, um, certainly, um, you know, obviously the if it comes with a spritzer I think for the most part you could be guaranteed that's going to be Already pre diluted and again, you can't really go wrong But there are there are lots of cleaners out there that they come in like a traditional quart half gallon or gallon container And you know, they look the same. You don't really know if it's a unless you read the instructions There's no way to automatically tell if it's a Concentrate or it's already diluted For instance, I know I have it my under my kitchen sink is it's a product by lysol and it is a concentrate As a nice lemony scent to it. You can typically use it for just about any hard surface floor But again, you've got to make sure you Follow the directions Usually I must say usually it's one cup per one gallon But again, there's lots of products out there. So just read the instructions And I think that's really important because it's easy even as a cleaning business owner to buy a gallon of something and not Be aware that that is a concentrate and it is And it's designed to be diluted And so it will usually give you the dilution ratios and if you're not sure you can go to the company website Double check to make sure that you're adding the water that you're supposed to because if you put it straight on on the floor It can have harsh effects And like Sean said a couple minutes ago, the ph neutral is going to be key We want to keep a very neutral floor cleaner on our floors And uh, share with us why we choose ph neutral instead of an acid or a A base. Well for that reason, it's it's basically the perfect balance. And again, I'm not the I'm not the chemist When it's ph balance, obviously, um, there it's it's uh, it's kind of a neutral How do I best describe this angela see I'm not a chemist But neutral ph just means it will not have an adverse effect on the natural substance It's kind of like hydrogen peroxide pretty harmless to probably everything Um or baking soda like baking soda is another product that can be used to clean lots of different things out there Um, and again, that's a neutral ph value And thank you for bringing that up for those of you that are not familiar with the ph The cycle the system it goes from zero to 14 and right in the middle We have number seven seven is water water is ph neutral And so when you go to one side, it's like toilet bowl cleaner And when you go to the other side acid and the other side is alkaline we go to oven cleaner So we've got two really strong Cleaners on the other side and we want to stay as neutral as possible when it comes to our floors So ph neutral is the key if you are unsure Always air on the side of ph neutral There you go. All right. We got some questions that have come in. Are you ready for some questions, Sean? I'm ready Awesome. I want to say hi to tori. She says hi angela. That's why I always leave my shoes outside Tori good for you. I'm so glad that you leave your shoes outside. That's a great example for all of us Kelly says do you recommend steam sanitizer mops for floors? Let's let's answer that question Steam sanitizers. Well, um, if you have a tile flooring 100 yes But for pretty much all other floors. I would not recommend again, um Maybe in the hands of professional, but certainly maybe, um, you know For a regular homeowner and maybe they're They they put that chore to Susie 16 year old Susie and she much just wants to use it as best she can So yeah, you do not want to use steamers particularly on hardwood particularly on laminate um They were probably okay on most of the vinyl floors But I can't say I would recommend it because obviously Vinyl adversely is it doesn't get Impacted by moisture, but certainly it does get adversely affected by heat So if you've got that temperature on that sanitizer turned up, it could have a detrimental effect But definitely not laminate and definitely not on any of the hardwood floors If by any chance You have the dog slobber or something that cannot come up You can use a steamer in very very small spots like to to pick up that something and for just seconds Like like Sean said it can damage the heat can damage And also if you have like wooden floors like he mentioned before with the the moisture in the water You don't want it to warp the floors and you don't want it to get in there So again, we we do use the steamers because the handles are really nice and they're convenient Especially for like seniors that have like shoulder replacements and they can't use the big mop And so just the handles but again, we're using a dry the dry floor Covering that goes right on the the head of the mop or we're using it damp and we're using it as a damp mop So think damp and dry for hardwoods and laminates And then the steam for the bathroom where we need to sanitize and clean up You know Extra things that we get in our bathrooms and that will also remove hairspray off your ceramic tile flooring So that's that's think of that as well. All right our next question Um This is from random exploring baking soda before vacuuming and using vinegar for vinyl flooring options and suggestions You mentioned baking soda share with us how that works well, um We don't always have accidents at the right time and if it happens You know at 10 o'clock at night when your friends are over and someone spills wine or somebody gets something stuck to the floor Obviously, you want to clean it and you still have that product. So yeah Depending on what the stain is what the surface is um, typically you can do a concoction of baking soda and vinegar and maybe a little bit of dawn um Dishwashing liquid and that can be used to clean all sorts of greasy stuff. Let's say somebody got um You know just something that they took in from they they stepped in oil or something like that or Some sort of paint or lipstick A baking soda paste with vinegar Concernally really really you just create a little paste Put it on the stain and then when the baking soda dries it will take basically you can use a hard or like a plastic edge That hard stain will be removed with the baking soda as it dries So there's lots of home remedies out there obviously hydrogen peroxide Can be used to clean lots of lots of items um Certainly like one of the most difficult things that you can get is obviously like a blood stain or carpet Um, certainly you want to remove any excesses that you can A little bit of club soda and a little bit of salt and let it sit there for 15 or 20 minutes And it will work wonders baking soda and club soda will clean probably 95 percent of every stain you could get in your home It's just making sure you use it in the right uh in the right form. And again, we all have Google and uh on our phones and on our desktops and laptops So typically there will be a slightly different formula depending on what you're looking to to remove it And I think the key that shawn just said was it depends on the surface type and it depends on the type of stain And it always comes down to those two things What is the surface that i'm cleaning and what is the soil that i'm trying to remove? Because it's going to be different and like you said in different concoctions Based on the type of flooring and the type of the stain that you're trying to remove So for example peanut butter is going to respond differently than a blood stain And so you don't want to use the same concoction if you have a different type of soil You're trying to remove so awesome answer. That was that was fantastic And i'll give you one more angela obviously the other big thing we don't want to have happening particularly again, this would be carpet if you're Little your little chihuahua or great dain whatever it was has urine Stain on your carpet. Obviously you want to get that removed as quickly as possible typically a concoction or like two cups of water Mixed with one cup of vinegar and a little bit of baking soda You wet the carpet with the mixture put the baking soda on there And that will both neutralize it and remove it and then obviously you have to blot it with a clean towel afterwards But baking soda and vinegar is great even for using for removing urine stains And tell us about If a pet pee's on the floor and you do remove it with vinegar. Does that give them It does it smell bad so they don't pee there again or does that like oh, hey, you know now it's I'm going to tell you angela. I am not a pet owner So i'm probably not the best person to ask if It discourages Little, you know Rupert or whatever his name may be from going back, but I gotta believe well vinegar it it will dry off That is the effect that vinegar has so i'm going to say that probably would be short lived but certainly you know I think maybe a pet owner might be better able to to uh answer that one So i'm curious and this is a an angela question. Um, I'm curious are you are you not a pet owner because you've been in the flooring industry for so long? um Oh, how do I answer that? No, I did have a pet for I had a dog and a cat for 15 years um And I never replaced them I just leave it leave live a busy busy life and I just never went back to owning a pet But not because of any other reason And the reason I ask is because I too was a pet owner and when my pets passed away I did not replace them either But for me it was because of all of the pet hair and all of the accidents and all of the cleanup And i'm like, you know what that was really awesome for a time And I will always love those little pets and i'm not going to replace them either and I didn't Isn't that wild? Well, of course, I think something that I said earlier 65 percent of americans have at least one animal In their home. I could be a bird or something else Um, and we typically find our clientele floor coverings international It's as many as like 80 percent of people have a pet so And today particularly like I'm going to say especially since covid too people have repurposed different rooms in their home and um obviously a lot of people went out there and got puppies and stuff like that so um A lot of times homeowners make decisions on what flooring to put in based on Based on their little dog So it's it's something that also has to be taken into Um consideration because obviously if you can use a more organic type cleaner Especially in a home that would be advisable. I know there's stuff out there. Um, it's and Um Farmer answers that that's called uh our ant farmer and it's a it's a um a very green biological product I think it's pre diluted vinegar with some baking soda. So there are eco friendly Um pet Option cleaners out there as well. And I would say for the most part Even most of the commercial cleaning products today are pet and and they're pet friendly Mm-hmm One that we use in the cleaning business that we're really big fans of is otoban bio stain remover And it's an odor and stain remover and it eats up the enzymes And so it's clear it goes on just like hydrogen peroxide or vinegar And it doesn't have a really strong smell to it And when you put it on that urine or that that pee smell from your pet You do the same blotting system But then the enzymes will eat it up and then the pets don't revisit that area And so it's it's really really great and it's also great for People people protein stains. So if you have like baby spit up on clothing and stuff like that We'll spray it with the exact same thing and even though it's it's an odor bio stain odor remover And it's kind of designed for pets. It's fantastic for people as well. So if you're a house cleaner This is kind of a hint and a secret But if you get those big underarm stains where you're sweating because you're working out or you get that ring around the collar You spray it with that and it comes right off. It's fantastic. Wow. So I know Yeah, I'm learning something to I'm learning something too. There you go. Oh, so Nancy says hello, Angela and Sean She's from Illinois and she says how might I remove a stain From the gripper backside of a bathroom road? So I'm guessing these are like bath mats that you would pull up and then they've got stains and stuff on the back of them How do we remove that? Would you know? Yeah, I would say um, certainly I would take the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda method. Um, You know make a concoction and leave it on there I'm not sure if it's the gripper that has caused the stain, which if it is typically that's an oil type substance So it really that's kind of a tricky one to really answer what the best Method to clean that. Um, but certainly there would be no reason. Um, typically bath rugs are washable so certainly some of the Pre-made spritzer cleaning or spot remover Could possibly work in that even spot remover for your clothing. Um, could possibly work in that case Awesome. Thank you for that Mary says what is the best product to clean wooden not hardwood floors? And I don't know the difference between wooden and hardwood because we all we throw them all into one great big lump sum What is what is the best way to answer that? Yeah, I'm a little Confused in that one too, Angela. Um, I'm not sure if wooden floors means It's it's in an older home or maybe it hasn't been You know, it's not like a pre-finished floor, but to me I I I wouldn't really separate those two typically As long as it's um Again a cleaning product designed for hardwoods. I wouldn't see why you would not be able to use those four wooden floors Okay So probably if it's got like a lacquered finish or something like that Uh, if it's got a lacquered finish, maybe something like murphy's oil soap might be recommended for that Can we talk for a second about using vinegar on floors? Because when I started my cleaning business, I used vinegar on floors because that's what my grandmother did And we didn't realize we were actually stripping some of that finish off Can you tell us how how we we clean our floors with and I'm talking about modern floors because in the last 15 20 years Those those waxed floors are going away. We're not waxing floors like we used to yeah. Yeah, there's again I think um A lot of what you're going to experience in the flooring world or floor cleaning world is How old the floor is certainly if it's in the last 10 15 even almost 20 years typically you're going to have almost You know wax is really gone by the wayside for the most part um So again, there's lots of cleaning products out there But vinegar can be used obviously on we talked about carpet and certainly on hard surfaces if you put a cup of white vinegar in a A bucket of mild or lukewarm water and a little bit of Dishwashing liquid like a dawn or some fairy liquid or whatever Certainly you can clean almost any hard surface floor with that And there's really again as long as you're not using too much moisture. There is really No harm done and certainly vinegar. It has the ability to remove odors move stains and certainly To this day, it's still getting used and really again, there's a lot, you know, as long as you're diluting it correctly No harm done And I think that's the key. I want to highlight what he just said about diluting We've had lots of house cleaners in the past using straight vinegar and while straight vinegar is awesome in your laundry It can strip the finish off the floors And so what Sean said about diluting again, this goes back to the concentrates If you will read the labels and you'll be really careful to remember We're going back to a pH neutral right on hardwood floors, especially and our vinegar is a 2.5 Which is a really strong acid And so if we dilute that properly it removes amazing things like dog slobber and ground in food and spilled soups and greases and all that kind of stuff It's fantastic if diluted properly. So you guys just heard it from Sean. He said diluted Okay, so again, like he said, you've got google and all the stuff handy But make sure that you're you're thinking of the flooring type and the type of soil that you're trying to remove So that's awesome. All right, we have and this is from rachel rose. She says hi and please Could you tell me how to clean very old dull red quarry tiles on a farmhouse kitchen floor? Hmm So typically red quarry tiles, they are if if they are what I'm thinking they are they are unglazed So certainly, um, that dirt can get really ground in there So you would probably first of all, I would use maybe a bristle Vacuum to basically try to agitate the surface because obviously there's um You know over the years lots of stuff have gotten on that flooring. So I would use a A coarse bristle brush brush to get the top of the surface opened up and then just again use a a good quality tile cleaner they typically um A tile cleaner that just cleans ceramic tile will also have the right chemical makeup to clean quarry tile and then obviously grout again Typically quarry tile had a very very thick grout joint and the tile cleaners typically they will They will clean the grout as well But if you're also trying to clean make the grout maybe back to its original color That's going to require a little bit of elbow grease and not a general cleaning But um a coarse bristle brush over that red quarry tile would be the first thing I would do And then it's it's possibly going to take multiple cleanings to get that surface cleaned And again that floor has been down there plenty long So if you use a more coarse bristle brush with the cleaning solution, you're not going to harm it And I want to highlight that too because what Sean just told us was multiple cleanings It's going to require a brush. It's going to require some elbow grease And when you go into clean, uh 1900s flooring We have to be really clear about setting proper expectations Because we're not going to take an old 1900s floor and we're going to bring it back to 2023 standards and make it look brand spanking new again And we've got a lot of homeowners that are like, hey, can you make my old old floor look brand brand new? No, it's an old flooring. And so we have to set realistic expectations And if you are the cleaner you got to set A parameter of this is what you can expect and this is how much it's going to cost because we do have to use some Elbow grease and some scrubbing and all the other things Right, so I love that. He just set some very realistic expectations and not all floors You're just going to put some magic dust on them and poof. They look brand new again. It doesn't work that way Which takes us to the next question And this is from Mary and she says is there a store in Syracuse, New York that you would recommend or that you would advise us to visit John for a new floor Oh, um, I'm not going to be geographically able to uh place a store in Syracuse, New York But certainly, you you know, we all look at reviews today um, and certainly how long the The company or store may be in business is probably a good sign right there um, and certainly if it's a brick-and-mortar type store, certainly, um, you know pay them a visit You'll be able to best answer that I personally could not answer that one Well, let me ask you a question. Um, because of that question and that's a fair question What do you recommend? But let the question is this let's say that you find a store What are some questions you should ask the person that you're going to buy your flooring from? uh, just like I had said with um, you know the service that we offer is certainly, um, You know when you went to let's say a store you're going to have just an array of Options that's just going to be quite honestly. It's going to be overwhelming But I think maybe the first thing is What what do you want your home to look like when it's finished? What is you know, whether it's coming from the style or the color or the Durability of the product and obviously we can't forget budget because that's always going to be part of it. Um So basically, I think set guideline as set limitations on what you're looking for and certainly um, you can all get a lot of we can all get a lot of the inspiration today from Whether it's Pinterest or house or whatever or magazines and you know, certainly when people are looking for floor covering It's not something that they decide like oh, I want to buy a new dress because I've got a party this week It's something that you decide over probably a period of three months You know because sometimes it's like well that floor that floor has been down there a while But before it got ugly as it were floors don't wear out. You just get ugly um So really get inspiration from whether it's the internet or magazines and take whatever they are into the store Don't be afraid to visit some other stores and Maybe bring in some paint chips And just really express to whoever you're working with What I want this what what the space i'm covering what i'm trying to convey Is it is it an office space? Is it my bedroom where I want serenity and comfort and plushness? Is it where I've got you know my living area where I've got two kids and two dogs living? Obviously depending on the use And the budget and all these different things Bring all bring as much as you can to the store as you can but certainly You know whoever's helping you They're they're not mine readers and they don't know what your home looks like and how you use it So you got don't be afraid obviously to snap some photographs of what your decorating looks like also So there's just so many things that we can do today that maybe you couldn't do obviously You know a long time ago So if I have a floor coverings international person come to my house and they're going to help me choose a floor Do I choose the flooring based on how I'm going to use the house? Or on the resell value of the house when I go to sell the house I Personally, I would certainly recommend what works for you the resale thing Obviously if you're putting it on the market in six months, you know, that's a different equation But to me personally don't worry about that pick the thing that's going to work for you Because you're the one that's living there and don't worry about that other resale value down the road I mean realtors will tell you that You know hardwood floors are still the most desired flooring that people want to see in their home But maybe it's not the flooring that should be in someone's home if they've got say multiple animals and young kids Maybe that's not the right product. So that that's like You're just never ever going to know if what you put in is going to appeal to the buyer down the road Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. I would put in what's suitable for you And the reason I bring it up is when uh when we first got married and we bought our house Because I'm in the cleaning business. I was like, I am not having anything but tile in my house I'm just having ceramic tile. I'm going to call it a date. That's it. It's going to be easy to clean easy to sweep We're done And so we did we installed ceramic tile from the front entry all the way through the kitchen the dining room The laundry room the whole the whole front half of the house And when we went to sell it the realtors like oh, no you didn't you know You're never going to be able to sell this because everybody wants hardwood And I said it's perfect. Just sell it. Just sell the house to somebody from florida because all There's always somebody out there who's just wants to aisle but to try to Fortell who's going to buy your home down the road and forget that But because I was so bent on it's just so easy to clean You know, I just use I can use the steamer on it and we're just it's done You know in moments So, uh, then when she when she put the ads up on the mls listing She said, you know, perfect home for a florida buyer or whatever and somebody from florida bought it And I was like yay, it worked and then we got to enjoy it the whole time we lived there There you go. See that proof in the fitting crazy stuff Um, so we're we're running out of time here. Man, I'm I'm so sad here We've got just a couple questions left and we're running out of time. Um, adriana says, um, I have a robux S8 pro ultra and it says to use their solution I'm guessing that's a steamer or a mop of some sort with one of the spritzer things Can I use a drop of salsads to the tank of water instead of using their solution? I'm going to answer that because we do use salsads a lot with the mopping and salsads I'm going to be honest with you. It is it's a castle soap. It's by brawners dr. Brawner And they it's all it's all earth friendly and it passes all the tests from all of the different eco friendly cleaning green cleaning all that stuff It's fantastic and you need one drop I'm not kidding. You need one drop if you use a squirt of it You're going to have suds all over your floor if you use one drop In either your premix that you're using if you do a pre wet system Or if you want to use your spritzer one drop one drop in the tank that is all you need Okay, one drop and it will shine your floors. It does a fantastic job So I would say yes if it is a machine that allows cleaning solution And double check the manufacturer's instructions because some units I know a lot of steamers and stuff say don't add anything at all. So I don't know what the unit is I'm not familiar with the pro s8 thing that you recommended But if it allows cleaning solutions One drop of salsads. So there you go and the answer is yes one drop. All right And I think we answered this one already how to clean and protect damaged 1900s hardwood flooring That's that is actually a tough one. I mean damaged mean You know, it it might need board replacement at night might need patch. It might need, you know, obviously probably um A shellac or an oil finish on it might be advisable But that's probably something like that. Um, that might be more for um, a hardwood professional because that's I'm not sure what the damage night, you know, what the damage is And I think that goes back again to Um meeting expectations with the homeowner and if you are the homeowner, it's your flooring This might be a great time to call floor coverings international and have them come over and take a look and give you some suggestions about updating your flooring Um, somebody says and this is s mountain says can we mention the importance of not following internet trends? example like toilet bowl cleaners on tile floors Uh, you guys do not want to start me on that tangent I do not want to go up on that tangent But uh, if I can address that really quickly Please read the manufacturer's instructions Because if you are buying a floor it is warrantied for a period of time And I do not want you as a cleaning business owner to be experimenting on customers floors With internet trends. It's damaging and it's dangerous just like we don't mix chemicals because we're not chemists We can dilute products based on the manufacturer manufacturers recommendations And so toilet bowl cleaners are a very strong acid and they are designed for toilets They are designed for porcelain or ceramic toilets. And that is what they are designed for And there's a lot of damage that comes through my office every single day of people going. Oh my goodness I screwed up. I use this on a customer's whatever and I damage this that or the other. How do I fix it? and then your insurance You're going to try to file an insurance claim and the insurance company is not going to cover it because they're going to say It was in your care custody and control and you're the professional and you're supposed to know That you're supposed to read the manufacturer's instructions on the labels. Okay If you're unsure or if you're like me and you need the reading glasses and you can't see the little print Please read the safety data sheets Because every manufacturer has a safety data sheet that they have to specify the damage that can be done and the hazards Okay, so it's up to you as the professional to do your homework and to know before you go experimenting on customers Whatever appliances surfaces flooring That you're responsible for it Okay, and unless you want to do a whole bunch of repairs and a whole bunch of out-of-pocket expenses Please do not use internet trends on customers flooring if you are not 100 sure that that's the proper thing to be using There you go. That was my rant Our time is up for today. Sean. I'm so glad you joined us today. This was so fun I I just had a blast and I had a blast to all of you guys that joined in and you asked questions and you participated So thank you so much. Sean. Where can our listeners go to find you? Well, certainly, um, we know where to find everything today is go on to google and uh, just put in Flooring flooring near you. We usually come up, but certainly Www floor coverings international calm and that will send you to the nearest franchisee And again, we have 225 throughout the country. So There is one in pretty much every market across the united states Unfortunately, well, we are international. We are in canada also I don't know if we've any canadian visitors, but we are not in ireland or england at least yet Not yet, but i'm sure coming soon Thank you so much you guys for today. This was awesome. And until we see you again Leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it