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What is the best carpet cleaning method?

Good question. The answer is that depends upon the type of fiber and soiling conditions. Some of the most well known methods are: Steam Hot Water Extraction (HWE), Shampoo (Bonnet) , Encapsulation, Solvent (Chem Dry) and Dry Host.

HWE is the most widely recommended by carpet manufacturers like Shaw Industries, Mohawk and Tandus. In general there are 6 steps involved in this very popular method. Dry soil extraction (DSE or Vacuuming), pre-conditioner, agitation, neutralizing rinse, speed dry and final grooming. A professional cleaner who is certified through “The Clean Trust” (formerly the IICRC) that does not offer all 6 steps is failing to give you the best chance to maintain your investment.

Shampoo is no longer used like it once was. In years gone by the shampoo was agitated into the carpet and left to dry. As an additional step the residue may have been vacuumed out. Today we may use a shampoo unit but it will always be followed by an extraction (industrial wet vacuum) to remove the dirt, soil and detergents.

Encapsulation is an up and coming method. The polymers were developed in the 1930’s and gained some popularity. However, they never truly caught on until recently. This is a low moisture method that relies more heavily on dry soil extraction (DSE or vacuuming) than other methods. After a good thorough DSE the product is sprayed onto the face yarn of the carpet. Then an agitation unit is used to break up bonded soil and stains as well as to distribute the encapsulation polymer.

The best agitation devices have counter rotating brushes. These brushes are better at coating the entire face yarn and will not void carpet warranties like oscillation devices. After agitating the polymer the soil in the carpet is surrounded or encapsulated by the cleaning agent. The polymers then dry to a brittle crystal. A surprising side bar is that after the application of the cleaning agent and agitation are complete the carpet will likely look as good as if it were Steam Cleaned. The soil that is encapsulated is equally distributed in the face yarn of the carpet much like when you mop the kitchen floor.

Finally, after the polymer is allowed to cure (several hours) a very thorough DSE will remove the encapsulated dirt and soil. An additional benefit is the polymer will create larger bundles of dry soil which makes your vacuuming efforts more productive for several vacuuming’s following the treatment.

Dry Clean or Solvent Method This method was developed for high traffic facilities that could not be shut down for a prolonged dry time. Airports for example wanted a cleaning method that would prolong the life of their carpet but not impede air travelers in a major way. The Chem Dry method was developed to meet this need. After a thorough vacuuming (DSE) a solvent was sprayed on the carpet. A clean white bonnet was run over the treated carpet on an orbital machine. The bonnet was changed often as the dirt and dry soil would transfer onto the bonnet. This method was adapted to residential cleaning very successfully for many years. The reason this method was successful in my opinion is the very thorough vacuuming (DSE) component. The application of the solvent did remove difficult soil like grease, gum, oil and tar giving the carpet a better appearance. This method is very rarely if ever used today. The Chem Dry franchises quietly changed to a truck mounted HWE style of cleaning. The problem with the solvent method is it strips the carpet of its installed protectors. In addition the orbital machines void most if not all carpet warranties. When the carpet protector is stripped the floor will re-soil extremely rapidly. Carpet has 2 protectors built into it by the manufacturer and they require replenishment under many circumstances. Very harsh cleaning chemicals do remove most if not all of the installed protector(s). This does clean the carpet extremely well but leaves the carpet naked and bare. Protectors are installed first and foremost to protect against dry soil. Dry soil is abrasive and will scratch the fibers. When your fibers become abraded in the traffic area we call this traffic lane grey. It is irreversible wear not dirt. Carpet protectors make your fiber slick (think about your Teflon pan) allowing your vacuuming efforts to be more effective. Yes the chemical barrier of the protector will allow cleaning agents to release stains more easily. This was the other problem with the solvent method over time stains became increasingly difficult to remove. The method faded because in time it actually may have damaged carpet requiring earlier replacement. We do not offer this style of cleaning.

Dry Host this method never really caught on. This method much like the dry foam methods are very safe. As with any high quality carpet cleaning this method starts with a thorough vacuuming. Then the technician distributes a cleaning agent, the dry host is a moist large caliber powder. The powder is agitated with a counter rotating brush. Then the host is allowed to dwell in the fiber. After a dwell time the host is vacuumed up. Soil and stains will transfer onto the host allowing for safe removal. This method is good but is thought of as an interim cleaning method. In other words it will not clean a very heavily soiled carpet. We do not offer this style of cleaning.

How important is vacuuming?

This is the most important maintenance a homeowner can use to protect their investment. We recommend vacuuming your traffic areas no less than 3 times per week. Move the furniture once every quarter to vacuum behind it. It is also a good idea to rearrange your furniture to change traffic patterns if possible about 2 times per year. The sand and dry soil we track in attack our carpets relentlessly. Sand is used for sand paper because it has up to 23 cutting edges per grain. Imagine what it can do to your soft carpet fibers if allowed to remain in the carpet. The abrasive grit will scratch the carpet and change the way it reflects light. This irreversible condition is referred to as traffic lane grey. Many people will take action to clean when the carpet looks dirty. The face yarn of your carpet will hold its weight in dry soil and dirt. When it looks dirty it is full of dirt to the point the carpet is saturated and will not hold any more.

Many HWE cleaning companies will de-emphasize the importance of a pre-vacuum step. They may also be content to start steam cleaning if you have already vacuumed prior to their arrival. The explanation is usually tied to the size of their truck mounted unit (TMU). This is a ridiculous statement. Consider an ant hill. If you take your vacuum hose to the ant hill granules they are easily vacuumed up. Now what happens if you spray the same granules with a wet cleaning agent...MUD! Prior to putting down a cleaning pre-conditioning agent it is critical to pre-vacuum with a high quality commercial vacuum. Every certified technician and/or certified firm understands that “The Clean Trust” (formerly IICRC) standard for professional carpet cleaning the S100 requires a pre-vacuuming step. This step removes as much as 70% of what is in your carpet, helps to eliminate odors and will speed the dry time.

I am afraid if I get my carpet cleaned it will get dirty faster?

This is a very real concern. Let me start by illustrating a point. Have you ever had a spot in the carpet and used a cleaner like resolve to treat it? I bet it looked great for a week or two and then you noticed a larger darker spot developing in the same area. In cleaning carpet it is critical to remove any dirt attracting residue. Many residential spot cleaning products contain surfactants that are anionic (negatively charged). If not rinsed out of a carpet they are dirt magnets.

So also understand that carpet cleaning seems to be a very simple business and it requires a relatively modest investment. Therefore, lots of people will buy a truck and Truck mounted unit (TMU) and start a home business. Many will avoid the step of becoming educated, insured and licensed with the state. They will generally attract customers by advertising outrageously low prices...keep in mind you get what you pay for. These same uneducated cleaners find that they can quickly clean your carpet with extremely strong detergents (some in excess of 13ph). The consumer is pleased that they got a bargain and it looked good when the cleaner finished. Then a week or two later the notice the carpet is looking a bit dingy.

There are two likely possibilities that will allow your carpet to re-soil quickly after a professional cleaning. The cleaner did not completely remove his strong cleaning agent or he used a strong detergent rinse. Either situation may lead to rapid re-soiling just like the home spot cleaning example. When using strong surfactants in carpet cleaning it is critical to use a neutralizing or acid rinse. Leaving a carpet at 6.5-7 PH is recommended by the S100 standard. A neutralizing rinse rather than an emulsifying (8.5 - 9.5 PH cleaner rinse) will rinse out cleaning agent so you do not have a dirt attracting residue.

A far worse aspect of poorly educated cleaners using extremely strong cleaners is the effect it has on carpet protectors (for a better understanding of carpet protectors see the section below). Carpet protector is removed from your carpet very gradually in many ways. Sunlight, vacuuming, traffic and cleaning will remove your carpets factory installed protector(s). Many uneducated cleaners will use strong pre-conditioning cleaners on every cleaning project to increase their productivity. The carpet is stripped of its protection naked and bare. It may look great when they finish but you never call them back because the carpet got dirty so fast. After stripping the carpet protector you will have less success in removing stains, your vacuuming will be adversely effected, premature wear will be your reward.

In some cases we have no choice but to use strong pre-conditioning agents and emulsifiers. After all you called us to clean your carpet and these treatments may be necessary. If strong cleaners are used the technician must use a neutralizing rinse. As a final step a professional will recommend the application of carpet protector to ensure your carpet will clean up next time.

Is Carpet protector worth the money?

Years ago when I started AllMighty Clean my neighbor was nice enough to let me work for her. After I cleaned her carpet the first time it was ready in less than 6 months for another cleaning. She had a white low pile. When she asked if I would protect it I suggested she just put the additional money aside for extra cleanings. This time she insisted I treat it with Teflon. Nearly a year later she called me back to clean her carpet. When I walked in her home I was so disappointed, her carpet still looked really good and I was convinced she had called another company in to clean her carpets. I finally worked up the nerve to ask who she called last time. She laughed and said I was the last one to clean her carpet. It was amazing to see just how important the protector was in maintaining the appearance of her carpet.

Yes protector is extremely important to maintaining your flooring investment. When Nylon carpet is milled it is a transparent plastic with lots of little dimples in it. Under magnification it might look like a golf ball. The little dimples are called dye sites. These accept the acid dyes during manufacture that give the carpet its color. So some of these sites may be empty which would allow the carpet to be easily stained. Most of our food and beverages have acid dyes in them. To prevent this staining, newer carpets incorporate two separate stain protection features. The first is an acid dye blocker. All of the empty dye sites are filled with a clear dye which makes it harder for the carpet to accept new colors or stains. This is the primary protection against wet stains.

Then the carpet is treated with a flouropolymer like Teflon. Much like your cooking pans this makes the carpet fibers slick allowing your vacuum cleaner to work more effectively. The protector finish sprayed down by a professional cleaner will replenish the final coating. Most people are surprised to find out that this protector is as important for dry soil as it is for protection against staining. Acid dye blockers can also be added if necessary by a professional cleaning company.

You can determine if your carpet needs it protector replenished by dropping a small amount of baby oil on the carpet. Try the test in the traffic area for best results. If the oil absorbs in immediately you should have the carpet finished with a flouropolymer. If the oil beads up your protector is still in force.

I have heard people complain that a previous cleaning company charged them for protection and they did not see a benefit. If that cleaner sprayed the product down with proper coverage and at the proper dilution and then raked it in, they would have been thrilled. I am so confident a good flouropolymer protector will make a huge difference that I will gladly deduct the cost of the protector from your next bill if you are not thrilled with its performance. Protector can easily double your carpets life.

Can Hot Water Extraction (Steam Cleaning) hurt my carpet?

I hear this question occasionally. In years gone by carpet was manufactured with a natural or Jute backing. Natural fibers are much more easily deteriorated by moisture than synthetic fibers. Most carpets today are manufactured from plastic - with names like Nylon, Olefin and Polyester. This is true of the face yarns and the backings. The face yarns are woven through the primary backing and these are locked into place by a secondary backing. Latex is used to hold the backings together. The Latex is the weakest link in the carpet However, it will easily stand up to the 2-12 hour dry times normally seen in quality steam cleaning.

Is it possible to remove those spots that came back last time?

Yes recurring spots are usually caused by one of two reasons. They are from a detergent residue or from some deep down spill like a sugary drink. The problem with detergent residue is it will attract dirt back because it is anionic (negatively charged). This was discussed at length in a previous section. A good neutralizing rinse will normally fix this problem.

A deep spill residue like a soda pop needs to have all of the sticky sugars flushed out of your carpet. We have special tools used during floods that can do a good job of deep flushing this type of spill. During the drying process the carpet fibers dry from top to bottom. Much like a candle wick pulls wax to the flame, the fiber conveys the stain to the fiber tips. This phenomenon is known as wicking. Deep flushing and speed drying will effectively remove these deep deposits from your carpet.

Can you remove Urine?

Urine goes into the carpet as an acid and changes to a basic or salt. During the process of becoming a salt the urine becomes very pungent. It also like to bond with the carpet making it very hard to remove.

Many chemical manufacturers sell enzymes for urine removal. These enzymes can be effective however, they require the carpet to remain wet for days. The enzymes need a moist warm environment and time to consume the urine contamination. Most of my customers prefer we complete the job in one trip. In addition this prolonged wetness can be harsh on the Latex that holds your carpet together.

We found a product that is an Oxygen Bleach. This does chemically to urine in 4-8 hours what enzymes may take days to accomplish. We saturate the urine deposit with the product and allow to dwell for 30 minutes. Then we extract the excess liquid. As the product dries it oxidizes the Urine Salts and leaves the area neutral.

Can you remove dyes, inks and red stains?

Color stains are usually from synthetic dyes. These can be very hard to remove. The type of fiber and state of the protector will often determine if stain removal is possible. In general synthetic stains can be removed with reducing agents. These agent will remove oxygen and cause the color to be altered to a non visible state.

Natural staining like the yellow protein in urine usually react well to an oxygen bleach discussed above. If all else fails patching can be a great option.

Does it take a long time to dry?

The amount of time needed to dry a carpet is dependent on many variables. A good Truck Mounted Unit (TMU) has filters in the airflow. If the filters are not cleaned the amount of airflow is impeded. We measure this in Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM). The technician may allow for additional dry strokes to remove the maximum amount of moisture from your carpet. The weather outside has a huge impact on the dry time. The amount of flooring cleaned will also have a major impact on dry time. Professional companies will install air movers as they clean to speed dry times.

The moisture in carpet will evaporate more quickly into warm dry air. If the air outside is dry it will hold more moisture. This true inside your home. If you have one room of carpet evaporating into the volume of air in your home evaporation will be faster than if you have 6 rooms in the same house. Air can only hold so much moisture before it become saturated. Your heater and refrigerated air units will convey moisture away and accelerate evaporation. The evaporative cooler (swamp cooler) will keep your carpet moist for days. If possible open your windows and let the moisture evaporate into a greater volume of air than what resides in your home. Air movement is critical to drying so turn on the ceiling fans to speed drying.

The actual dry time of carpet after steam cleaning should be less than 12 hours. We speed dry your carpet allowing for dry times as short as 2 hours.