Top Carpet Cleaning Techniques to Keep Your Floors Looking New
What carpet cleaning technique is best? This question continues to be echoed among consumers and the industry. You can choose from several carpet cleaning approaches.
These techniques will help you to better care for your carpet. By cleaning a carpet before it becomes too soiled, the task of keeping it looking new will be much easier.
Thorough routine vacuuming of the carpet will remove the majority of dry soil. The carpet needs to be cleaned. Cleaning removes the oily, sticky soil that builds up in the pile of a carpet. Sticky pile attracts tracked-in unwanted soil and odors.
There is a false myth that cleaning a carpet before it is necessary will result in rapid resoiling. Years ago, coconut oil shampoos were used for cleaning carpets. Most left residues resulting in rapid resoiling. Today, almost all carpet cleaning products leave very little residue.
Most professional carpet cleaning techniques have also been improved to reduce rapid resoiling. This improvement in technology came from an advancement made in Upholstery Cleaning. Rapid resoling was a big issue for the upholsters and thus they found out how to solve their problem. The fact is, carpet in a typical household should be cleaned every 12 – 18 months. This depends on the number of people and pets living there and the amount of traffic. A good way to tell if a carpet is due for cleaning is by moving a chair or sofa. You will easily be able to compare the trafficked and non-trafficked areas.
Professional Carpet Cleaners
There are many do-it-yourself cleaning machines for purchase and rent. It is usually advisable to use a qualified professional carpet cleaner. You should consider those certified by the IICRC – Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration. Professional rug cleaning services will have the experience to advise you of the best carpet cleaning method for your carpet. This experience also enables them to do a much better job than you can do yourself.
DIY Carpet Cleaning: Cleaning Systems and Steps
If you decide to rent a steam cleaning machine and do the job yourself, look into different systems first. Make sure to evaluate them before you make a choice. Most of the units available for rent don’t clean well enough and end up damaging your carpet. So, you should always consider the following:
- Several rental companies offer cleaning equipment that is similar to what a professional will use. You need equipment with enough vacuum power. It should allow the carpet to dry rapidly, preferably in less than 12 hours. It is best to avoid rental units found in many retail, hardware, and grocery stores. Many do not have the power to extract the cleaning solution from the carpet fast enough. Over wetting merged with slow drying can be damaging to a carpet.
- Avoid over wetting the carpet. Prolonged dampness combined with traffic can cause a separation of the backing. If a carpet stays wet for a long time, mildew can grow. Bacteria can also develop in the carpet backing.
- After cleaning your carpet place fans to increase air movement and speed the drying.
- Today most carpet has stain resistant treatments. Make sure that the carpet cleaning products you purchase are designed for the type of fiber you are cleaning. Failure to properly clean a carpet is action to void a stain resistant or carpet performance warranty.
- Never use cleaning or spotting solutions that contain bleaches as they can mess up the color of the carpet.
- Never use any silicone based treatments on the carpet. Silicone treatments are not needed and not designed for most of the carpet that is manufactured today.
A Comparison of Carpet Cleaning Techniques (Systems)
With all cleaning techniques, a wall-to-wall carpet needs to be thoroughly vacuumed before cleaning. Vacuuming removes any heavy soil like silicates (the primary constituent of soil). Without this pre-vacuuming, dirt and sand are forced into the backing of the carpet. You should vacuum your carpet thoroughly. Do this before the arrival of the professional carpet cleaning company. While vacuuming, make a note of any special areas of concern. Be sure to point these out to the cleaning crew when it arrives.
Absorbent Powder / Dry Extraction Cleaning
An absorbent granular material that has been incorporated into a mixture of detergent, solvent and water. The material is brushed into the carpet pile with a machine incorporating a double cylindrical brush. Once the material has dried the carpet is vacuumed to remove the powder and the soil that it has captured. The best use for the absorbent powder cleaning method is the commercial installation. Especially areas where the carpet is cleaned regularly and requires quick drying.
Bonnet/Spin Pad
This carpet cleaning method in appearance is similar to the rotary shampoo method. The machine used is essentially the same. A detergent is usually sprayed onto the carpet. A rotating absorbent pad spins and agitates the carpet fibers as the soil is collected into the pad. This method improperly preferred on cut pile carpet can cause untwisting of the face pile. While this method is reasonably quick drying, it requires more frequent applications. This is because it provides more of a surface cleaning. The best use for this method of cleaning is the commercial installation where they clean regularly and requires quick drying.
Cylindrical Foam Shampoo
The cylindrical foam method uses a machine with an air compressor that whips the shampoo solution into heavy foam. The foam is brushed into the carpet with a cylindrical brush. Once the carpet has dried it is vacuumed to remove the shampoo and the particles that have theoretically bonded to it. Not all of the shampoo and soil is captured. Much of it is forced deeper into the pile instead. While this method is reasonably quick drying it must be done more often as it is more of a surface cleaning. The cylindrical foam carpet cleaning method is best in commercial installations where they clean regularly and require quick drying.
Rotary Shampoo
The Rotary shampoo carpet cleaning method uses chemicals similar to those used with cylindrical foam. The rotary floor machine usually has an attached solution tank for the shampoo solution. The diluted solution is fed through a tub to a “shower-feed” where it is applied to the carpet. While the shampoo is being applied a round brush on the machine is scrubbing the carpet. This shampoo method uses more moisture than the cylindrical brush method. The rotary shampoo method is not recommended for use on cut pile carpet as it can cause untwisting of the face pile.
Steam Cleaning or Hot Water Extraction
A non-foaming detergent is injected into the carpet fibers with this carpet cleaning method. It is almost immediately vacuumed out of the carpet. This process takes the dirt and soil with it. When a skilled technician uses quality chemicals, the extraction method will leave very little residue. This minimizes the attraction of residue to the soil. You can use a truck-mounted unit or a portable self-contained unit as well. An unskilled person can over-wet a carpet during extraction cleaning. Be sure to take extra dry passes when cleaning it yourself.
Today, many carpet manufacturers demand that carpets be maintained by the hot water extraction carpet cleaning method. If you have concerns with the performance of your carpet, it is suggested to have it professionally cleaned. Make sure the cleaning is done by the preferred method of the carpet manufacturer before submitting a claim. You can’t expect a 5-year-old carpet to look brand new in traffic areas. Still, a Certified Carpet Inspector can draw a fairer conclusion about a carpet’s performance. They will be capable of doing this if they are inspecting a clean carpet.
Article by The Weinheimer Group, a respected, nationally Certified carpet inspection company;
