Carpet Cleaning

THE CARPET CLEANING PROCESS

 

1. Why Should I Clean My Carpet?
2. Equipment & Cleaning Methods
3. Cleaning Products
4. Initial Set-Up
5. Cleaning Process

 

Why should i clean my carpet?

Carpet can not only bring comfort and warmth to a room, but it can also reduce noise and be one of the lowest emitters of VOC’s compared to other flooring options. Carpet can also help trap allergens and other particles, resulting in fewer particles escaping into the air. But with any flooring type you choose, it does need to be cleaned. Frequent vacuuming will maintain a healthy environment and remove the trapped particles from the carpet. It’s better to be trapped in your carpet than roaming around the air you breathe but having the particles removed completely is more ideal. Regular “wet” cleaning using the hot water extraction method will remove even more dirt, debris and particles that your vacuum simply can’t reach fully loosen for removal.  Carpet cleaning studies show that having your carpet professionally cleaned will reduce air pollutants in your home. One study out of Denver…

“strongly suggests that professional cleaning with the wet extraction method is the most effective process in reducing contaminant levels of bio-pollutants and particles.

Additionally, professional carpet cleaning process can lower air-born pollutants. It is also important to not that the highest amount of airborne pollutants can come from dirty carpet. Carpet cleaned infrequently, or having a cleaning process done that uses heavy chemicals or excessive residue can be a culprit indoor airborne pollutants. 

“The “before” and “during” cleaning measurements of air pollutants show that the highest concentrations of airborne pollutants were associated with environments that that were moderately to heavily soiled, cleaned infrequently, or were cleaned with methods that had excessive chemical or particle residue. This central finding in the Denver research suggests that an effective cleaning program is critical to improving or maintaining indoor air quality, even though the focus on the study was limited to carpet cleaning.”

Having your carpet cleaned by  a professional will not only leave you with clean and sanitized carpet, but you can also rest assured, knowing that you are reducing airborne pollutants, including mold. (See this compilation of studies for further information).  Lastly,  you will preserve the life of your carpet! Using the hot water extraction cleaning process regularly will also help prevent permanent staining, especially with those traffic areas.  

Why should you choose us? Not only do we have well-maintained, top-of-the-line equipment that is ready to efficiently work, but we also use top-of-the-line products as well. Why would that be important you ask? Great question!

There are plenty of professional cleaning products on the market but not all are equal. Some may be very cost-effective yet are either costly to our health or will actually cause your carpet to get dirty again much quicker than it should!  

Additionally, not all truck-mounts can extract the same. Extraction performance can be effected by the age of the machine and how well maintained it’s been, as well as the brand and model (just like a car!). In fact, a truck-mount is a huge engine, similar to an automobile. It requires maintenance such as oil-changes, vacuum servicing, proper tank cleaning, regular hose-line sanitization, and more! 

EQUIPMENT & CLEANING METHODS: 

Steam Cleaning:  Our carpet cleaning process is steam cleaning also known as hot water extraction. We also have the option of low moisture cleaning and, in some cases, will recommend that. However steam cleaning is usually what is recommended. We use a commercial truckmount machine for all carpet & rug cleaning (unless otherwise specified or required). Our truckmount is a 2018 model, well-maintained, high-powered machine along with cleaning attachments and appropriate cleaning solutions. The truckmount is a large machine, similar in size to a car engine, which is bolted to our cargo trailer.  We will run a hose-line from the machine to a water source such as an outside hose bib (water spigot).  We will then run 2 hose-lines, which are attached to the cleaning wand, to the first area to be cleaned.  We will typically start at the furthest area from the entrance and work backwards, as not to step on the freshly cleaned carpet. The water from the water source goes through the machine which is filtered and heated then brought to the small hose-line which attaches to the carpet wand. We regulate the temperature of the hot water based on the job requirements. The larger hoseline is for the recovery water which gets extracted and delivered to our recovery tank that is bolted into the cargo trailer. Our drying time is approximately 3-6 hours.  

Portable Cleaning: If we are unable to locate the property with a truck-mount, we can still service with a free-standing portable machine. The machine is brought inside and the water source is attached to from inside, typically a sink. This is still considered steam cleaning. In most cases the truckmount is the best method, however, there are certain situations where the portable machine is ideal, largely due to accessibility.

Encapsulation Cleaning: Also known as Low Moisture Cleaning, VLM, or bonnet cleaning. This process uses an orbital machine, in our case, the Mytee. The encapsulation solution is applied and the orbital with a bonnet agitates the solution into the surface. The encapsulation compound absorbs what is within the carpet and removes it. The compound is then removed through dry extraction/ vacuum.  We recommend this method in certain scenarios, however, we will typically recommend truck-mount cleaning in most cases. 

Cleaning products:

Standard Cleaning: The standard cleaning is still a “deep cleaning” as you are getting  hot water extraction along with the carpet cleaning products we use for standard cleaning. We consider this carpet cleaning process as”standard cleaning” because the cleaning product we use is for general soiling. The product itself may typically vary depending on the type of carpet and general soiling type of the carpet. They will be soap-free cleaning solutions that are non-toxic, 99% organic, green, and/or low VOC, environmentally friendly, no Butyl’s, no NTA’s non-corrosive. We also carry a plant-based, thymol-infused prespray as an added option for our customers.  These solutions are not detergent-based. This is important because detergents can leave behind a residue. The residue will not only cause the carpet to resoil quickly, attracting dirt, but it can also bury stains. Have you ever had your carpet cleaned and thought all the stains were removed only to have them reappear on you in a few weeks? The usual culprit is typically detergent. There can be other factors, such as a stain that reached the padding and is wicking back up. However, in most cases, the issue is usually due to the detergent. This does not occur with our solutions as they emulsify what’s within the carpet, breaking it down and allowing our equipment to fully extract. No residue will be left behind with our services! If you have stains such as pet accidents, high traffic stains or carpet that needs a little more TLC, see Stain Treatment. For our customers that want to ensure the products used are fully n

Wool Carpet: The solutions we use are similar to our standard cleaners but designed specifically for wool or wool-blend carpet. It is important to only have wool-safe products to be used on wool. 

Deodorizer: We include deodorizer complimentary with all services. The deodorizers we use have a very light clean scent that is typically naturally-based.  If you are sensitive to deodorizers, you may not have a sensitivity with ours. You can ask to smell the products when the tech arrives and decide once we are there. No deodorizer wanted? No problem! Just let the tech know once he arrives or let the office know prior to service. 

Stain Treatment:  Sometimes your carpet will need a little extra TLC and that’s okay too. If you have noticeable stains, odors, pet stains, or large stains then adding stain treatment will really help. Additional “specialty” pre-sprays can be mixed in depending on what you have ordered. The most common stain treatment needed is for pet accident stains.  The stain treatment we use breaks down the pet urine or any other bodily fluids so that it is removed from your surface. Our treatment doesn’t simply mask over the stain with a deodorizer but removes it completely. Depending on what you request or have the tech recommend, a pet urine treatment will be mixed in for room treatment, or sprayed directly onto the stains for a spot treatment. We carry various stain treatments depending on the stain. If you have deeper stains that reached the padding we can take care of that too. Pad treatment might be needed if there has been heavy urine stains in the same area or if you spilled a whole pot of coffee. In these cases we will typically need to treat both the carpet and the padding directly. It’s usually best to treat the areas topically, then see if you really need the pad treatment. If so, we can schedule that service as well. Most situations won’t need the pad treatment service, but even if that is the case, we are here to help. High traffic stain treatments are also very popular as those traffic areas can see a lot of wear. High traffic stain treatment will lighten those dark traffic stains. If your carpet is in need of some extra TLC everywhere, we can handle that too.  In most cases, adding a booster treatment will cut through all the excess dirt.  We also offer combo solutions for high traffic + heavy stain treatment that cover both stain types at once. If your carpet overall is much darker these days due to heavy soiling, along with multiple stains throughout,  this might be what you need. Does your carpet look like you threw a party with 100 kindergartners and a pony indoors? Well, we can handle that too. This might call for a few methods combined using both bonnet and HWE along with multiple stain treatments. Just let us know you are looking for carpet restoration. We like to call it “carpet rejuvenation.” In some cases, there still might be a need for direct pad treatment and this is where an on-site quote works best. The tech can assess the situation and give his recommendation.  Whether you have blood stains, red wine spills, wheel chair traffic stains, ink stains, gum, milk, baby formula, red juice, slime, heavy dog dander, fleas, carpet beetles, vomit and more, we are here to help. Just let us know the need. Sometimes a photo sent can best help us give a quote. In other cases, the tech can give a quote for the stain treatment once he’s on-site and we’ve scheduled a standard cleaning. Sometimes customers just want a standard cleaning but they don’t want to add the stain treatment.  That’s okay too. We’re here to work with you through the carpet cleaning process. We do seek to have fair prices and give discounts as much as possible so feel free to ask for the quotes on stain treatment and you can always choose to skip it. If you have a scenario you just aren’t sure of and would like to send photos or ask to speak with the tech directly, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

initial Set-up:

A walk-through of the areas to preview what is to be cleaned occurs. The tech will then prepare the appropriate cleaning solutions, pull out the hose lines and any necessary equipment. Corner guards and mats are applied to protect walls and entryways. Set-up will change depending on the work being conducted.  Pre-vacuuming carpets and rugs finishes the preparation stage.

cleaning process:

Pre-spraying areas with appropriate solutions. Areas are usually pre-sprayed in sections, then cleaned, then moving onto the next section. Areas will be prepped to be cleaned, which includes pre-vacuuming  pre-spraying. The steam cleaning begins utilizing the truckmount machine along with the proper equipment being utilized for the job intended.  After pre-spray has been left to dwell to work into the area, hot water is applied to the area using the wand (called wet strokes). Once the appropriate amount of wet strokes are applied, the tech will extract the water (called dry strokes). If there are any stains, those are 

During the colder seasons, commercial dryer fans and air movers are used to  help speed up the drying process. Technician will clean up after themselves, which includes mopping and wiping down any areas that may need it after the process including entryways and baseboards. 

If you have any questions about our carpet cleaning process not answered in this article, feel free to contact us directly at 949-278-8052. We are always here to help.  

Check out the other services we offer besides carpet cleaning here.