Carpet Cleaning - Free Report
If you’re looking to hire a carpet cleaner, this report will tell you how to avoid disaster by ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. You’ll be able to tell over the phone whether the people you’re getting to clean your carpets are reliable, trustworthy and competent, or whether you’re going to get:
1. An operator who is using a sub standard cleaning method
2. An operator who uses harsh and unsuitable chemicals that could damage your carpet
3. Soaking wet “squishy” carpets that stay wet for a week
4. A quick 30 minute rush job after which the carpets don’t look any different (or worse…)
5. A carpet cleaner that hasn't invested in the training aspect of their business
6. An operator with no real guarantees, and no insurance cover
7. A carpet cleaner that can’t cope with basic stains
What does carpet cleaning remove?
· Ok, most of the contaminants in the carpets are dry loose particles (generally up to 80% of carpet soiling is dry particulate, or sandy type stuff), and the most effective way to remove this type of soiling is a thorough slow vacuuming. What is left is the ‘oily’ type soil that is attached to the carpet fibres, much like oily hair – the only way to remove this is with an effective cleaning system – it won’t just ‘suck’ out.
· Other contaminants may have attached more securely to the fibre, or even have changed the property of the fibre. This is known as staining, and will require special treatment to reduce, or hopefully remove.
What is the best carpet cleaning
method for residential carpets?
The best method by far is the Hot Water Extraction method. This method is often called "Hot Water Extraction" or "Steam Cleaning" and is the cleaning method nearly all carpet manufacturers and carpet fiber producers recommend (click here to see a recommendation from STAINMASTER carpets).
This is the only cleaning method classified as "deep cleaning". All the others are considered "light surface cleaning" because they are incapable of removing soil deep in the pile. Also, all other methods leave amounts of cleaning agent in the carpet after cleaning.
The maintenance brochure published by the world's largest carpet manufacturer, Shaw Industries, recommends this method, because its own research indicates that it provides the best capability for cleaning.
Let’s take a closer look at the different types of carpet cleaning methods:
1. Hot Water Extraction (van mounted machinery)
Benefits
a) TRUE deep cleaning process - cleans to the base of the fibres when performed properly. Results are often spectacular when used in conjunction with some type of scrubbing process.
b) Very powerful process, with huge airflow - allows the operator to use lots of water to flush the carpet without overwetting.
c) More flushing = better results and less residue left behind.
d) Able to reach high temperatures - great for cutting through soil.
e) No need to empty dirty water into toilets or sinks - systems are self contained.
Challenges:
a) Not really suitable for high rise situations over two storeys high.
b) Can be quite noisy in the driveway (although very quiet inside the home).
Very similar process to that of an average portable hot water extraction machine, but with larger and more powerful capabilities.
Van or truck mounted extraction machines are capable of flushing and extracting much more effectively than most portable machines. They also have the added advantage of higher levels of heat, which adds even further to the ability to remove those oily soils.
At the lower end of the van mounted equipment scale are the smaller air cooled engine machines, up to the full scale power of a 4 cylinder, very high air flow unit.
While these van mounted machines operate at high pressure, flushing more water through the carpet than a portable machine, they have the higher air flow capability to remove the water.
If used properly, carpets cleaned with these mega flushing machines are cleaned all the way down to the base of the fibre, WITHOUT wetting the backing and underlay. They generally leave the carpet damp to touch, and should dry in a reasonable amount of time under normal conditions.
2. Hot Water Extraction (portable machinery)
Benefits:
a) Good process for removing dirt from reasonably deep in the fibre.
b) Excellent results able to be achieved when used in conjunction with any type of scrubbing process.
c) Powerful portable extractors (with multiple vacuum motors) can be as powerful as a small van mounted machine.
Challenges:
a) Vacuum capability is often very low, meaning the operator can't use lots of water to flush well, resulting in residue being left behind.
b) If too much water is used, the carpet can become wet all the way through to the underlay, causing major problems.
c) Difficult to perform a deeper clean with a lower powered unit (for the reasons above).
d) Can be quite noisy inside.
Many operators use the hot water extraction method via an electric portable extraction machine that comes into the house and plugs into the mains power.
As with any method, a thorough vacuum should be performed to remove as much of the dry embedded soil as possible. A detergent is them applied to the carpet via a sprayer or scrubbing machine. Some portable hot water extraction machines have a means of agitating the carpet, which is great for dirty high traffic areas, and then extract by flushing water through the carpet and sucking it out instantaneously, along with the dirt.
Some operators manage to perform a pretty good clean with this equipment. The down side is that the units are normally very low pressure, and don’t have the ability to flush the carpets very well. These machines are designed with low water pressure for a reason: the vacuum motors (or motor) aren't overly powerful due to the limitations of the power circuitry in most homes. Therefore, manufacturers need to control the amount of moisture going in, because they know the ability to retrieve it is limited. If the carpet is quite soiled, there is a high likelihood that an operator will use as much water as he can to flush the carpet, resulting in a carpet that may contain enough moisture to soak the carpet backing, and even the underlay.
A portable machine with two vacuum motors is more powerful and capable than one with a single vacuum motor. Some operators also use "booster" boxes, which is like adding another vacuum motor to the system. Normally a booster would need to be plugged into a seperate circuit to the main machine to avoid overloading the circuit.
3. Dry Foam Cleaning
Benefits:
a) Can be performed more quickly than hot water extraction.
b) Normally dries more quickly than hot water extraction as only the top part of the fibre is wet during the process.
c) The residue left behind in the carpet usually contains a soil retardant to reduce the amount of dirt attracted to the carpet after cleaning.
d) Very viable option for lightly soiled high rise apartments, and commercial areas that need to be opened up soon after cleaning.
Challenges:
a) Definitely not a deep cleaning method - deals mainly with the top of the carpet fibre.
b) Inability to flush away major contaminants such as vomit or faeces, or deep food spills.
c) Dirt can remain in the carpet after cleaning until being vacuumed out later.
d) Limited success on heavily soiled carpets.
"DRY FOAM" covers a range of methods which involve the application of a foam or detergent to the carpet with a scrubbing machine. A good thorough and deep vaccum with a good brush powered vacuum is ESSENTIAL to the success of these methods.
The vacuuming removes almost all of the dry soil particles, leaving the "oily" type soils attached to the carpet fibres.
The foam is then scrubbed onto the carpet and either left to dry, retrieved with a vacuum machine or "buffed" off with cotton pads that are rinsed out as they become dirty.
Most chemicals available these days for this type of cleaning are known as 'encapsulating detergents', and when they dry they encapsulate the dirt particles within tiny microscopic crystals, and are vacuumed out during subsequent vacuuming by the home or business owner,leaving little or no harmful residue.
Dry Foam methods are known as a maintenance method because they deal more with the "look" of the surface of the carpet, rather than provide a deep cleaning of the carpet. The Dry Foam method for cleaning carpets could be likened to washing your hair with a shampoo, then leaving it to dry and shaking out the left over dirt later, rather than rinsing it out after shampooing.
Be aware that some Dry Cleaning systems offer to "Brighten" your carpet. These systems may contain high levels of optical brighteners which take invisible ultraviolet light and convert it to visible light, thus making the carpet appear cleaner and brighter than it really is, for a while. It will eventually give the carpet a yellow hue, which cannot be removed.
Dry foam/encapsulation methods are ideal for synthetic commercial glued down carpets, and sometimes low to medium soiled residential carpets, and are often recommended in 'consumer reports' as the best method (normally from USA sources where 99% of carpets are synthetic, not wool). Often they are a good solution for areas that need to be cleaned quickly and be available for use in a hurry - because usually these processes leave carpets dry within a couple of hours of less.
This process is not ideal for heavily soiled residential carpets, especially where food spills, vomit, blood or embedded detergents are an issue (these types of spill need to be flushed out properly with water).
So, is it all about equipment?
· No, definitely not! As with any industry, you’ll find operators who have the absolute best equipment money can buy, but have no real idea of how to use it to its best advantage – just as you’ll find operators who get by with very limited equipment, but have a great reputation for getting the job done right, although if the company you use to clean your carpets has invested well in equipment and systems, then it stands to reason that you’re more likely to get a good result.
What should I watch out for?
· Firstly, you should steer clear of operators that advertise an unbelievably low price. As you may have discovered during your years as a consumer, “you get what you pay for”…If you’re a tenant, and want every chance at getting your bond back in full, or if you’re a landlord that needs to get the carpets up to scratch to set and example for the incoming tenant, then you need an operator that gives you the best chance of achieving that. If you hire a carpet cleaner at a very low price, there’s a very good chance they’ll be in and out of the place within 30 minutes. Sure – the carpets will be dry quickly, but that’s because the cleaner hardly put any water through it (or detergent for that matter!). The carpet won’t look any different, and, as we see happen often, you’ll be stuck with the cost of hiring a second, more efficient carpet cleaner to redo the job.
· Secondly, look for an operator who specialises in stain removal. If you have stain issues but still want to get your bond back, the last thing you need is a carpet cleaner who refuses to carry out stain treatment, or worse, one that ‘gives it a go’, but has no idea about what he’s doing! It’s very easy to make a stain worse. Stain treatment will normally cost extra, but a good carpet cleaner trained in the ‘art’ of stain removal should be able to tell you what to expect in terms of results after inspecting the problem. To be fair, stain removal isn't a precise art and results can vary, even with the best in the business. Sometimes the best you can hope for is a reasonable 'improvement', rather than 100% removal.
· Look out for operators that try to add costs on willy nilly after starting the job. A good business should be able to give you a quote, or at least a close estimate over the phone. If they start to add prices for things like detergent, travelling or other expenses, then you should smell a rat! Acceptable “add ons” should be limited to extra but understandable increases in time and resources spent on a job, such as stain removal, excessive soiling or extra rooms added to the scope of the job.
· Look for an operator with a genuine guarantee. Someone who “guarantees you’ll be happy” isn’t really offering you protection against anything. A fantastic job is the minimum requirement for money to change hands – anything less should be unacceptable, in any industry. Their guarantee should reduce your risk as much as possible - that's what guarantees are for!
· Be weary of uninsured operators. A carpet cleaning business should be covered by insurance for damage to your property. This may not mean that the carpet itself is covered (the only way to ensure the carpet is safe is to pick a good operator who knows what they’re doing), but if he backs into your new car, or if his machine catches fire and burns the house down, you’ll want to know you’re covered!
7 Questions you should ask before hiring a carpet cleaner
1. What method do they use?
Remember, there are lots of methods out there… hot water extraction gives you the best chance at flushing out the deep down dirt, and removing the nasties that are lurking beneath...
2. What type of equipment and chemicals do they use?
Is it reasonably modern, and does it have the power to flush the carpet without soaking it? The chemical used should be safe to humans, from a reputable supplier, and as close as possible to neutral pH so as not to damage the carpet fibres.
3. Approximately how long will the carpets take to dry?
If you’re told the carpet should be dry within a week, that’s probably an unacceptable length of time! However, if a hot water extraction operator tells you “dry within an hour”, you should be suspicious as well. Some operators deliberately use less water, at low pressure, to produce a fast drying time. This is great in terms of drying – but the carpet hasn’t been cleaned or flushed very well! As a rule, the carpet should feel “damp” when the job is finished, not soaking wet. If the carpet makes a ‘squishing’ sound when you walk on it, then that’s not acceptable either. The only part of the carpet that should be damp is the fibre – not the backing, and certainly not the underlay. A carpet that has been hot water extracted properly, with a good flushing action, should be dry to touch within 2 - 8 hours in summer, or 8 – 24 hours in winter. Conditions such as freezing cold temperatures, no air movement, high humidity and damp buildings are factors that can extend drying times. Most good operators will be happy to leave a large air mover behind to assist drying if needed, although this will normally cost extra.
4. How long will the process take? (assuming the house you’re vacating is empty of all furniture and belongings).
An average sized 3 to 4 bedroom house should take between one and a quarter to two and a half hours, depending on the level of soiling and the equipment used. A cleaner using a large petrol powered van mounted machine will generally be a lot quicker than one using a small portable machine that needs to be constantly emptied and refilled. If you take care of the vacuuming side of things (saving the cleaner time), and the carpet has only a low to medium level of soiling, then a thorough operator with a high powered van mounted machine should be able to get the job done in around 70 to 90 minutes (for an empty house - often longer for a furnished home). Then there are the variables such as stain treatment and scrubbing requirements.
5. Are they trained in carpet cleaning and stain removal?
Just because a cleaner claims to have 50 years experience, doesn’t mean they have spent 50 years doing a great job! Most good carpet cleaners will have had industry training in areas such as carpet cleaning, fibre identification, chemistry, stain removal and other techniques. There is a huge amount of technical knowledge associated with carpet cleaning, and in particular stain treatment. There are cleaners out there who aren't competent in treating or removing stains, and can make the problem worse. If you have staining issues, make sure the person you're dealing with is experienced in this area.
Tip: ask your prospective carpet cleaner if they work for any local property managers. You can look up the property manager and check that they do good work - property managers are happy to recommend their best operators...
6. Do they have a 'rock solid' Guarantee?
If an operator truly stands by their work, they’ll back that up with a good guarantee that gives you protection if you’re not completely happy with the work performed.
7. Do they have liability insurance?
If something goes wrong, or if any damage occurs, you don’t want to be left ‘carrying the can’. A good business will have at least 1 million dollar limited liability cover. That type of insurance won't normally cover the item being worked on (the carpet!) although it's good to know that if anything (a TV, walls, doors etc) is damaged, then there's coverage there.
Apart from that, carrying insurance shows a level of responsibility on the part of the operator as well.
Answers you get to these questions should give you a good ‘sense’ as to whether you’ve called the right people or not. Of course, you can’t beat the advantage of having an operator referred to you by someone who knows the industry and its operators well, such as a property manager. If you have your rental property managed, if you’re a tenant in a managed property, or if you're a home owner, a call to a local property manager would be well advised.
Other things to know:
Some operators out there cut corners, and can potentially damage your carpet while trying to get the job done "quicker”.
If the carpets are moderately to heavily soiled, rather than use a safe detergent combined with a proper agitation or scrubbing technique, the cleaner may opt to use a heavy duty pre spray to loosen up the dirty areas. Some carpet cleaning chemicals out there (designed for commercial polypropylene carpets) can be as harsh as ammonia, and have a very high alkalinity. Wool and nylon residential carpets prefer a closer to neutral alkalinity, although some of these harsh chemicals will elevate the pH level of the carpet to many many times that level. This can damage the fibre of wool and nylon carpets, and drastically reduce any wear and stain resistance the carpet has, and also has the potential to leave behind a residue which will cause the carpet to rapidly resoil. Polypropylene carpets are not affected by alkalinity and can be cleaned with higher alkaline detergents.
You should also expect your carpet cleaner to take good care of your (or your landlords) house. Any conscientious carpet cleaner will have corner guards to protect walls and skirtings from hose damage, as well as place entry mats to reduce any extra soils entering the house while cleaning is in progress. If your house is damaged, it becomes YOUR problem!
DIY carpet cleaning machines
These hire machines are quite popular, although there are some real dangers and pitfalls, associated more with operator error than machine design. Here are some common problems associated with using one of these machines:
· Check with your Property Manager: If you're a vacating tenant, double check your contract. It may specify that any carpet cleaning requirements need to be handled by a professional carpet cleaning company. The last thing you need is to be reminded of that AFTER you've spent 4 hours behind a DIY machine...
· It’s hard work! Many hirers find that it can take hours to clean a house properly with one of these small machines. The machines are well designed, but are on a very small scale, and a moderately or heavily soiled carpet can pose quite a challenge in terms of both time and effort.
· Watch the water usage. It’s not uncommon for carpet cleaners to be called to correct serious ‘browning’ issues after one of these machines has been improperly used. The browning is caused by too much water being pumped deep into the carpet, and not properly retrieved. The resulting excess moisture causes the colour to rise from the jute carpet backing, and ‘wick’ up to the top of the carpet fibre, appearing as dark brown or even orange lines or marks.
· Where did the ‘lines’ come from? A heavily soiled carpet cleaned with one of these machines will often leave long, dark streaks or lines at the edges of the machine. This is a sign that there was just too much dirt for the machine to cope with, and that the job needs to re done. A thorough and SLOW vacuuming prior to extraction will help to minimise this.
· Cost effective? If you save $40 by hiring a DIY machine, but spend hours trying to get the job done, how important is the saving to you? People often comment that the saving was not worth the extra effort required to complete the job.
· Wet and Dry Vacs These are great for cleaning up spills as they happen. Whether it's a domestic Bissell type vacuum or a more industrial wet and dry, they are handy for flushing spills before they dry on the carpet. Just be careful not to overwet the carpet, or use too much detergent.
You can find a great carpet cleaner simply by asking all the right questions. If the operator gives you the answers you want to hear, there's a good chance you've found the people you're looking for. If you choose a cleaner with a water tight guarantee, and the job doesn't come up to scratch, then at least you're not paying for sub standard work until it's corrected...
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