 | Melvin Lorg is the owner of Mel's World Class Carpet Cleaning. He has been in the carpet cleaning business for over thirteen years. Mel's company is certified by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Mel spends much of his time teaching his carpet cleaners how to achieve excellence in cleaning and customer service, and has dedicated his business to helping homeowners get the highest return from their carpet investment. Mel welcomes your inquires and can be reached by phone at (800) 318-9812, (316) 687-9812 or (316) 941- 3500. |
Carpet Cleaning & Restoration
2005-09-01 14:36:00
All about carpet cleaning
: Carpet cleaing seems simple enough. Are there some tips one should know?
ANSWER: First, know your carpet facts. There are six costly misconceptions about carpet cleaning. We will cover three of them in this issue.Misconception #1: You should wait as long as possible before cleaning your carpet. No. Dirt is an abrasive, like sandpaper. Every time you step on your carpet, you grind dirt into the carpet fibers. This cuts your carpet, just as if you had used a knife. This cutting causes your carpet to wear out faster. A dirty carpet will not last as long as a clean carpet. And while vacuuming helps - by itself, it's simply not enough. The longer you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more damage you do to your carpet and the faster it wears out.Misconception #2: The only reason to clean carpets is to remove the dirt. No. As you probably know, outdoor air contains pollens, fungus, bacteria, air pollution, cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and hundreds of other chemicals. When you come into your home, you carry those pollens, bacteria and chemicals in your hair and on your skin, clothing and shoes. Not surprisingly, all those chemicals and toxins wind up in your carpet. If you have allergies, asthma, emphysema, or other breathing problems, one major source of your problem could be the pollens, fungus, smoke and chemicals in your carpet.Misconception #3: One method of carpet cleaning is just as good as another. No. The dry cleaning methods, which are dry foam, dry chem., and dry compound, do not rinse your carpet in any way. Instead, they leave a dirty residue. You might say they clean your carpet only halfway. The most effective cleaning method is hot water extraction. Hot water extraction means a hot water cleaning solution, under high pressure, is forced in to your carpet and then sucked out of your carpet. Shaw Industries, the world's largest carpet manufacturer, recommends hot water extraction as the primary method of cleaning carpets. Carpet cleaners use one of two types of hot water extraction. If they use a large unit that operates from a van or truck outside your facility, it's called truck-mount extraction. If they use a small unit that can be brought inside, it's called portable extraction. Shaw's first choice is the truck-mounted unit - and it recommends the small, portable unit only in areas where the truck-mounted unit won't reach.The truck-mount extraction cleans much better because it heats the water to a higher temperature and shoots the cleaning solution in to the carpet at higher pressures, which breaks up the dirt, bacteria, chemicals and pollens in the carpet. Then the machine uses high suction to draw the dirt and chemicals out of your carpet.More next time.
