 | Jeff Chester
is president and owner of ACT Inc. Advance Catastrophe Technologies Incorporated. Jeff has written training materials and procedures pertaining to the many facets of restoration including mold, fire, water, and smoke damage. Jeff is a member of The Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration, Inc., The National Institute of Disaster Restoration, The Mechanical Systems Hygiene Institute and The Water Loss Institute. Jeff can be contacted at his office at (316) 262-9992 or you can e-mail him at act@actcat.com |
Carpet Cleaning & Restoration
2002-12-01 11:12:00
Carpet cleaning
: Why is it that carpet seems to get dirty much more quickly after it has been cleaned once?
ANSWER: This view unfortunately is a common misconception. I should first begin by saying that I am a firm believer that the customer is always right and that we in the service industry are called upon to meet the needs of the customer. One of the problems in the Carpet Cleaning industry is that there are a lot of companies that offer rock bottom prices and in turn deliver rock bottom results. I do believe in price shopping but when it comes to full service carpet cleaning... training, the proper equipment and experience have to be factored in... and those don't always translate in to the lowest price.When a reputable cleaner performs a carpet cleaning I believe that the problem is not so much the cleaning process as much as it is the expectation of the customers. The following excerpt is from a research study on consumer perception.This research focused on the development of instrumental techniques to quantify textural change in carpet. Perception Analysis was performed to assess consumer's perceptions of the appearance of the carpet under study. Homemakers were interviewed to develop a list of words commonly used to describe carpet appearance. Since carpet cleaning is a major concern, almost half of every interview was spent on this topic. Twenty-nine homemakers (primarily members of Cooperative Extension Homemaker groups) were interviewed. The purpose of the interviews was to compile a listing of terms to describe carpet appearance. The listing was later used to develop a rating sheet for carpet evaluations. The interviews were open-ended, so the homemakers felt free to discuss all aspects of carpet, including likes and dislikes and factors relating to wear and cleaning. Since consumers consider staining and soiling a major reason for replacing a carpet, they were vocal about successes and failures related to carpet cleaning. Some of their comments should be of interest to you. About half of the homemakers who mentioned cleaning were happy with the results, stating that it made the carpet look cleaner and raised the pile. The homemakers reported that spot cleaning was performed on an as-needed basis. Over-all cleaning was performed after traffic patterns became unsightly. The consumers with positive comments were less adamant than those with negative comments. This may be because the latter (negative commentaries) EXPECT cleaning to restore the "newness" of their carpet. This is an unreasonable expectation and will depend on such factors as the level and frequency of maintenance and the soiled condition prior to cleaning. Cleaning improves the appearance of carpet but does not make it look NEW. Cleaning, for example, cannot restore texture that has been lost due to foot traffic. Texture loss and matting will alter the reflectance of the carpet and thus a truly "new" appearance can never be restored. Of those homemakers who talked about carpet cleaning, half of them gave negative comments. Most of these women had the perception that resoiling occurs more rapidly after cleaning. Homemakers who had not actually experienced this problem themselves mentioned it because they felt it was "common knowledge." Most of these homemakers would recommend then to wait as long as possible before the first cleaning. These homemakers believed that the problem occurred either because detergent was not completely removed, or because some type of anti-soil finish applied by the manufacturer was removed as a result of cleaning. These homemakers also complained that after cleaning, the carpet "never bounces back the way it did before." Again, this was attributed to the removal of a finish or some residue left on the carpet from the cleaning process. There was no consensus as to which method of cleaning was best. Some homemakers felt that rotary brushes worked better than steam cleaning because they brought the pile back up. Others were concerned that rotary brushes made the carpet look "fuzzy." Consumers were equally divided between do-it-yourself cleaning and professional cleaning. The homemakers consistently described new carpet as being "bright" and "lively." Several consumers noted that cleaning often leaves a carpet "dull-looking." Carpets that lacked sheen were often described as looking like they had been cleaned.Why do consumers have these negative perceptions about cleaning'? To date, there is no research that conclusively shows that resoiling occurs faster after cleaning. The women interviewed in this study are not "average" homemakers. Since they are active in Cooperative Extension, they are interested in keeping abreast of new ideas and techniques related to homemaking. If these "educated" homemakers have these misconceptions about carpet cleaning, what does the "average" homemaker think'? In conclusion, consumers often delay cleaning for fear of more rapid resoiling. This practice in itself will work against achieving what consumers expect after cleaning, a "new" looking carpet. This appears to be a vicious cycle that can only be broken through education aimed at dispelling these carpet cleaning myths.
