15 Dec 2012
One of the most common questions I get asked is why does my carpet get dirty after having it cleaned. I was recently reminded of this when I was contacted by a regular customer trying to save a bit of money hired a popular hire machine from her local DIY store. Rather disgruntled she asked me why her lovely wool lounge carpet looked grey and lifeless after two weeks. I explained the likely problem was residue (soap) left in the fibre allowing dirt, dust and debris to stick to the pile. Following vacuum cleaning would then not be able to remove particles in the normal way. Over a period of time, dependent on use, the pile becomes saturated with soil giving the lifeless grey appearance.
The problem is two fold.
1) The detergent supplied. Generally this is added to the water in the clean solution tank. Often it is supplied in litre bottles and is more expensive in use than my professional chemicals. Hire equipment needs to perform so the carpet appears cleaner so a one stop chemical regardless of the type of soiling or the carpet fibre content. Wool should not be subject to strong chemicals. It can strip the fibre of its natural oils and more seriously if the carpet gets over wet, easier to do than you would think, and the backing is a natural fibre like jute it can release the lignin dye and create brown patches all over the carpet. Some man made piles also have natural fibre backings, polypropylene could be the worst offender as the fibre will absorb no water at all so whilst cleaning it will run straight to the backing unless you know what you are doing. Sorry wandered of the point, told you I was enthusiastic. So back to you hire detergent. The residue left after cleaning is what attracts the soil I discussed earlier. Unless we are dealing with specific problems found in public houses and restaurants I do not use detergents making rinsing much easier. When we clean carpets after a thorough vacuum we mist the cleaning agent over the carpet by sprayer and leave it to dwell for between 5 and 30 minutes. During the dwell I use a form of agitation a grooming brush, rotary machine or contra-rotating brush machine to release the soil from the fibre. With a hire machine the clean water and cleaning detergent is scrubbed into the pile as you clean missing 2 important points. The dwell and the rinse. The detergent is only in contact with the pile for seconds giving very little time for the detergent to clean, and the detergent is still in the carpet ready to attract the dirt. The vacuum motor is not powerful and the pump will not supply the pressure to rinse properly. There is also a temptation to put more detergent in the water than recommended or to keep going over the same area trying to remove the dirt and saturate the pile.
2) The rinse stage. The easier way is to apply the cleaning solution the professional way by sprayer as we do, allow 10 minutes for the solution to work and brush the pile. Then most importantly rinse once dry 3 times with plain water or water with a dash of white vinegar. Thorough rinsing will stop resoling. We use professional rinses specific for particular soiling and specific fibres. This all sounds quite complicated and by the time the hire machine is collected and returned detergent paid for and the day has been lost as you struggle to clean why not relax with a hot beverage (I like coffee) and let me do all the hard work with one of the most powerful extraction machines built and designed in the UK. Sadly there are some so called professional carpet cleaners that do not understand this simple principle so Call me Simon on 01263 833424 or 07876497897 or contact us here today. Should I not cover your area we would recommend a member of The Approved Carpet Cleaners Association (TACCA) You will find us on there too.
Be good to your carpets and kind to your upholstery.
Simon Demmen
Arena Cleaning Services
