How Carpet Cleaning Works
Written by Superior Plus

How Carpet Cleaning Works

If you’re searching for “carpet cleaning” and want to know how it works this post is for you.  There are different types of carpet cleaning and knowing which is the best for your property is important.  Some take a long time to dry which might conflict with your business or leave your home carpet wet while others can leave residue in the fibers that will actually make it get dirty again faster.

Carpet cleaning keeps your homes and businesses looking better, helps carpet last longer, and tends to keep people sensitive to allergens healthier.  There are different methods of professional carpet cleaning and they differ from consumer carpet cleaning methods and tools.  Read more below about the types of carpet cleaning and how they work.

Types Of Carpet Cleaning

Carpet cleaning has come a long way in the past decades with advancements in tools and technology.  Many years ago the only method of professional carpet cleaning was hot water extraction.  In those days the carpets remained wet for more than half a day and could easily interfere with the enjoyment of a home or operations at a business. Newer hot water extraction tools remove virtually all of the water and other methods don’t use any water at all.

Hot Water Extraction

While a lot of people believe that this is “steam cleaning” it does differ from the service we use for cleaning our clothing.  When hot water is used to clean carpet it is known as hot water extraction or HWE. This process sprays hot water many times with cleaning chemicals onto the carpet.  Then the water is vacuumed up with the dirt and debris that was lodged in the carpet.  A lot of the top carpet manufactures recommend HWE carpet cleaning as the most effective carpet cleaning method.  While this is an effective cleaning method it does take longer to dry and be ready for walking on than other carpet cleaning methods.

Dry-Cleaning

One of the most popular methods of carpet cleaning for commercial buildings is dry-cleaning or VLM (very low moisture).  This is due to the very short time for the carpet to be dry after cleaning.  These services take less time to complete and much less time to dry making them perfect for 24hr properties.  For the heavy traffic and soiled areas dry cleaning requires pretreatments, preconditioners, manual spotting, and a cleaner for the most traveled and soiled areas.

Alternative Carpet Cleaning Methods

There are other ways that people have developed to clean carpets.  Some work with water while others use advanced polymers to help remove the dirt from the carpet.

Dry Compound Cleaning

A slightly moist biodegradable dry cleaning compound is broadcast over the carpet and either scrubbed or brushed in.  As the product is absorbent it works like micro sponges and attracts the grime and dirt into the compound.  Once the compound has completely dried it is simply vacuumed up.  As the compound goes down nearly dry the time this takes is very short and once it is vacuumed up it leaves the carpet completely dry.

Encapsulation

New polymers were developed in the 1990s which literally began to encapsulate soil particles into a dry residue immediately on contact. This differs from traditional carpet cleaning methods that simply emulsify the dirt.  These older carpet cleaning methods many times resulted in some of the detergents remaining in the carpet and actually attracting dirt more quickly.  The polymer detergents however attract the dirt and encapsulate it in a crystalline structure which is easily removed by vacuuming.

Shampooing Carpet

Up until the 1970’s wet shampoo carpet cleaning was the leading method and involved putting wet shampoo which was sticky or foamy onto the carpet.  This process did not involve any rinse which left the shampoo in the fibers and lead to the myth that carpet cleaning made carpet get dirtier faster.  The old coconut oil shampoos were eventually replaced with power compounds which homeowners or businesses could then vacuum up the next day.

Phoenix Valley Carpet Cleaning

If you have a business or home that needs the carpet cleaned Superior Plus offers the most effective, fastest drying carpet cleaning service in Phoenix.  For nearly 20 years we have cleaned carpet for both homeowners and companies with reliable quality and friendly service.  We guarantee our work and provide cleaning for carpet and all floor types.

Call Today – 480-835-6526

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