Is do-it-yourself carpet cleaning a smart way to go?
In order to arrive at an intelligent answer to this question, we need to first of all, find out what may be in, or on the carpet to cause it to be unclean or unhealthy, and what procedures may be necessary to get the carpet clean.
Here are some possibilities:
Gravel, grease, grime, grit, gum, hair, skin scales, lint, industrial waste and pollutants, mud, pet stains, pollens, sand, scum, soil, soot, asphalt, car exhaust, dirt, dust, make-up, food particles, ink, tar, smoke, blood, urine, feces, and vomit.
There might also be organisms such as fleas, carpet beetles, ticks, lice, mold, fungus, bacteria and all kinds of germs, that can live, breed, multiply and deposit the product of their metabolism in your carpet.
These foreign substances that mar the appearance of your carpet and make your interior home environment unhealthy, are either brought into your home on the feet of people or animals, or is generated and dispersed into the air while cooking. They may also of course, come from the normal, continuous shedding of human or animal skin scales.
These materials may be classified into three types. Insoluble, Water soluble, and Other solvent soluble. Insoluble contaminants usually make up 50 to 75 % of foreign matter in your carpet. It generally consists of material such as sand, grit, hair, fibers, etc., which will not dissolve in water or other ordinary solvents. That is why frequent vacuuming is so important.
Water soluble soils are derived mainly from food or drink residues and similar fluids. These are also fairly easy to remove from your carpet.
Soils which are only soluble in other chemicals, present a more difficult challenge. These may have come from deposits of grease, tar, asphalt, oils, cosmetics, ink, or body fluids, and vary widely in chemical properties. Most are acidic in nature and composition, but some may be basic, or even neutral complexes.
When considering how to remove them from the carpet therefore, it is necessary to determine, if practical, where they came from, what they are, and what combination of chemicals will be most effective.
Carpet cleaning therefore involves a number of different procedures and processes.
To maintain a carpet that is clean in appearance and free from substances that may be deleterious to your health, the following should be done:
Place wipe-off mats at the entrance ways, inside and outside, to trap and remove material that might otherwise be tracked unto your carpet. Clean these mats often.
Vacuum frequently. Do this every day if possible, but at least once per week. Check the vacuum cleaner filters and belts, and empty the dust collection bag often.
Clean up spills immediately, while they are still moist. Flush with water and use a clean white towel and blot up as much as possible before it dries up or becomes fixed to the carpet fibers.. Do not wipe from side to side as this may only smear the stain or cause it to spread more.
Clean up apparent light soiling frequently – every 4 to 12 weeks, before the staining is ground into the carpet, especially in traffic lanes, at entrance ways, before couches, and in other heavily used areas. This may be done with a small portable carpet steamer.
Call in a professional carpet cleaning company to remove those difficult stains and to do a deep steam cleaning every 12 to 18 months, in order to get out that deep down crud, and satisfy the carpet manufacturers’ warranty requirements.
Evidently, it is smart to clean carpets yourself – up to a point!
Victor Nugent is Owner and President of AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. with over 10 years experience in the Carpet Cleaning business.
A clean carpet will always help to preserve and maintain a pleasant home environment. Few conditions are more irritating than a lingering foul odor that comes up from the carpeting in a home. People have various levels of tolerance to bad odors, but a smelly carpet is very problematic for most people and especially those who are very sensitive to odors.
Carpet acts as a filter, so many things can cause carpet to smell bad. It could be caused by minor deposits of soil, dust, pollen, animal dander, cooking oil, grease or atmospheric gases. Soil that is tracked into the home on shoe soles may have come from factories with pollutants, garages, lawns and gardens, road asphalt etc.
Human and animal hair, lint, fibers from clothing, skin scales, body oils, and food and drink spills all may be deposited unto carpet in the home at some time or another. These can react chemically with each other or the carpet fibers, or they can provide food for microbes which generate obnoxious odors as a by-product of their digestive processes.
To remove the odor, we may either mask it by trying to cover it up, or remove the odor source.
Masking is done by applying a substance that replaces the unpleasant odor with a pleasant one – like a perfume.
Simple carpet cleaning will remove most sources of bad odor mentioned above, and the carpet will smell much better. However, the worst carpet odors are usually caused by mold, mildew and urine, and are more difficult to eliminate.
Mold and mildew will grow where the carpet is not dry and there is moisture and food – like what you will find among dirty carpet fibers. The bad odor smell does not come from the mold itself but from their waste which is worked on by bacteria. So in order to get rid of this kind of smell, it is necessary not only to neutralize the chemicals produced by the bacteria, but also to kill the bacteria with suitable disinfectants. Most carpet cleaning professionals will use a Quaternary Ammonium compound to do this. Most of the time, mold problems occur under the carpet, and it would be necessary to lift the carpet and treat the underside. But that is another story.
Another good method of deodorization, is enzyme treatment which is used primarily for removal of odors caused by urine. Enzymes will digest the organic material and bacteria that are responsible for the problem. This type of treatment is therefore most effective for removal of odors caused by bacteria which grows in the carpet and break down the urine, transforming it into amino-acids, thus causing the pungent ammonia like urine smell.
In all cases, in order to remove odors, the source of the contamination must first be determined.
A well-trained professional carpet cleaning company will do this for you.
For more cleaning tips call us at 801 368-0705
We clean carpet in your area in Utah, including Provo, Orem, Spanish Fork,Holladay, Bountiful, Riverton and Midvale.
The type and degree of carpet cleaning that will be necessary to remove urine odors and stains depends on an individual’s personal level of tolerance to odors in particular. Each individual has different and unique levels of sensitivity to odors. Each situation is also unique. The urine contamination may have been caused by a one-time piddling accident by a small pet, or some dribbling around the toilet by a small child, or it may have accumulated over time from the activities of a Great Dane who has claimed that territory.
The extent of carpet cleaning must therefore be related to how completely you want the odor to be removed and how much you are willing to spend to do this. Someone who lives with a pet in the home would naturally be more tolerant of a malodorous condition, than someone who has just moved into an apartment that was recently vacated by the owner of an untrained pet.
The source and extent of the contamination must first be determined before treatment is attempted. Here are several things we can use to do this:
The Nose. This means getting down on hands and knees and sniffing the carpet. This is not always a good or popular option, and is not adequate where there is extensive contamination.
A Moisture detector.Urine residues attract and retain moisture. which can be detected by good quality instruments.
Ultraviolet light. This is the most efficient, and widely used method. Urine fluoresces under ultraviolet light, and all the urine spots will show up, but the room will have to be dark.
Check the carpet backing. In severe cases, urine stains will be most readily seen on the carpet backing, but this will involve lifting the carpet. In any case however, if the contamination is bad enough, the backing will need to be treated also.
It will also be necessary to check the walls, baseboards, drapes, upholstered furniture, and even the clothes closet for contamination, because urine gives off gases during decomposition, and these gases may permeate the whole house through the ventilation system, and lodge in porous material or fabrics anywhere..
When urine leaves the body it is generally free from bacteria and other microorganisms and primarily consists of uric acid with varying amounts of urea, cholesterol, some enzymes, pigments and trace quantities of other chemical compounds. It is slightly acidic, with a pH value between the range of 5-6.
Urine soaked carpet become a fertile feeding and breeding environment for bacteria and other microbes which break down the urine and creates amino acids. This decomposition results in an unpleasant odor. Oxidation of the uric acid also leads to the formation of some crystalline salts, in an alkaline state. In the presence of moisture, these give off ammonia, which is why the smell of urine is so pervasive when the carpet is wet.
Fresh urine may be removed by applying warm water to the spot and blotting it repeatedly with a towel., and then applying small amounts of dilute dish washing detergents, blotting between applications.
Once the urine stain and odor has set in, the best thing to do is simply call in a professional. You may save yourself a lot of grief by doing this.
Stain removal tips from AJS Carpet Cleaning for residents in Salt Lake City, Provo, Riverton, and all along the Wasatch Front in Utah.
Probably more people are induced to change their carpet due to unsightly red stains, than those who do so because the carpet is badly worn. This is especially true where there is light colored carpet. In many instances, a homeowner will just try to cover the ugly red stains with an area throw rug instead of having the carpet cleaned. This is sometimes an acceptable or tolerable solution, but perhaps not the best possible one.
Many red stains are difficult to remove. Some may have become permanently fixed and therefore impossible to eliminate, but in most cases, if we understand the source and nature of the problem, we can get rid of the stain.
Red stains are either synthetic or organic. Synthetic stains are usually formed by the color additive FD&C Red #40 which is an azo dye approved by the FDA for use in foods, drugs and cosmetics. Drink manufacturers use it extensively to color various drink mixes especially Kool-Aid, but it is also to be found in numerous other types of food, medicines (like cough syrup), furniture stains, and cosmetics. Organic stains are those derived from naturally occurring substances and products like blood, jams, jellies, tomato and other fruit juices, and condiments.
The first question to be asked before tackling a red stain problem is: What is the source of the stain? If you know the answer to that question, the task becomes much simpler. In any case, when the stain is fresh, time is of the essence. Blot up as much of the spill as you can, immediately. A clean white cotton towel is preferable, but paper towels will do. Be careful not to rub the stain sideways as this may cause it to spread. If you have a wet vac, flood the area with water and then suck up all the moisture you can. This procedure will be most helpful where the stain is derived from natural substances that are soluble in an aqueous stain removal agent.
Stains caused by synthetic dyes are much more difficult to remove without affecting the coloring agents used to dye the carpet fibers initially. In order to achieve this it is usually necessary to apply a combination of chemical solutions to the carpet fibers, and apply heated water vapor to get the dye in solution and transfer it to an absorbent material like a cotton or paper towel. A clothes iron with the setting at moderate heat is usually used for this. Great care must be used, or the color could be bleached out of the carpet fibers, thereby presenting another, and probably much worse problem.
Perhaps the best solution is to call in a professional cleaner who is familiar with the properties of industrial chemicals, and who has sophisticated equipment to deal with this type of problem.
“Do-it-yourself” carpet cleaning is great for routine carpet maintenance in the home, and that is why many people will swear by their little stand alone steamers which they use regularly to freshen and brighten their carpet. Sooner or later however, they realize that it is necessary to follow the recommendation of the manufacturer, and have the carpet cleaned at least once every 18 months in order to meet warranty guidelines. It may also have become evident that those little household machines are not powerful enough to handle a heavy build up of soils and stains.
For most people, carpeting is a major investment, and therefore regular periodic cleaning by a professional carpet cleaning company is essential for extending its life and preserving its appearance.
You should decide which method of carpet cleaning will suit you best. Professionals will often use many different techniques, including dry cleaning, steam cleaning, foaming or carbonation. My recommendation for deep cleaning is always the hot water extraction or steam cleaning method. Find out which method the company will use, and see if it conforms to the requirements of your manufacturers warranty.
So how do you find the best carpet shampooer for the money you are prepared to invest, or can afford to spend for your carpet cleaning?
Here are some guidelines to help you choose:
Ask friends and family or business associates to recommend a company whose services have proven to be satisfactory. If you are browsing online, check out the company’s reviews.
Check out the company’s history and performance on Better Business Bureau. See what sort of record they have with local business organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. See if they have been certified by the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) or the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certifications (IICRC).
Make sure the company is licensed, insured and bonded, and that they do background checks on their employees. After all, they may be going into the innermost sanctums of your home.
Ask what kind of guarantee they will be offering on their services.
Be cautious with offers that appear too good to be true. It often is. A creditable company will price its services based on the area cleaned, so be wary of those that offer a price per room instead of a price per square foot. There may well be hidden costs. As you surely know, rooms come in various sizes. Or a “bait and switch” operator may be at work there. Normally, there should be no extra charge for vacuuming, grooming, pre-conditioning, moving light furniture or removal of regular spots and stains.
Remember, the cheapest is not usually the best, and may prove to be much more costly in the long run.
Perhaps the best way to guarantee that your carpet is being cleaned by a competent certified professional, at a fair price, is to use one that is certified as a Seal of Approval (SOA) Service Provider by the Carpet and Rug Institute.
We all know that cold water is not as efficient in dissolving substances, as is hot water. Cleaning is actually a chemical process where the physical properties of a substance is transformed from one state or condition to a different one, in order to make it easier to manage or extract the soiling agent..
In this case, what we actually want to do, or manage, is to create a condition where we make it easier to remove dirt or soil from our carpet.
The best way to do this is to make it soluble, that is, to turn it into a liquid, so that we can suck it out of the carpet easily. There are many methods we can use to do this. Most people prefer to apply some sort of chemical or cleaning agent, but some people prefer to use hot water or steam alone.
Personally, I prefer to use a chemical, because I find that is the most effective way of getting soils into solution.
In any case, it is always easier to clean with hot water, than with cold water.
The best cleaning temperature range is between 120 – 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
I usually apply the chemical using water at a temperature of 120 – 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is the temperature range that I find to be most practical. It is hot enough to be effective with most carpet cleaning solvents, but not so hot that it will damage some carpet fibers or create a personal burn hazard.
When I first started cleaning carpets, I would go to the store and rent a portable carpet cleaner. I would then add “soap” and proceed to attempt to clean the carpet. As you can imagine, the results were not too impressive.
I soon learned that I need to heat the water in the carpet cleaning machine. So I did that and had much better results.
The problem though, was that the water temperature decreased fairly rapidly during cleaning, especially during winter, and of course, cleaning efficiency decreased proportionally. It would become much harder to get the carpet clean, and I would have to try to compensate, by using more concentrated or different chemicals, agitating the carpet fibers more vigorously, or waiting longer to extract the cleaning solution.
Carpet cleaning is most efficient and effective when you can use a machine that comes with a heat-exchanger that allows you to set and control the water temperature at optimum levels.
Water is sometimes called a “universal solvent” although that is a misnomer, because it will not dissolve many substances, unlike aqua regia which will dissolve even gold or platinum – not to mention your carpet fibers! Many people however, claim that all they need to clean carpet is water, just as long as it is soft enough or hot enough. Some even claim that after their carpet cleaning there will be “zero residue”. Well good luck to them.
Of course you can always test that claim by sending a small sample of your carpet fibers (after they clean it), to a reputable analytical laboratory, and ask the lab to determine the chemical composition of the residue remaining on the carpet sample. You would be VERY surprised! Why soft water then? Because the alternative is to use hard water which puts you at a clear disadvantage to begin with, when you are cleaning carpet or upholstery. Hard water typically contains significant amounts of calcium and magnesium carbonates, which retards the effect of the solvents and emulsifiers that good carpet cleaners use to clean your carpets. High temperatures also cause hard water to deposit carbonate scale on all surfaces freely. (Check the bottom of your kettle).
According to the USGS, Utah is one of the States with the highest concentration of hardness in the water supply – typically in excess of 10.5 grains per gallon. So by using soft water we can increase the efficiency of carpet cleaning, and significantly (not totally) eliminate residues. Soft water can be generated using by using either a cation-anion demineralizer or a sodium ion exchanger, commonly known as a water softener.
At AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. we always have on-board water softeners on our carpet cleaning trucks, and we can attest to their efficacy.
Call us at (801) 367-0705 for a FREE estimate and further information.
