Why You Should Use Protector After Carpet Cleaning

Good carpet cleaning is both an art and a science that requires specialized knowledge and experience in order to be effective. Carpet is always a great choice for floor covering in a home, not just because of its beauty but also because of the wide variety of options available to the homeowner seeking coordination in the decor of each room. But carpet is also a filter that will collect and accumulate soil and detritus from the interior environment,and become stained if not cleaned and protected regularly.

Almost all carpet installed in the average home over the last 30 years or so, is made from what is known as 5th Generation stain resistant nylon. This material has been designed to address the problem mentioned above, but it comes with several limitations and carpet cleaners and householders need to be aware of this, so that appropriate measures may be taken to avoid problems.

During the 5th generation nylon carpet manufacturing process, a pigmented dye is first applied to the carpet fibers to give it the desired coloration, and then an acid dye resistor, which is essentially a colorless dye, is sprayed on to fill in the spots on the carpet fibers that did not receive any pigment. This is to ensure that acid-base dyes like those commonly found in colored beverages will not fill in those spots and stain the carpet.

Finally a protective coating is applied to the carpet. It bonds to the fibers and serves to increase the surface tension and resist all kinds of soiling and stains.

A note about protectors here.

There are several different types of protector, and each kind has its limitations. The cheapest protectors are made from either colloidal silica or silicones and are very limited in their ability to resist stains. Protectors made from fluorochemicals are much more expensive, but much more effective, and in fact this kind is the only type I would recommend. Fluorochemicals serve to protect the dye resistor and help to keep it bonded to the carpet fibers. They form a coating on the carpet fibers that helps to keep dirt from settling and lodging within the fibers. They have outstanding wet and dry soil resistance. Vacuuming and spotting is much more effective on carpet protected by fluorochemicals.

Despite this, there are limits to the protection provided. 5th generation nylon carpets are not resistant to strong disperse dyes such as shoe polish, hair spray, and mustard. They are also stained by some disinfectants, bleaches, acme medications, antistatics, biocides and fungicides, and stain resistance is affected negatively by and chemical residues remaining in the carpet after cleaning. That is another reason why it is very important that powerful equipment should be used to rinse thoroughly and extract cleaning agents completely.

Any protective treatment applied to carpet will wear off with time. Usually it will last for 12 to 18 months. Carpet manufacturers recommend that a protector like Dupont Stainmaster, 3M Scotchguard, Monsanto Gold Label or Bridgepoint Maxim, should be applied after carpet cleaning.

The protector will resist soiling, make your carpet look good after vacuuming, and increase the time interval between cleanings. Your carpet cleaner will also be able to do a much more efficient carpet cleaning job.

How Much Does It Cost to Get Your Carpet Cleaned?

One of the first questions I often hear from many first time callers looking for a suitable carpet cleaning company, is “How much do you charge?” I must hasten to say that I don’t get this question so much from people who call after visiting my carpet cleaning website. Not just because they can get a rough estimate from my Quote page, but because they have already browsed the site and gleaned information about what carpet cleaning entails, and probably have determined that we know what we are doing and are competent enough, and fair enough to merit their trust. These people usually just ask for a carpet cleaning appointment.

According to the best industry sources, the average price being charged for carpet cleaning nationally, is 30 cents per square foot. The average home has about 1000 square feet of carpeting, so on an average, the typical householder will be paying $300 for a whole house cleaning. This cost varies widely of course, and differs from state to state, and area to area. There will also be obvious differences in what carpet cleaning companies will charge, and in my experience, for residential carpet, this could range from 7 or 8 cents per square foot, to 75 or 80 cents per square foot. So the average 1000 square foot whole house carpet cleaning cost could range from $70 to as much as $800 dollars.

How come?

Well, always remember that you get what you pay for, and the buyer should beware.

Let’s examine the low price cleaning scenario first. All of us must have seen those mailers and fliers trumpeting carpet cleaning for $6.99 per room, or whole house for $69.95. I don’t believe it is possible to clean carpet properly for those prices. Some of these offers are “bait and switch” where the company entices the householder to get a foot in the door, and then begins to explain that there is an extra charge for just about every thing else. Others just don’t know how to clean carpet and either don’t use any chemicals or use cheap solvents, and cheap equipment, and just leave a big problem, and dirtier carpet for the householder.

Now let’s examine the higher pricing. It is necessary to use the best reagents and equipment in order to do a good job cleaning carpets. A typical top of the line truck mounted set-up will cost $50,000 to $70,000. Competent, reliable, efficient technicians must be paid $12 – $20 per hour in Utah, for example. Add to that Federal and State taxes, insurance, uniforms, and overheads like advertising and marketing, maintenance and training, and other administrative cost, and you can see how a job that might take 2 to 3 hours to do, could not be profitable at $70.

A fair pricing should also include essentials like vacuuming, pre-spotting, grooming, moving light furniture, and ordinary stain removal. Different companies will charge different amounts for this, but you can be assured that a certified professional cleaning company that wants to stay in business and build up a clientele through referrals, will take all these factors into consideration, before arriving at a price for you.

One more thing.

There are usually two main methods of pricing. One is per room. The other is per square foot. I believe the per square foot pricing method is the fairest for both parties concerned. We all know that rooms come in different sizes. I once cleaned a home where the master bedroom was 1200 square foot!

Finally, always ask for a discount, and check for coupons and special offers if you feel like it. Your carpet cleaning company will always try to accommodate you, especially if the cleaning job is for more than 1000 square feet of carpet.

For more information call 801 368-0705

How to Clean Ink Spots or Stains From Carpet

Most carpet cleaners are wary about ink spots or stains. Many of them have experienced limited success in removing them from carpet. Ink stains are particularly difficult to deal with when found on light colored high density plush pile carpets.

One of the peculiar characteristics of ink spots, is the ease with which it spreads in the carpet after an initial application of a solvent. That is why extra care must be taken to avoid rubbing the stain. Blotting, or extraction with a wet vac is the recommended method for its removal.

Ink is usually produced by dissolving large amounts of varying kinds of pigment in some sort of soluble resin. Some types of these resins are water soluble, but others are only soluble in chemicals like alcohols, ethers or other volatile organic compounds (VOC). Incidentally, contrary to popular opinion, ink can be hazardous to health if ingested, so be careful.

Everybody knows that there are many kinds of inks with varying chemical properties. Children will use everything from crayons, ball point pens, drawing inks to markers. All children are not equally careful. Some will spill ink accidentally, while others will do it while trying to find out how the pen works.

The challenge then, is to determine how to proceed when attempting to remove ink from the carpet. When ink made with a solvent soluble resin is spotted first with a normal ink removal volatile organic solvent like alcohol or acetone, the resin alone may be removed, leaving the stain on the carpet. We need therefore, in this case, to always start with a non-volatile solvent.

There is another potential problem where the ink is made from solvent soluble resins. If a water based solvent is used first, it sets up a barrier which causes the VOC solvents to be much less effective, and the stain could set.

The first step in removing ink from the carpet then, is to find out if the stain is water soluble. Test for color fastness in an inconspicuous place like inside a closet or in a corner behind a door. If the color begins to disappear, continue with this type of solvent. If not, blot up this solvent and use the water soluble solvent.

Water is the best first option for a householder. Get the spot wet, and use a clean white towel to blot (not rub) the spot repeatedly. Change the towel when it becomes totally soiled. You don’t want to spread the ink to other locations.

If this doesn’t work, try using a little mild dish washing liquid. Dilute by mixing about one teaspoon to a small cup of water. Use this as you did before with the water alone.

If ink still remains, try using a VOC like rubbing alcohol next. This should get rid of most freshly deposited ink. If none of this works, call in a professional carpet cleaning company. Make sure the company employs well trained and certified professionals who will know something about cleaning chemistry.

You may spare yourself a lot of grief, and maintain ink stain free carpet, by doing all of this.

Victor Nugent is Owner and President of AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. with over 10 years experience in the Carpet Cleaning business.

For more information call 801 368-0705 or visit this page on our website