Misconceptions in Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning

Misconception #1.

The main reason to clean carpets and upholstery is to get the dirt out.

The most important reason to clean carpets and upholstery is for your health. Scientists now recognize that there is more indoor air pollution, which affects our health, than there ever will be outdoors. Carpet and upholstery should be considered giant filters in your home. Air constantly moves in the home. Unwanted chemicals, allergens, bacteria, fungus, dust, as well as soil are trapped in the fibres. Outdoor pollutants are deposited on carpet and upholstery from our shoes and clothing.

Vacuuming removes a portion of the unwanted substances but leaves more than we realize. Because we live in our homes on a daily basis and become accustomed to it’s condition, including it’s odor emissions, it is difficult for us to detect the need for restorative cleaning.

Soil removal is important because soils damage the fibres causing premature wear. The irregular shapes of many soils abrade the fibres as we walk or rub across them. Soils also damage the dye sites of the fibres, which results in permanent damage to the appearance of the fibres.

Misconception #2.

You should put off carpet cleaning as long as possible because they resoil faster after they are cleaned.

In the old days carpets were cleaned with a shampoo process, which left soil-attracting residue. Also, deeper soil remained in the carpet. These two factors caused carpets to resoil. These days, premature soiling occurs for basically the same reasons. Dry cleaning systems fail to remove deeper soil and leave residue which cause resoiling. This condition also occurs when underpowered hot water extraction systems use too much detergent to make up for their lack of cleaning power.

The top (1%) of truck mounted hot water extractors use much less detergent much more effectively. They clean more deeply while leaving much less residue allowing carpets to stay cleaner longer.

For the fact that carpets and upholstery are damaged both in appearance and structure by soil, they should be cleaned before damage can occur. Also, waiting too long exposes your family to the unwanted substances collected in those materials and released as air travels throughout your home.

Misconception #3.

All methods of Carpet and Upholstery cleaning are the same.

Not all cleaning was created equally. Thorough cleaning is achieved by using as many of the following cleaning factors as possible. A cleaning agent, agitation to distribute the cleaning agent, heat to activate the cleaning agent, dwell time to allow the cleaning agent to work, a liquid or other medium to hold the soil and cleaning agent in suspension and an effective way to remove the soil and cleaning agent from the material.

Bonnet Dry Cleaning as well as Dry Powder Cleaning offer some of these cleaning factors in one form or another with minimal to moderate effectiveness. However, Hot Water Extraction offers all of the cleaning factors plus water pressure to help separate soil from the material its adhered to.

Hot water extraction kills many germs and serves as a disinfecting agent. We all know that hot water cleans much better than luke warm water. It is a fact that cleaning power doubles for every (18) degrees that the water is heated.
The twist in pile carpets is set with heat. The hottest of Hot Water Extraction helps the fibres remember and retain their twist thus retaining their appearance.

Misconception #4.

Carpets and upholstery should be cleaned with dry cleaning processes because Hot Water Extraction leaves moisture in the carpets and upholstery.

If Dry Cleaning produced a result comparable to Hot Water Extraction then of course Dry Cleaning would make some sense. Dry Cleaning carpet and upholstery is like washing clothes with a wash rag and soap. You might improve the look of the material somewhat, but you would not be doing all the cleaning possible. Hot Water Extraction takes longer to dry because it goes deeper into the carpet and flushes out soils, residues and other unwanted contaminants.
Hot Water Extraction is recommended by nearly every manufacturer of carpet. Many carpets loose their wear and appearance retention warranties if the carpets are not Hot Water Extracted every year or 18 months.