Carpet Maintenance
Carpet maintenance is the most important ingredient to keeping your carpet looking its best. This is the only prevention against dust mites and
other microscopic organisms living in your carpet.
However important this may be, it is also the most overlooked item for most households and some institutions.
Letting carpet soil beyond its acceptable level of appearance and hygiene, is much like running a car without oil. The car, much like your carpet, may get fixed cleaned and repaired, bu will never run the same.
For these reasons, we approach every job as a maintenance process rather than a one time cleaning. This especially applies to our commercial customers, for whom we can custom tailor a maintenance program to best fit theirneeds.
We are dedicated to cleaning your carpet or upholstery, and can always advise on preventive measures or a cleaning schedule to help keep your carpet looking great!
Corrective vs. Planned Maintenance
PREVENTIVE, INTERIM and RESTORATIVE cleaning are three major concepts used in carpet cleaning.
Although some of these may not apply to residential cleaning and were typically used for
commercial cleanings only, we are coming to a point where residences will soon receive the same
treatment.
Preventive cleaning is one of the easiest and best cost effective ways to maintain your
carpet. consider the many destructive elements that affect your carpet on a daily basis.
Soils that walk, get carried in your home or office. Sunlight degradation, tears, rips, spills
of all types such as coffee, coke, juices, and foods of every imaginable type. If you have children or
pets, this multiplies the constant assault on your carpet.
All of the above problems can be reduced by the addition of a few simple preventive maintenance measures.
First whenever possible and the budget allows, carpet protective sprays should be a consideration on a periodic
basis.
Placement of door mats and walk-off mats set in the right area, coupled with the appropriate size of the mats is very effective
against resoiling. Finally the one thing that is at the forefront of all good carpet maintenance is a thorough vacuuming on a
regular basis.
Interim cleaning is also referred to as traffic lane cleaning. This generally applies to commercial cleaning. THe methods
vary on a case by case basis and generally concentrate on the overall appearance of the carpet.
Finally, Restorative Cleaning is the third method of carpet cleaning. This consists of using either hot water extraction, rotary shampoo, bonnet/spin
pad or a combination of these which is also referred to as CORRECTIVE or RESTORATIVE CLEANING. This is necessary when the carpet soiling
has reached an unacceptable level. This method is very effective, however it is also the most
expensive and if used too often, may shorten the life span of your carpeting. For this reason it should only be performed by
a skilled and knowledgeable technician.
Topical Treatments
Topical Treatments are products that are applied before or after cleanings to serve their designated purpose.
These products include anti-static sprays, de-browning sprays, disinfectants, deodorizers and fluorochemicals.
Carpet protective sprays are products that are applied to fibers to give them added protection from stains and soils.
Fluorochemicals are the most common and popular soil retardants.
They change the surface energy of the fiber and act exactly as the non-stick coatings on your cooking utensils. Due to this
process, liquids with higher surface energies, like water and oil, bead up and are repelled when they come in contact with
treated fibers. Fluorochemicals are the most durable of all the protectors on the market today. Fluorochemicals have also
been found to offer some protection against static buildup.
Stainshield Protector
STAINSHIELD PROFESSIONAL by CHEMSPEC is a superb water-based protective fluorochemical that resists soil
and oil that comes into contact with treated areas.
STAINSHIELD PROFESSIONAL forms an invisible "shield"
around each individual fiber and repels both water and oil-based spots and spills. It is low in moisture for
quicker drying time and has an excellent wear and abrasion resistance.
Cleaning methods
There are many different methods of cleaning carpets. It has been common
practice within our industry to include statements and opinions about each
method's advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, most of these statements
are just opinions and are slanted in such manner as to confuse the consumer into
believing that something bad will happen to their carpet if they choose one method
over the other. The fact is that no carpet cleaning method was ever devised for the
purpose of causing damage or to achieve poor results. Most of the negative aspects
of carpet or upholstery cleaning can usually be attributed to operator error.
Bonnet/Spin Pad Cleaning: Commonly referrred to as dry carpet cleaning system. Although not completely dry, it is considered low moisture cleaning.
Rotary Shampoo: A very effective cleaning process used as a part of our restoration system or along with other cleaning methods.
Steam cleaning: Injection of hot cleaning solution under pressure into carpet fibers followed by immediate extraction.