Carpet Cleaning 

New carpet can improve the appearance of any room, but how can carpet that is walked on every day continue looking new? To keep your carpet clean, it's necessary to vacuum regularly with a strong, well-functioning and properly-filtered vacuum cleaner.  Unfortunately, due to traffic, children, pets and normal wear, carpet fibers inevitably become soiled, and a dull appearance results. And no matter how much you vacuum, eventually you will need to call a professional carpet cleaner.

Regular professional cleaning using a Certified Firm is as important to your carpet as having a trained mechanic perform routine tune-ups on your car. While your carpet may appear clean on the surface, periodic cleaning by a certified technician can remove what you can't see and help your carpet retain its fresh, beautiful appearance. 

How often should I get my carpets cleaned?

Answer: Frequently used carpet should be professionally cleaned by a qualified technician at least annually - perhaps a little longer interval for infrequently used carpet and even sooner for carpet in homes occupied by respiratory sensitive or allergic persons; or in homes with indoor pets.

The following chart from the IICRC S100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning serves as a guideline for recommending cleaning frequencies for carpet. They consider traffic, soil rating, vacuuming schedules, spot cleaning schedules, and professional interim and restorative cleaning.

What are the steps that I can expect a certified professional to take when cleaning my carpet?

Answer: The principles of carpet cleaning include:

Dry Soil Removal - thorough vacuuming using an upright vacuum with brush agitation and high-efficiency double-lined collection bag, or a final filter, to remove up to 99% of particles at 1 micron.

Soil Suspension - This involves the application of properly specified, formulated and mixed preconditioning agents designed to separate soil from fibers. There are four fundamentals involved in soil suspension: application of preconditioning chemicals; using heat or temperature to speed chemical reactions; agitation for proper chemical distribution, and providing dwell time so that chemical reactions can be completed before soil extraction is attempted. The acronym "CHAT" makes the fundamentals of soil suspension easy to remember.

Soil Extraction - Any method of cleaning must physically remove soils if it is to be successful. Soil removal takes place with absorption, wet vacuuming, rinsing, and even dry vacuuming. The most popular method for soil removal among professionals is hot water extraction.

Grooming, as necessary - Grooming has little to do with physical soil removal; however, it is needed to eliminate pile distortion and matting, to properly distribute additives, such as carpet protectors, and to create an even appearance for your inspection.

Drying - Damp carpet re-soils rapidly, creates potential for slip-fall problems and ultimately, can grow bacteria with associated odor.