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Why Use Professional Hot Water Extraction Carpet Cleaning?

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Hot Water Extraction has been the primary carpet cleaning method since 1947. Many people call it “Steam Cleaning”. It is simply a pressure washer that is followed by a vacuum to dry it.  The strength of equipment varies from little rental portables like Rug Doctors, to powerful machines that run directly off of the V8 (8 cylinder) engine.

Though it seems silly to lump those together into one category, that is exactly what companies do that try to compete with Hot Water Extraction.  These companies use statistics gathered from janitors and homeowners who rent small machines without training and try to do the job of highly trained professionals themselves.  Many of these people leave the carpet wet (it should never be left more than damp to the touch).  Wet carpet can take days to dry and if damp for more than 36 hours in ideal circumstances carpet can mildew (I recommend adding an enzyme deodorizer to the rinse that feeds on mold and mildew. this prevents its growth if something were to go wrong) .

Real professionals know to leave the carpet as dry as possible.  If they don’t then they find out very shortly after starting their business when the phone calls come pouring in wondering why the carpet sloshes beneath their feet.

The other mistake made by non-professionals is the use of oil based products.  Professionals by and large stopped using oil based products many years ago because it was discovered to attract dirt to the areas most heavily worked on.  This just made the carpet look worse within months of the cleaning.  It is also important to rinse the carpet with a rinse that will balance the ph. Level. Left unbalanced, the carpet will also rapidly re-soil.  Some professionals still make that last mistake.

Hot Water Extraction, when done by professionals still remains the safest method of carpet cleaning to this day.  Like any industry like this, be sure to find a company you feel you can trust.  It’s a safe adage that if the price seems too good to be true than it probably is.  There is not a lot of room for profits in the carpet cleaning industry, so if you cut your prices too far they need to be made up for somewhere else.

The final mistake that most do-it-yourselfers make is the rotary brush, or pad systems.  Most dry cleaning methods are this way.  They push down the dirt to the backing where it still causes problems and they don’t fully rinse out their cleaning agents.  They also add wear and tear to the areas that already have it.  The dirtier the area the harder they need to scrub the carpet and the more residue they leave behind.  This can unravel the carpet fibers as well.

Always make sure to work witha knowledgeable professional to ensure the best life for your carpets and the healthiest experience for those that live, play, and work on them!

Indoor Air Quality and Your Carpet

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According to the American Lung Association, carpet can act as a “sink” for chemical and biological pollutants including pesticides, dust mites, and fungi. This means that whenever you interact with you carpet by walking or otherwise having contact with it, you can disturb these contaminants and cause them to re-enter the air where they can be inhaled. The best solution for this problem is scheduled cleaning with an environmentally-safe service that removes the contaminants from your carpet without aerating them. Commercial Steam Team is your reliable provider for this service.

Allergies, Asthma, and Your Carpet

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Does someone in your family suffer from allergies or asthma? Allergies can be controlled by avoiding the triggers that cause attacks.

Vacuums are a necessary part of keeping a carpet clean and removing the largest part of dirt and contaminants from a carpet, but for allergy and asthma sufferers, a normal vacuum cleaner might better be described as a necessary evil.

This is because vacuum cleaner filter bags are notorious at letting dirt pass through the bag, whereupon it is immediately blown back into the air to be breathed in and to settle on other surfaces where it can be easily disturbed and put back into the air yet again. Don’t believe me? Try this experiment the next time you change filter bags. Step outside with the filter bag, close the top, and shake it gently. The amount of dust that you will see will be amazing. (To simulate the huge amount of air passing through you vacuum – try shaking it vigorously!)

Studies have shown that removing carpet isn’t a solution. In fact when carpet is removed, allergies increased! Air movement on hard surfaces actually disturbs more particles which then enter the air.

The solution is regular professional carpet steam cleaning of your home and workplace. This removes allergy and asthma triggers by actually removing them without placing large quantities back into the air. This means that the next time you vacuum you’ll be disturbing far fewer particles, and so you’ll have fewer health problems from these contaminants.