Carpet Care Guide
You’ve purchased your brand new carpet, therefore you want it to look as good as the day you had it installed for years to come. Regular vacuuming and cleaning will help to keep it in a sound condition, as well as preventing any nasty odours, allergens or bacteria.
Carpets are an important part of our homes and can be considered an expensive purchase, so it goes without saying that you will want to maintain its good condition and prolong its lifespan. In a busy family home it wouldn’t take long for rooms to look untidy if the carpets were not regularly vacuumed and cleaned in order to remove dirt and dust. With regular cleaning you can continue to achieve the best appearance and feel of your carpet and be happy and able to relax.
How to clean a pet stained carpet
We all love our pets but they can be messy! Here’s a few tips for you to work on getting pet stains out.
1. Check your carpets fibre type then find an enzyme-based solution.
2. You want to test the solution on a small patch of your carpet, if it hasn’t affected the colour then use it on the stained area.
3. Either have your carpet commercially cleaned or rinse with water after the solution to has had time to work.
4. You can also hire or buy domestic carpet washers as well as vacuums specifically designed to pick up animal hairs. If you have large pets that could be something you may want to think about
How to steam clean carpet
1. We recommend that everything is taken out of the room if possible. If certain items are too heavy to move, then place something underneath to stop it from potentially being damaged.
2. Vacuum the area first and make sure the skirting boards are clean and free from any dust.
3. Your steam cleaner will come with its own instructions so it’s best that you follow them.
4. Start the furthest away from the door, avoiding the damp carpet. Also Steam cleaners are slower than vacuums, so walk slowly, about one step every two seconds.
5. Before moving anything back into the area, make sure the carpet is dry to touch.
How to deep clean carpet
1. Make sure the room is clear.
2. Vacuum the room removing as much dirt and dust as you can.
3. If you’ve recently purchased or rented the carpet cleaner we recommend following all the instructions including the cleaning solutions needed and measurements needed.
4. Start furthest from the main door you use.
5. Now you’ve cleaned the room, help the carpet dry quicker by opening any doors and windows you can.
Carpet Cleaning
Benefits of carpet cleaning
According to a report by the American Lung Association, dust accumulation in carpet and rugs can adversely affect members of your household who suffer from conditions that can affect their breathing, such as snoring or asthma. If you’re not fully convinced of the benefits of carpet cleaning
Carpet cleaning eliminates trapped pollutants
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a dirty carpet can retain several sources of indoor air pollutants, including pet dander, cockroach allergens, lead, particle pollution and everyday dirt and dust. Toxic airborne gases can adhere to these particles and also get trapped within the carpet.
These toxic gases can be released through everyday activities such as vacuuming and walking across the carpet, which can cause them to contaminate the air in your home. Professional carpet cleaning services kill these bacteria through special carpet shampoo formulas and can remove deeply trapped pollutants with high-powered vacuums.
Carpet cleaning can clear out dust mite infestations
Many homes have dust mite infestations, yet most homeowners aren’t aware of the infestation because the creatures are microscopic. Dust mites themselves aren’t allergens, but they often leave behind feces and body fragments which are.
Because of the microscopic size of these particles, they can easily be inhaled when the area is disturbed, which can exacerbate allergies. Many professional carpet cleaners use a technique known as steam cleaning when performing carpet maintenance work, which exposes your carpet to high temperatures that dust mites can’t survive.
Carpet cleaning
Although there is an actual steam cleaning industrial process, in the context of carpet cleaning, “steam cleaning” is often mistaken for hot water soil extraction cleaning, which is professionally known as HWE. The hot water soil extraction cleaning method uses equipment that sprays heated water and detergent on the carpet and simultaneously, the water and detergent is extracted, along with any dislodged and dissolved dirt. Many experts recommend hot water extraction as the most effective carpet cleaning method
Actual steam could damage man-made carpet fibers and change the characteristics as they are usually set using heat. Woven carpets can shrink but most carpets are not woven and are in fact tuffed on a laminate backing, velvet-piled carpets and Berber carpets may become fuzzy which is known as pile burst.
Hot water extraction equipment may be a portable unit that plugs into an electrical outlet, or a truck mount carpet cleaner requiring long hoses from the truck or trailer. Truck-mounted equipment may be used where electricity is unavailable, but may be unsuited to premises distant from a driveway or road, and require hoses to pass through windows to reach the upper floors of a building. The hoses needed for truck-mount and professional portable carpet cleaning may present a trip hazard, and allow pets or children to escape through doors left ajar. Heated or air conditioned air can also be wasted when doors are left open for hoses.
Truck-mounted carpet cleaning equipment minimizes the noise in the room being cleaned, but may cause noise and air pollution offensive to neighbors, and could violate anti-idling bylaws in some jurisdictions. However, truck-mounted cleaning is much faster than portable equipment, and the extra heat will dissolve more spots and stains, and more vacuum suction power will reduce drying times.
A common process of hot water extraction begins with preconditioning. Alkaline agents such as ammonia solution for synthetic carpets, or acidic solution (such as vinegar solution) for woollen carpets, are sprayed into the carpet, then agitated with a grooming brush or an automatic scrubbing machine. Next, a pressurized manual or automatic cleaning tool (known as a wand) passes over the surface to rinse out all pre-conditioner, residue, and particulates. If an alkaline detergent is used on a woollen carpet, use of a mild acetic acid solution will restore neutral fiber pH. The acidic rinse thus neutralizes the alkaline residues, and can contribute to softening cleaned fabrics
How Much Does Carpet Cleaning Cost?
How We Get This Data
Carpet Cleaning Prices
Professional carpet cleaning costs between $121 and $233 for most homeowners, with an average of $177. Exact prices vary depending on the size and type of material as well as the cleansing method and whether you need stain removal.
The main benefit of regular carpet cleaning is avoiding potentially dangerous problems like mold, high levels of dirt or other issues. If you ignore it for too long, the cost to replace your carpet will range between $750 and $2,500.
Professional Carpet Cleaning Costs
The $121 to $233 overall price depends on the area you want to wash. Instead of charging hourly rates, most pros will focus on the square footage or offer per-room rates.
Carpet Cleaning Cost Per Square Foot
Expect to pay between $0.20 and $0.40 per square foot. Services who charge by the square footage visit your home before the actual job to measure and calculate the carpet size, and base their estimate on that.
If your home is smaller — a condo, apartment or one- to two-bedroom home — you’ll pay more for this service because of the added fees for travel and cleaning material expenses. Owners of larger homes will pay less because they’ll pay fixed prices.
Home Cleaning Guide: How Carpet Cleaning Machines Operate
Carpets can tie a room together. That said, they can also absorb large amounts of dirt, mold, bacteria and so much more. Even if a carpet looks clean, they are most likely filthy under the surface. Fortunately, carpet cleaning machines make it easier than ever to get the area looking spotless and like new.
What Exactly is a Carpet Cleaner
Carpet cleaning machines go by some names including cleaner, extractor or shampooer. They are designed to remove the dirt and stains that get deeply embedded in your carpet. The general process starts by having a rug pretreated with a cleaning solution and letting it soak for about fifteen minutes.
Types of Carpet Cleaning Machines
There is a wide range of carpet cleaning machines on the market that goes under different names. The most common one you are probably familiar with is “steam cleaners,” which use dry vapor steam during their process. However, this machine is ineffective at deep cleaning the carpet so you will want to look for a cleaner with true steaming and vacuuming features
Carpet cleaning machines also come in a wide variety of models. Typically, the machine will come with a large wand to clean with, but there are also walk-behind models that are quite similar to vacuum cleaners and very effective for cleaning a large area. There are also machines with additional attachments to clean other surfaces such as sofa upholstery, curtains and more. Professional carpet cleaners will have their kind of device that is not only faster but also stronger and more effective.
How Long Does the Process Take?
These days, carpet cleaning machines are more powerful and efficient than ever. A lot has to do with the size of the area that you want to clean. Generally, most people decide to go with either a partial or entire house cleaning. Of course, if you choose to hire a professional carpet cleaner for the job, the process will be done much quicker.