Since 1974

COMMON MYTHS ABOUT CLEANING YOUR CARPETS

As we progress into time, we receive new information and compile facts. Many times these facts enable us to overthrow the myths and old tales, and not let them influence our decisions. However, some myths die a hard death, especially when many who are uninformed keep repeating them.

There are many myths about carpet cleaning that we seem to hang on too. Below are but a few of the most popular, and with them are the facts that offset them.

STEAM CLEANING SHRINKS CARPETS

Within the last fifteen years, the carpet manufacturing industry has made a unified change in tufting carpet, not in jute, but into a woven plastic known as polypropylene. Now, using this as a primary backing in carpet and adding poly as a secondary backing, we have all synthetic carpet fibers. None of these are shrinkable! The only way cleaning can cause shrinking is to have over wetting of a woven carpet or jute backed carpet. This is not a fault of the method but of the operator.

STEAM CLEANING WILL TAKE THE TWIST OUT OF THE CARPET

Nylon is the most popular face yarn on the market today. These yarns used in making carpet are set under constant heat to make them maintain their twist and resiliency. Even under the worst conditions, steam cleaning does not create enough to take the  twist out. Low density yarns that produce less expensive carpets have little twist so they can cover more area. This creates an opportunity for the yarn to lose its twist with just traffic. Cleaning will make no difference, no matter what the method.

ONCE YOU CLEAN A CARPET, IT GETS DIRTIER FASTER

I noticed that when I cleaned my new shirt, it lost some of that crispness it had when it was new. Now I am wondering about my next new shirt. Should I not clean it for a while and just continue to wear it? Or should I wash it and restore the body with a sizing? The choice is much the same with carpet except for a few facts. We deal with mostly synthetic fibers in carpet and repeated professional cleaning does not make it attract soil. The primary reason a carpet resoils more rapidly is that leftover cleaning residues attract soil from our shoes. Hot water extraction performed by a trained and certified professional can actually freshmen the texture of a carpet. When proper and periodic cleaning are combined with the proper application of a carpet protector, the result is extended beauty and life of the carpet.

YOU SHOULD HOLD OFF CLEANING YOUR CARPET AS LONG AS POSSIBLE

The single most important issue in conjunction with carpet cleaning in the 90's is health. The level of cleanliness we can achieve in our carpets will have a direct relationship to our indoor air quality. We walk on carpet. Pets lay (and do other things) on it and food and beverages fall on it. Airborne oils and pollutants settle on it. Then children crawl and play on it and husbands watch football and sleep on it. So doesn't it make good sense that we clean carpet if for no other reason than to improve our environment?

YOU SHOULD NOT OVER VACUUM CARPET

What is over vacuuming? Actually it is not something the average consumer would have to worry about. In a recent study, it was suggested that the average carpet in a home should be vacuumed three to four times a week. But even if you vacuum every day, it would not harm a quality carpet. The average number of times it is vacuumed is two to three times a month. So, we have some room for improvement. The cleaning industry recommends an upright vac with a properly operating beater bar, emptying the bag when it is 2/3 full, and vacuum a minimum of once a week.

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