Thanks to modern technology, you can enjoy the constant company of bacteria, dust mites, pollen, old skin cells, dog hair, dirt and various types of grime. It’s all there right at your feet-in your carpeting.
Carpeting has become so advanced, with minuscule, hairlike fibers specifically curved and formed to hide dirt, that carpets can look fine even though they’re actually quite dirty.
And if you’re reading this while glancing sideways at your carpeting and noticing that it doesn’t look all that clean, then you’re really in trouble. By the time a carpet looks bad, it’s gone beyond the dirty phase and right to the disgusting stage.
Which brings us to the topic of carpet cleaning. Once dirt, oily residues and other gunk settle into the depths of your carpeting, a thorough cleaning is in order. Vacuuming won’t cut it.
Reasons for cleaning go beyond looking bad. Dirt in the carpet acts like sandpaper, wearing down fibers as you walk over them, says Gary Bauer, owner of a carpet care firm. And, he adds, dirty carpeting contributes to poor indoor air quality.
“Carpeting acts as a filter. Everything settles on it: Pet dander, pollen, cooking oils and grease, atmospheric pollution . . . You’re not just cleaning for appearance, but for health.”
Deciding to clean the carpet is the easy part. Deciding on a cleaner is another matter.
Carpet cleaning is a wishy-washy industry. There’s no concrete answer to the question: “How much does it cost to clean the carpeting in a three-bedroom home?” One cleaner might base his price on square footage, another might come up with an overall price based on the type of carpet, how dirty the carpet is and how accessible the house is.
One carpet cleaner might speak of preconditioners, deodorizers and stain resisters and add them onto his price. Another might include one or more of those features in his basic price.
Carpet cleaners aren’t obliged to conform to one method of pricing or one standard of cleaning. They aren’t licensed. They aren’t monitored.
“You can take a box of All-Blue Cheer and a machine that’s 50 years old and call yourself a carpet cleaner,” says Rick Russell, a cleaning service owner.
But there are ways consumers can protect themselves from being taken to the cleaners. Russell advised having companies come to the home to give an estimate. Giving a quote over the phone is difficult because it’s rare that a customer accurately estimates carpeting square footage.
Russell also says that seeing the type of carpet, its condition and the size of the job helps him determine the manpower needed for the job.
“We go into all kinds of situations. Some don’t look like they need cleaning and some you’re tripping over the dirt,” says Russell.
An in-person visit also gives the customer plenty of time to ask questions. Russell suggests asking:
– How long have you been in business?
– Are you insured?
– If I have a problem will you come back?
It’s also important to ask for, and check, references, he says.
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And, adds John Pullen, cleaning service owner, “Get an exact price in writing.” If an advertised price seems too low to be believed, it probably is.
So customers must be leery of bait-and-switch tactics.
“There are a lot of scams out there. You cannot get a carpet cleaned for $19.95,” Pullen says.
He says the carpet cleaning bill for a typical 2,000-square-foot home with 1,000 square feet of carpeting would be between $120 and $200.
The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification is a non-profit group that certifies carpet cleaners who attend classes and pass a test on carpet technology and cleaning. IICRC certification isn’t a guarantee of quality, but it does indicate that “they have made an attempt to get educated,” Pullen says. Some carpet cleaning companies and equipment manufacturers offer their own certifications.
The basic options for cleaning carpets are hot water extraction (steam cleaning) and dry cleaning.
One dry cleaning method uses absorbent compounds or particles that look similar to sawdust. The material is spread over the carpeting and brushed in to absorb dirt and debris and then vacuumed up. Another dry method uses some moisture but is still considered a dry technique. A low-moisture cleaning solution is put onto the carpet. A buffer outfitted with wool pads or bonnets is then used to absorb the cleaning solution and the dirt.
Pullen, who offers both dry and hot water extraction cleaning methods, says the advantage of dry particle cleaning is that the carpet stays dry. The advantage of the bonnet system is that it can be done quickly. But he said neither dry cleaning method is as thorough as hot water extraction.
“(Dry cleaning) is considered more of a maintenance system,” says Pullen, adding that dry cleaning may be desirable in a place like a hospital where people are on the carpeting around the clock.
Hot water extraction is by far the most popular method for households. With this method, a machine injects hot water and a cleaning agent (or emulsifier) into the carpet and immediately extracts it back out, flushing soil out of the fibers. Truck-mounted units provide the most power and the hottest water. With the help of air blowers, carpeting should be dry in four to six hours, Bauer says.
Bauer said it is important for those using the hot water extraction method to be properly trained because using too much of the cleaning agent could make it difficult to remove all residue. Residue left behind will attract dirt. And not all cleaning agents are made for all types of carpets.
One myth that carpet cleaners battle is: Once a carpet is cleaned it will get dirtier sooner. Bauer says that line of thinking resulted from shampooing-the dominant cleaning method until the ’70s. Shampooing left residues that did attract dirt. The hot water extraction method uses a very small amount of a cleaning agent. “But the cleaning is done with a combination of heat and water pressure, not a lot of detergents. In the old days there were a lot more suds and agitation,” Russell said.
Michael Hilton of the Carpet and Rug Institute in Dalton, Ga., said it’s also a myth that the heat from hot water extraction will shrink synthetic carpeting or damage the yarn twists. Wool carpeting could experience slight shrinkage if too much water is left in, he says.
Hot water extraction is the method recommended for wool carpets.
How often a carpet needs to be cleaned depends on the type and use: People with light-colored carpets or with kids and pets will need more frequent cleanings. Some manufacturers require professional cleaning at least every 18 months to maintain the carpet’s warranty.
Russell says a rough rule of thumb is: Wait a couple of years before cleaning a brand new carpet. After that, clean once a year.