CARPET DRY CLEANING MACHINES FOR PRIVATE USE?????
bigr...@yahoo.com
We always had our white carpets cleaned by a steam cleaning or hot
water machine, which temporarily cleaned the rugs, by a professional.
All the dirty marks shortly resurfaced . The rugs also had a dead flat
appearance and were wet for days.
Last spring we discovered some company that used a dry cleaning
process. He spread some kind of brown compound, made from corn cobbs on
the rugs and later vacuumed it up with some kind of upright vacuum.
This process was excellent and rugs looked a lot better then then the
previous method.
Is there a company manufacturing rug dry cleaning machines for the home
market that one can purchase at a reasonable price? I would do the the
rugs three times a year then.
Kindly advise by posting only.
Roger
hchi...@hotmail.com
The dry process is by definition inferior to a proper steam cleaning.
From your description you have not experienced a real professional
steam cleaning of your carpet.
The compound system is much easier for inexperienced cleaners to use,
gives them better immediate results, and reduces liability. It also
works well for last minute cleanings prior to a party or event.
Commonly, the compound is ground into the carpet with a floor buffer
with a special pad, and then vacuumed out. The grinding action does
add some wear to the carpet fiber, but the compound has the advantage
that it can use petroleum based solvents and surfactants as well as
the absorbent, thereby removing surface tar or oil based stains better
than attempts by steam system operators who don't know their business.
The solvents in the compound can leave a sheen over the scuffed fibers
which appears to renew the carpet. That sheen will either track and
be oily and a dirt attractor, or dissipate over time.
"Steam" cleaning - AKA hot water extraction - works far better on
sugar (spilled drinks) and common dirt. The compound in a "dry"
system is incapable of a true deep cleaning, since it only reaches
partway into the nap, and stains will eventually wick up if the carpet
gets moist. Since the carpet is dry after a cleaning using a
compound, the wicking won't occur immediately, even though the carpet
is still dirty down deep.
In a proper hot water extraction cleaning, the carpet will be dry
within no more than 12 to 24 hours. The fact that yours was wet for
days tells me right off the bat that the job wasn't done properly.
You are lucky that the backing or seams didn't split, or mold set in.
I'm also not surprised that the stains returned in your carpet, with
such a poor job. A carpet that sits wet will wick dirt from as far
down as the backing, underlayment or floor. Proper extraction isn't
cheap, and it takes time and effort.
What do you look for to get a top flight job? Check the yellow pages
or ask at local businesses. A good company probably won't have the
ads that claim "10 rooms for $10!" or some other obvious nonsense.
They will have at least a couple of corporate accounts. The price
quote will be in excess of 12 cents per square foot and may be more
than double that or have other charges.
When the crew (at least two men) arrives, furniture will be removed
from the room. If that isn't possible, it will be placed on pads or
paper squares to prevent staining from the furniture feet as it is
moved to clean.
The company will first vacuum the carpet entirely with a beater bar
type vacuum to remove loose dirt. Sometimes the carpet might even be
vacuumed two or three times while the extractor or portable unit is
being brought in or the truck readied.
Stains will be pre-spotted with a garden sprayer and the spray worked
into the nap with a broom or brush. Oil and tar stains may be treated
separately.
The carpet will then be worked in segments or squares. A five foot by
five foot square is a good size, (larger squares may be used on
untrafficked areas) but some areas demand different approaches to get
an even cleaning.
The first pass over dirty carpet may be a "float" where the extraction
wand is held a couple inches above the carpet and the solution laid as
a mist on the top fibers. This allows the dirt on the fibers at least
a few seconds to absorb the water and loosen, or be attacked by the
cleaning solution.
The extractor (sometimes with powered brushes attached) is then worked
over the section. The brushes can help, but a good worker using the
standard triangle shaped tool can do as good a job by pushing the nap
with the tool.
The mark of a real pro is a final measured pass over the cleaned area
with the solution nozzle off and just the extractor running. Any
areas that will wick will show up as dirty, or show dirty water in the
extraction tube, and those areas get repeated passes until they come
clean. (*Note - extremely dirty areas on certain carpets like jute
backed carpets can only be passed over with the solution a limited
number of times or they won't dry properly.) When the extractor
vacuum is run alone at completion, almost all of the excess water or
solution is removed. The reduces the drying time and prevents
wicking.
Cleaning with a compound will work one or two times, but after
repeated cleaning this way, the first extraction will get out large
amounts of dirt and wicking will be bad. If you'll be selling the
house or replacing the carpet, that might be acceptable. With white
carpet, regular replacement is usually a given.
bigr...@yahoo.com
prefer the dry cleaning method to the steam cleaning. Several people
recommended the dry cleaning method and another party, who I
recommended it to was very satisfied. Maybe the Florida based steam
cleaner was not doing it properly. Till I find a good steam cleaner, I
shall stick with the dry cleaners.
Roger
Wooly
>Hi,
>
>We always had our white carpets cleaned by a steam cleaning or hot
>water machine, which temporarily cleaned the rugs, by a professional.
>All the dirty marks shortly resurfaced .
Because the stain is in the carpet backing and in the pad. Over time
the stain works it way back up the carpet strands.
The rugs also had a dead flat
>appearance and were wet for days.
You haven't had an actual professional steam cleaning. The kids who
show up and try to avoid moving your furniture get to watch a video
before they're let loose on the unsuspecting public.
>
>Last spring we discovered some company that used a dry cleaning
>process.
You can do as well with a box of baking soda, a rubber broom, and a
vacuum.
+++++++++++++
Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...
hchi...@hotmail.com
Reasonable. I wouldn't waste money on poor cleaning either. Just
expect problems down the road if you try to get the carpet really
clean.
amd...@aol.com
I've got a bissel that was bought for $5 at a garage sale.. it works great but
it is a lot of work. I've found it to be invaluable with kids and pets. Now
that I am in a house with white carpet it really gets used a lot. There's not
that much to know to clean a carpet.. do it with as little water and possible
suck as much water back out of the carpet as your machine can and run fans and
turn up the heat to get the carpet dry fast. Using too much water will pull up
stains from the carpet pad.
bigr...@yahoo.com
professional dry cleaning type of machine available for individual
home use.
Kindly reply by posting only.
Thanks.
Roger
Wooly
>I am still waiting for a reply as to whether there is any non
>professional dry cleaning type of machine available for individual
>home use.
Have you tried google? Called your local vacuum repair shop (they
usually deal in new units in addition to repairing cheap-ass Eurekas
purchased from Wally and can probably answer your question)? Have you
tried the baking soda-vacuum method? We've got beige rugs, I buy a
50# bag of baking soda at the feed store, work it into the rugs and
vacuum thoroughly; do this twice a year, have the steamers in twice a
year, and the carpets stay presentable.
BTW, who appointed you the USENET police?