One of the major petrol stations had a slogan recently saying that a fill-up with their clean fuel would give you 23 miles extra per tank.
I saw recently it now says 3%, which made me wonder what the difference was.
It did get me thinking, however, of how much longer a top class carpet cleaning job lasts over a lesser one. The length of time between carpet cleans can vary rather dramatically depending on a number of factors.
Some factors, you have a degree of control over, others you don’t.
For example, the interval between carpet cleans is often dependent on three things. Firstly, footfall...is the area an area of high traffic? Secondly, location...what kind of soil is being walked into the carpet? E.g. is it outside soil being tracked into the hall? Or grease from the kitchen into the living room? Another factor is the quality of the carpet. These are usually factors that often are fixed or are at least very difficult to influence.
There are other factors which influence how long an interval between carpet cleans. The equipment used, cleaning agents used, experience of the technician and crucially, what’s left behind from the carpet cleaning process.
To ensure the best clean and the longest-lasting result, it is very important that the carpet is left as free from cleaning agents as possible. Pre-sprays, shampoos, spotting agents and detergents are often used with great effect to dislodge soiling. However, if a carpet cleaning company uses a shampoo or detergent, it must be extracted properly. Shampooing alone only really moves the soil around. Hot water extraction flushes out the soil and the detergent used to loosen and remove the soil.
Imagine washing your hair with shampoo but not fully rinsing it out. It is a similar thing with carpet fibres.
Perhaps you have had the experience, or have heard others say that they had a stain removed but it reappeared a couple of months down the line. What has usually happened in cases like this is that the sugary content of the stain was not fully removed when cleaned. The surface stain may have been removed, but within a matter of weeks or months, dust sticks to the residue and the stain appears again. This should not happen if a sticky residue is completely dealt with from the start.
In a nutshell, to ensure the longest lasting clean, the carpets must be left as free from cleaning agents as possible. This means that your carpet cleaning company must flush out any cleaning agent used. Hot water extraction cleaning is the best way to ensure that your carpets are left residue-free and with longer-lasting results.
If you have any questions about cleaning upholstery please contact us now – or call us on 01 - 8400799 or email info@aqua-dry.com.
See what happens when a sticky residue stain is left over months (and how satisfying it is to clean) in our expert Tom’s blog post on “Recurring Stains after Carpets have been Cleaned”