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6 Costly Misconceptions About Carpet Cleaning
Misconception #1: You should wait as long as possible before cleaning your carpet. No! Dirt is abrasive, like sandpaper. Every time you step on your carpet, you grind the dirt into the carpet fibers. This cuts your fibers just as if you'd used a knife. This cutting causes your carpet to wear out faster. A dirty carpet will not last as long as a clean carpet. Vacuuming helps, but it's simply not enough. The longer you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more damage you do to your carpet and the faster it wears out.
Misconception #2: The only reason to clean carpet is to remove the dirt. NO! As you probably know, outdoor air contains pollens, fungus, bacteria, air pollution, cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and hundreds of other chemicals. When you come into your home, you carry all of those pollens, bacteria, and chemicals in your hair and on your skin, clothing, and shoes. Not surprisingly, all those chemicals and toxins wind up in your carpet and on your furniture. If you have allergies, asthma, emphysema, or other breathing problems- one major source of your attacks or episodes could be the pollens, fungus, smoke, and chemicals left in your carpet.
Misconception #3: One method of carpet cleaning is as good as another. No! The dry cleaning method, which is dry foam, dry chemicals, and dry compound, does not rinse your carpet in any way. Instead they leave a dirty residue. You might say they clean your carpet only halfway. The most effective cleaning method is hot water extraction. Hot water extraction means, a hot water cleaning solution, under high pressure, is forced into your carpet and then sucked out of your carpet. Shaw Industries, the world's largest carpet manufacturer, recommends hot water extraction as the primary method of cleaning carpets and upholstery. Carpet cleaners use one of two types of hot water extraction. If they use a large unit that operates from a van or truck outside your facility, it's called a truck-mount extraction. If they use a small unit that can be brought inside, it's called a portable extraction unit. Shaw's first choice is the truck mounted extraction unit. The truck mounted extraction cleans much better because it heats the water to a high temperature which breaks up the dirt, bacteria, chemicals, and pollens in the carpet. Then the machine uses high suction to draw the dirt and chemicals out of your carpet. This is the method our company uses.
Misconception #4: Having the right equipment is all a company needs to clean your carpets properly. Not true! Many companies own hot-water cleaners, but very few companies teach their employees how to use them properly. This is why it is important that you choose your carpet cleaner very carefully. The best companies have thoroughly trained uniformed technicians able to answer all of your questions and educate you about the cleaning process.
Misconception #5: The company that offers the lowest price is the company you should hire. No! We've never seen so many problems arise from lowest-bid companies. NEVER hire the company that quotes the cheapest price. The two most common problems are: (1) The price may not be for the services you want performed. The company may be equipped to remove only the dirt from your carpet. But you may also want bacteria, fungus, pollens, dust mites, and tobacco residues removed as well. (2) The price you see advertised may not be the price you pay. Many homeowners have learned that the low price they saw advertised lasted only until the carpet cleaner got into their home. Then they were pressured into paying a lot more for a variety of add-ons. (Some cleaners even break the law by using illegal bait and switch tactics.)
Misconception #6: Any honest carpet cleaning company should be able to give you an exact price quote over the telephone. This statement is not always true. Sometimes carpet cleaning is priced by the square foot. In order to receive an exact cost the cleaner needs to know the number of square feet to be cleaned. Pricing this way has to be measured. Pricing by room only does not require measurement, therefore an accurate phone quote can be given. Which type of cleaning do I choose? Shaw's Technical Bulletin states: "{cleaning} can be done from a truck mounted unit outside the facility with only the hose and wand brought inside. As you see, Shaw recommends the truck mounted unit first, and this isn't surprising. You see, the truck-mounted unit cleans much better because it heats the water to a high temperature and shoots the cleaning solution into the carpet at higher pressure. This breaks up the dirt, bacteria, chemicals, and pollens in the carpet. Then the machine produces a huge vacuum volume to draw the dirt and chemicals out of your carpet. This is the method we use at Tru-Klean. No question, the most effective way to clean carpeting is with a hot water extraction unit mounted in a truck or van. It's the most powerful cleaning machine on the market and the only machine that cleans your carpet of dirt, harmful bacteria and fungus, chemicals, pollens, tobacco residue and dust mites. Some people believe that hot water damages your carpet, but this simply isn't true. By washing and then rinsing your carpet with hot water, we clean your carpet completely. The same way that the person who showers and then rinses off that dirt and soap will be much cleaner than the person who takes only a sponge bath.
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