Carpet Cleaning Chicago 773-885-8528

CARPET CLEANING AND WICKING - CHICAGO 773-885-8528

When carpet cleaning is done sometimes things appear on the surface of the carpet that wasn’t there previously.  This is especially the case when it comes to steam carpet cleaning or hot water extraction, either way, when it happens, because the carpet cleaning companies usually get blamed for not doing a good job.  But is that really the case? 

 

There is a problem in the carpet cleaning industry known as “wicking.”  What does it mean?  It refers to spotting, staining or spills that sink below the carpet and down into the padding.  In other words, the stain is still there, below the surface, unseen to the human eye until a cleaning takes place on the surface and reactivates the problem lying dormant in the padding.

We recently had a customer that complained about a spot near her bathroom that wasn’t there before the cleaning.  We asked a few questions of the customer only to find that she had a previous water damage incident from her bathroom that spilled out over into the carpeted area near the bathroom door.  After finding out what happened previously, everything fell in place in terms of why that spot appeared.  Needless to say, we returned to fix the problem, but had we the knowledge ahead of time that this leak or water damage took place we could’ve addressed the issue on the initial call.

This is why good communication is very important.  Good questions about the condition of the carpet, any mishaps that might have happened, etc.  It just makes the carpet cleaning technician’s job a lot easier.

Wicking usually happens with liquids or materials that seep below the surface of the carpeting into the padding below.  Those substances can range from removing pet stains, to spilled wine, milk, blood, or any other substance that penetrates the surface of the carpeting.

Sometimes you might think the easy way to get up a spill or disaster on the carpet is to scrub it out with some sort of solvent or another.  Here, you must be careful.  Scrubbing and agitating the carpeted area the wrong way can actually serve to exacerbate the problem by pushing it deeper into the fibers and the padding too.  This just makes the carpet cleaning a bit more difficult of a task but not impossible.  Handling a project on your own may be great for certain things in the home, but we have seen a simple carpet cleaning turn into a nightmare because the customer tried to do it themselves.

If you are not sure how to handle a particular spill or mishap in your carpet, don’t hesitate to call a professional carpet cleaning company to get your carpets looking their best!

Chicago Carpet Cleaning - 773-885-8528

DRYING TIME IS ESSENTIAL TO GOOD CLEANING

When considering the matter of professional carpet cleaning you must factor in how long the carpet will be unusable while it dries if you are having steam carpet cleaning administered.  After a pre-spray for loosening nasty spots and stains from the carpet fibers (which is normally moisture-based) and a bit of agitating either with a carpet rake or a scrub brush, and possibly other solubles to get the carpet appearance just right, the carpeting is now moist and needs to be extracted properly before good drying can take place.

There are few factors that determine drying time.

1. The humidity in the home. 
The more moisture floating through the air the longer the drying time.  Even outside air levels can affect how fast your carpet might dry on the inside.

2. The type of carpet/padding you have.
If you have a thick carpet and/or padding, of course, the drying time can take a little longer.  Anywhere from 1 to 2 hours longer depending on the type of carpet and if there is padding sitting beneath it.  These are porous and hold moisture, so a good extraction needs to take place.  Which leads to the next factor.

3. Technician know how or expertise. 
If the technician you have cleaning your carpets is good at what he does, he will know that he needs to perform a very good extraction with a back and forth motion of the cleaning tool, to get the carpeting and the padding as dry as possible.  This is the beginning of the evaporation process and a very important one.

There will always be some residual moisture when steam cleaning your carpets, however, it should not be soaked or squishy under foot.  If so, then you will certainly have mildew and odor issues later.
So make sure that proper extraction has taken place.  A simple swipe with the fingertips can serve to determine this.  And your next question?

Well, how long should an average carpet cleaning drying time be?  If done right no more than 2 to 4 hours of drying time.  Unless, you had water damage to take place where the carpet was inundated with water, then not only is drying time longer but, you will probably even need drying equipment to assist.  The CleanUP Guys offers Chicago Carpet Cleaning in the city and suburbs.  Visit our site and see some of our specials.  Happy Carpet Cleaning!