Agitation of carpet pile The carpet must now be agitated with a special carpet brush, these are only available from carpet cleaning suppliers, Prochem sell a good one for about £30. Use the brush to work the pre-spray deep into the carpet pile by using a scrubbing motion. Use a smaller brush for really heavy marks but be careful as too much scrubbing with a small brush can distort the carpet pile. The benefits of agitation is that it breaks down the dirt and makes cleaning in the next stage much easier it also lifts the carpet pile and allows the cleaning solution to penetrate deeper into the carpet. After you have agitated the carpet wait for about 5 minutes before moving on to the next stage to give time for the pre-spray to breakdown stains. Steam cleaning/ hot water extraction cleaning. Use a hot water extraction cleaner also known as a steam cleaner with a solution of hot water and a professional carpet shampoo such as "Prochem carpet- pro" Which costs about £8 for 5 litres or you can use Evans extract. Start in the furthest corner from the door and draw the wand towards you slowly as you spray the solution into the carpet using overlapping strokes about a foot long, once you have made about 4 overlapping strokes go over the area again with dry strokes to suck out as much water as possible. If there is stubborn dirt on the carpet use a scrubbing motion with the wand and plenty of spray or give it a quick scrub with a small carpet brush. Work your way towards the door ensuring the machine is always being behind you to avoid the wheels of the machine marking the carpet again. This stage is sometimes not as straight forward as you may think and you may have to go over certain parts of the carpet again for it to become really clean but always use a firm downward pressure as this will give better cleaning and leave the carpets much drier, if you have an upholstery attachment use this to remove any problem marks or spots from the carpet as the upholstery attachment increases suction so will be better at removing dirt. The extraction cleaner is a very versatile piece of equipment and you can use many combinations of chemicals, for example if the carpet is giving off unpleasant odours mix a little "Prochem odour- fresh", which cost about £12 for 5 litres, in with the carpet shampoo. If the carpet is really dirty mix a scoop of "Prochem double clean" this will boost the cleaning power of the solution. Always use hot water in the extraction cleaner instead of warm water, as this will vastly improve the cleaning power of the solution. Try to use an extraction cleaner which has at least 70 - 100-psi spray pressure, the higher the pressure the better it cleans, and a dual 3 stage motor or a water lift of at least 120 inch, this will provide the high suction you need to remove the dirt and water back out of the carpet. A high specification machine makes life much easier and helps clean carpets a lot quicker, it also leaves them drier. If you use a low power machine apply a little more time and effort in the pre-spray and agitation stages to achieve better results. You may have noticed I have mentioned the Prochem range of cleaning products this is because I have found these are easily available in the U.K and give excellent results. There are many other brands of chemicals available but try and use the best that you can afford, I must admit that Prochem is a little more expensive than other brands but I think its worth it. Warning about cleaning wool carpets. Be careful when cleaning wool carpets as strong cleaning solutions can loosen dyes and make them run, even very hot water on its own is sometimes enough to make them run. Another thing about wool carpets is don't use too much water because they can shrink so go over them quickly with the extraction cleaner or if possible turn down the spray pressure (not always possible on all cleaners). Try to extract as much water out of them as possible and leave windows and doors open or use a blower to speed up drying, these precautions will help to reduce the risk of shrinkage. If you are unlucky enough to shrink a carpet arrange for a carpet fitter to visit the property a few days later to stretch /refit the carpet back for the customer. Grooming. Once you are happy with the cleanliness of the carpet you should use a carpet brush to lift the carpet pile, a special grooming brush is available for this but I find the carpet brush is just as good. Brush the carpet pile in several directions to see which gives it the best appearance. Grooming in this way makes the carpet appear newer and feel softer as it returns the pile to it original orientation, your customer will love the results. Little touches like this will mean more recommendations from customers. Leave as many doors and windows open as possible to increase the air flow to the area you have cleaned, this will help the carpet dry quicker. Carpets that have been cleaned with an extraction cleaner usually dry in 2-4 hours depending on the weather. © nextline group 2006. www.nextline.co.uk |
