Nitty-Gritty of Carpet Cleaning

You know how your carpet got dirty--sloppy kids, slobbering pets and a revolving door of spill-happy guests. Now you want to know how to get it clean.

If your carpet is the size of a beach towel, you can simply roll it up and throw it in the wash. But if it’s a wall-to-wall hash of cola and coffee spills, grease and gravy spots, and mustard and mayonnaise stains, you will have to broaden your knowledge of carpet-cleaning options. Fortunately, few trashed carpets are beyond hope, say the experts.

“Don’t count carpet that is down as necessarily out,” said Shannon Rench Tyler, national sales manager for the Consumer Division of Racine Industries Inc., manufacturer of a do-it-yourself dry extraction carpet cleaning system called Host. “Often there are a lot of years left in the carpet.”

The first step to restoring the color, pile and life of your carpet, says Tyler and other industry professionals, is to identify your carpet’s composition. Nylon is the primary synthetic fiber, making up about 75% of all carpet. Acrylic, polyester, olefin and wool are also used.

“It’s absolutely critical that people know what kind of fiber is in their carpet,” said Jack Stadler, marketing manager of Hoechst Celanese, a fiber manufacturer in Atlanta. “Application of the wrong cleaning solutions or chemicals can not only void your warranty, but also cause you a good deal of grief.”

For example, Celanese’s Treviar carpet is made with a stain-resistant polyester fiber that can be safely cleaned with chemicals high in alkalinity. Yet the same chemicals--generally with a pH greater than 10--may cause problems of dye bleeding and instability in nylon and wool.

Often, a sales receipt or warranty may show your carpet’s fiber. If not, simple chemical tests generally will. For instance, nylon quickly dissolves in formic acid and wool smells like burning hair when lit with a match. If the carpet tests negative for nylon and wool, chances are it is polyester.

Most fiber makers, not the carpet manufacturers, issue carpet warranties so it is in their interest to offer explicit cleaning instructions for their products. Generally, the larger mills offer an automated 24-hour hotline on removing soil and stains from their carpets.

The second step is to classify the carpet to be cleaned by level of soiling or its appearance. This may take into account past maintenance, excessive foot traffic, household pets and even air pollution and smoke from heating systems, fireplaces and incinerators. Typically, high-traffic areas such as entrance ways and family rooms may require cleaning every six months while seldom-used areas such as a spare bedroom may require attention only once every 18 months.

“Basically, your carpet acts like a waste receptacle, and like any waste receptacle, it has to be emptied from time to time,” says Jim Henry, national franchise director of Fresno-based Rug Doctor, whose rental machines are available in about 25,000 retail outlets worldwide.

The business of removing that waste, based on the carpet’s degree of soiling (e.g., slight, moderate or heavy), is the next task facing the carpet cleaner. While there is no single “miracle cleaner,” individual cleaning methods will produce a range of results.

There are five major systems available:

1--The hot water extraction or “steam” cleaning method sprays a hot-water cleaning solution on the carpet, then slurps it back up--along with the dissolved soil--with a wet vacuum. Extraction equipment can be portable or truck mounted, the latter being more powerful in terms of spray pressure, heating capabilities and power of vacuum pumps.

Because hot water extraction most closely simulates the detergent and rinse cycle of a washing machine, it is a familiar and popular option for many cleaners. Drying may require four hours.

2--Bonnet buffing, often referred to under the trademarked “Chem-Dry” system, uses a rotary machine to buff the carpets clean. The detergent or carbonated cleaner is applied directly to the carpet. As the machine is operated, a round, double-faced shag pad or bonnet rotates on the carpet and removes the soil by absorption.

3--Foam cleaning is usually applied by a mechanical unit that generates foam from liquid concentrate, works it into the carpet pile with cylindrical brushes and then removes the foam, along with the trapped soil, using a vacuum.

4--The dry-powder system often associated with brands like Host and Capture contain detergents and cleaning solvents that are sprinkled on the carpet and worked into the pile by a machine or a brush. After drying for about a half hour, the cellulose-based compound that resembles moist sawdust can be vacuumed up.

(Despite their names, all dry-cleaning systems, including bonnet-buffing, foam and dry-powder use minimal amounts of water in the cleaning process.)

5--Shampooing is usually done in conjunction with another method such as steam cleaning. To simply shampoo in a detergent without extracting it, however, may simply relocate the dirt.

All cleaning methods have a time and a place, according to Anita Pierce of the Carpet Cleaning Institute, a trade group in Vancouver, Wash., that represents more than 400 professional carpet cleaners in the Western United States.

“Deep, thorough steam cleaning is a good option for those who don’t need their carpets dry the instant they’re cleaned,” Pierce said, “but one of the dry-cleaning methods may be more suitable for a 24-hour restaurant or hotel lobby where people are always going in and out.”

Regardless of the cleaning system, some spots, known as “ghost stains,” may reappear hours or even days later, warned William Doan, manager of certification and consumer quality at Du Pont, maker of Stainmaster carpet.

“They don’t return by magic,” Doan said. “Either the stain was of enough magnitude to get into the backing or the cushion of the carpet, and is wicking back to the surface, or residue from the cleaning agent is acting like a magnet to attract new dirt and soil.”

The next step, and the most critical one, in the carpet-cleaning process is deciding who is actually going to do the work.

The vast majority of fiber makers, carpet manufacturers and carpet cleaning associations such as CCI, the Carpet and Rug Institute in Dalton, Ga., and the Assn. of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration in Annapolis, Md., recommend professional cleaning.

“A pro has access to bigger, more powerful equipment and has a wider, more specific range of chemicals to work with that just isn’t available to the do-it-your-self customer,” said Harvey Howard of Rite-Way Carpet Care in Los Angeles, a CCI member.

Added Doan: “Often homeowners in a rush to clean up a spill concoct all sorts of home remedies that may do their carpet more harm than good, that’s why we say, ‘If a little water doesn’t take out the stain, let a professional handle it.’ ”

Kyu Lee, owner of Gardena-based Timbucktoo, a maker of both wet and dry carpet cleaning machines for 17 years, isn’t so sure, however.

“I’ve got news for you,” he says. “Probably 90% of the so-called professional cleaners are not adequately trained.”

And it’s the practicing technician, Lee argued, who is responsible for overall job quality and customer satisfaction.

“It’s the procedure that you have to go through,” said Lee, lamenting his lack of control over operators. “It’s still the monkey behind the stick.”

To prevent surprises or disappointing results, Lee recommends that do-it-yourselfers rent carpet-cleaning machines only from rental yards, carpet stores or hardware shops where the sales people can explain the nuances of the machines they lease and the chemicals they sell.

Lee’s comments shouldn’t leave consumers ambivalent about hiring a professional cleaner, insists ICC’s Pierce, but only more aware of the importance of finding the right person to clean their carpets. She offers the following tips:

--Call the retailer where you purchased the carpet. Ask for the manufacturer’s care instruction booklets and also if the retailer has recommendations for trained professionals.

--Require a written estimate. Whether on a per-room or whole-job basis, make sure the quote is all-inclusive. It should include pre-vacuuming, spot cleaning, total cleaning and furniture moving. Beware of extras, commonly known as “a la carte” sales, that the carpet cleaner tries to add on at the job site. Generally, reputable cleaners charge between 18 to 26 cents per square foot. Also ask how the carpet will be cleaned and how soon it can be used.

--Ask for references. Does the cleaner belong to any professional organizations? Also ask for names of several recent clients. Call to see if they’re satisfied and ask how long they’ve used the professional cleaner’s services.

--Check insurance. As a minimum, the cleaner should have liability coverage in the event your furnishings are damaged.

--Discuss environmental impact of the cleaning system. Ask how various cleaning methods will affect indoor air quality, now a hot topic among professional carpet associations and federal regulators. Also ask where the cleaner will dispose of waste material collected from the cleaning. Your neighbors, for example, may object to curbside disposal.

Pierce also suggests that customers consider professional attitude, courtesy and presentation when the carpet cleaner delivers a quote, either by phone or in person.

As for those hard-to-pass-up bargain offers, she passes along this caveat: “You wouldn’t take your expensive fur coat to the coin-op Laundromat to have it cleaned, so why would you try to cut corners when it comes to cleaning your carpet?”

Where You Can Call to Get Advice on Carpet Cleaning

There are several carpet cleaning associations to answer your questions and also recommend professional carpet cleaners in your area:

* Carpet and Rug Institute: (800) 227-7389 or (404) 278-3176.

* International Institute of Carpet and Upholstery Certification: (800) 635-7500, Ext. 678.

* Assn. of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration: (301) 604-4411.