Carpet Cleaning Instructions

Before Carpet Cleaning

1. Make sure all small breakable items are removed from tables, dressers, china cabinets, etc., especially from the furniture you wish moved.
2. Remove shoes and other items from closets and under beds.

During Carpet Cleaning

1. SPOTS AND STAINS: Not all stains can be removed completely even with the aid of professional spotting agents. Due to dye characteristics, pH effects, oxidation and other reactions, some spots may not be completely removed.
2. AIR FILTRATION LINES (dark lines that often appear around wall edges and under doorways): It is difficult to predict how filtration lines will respond to cleaning for they are a combination of excess soil and discoloration due to various gasses and dust filtering through the carpet. The soil can be removed. However the remaining discoloration may still be quite noticeable.
3. TRAFFIC AREAS: More heavily used areas often show some degree (although often minor) of discoloration after cleaning. This will vary depending on the degree of use, type and colour of carpet and general wear.
4. SAFETY: For health and safety reasons always keep small children and pets off freshly cleaned carpet.

BEWARE walking from wet carpet to tile or lino. It will be very slippery!!!

After Carpet Cleaning

1. It is best to stay off damp carpet as much as possible both to avoid soil tracking and to allow the pile to dry in its “up” position,
2. If you walk directly on the damp carpet, it's best not to wear shoes with shoe dye, for under some circumstances it can transfer to the carpet. Best to wear is a clean, non-marking rubber sole shoe, i.e. running shoe. This will prevent resoiling of the carpet and keep your footsies dry.
3. Drying time: 2 to 4 hours depending on the fiber, degree of soiling, and outside weather. In very rare cases drying may take up to 24 hours
4. Plastic squares and blocks found under your furniture should be left in place for 24 to 48 hours until the carpet is totally dry.
5. Ventilation: Increased air circulation will aid your carpet in drying.

Consistent carpet care can significantly extend carpet life.

Vacuuming: The most important measure in consistent carpet care is vacuuming. Approximately 80% of all soil can be removed. Concentrate on high traffic areas, vacuum daily. Medium and low traffic areas can be vacuumed less frequently. Remove soil immediately before it can be worked into the carpet through foot traffic.

Walk-off mats: Most dry soil is brought in from the outside through foot traffic. Use mats at all entrances, inside and outside the doorways. This will help reduce the amount of soil particles carried onto the carpeting.

Spot Removal: Spot removal should occur at the time the spot is found, before having a chance to set and become a permanent stain.

Common carpet problems

Soiling
Oily/sticky soils will cling to fibers causing yellowing/browning conditions - especially in high traffic areas. Cooking oils and animal fats are just some of the most common oily soil sources.

Fiber/ Yarn damage
Dry abrasive soils scratch fiber causing dingy, dull appearance even after soil removal. The damage actually changes the way the fibers reflect light. This condition normally occurs in traffic lanes.

Urine
One of the major causes of yellowing/browning on carpet is urine. Often, a newer spot appears yellow and an older spot is brown. In some cases, normal cleaning will remove urine spots. In other cases, proper spot removal techniques and agents will be effective. Older urine spots are difficult to remove entirely as hydrochloric acid in urine alters carpet dye permanently.

Fading
Sunfading: Ultraviolet waves can damage the dye on textile fibers, causing the colors to fade or change. Most fibers are treated with two or more dyes to produce the desired color. One of the dyes may be affected by sunlight more than the other. This would cause a color change. If each dye is affected similarly, the overall color may appear lighter. Lighter colors fade more quickly as there is less dye to produce a color.

To help you decide how often your carpets need to be cleaned, we have done the following graph.

Carpet Owner / Maintainer

Professional Carpet Cleaner / Restorer