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Triangle Carpet Cleaners Earns Coveted Angie's List Super Service Award
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Frequently Asked Questions Triangle Carpet Cleaners 919-471-8159 What type of carpet do you recommend? What kind of spotter should I use? Why do some stains not come out? How Long should it take for carpets to dry? How often should you clean your carpets? Will cleaning take the stain resistance out? Does carpet protector really work? What is the best method for cleaning carpets? How should Oriental & Specialty rugs be cleaned? What can you do about pet stains and odor? What type of carpet do you recommend? I have always perferred Nylon carpets over all the others. Carpets made of Polyester in the beginning look just like Nylon, mayber ever more dense, but as time goes on, polyester begins to develop directions in the traffic areas. The manufacturers consider this a characteristic and will not warranty this. I have found that the wearability of Nylon, can have twice the life of Polyester, and Olefin (polypropylene). Traffic distortions of graying and crushing, are much more pronounced in Polyester, and Olefin. Another important note, is to not purchase carpets that have been shaved. Think of a nylon rope that you cut the end off, and notice how it is frayed. This is a trick used by carpet mills to make carpets look much thicker and softer that they actually are. They can be a nightmare for you to vacuum, much less trying to clean. I have many customers who have been very unsatisfied with Polyester. Berber is made of Olefin and is a very durable carpet. The only berbers that I do like, are are the newer medium piles. They are easier for the customer to maintain. Some choices even have some Nylon mixed in with them, which makes them softer. Medium grade carpets and high density padding (6 lb. test) go together very well. What kind of spotter should I use? I recommend that you mix 2 - 3 drops of dish detergent into 6oz. of water. Spot Shot seems to be a pretty reliable store bought brand. Many over the counter carpet cleaners have too high of a PH level which can damage the carpet. Use these as a last resort, but always pre-test in a inconspicuous area. Flush out as much of the soap with water as you can, and blot dry with white towels, to prevent resoiling. Remember the more soap you put on the spot the more you have to get out, to help prevent resoiling. They come back for two reasons. One is that they are so deep into the backing and padding that it wicks back up. The other is that someone cleans a spot and removes it, in most cases all the detergent has not been removed, so eventually the soap residue will create a new spot A glass of water can make a spot on your carpet. These are the lines running along walls, edges of steps, etc.. What is happening is that the carpet is literally filtering the air in the house, just like your furnace filter. For example when the furnace comes on, it creates a strong vacuum in the house (doors slamming), this pulls air thru any crevice it can find, where there is a space between boards. They can be very hard to get out. Approximately 50% of these stains will not come out with a regular cleaning, the others have to be done with what I call the hand and knees operation. Why do some stains not come out? Generally these types of stains have literally redyed the carpet a different color. Carpets are dyed with acid dyes, and colors used in kool aid, medicines, dog foor, etc. are usually these type dyes. A special process has to be used to remove this type of stain. The success rate can be pretty high for us to remove, if a customer does not try to remove the stain themselves. Yes, many of these spots can be repaired. A special color restoration process has to be used to literally determine the colors that are missing, and replace them. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, this is a 9, and only should be attempted by a professional. How long should it take for carpets to dry? Using a truck mounted steam
cleaning system, under normal conditions, your carpets
should be dry in about 4 to 6 hours. Drying times are
greatly affected by how much air movement that there is in
the house, such as cooling and heating systems, and ceiling
fans. Rooms with ceiling fans can dry as fast as an hour,
with the right conditions. Switching your furnace fan to on
so that it will run continuously, helps also.
How often should you clean your carpets? It is recommended that you have your carpets cleaned at least every 12 to 18 months. There are a lot of factors that go into this recommendation. If you have pets, you may need to clean certain areas every 3 to 6 months. If there are just two people in the home with no pets, with very little traffic, you could say every 2 years. If you have any allergies (dust mites, etc.), you need to clean as often as necessary to keep the environment in your home comfortable for you to live in. If you family generates a lot of stains and traffic you need to clean often so that these spots and stains will not permanently set into the carpet. Will cleaning take the stain resistance out? Carpets that are cleaned incorrectly, can affect the stain resistance in your carpet.. The key words here are cleaned correctly. I have found that carpets that are not cleaned correctly, may not take out the resistance, but their products cause the stain resistance to not work properly. Being cleaned correctly should restore the stain resistant properties of the carpet. Does carpet protector really work? Yes it does, but I do think that it is way oversold. I would probably be a millionaire today if we used all the high pressure tactics that a lot of these companies use. High traffic areas, and areas where dogs like to lay, should be strongly considered for applying carpet protector. The one problem with applying carpet protector, is that most companies do not clean the carpet correctly to begin with, so the carpet protector they spray will not be totally affective. The carpet has to be prepared properly before applying the protector. What is the best method for cleaning carpets? I believe that the best method of cleaning is Truck Mounted Steam Cleaning. For years companies have been trying to come up with all kinds of gimmicks to try to beat out Truck Mounted Steam Cleaning. If there was a better cleaning method TCC would be cleaning with that method. How should Oriental & Specialty rugs be cleaned? These type rugs may be maintenance cleaned in the home, which is basically cleaning the body of the rug. The proper way is to send the rugs out to be plant cleaned. With plant cleaning, all the dust and debris are removed first, and then you can proceed with a proper cleaning, which includes the fringes. Be careful not to send it to a company who only just steam cleans the rug, but charges you full price. Yes, and we do a lot of it. The synthetic materials do very well with cleanings, it is only the natural materials that you usually have problems with. An example would be cotton material furniture ranging from whites to flowery patterns. These fabrics love dirt and oil, and they absorb it very well. Think of putting your cotton sport shirts thru the treatment that you put your furniture thru and then wash the shirts once a year. What can you do about pet stains and odor? Yellow stains from pets can be difficult at times, they can actually change the dye color of the carpet. Sometimes, applying what we call a sour, can remove these yellow stains. For dogs, when you have odor, products may be added that can eliminate the odor, assuming that it does not involve to large of an area. Odor from cats is a another story, good luck. All wet spots should be blotted dry before trying to clean. |