Carpet Mythology

A carpet that is cleaned by a trained professional using hot water extraction will be dry to the touch in four hours or less. Each fiber has different characteristics that affect how long the carpet feels wet. Under typical temperature and humidity conditions in the south east United States, nylon (which absorbs moisture), will feel dry sooner than olefin (which absorbs no moisture). The "dampness" you feel is actually the moisture on the surface of the fiber.

Some post-treatments can leave carpet damper than it would be after a normal cleaning, but your carpet technician should advise you of that in advance. Even in those cases, the carpet will be dry to the touch in no more than 5-6 hours.

Carpets cleaned by a trained technician dry within 4 hours.

Myth: If I have my carpets steam cleaned, they will be wet for days.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, residential carpet should be cleaned every 1-12 months, depending on conditions (see U.S. EPA Guidelines). A single dwelling inhabited by two non-smoking adults can go as long as every 6-12 months. If you smoke, have kids, or have pets - or have other than "normal" conditions - the EPA's recommendation goes down to once every 1-6 months. Seem like that is too often? Consider how long you would wear a blouse, shirt, or a pair of slacks without cleaning them. Does it make sense to have other fabrics in your home that go years without being cleaned? Consider also that you track in dust, oil, residuals of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and whatever presents your neighbor's dog left in the yard as you walk across your carpet every day. Then think about your kids crawling across those "leftovers", lying down on the carpet to watch television, and so on.

It isn't that carpet is bad. All flooring gets the same deposits. Hard floors are just easier to clean as they can be vacuumed and damp mopped fairly easily. To achieve the same degree of cleaning for your carpet, you need the services of a trained professional.

Residential carpet should be cleaned at least every 18 months.

Myth: I should clean my home carpet once every five years.

Residential & Industrial Cleaning Co.

Carpet Cleaning Specialists Since 1988

Phone: 877-209-6117 (toll free in the US)

704-821-1233

704-261-1233

E-mail: CustomerService@ricinc.net

Carpet Mythology

Carpet is generally made of the same fibers used to make durable clothing items (nylon, polyester, and wool) or olefin. The synthetic fibers (nylon, polyester, and olefin) are best cleaned with water, just as you would wash a cotton/poly blend shirt, a nylon windbreaker, or an acrylic/nylon blend sock.

Contrary to popular belief, wool carpet also cleans well with water. If you think about it for a moment, wool is a protein based fiber that comes from sheep, who spend most of their lives outdoors. If water really damaged wool, sheep would be in for a hard time of it every time it rained. However, high temperature water, or too much water, can weaken wool and cause it to shrink. The precautions one must take when cleaning wool carpet is to keep the temperature lower than the maximum used for synthetic fibers and to extract water thoroughly.

News Flash: Sheep survive rain storm with wool intact.

Myths regarding carpet and water...

Myth: Carpets should be protected from water.