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Common Questions Asked By Customers

 

 

If you’re new to getting your carpets cleaning and don’t know what to expect, I will go over some commonly asked questions.

  • How long does it take?- Typically a standard 2-3 bedroom houses will take about 1.5 hours
  • How long does it take to dry?- Under normal conditions it will take about 2 hours to dry completely, although as some as the job is done you may walk on it in your socks and they will barely get wet, moving the furniture back before it is dry is a bigger concern, you do not want to trap moist under a couch, placing wood or metal legged furniture onto wet carpet can cause wood stain to bleed and metal can rust into the carpet if moved back to soon. Turning on ceiling fans and opening windows will speed up the dry times. Air circulation is key.
  • Why are there darker areas in the carpet after cleaning?- When a carpet looks to be darker in a certain areas which is not caused by a stain, this known as wear patterns. This is when the fibers of the carpet are physically damaged from heavy traffic, commonly seen in front of a couch where feet will rest. The darkness you’re seeing is the distorted fiber which have lost there color and shape. If you can imagine only washing half of your hair for a year! I think you get the idea.
  • Can I walk on the carpet after its complete?- It is best to wait for the carpet to dry, when you walk on the carpet while it is wet, the fibers will mat down and take longer to dry. But it will not damage the carpet in any way.
  • How often should I have my carpets cleaned?- This all depends on the traffic/people in the home, the amount of pets and if there is a no shoe policy. Even with regular vacuuming it is wise to get your carpets cleaned atleast once a year. In some cases a cleaning every 6 months is needed to keep the carpet clean. Cleaning your carpets is very beneficial for the overall health inside your home. Everything from dust mites to pollen that float around your home settles into the carpet, so it can get soiled very quickly.
  • Do I need to move my furniture?- Typically, the advertised price will not include moving furniture. Things that will not move until you move out like= Dressers, beds and entertainment centers will not need to be moved for a cleaning.  Small things like recliners, coffee tables and lamps should be moved prior to the cleaning. It Is always best to ask questions before the appointment.
November 23rd, 2015|General|

Hot Water Extraction vs Dry Cleaning

 Low Moisture “DRY” Cleaning.

DRY FOAM METHOD: When using dry foam, shampoo is applied to your carpet, then let dry, then vacuumed up.

If you can imagine washing your hair with shampoo letting it dry and sucking it out with a vacuum, it is safe to say there will be residue left behind.

DRY CHEMICAL PROCESS: The dry-chem method is much like dry foam, the only difference is there is a cotton pad called a bonnet used on a rotary machine, switch spins the pad scrubbing the carpet. Like above this is not very effective and leaves a lot of soil and residue in your carpet.

ENCAPSULATION METHOD: Similar dry foam cleaning solution lifts the dirt to the surface of a light foam. Then when the carpet’s dry, a additive in the cleaning solution crystallizes. Then it cracks off the fiber when the vacuum runs over the carpet. This method seems to work well especially on commercial carpets. Not a very well on bad carpet restoration jobs.

Hot Water Extraction Carpet Cleaning

 

RESEARCH SAYS RINSING IS BEST: The benefit to hot water extraction is the ability to removing product from the fibers by flushing with water.  SHAW Industries (the world’s biggest carpet manufacturer) did testing on professional cleaning systems and found that the amount of soil removed is based on the volume of water used to RINSE the carpet after cleaning products were applied!

Portable extraction, generally these units are under-powered to deliver adequate water flow. These units generally don’t produce lots of heat.  Portable systems can however produce good results IF the operator is experienced and knowledgeable.

Truck mount extraction: is a large unit installed into a van, truck or trailer.  Cleaning solution id sprayed in the carpet. While the cleaning solution had been dwelling, the truck mount generates 190-260 degree water which is delivered thru the carpet cleaning wand into the carpet fibers, as soon as this water is injected into the fiber removing the soil and cleaning product it is sucked out of the carpet thru the wand and out of the home.

Because of these factors, hot water extraction is superior to other methods of cleaning. Much like we clean ourselves, Hot water extraction used fresh water to rinse away the thing we don’t want left behind.

 

August 12th, 2015|General|

What To Know About Cleaning Oriental Rugs

Oriental rug cleaning is much different in many cases than cleaning wall to wall residential carpet. You need to hire a company that can actually clean your oriental rugs safely and effectively.

So what is considered quality oriental rug cleaning? Let’s take a look at the differences between wall to wall carpet cleaning and PROPER oriental rug cleaning.

Oriental Rugs are made out of natural fibers, which can lead to problems not typically associated with cleaning wall to wall synthetic carpeting. Because the fibers are natural; usually wool, cotton, and silk the tendency for trouble when cleaning these fibers is much higher. It is very important that you hire a professional to clean your valuable oriental/area rugs.

Oriental Rug Cleaning- Area Rug Cleaning

One of the other MAJOR differences in cleaning oriental rugs and synthetic carpets is the amount of soil a oriental rug can hold. Synthetic wall to wall carpets can hold a lot of soil but a wool area rug can hold a HUGE amount of soil. Much more soil than you might imagine. In order to get this soil out of the carpet you need to flush the carpet aggressively, which is something that is harder to do with wall to wall carpet because of dry times.

With oriental rugs they can, and should, be taken offsite and flushed aggressively and then properly dried. Because oriental rugs are mostly made out of natural fibers there are cleaning issues that can cause problems. Below are some of the major cleaning issues when dealing with oriental/area rug cleaning.

 Fiber Distortion: Much like natural fibers in upholstery, when cleaning oriental rugs the chance of fiber distortion is much higher than with synthetic fibers. You simply have to be more careful with fibers such as silk and cotton than you would have to be with synthetic fibers. Some of the spotting agents that will easily get out stains in synthetic carpet cannot even be used on natural fibers.

Color Bleeding: Color bleeding is when the colors from a fiber want to move into other areas of the carpet during the wet stage. Many older oriental rugs are made with dyes that are much less stable and the chance of the color moving is much greater. This is a very serious problem and one that can be EXTREMELY difficult to correct.

Shrinkage: This is just as it sounds. The carpet shrinks in size! This is almost impossible to correct. The proper cleaning and post drying of oriental rugs is very important.

Fringe Cleaning: Most fringe is made out of cotton, and at times can be very fragile. Fringe can get extremely dirty and should be cleaned with the proper tools and cleaning agents in order to get the clean and NOT damage them. Many times cleaners simply do not pay much attention to the fringe so you left with bad looking fringe. Or…they clean the fringe much too aggressively and do damage. Either way, the proper cleaning of fringe on oriental/area rugs is really important.

July 29th, 2015|General|

Upholstery Cleaning Facts

The fact that a lot of upholstery is made up of natural fibers can lead to problems not typically associated with carpet cleaning. Let’s take a look at the most common issues related to upholstery cleaning.

Color Bleeding: Color bleeding is when the colors in a fiber want to migrate to surrounding fibers during the wet stage. This is a very serious issue and can be extremely difficult to correct. Crocking is the movement or transfer of color when the fabric is dry and this is usually caused by agitation.

Fiber Distortion: Natural fabric fibers are much more easily distorted or damaged during the cleaning process, especially fibers such as silk. When distortion occurs in fibers it is almost impossible to correct. Usually distortion in fibers occurs because the wrong tool was used and/or the temperature of the water is too high.

Cellulosic Browning: Although this condition can be quite alarming it can usually be corrected. This is where lignin in the fiber releases from natural fabric fibers when the fabric is wet. Usually cellulosic browning during upholstery cleaning is related to long dry times although this condition can occur immediately. Getting the fiber excessively wet can also cause this, but sometimes to clean the fabric properly the cleaner needs to get the fiber fairly wet. As we mentioned, this condition can usually be corrected.

Shrinkage: This is a problem that is very serious and can be close to impossible to correct. This usually happens with cotton fibers and once it does happen, good luck in correcting it. The best thing to do is avoid this problem in the first place. Good furniture cleaning techniques will usually result in no shrinkage.

July 13th, 2015|General|

How To Properly Locate And Remove Urine From Carpet

Pet odor is not something that can usually be removed with “normal” cleaning. In fact, if you try to clean pet stains, and the odor, with regular carpet cleaning methods you can actually end up with the carpet smelling worse! Heating up dried urine with 215+ degree steam and water will not leave a pleasant smell behind!

Let’s take a look at some pet odor removal techniques. As we said before, pet odor removal is not normal cleaning. There are special techniques and cleaning agents that need to be used.

  • Find the source of the pet urine and odor: Not all stains actually show up to the naked eye. Many times the urine spots cannot be seen, and this can lead to many failed attempts at removing the stains and odor. The proper equipment is needed to locate all urine sources such as a powerful black light and UV protection glasses which will light up the urine green like nuclear waste. If all urine sources are not found and eliminated you are almost guaranteed to have a bad end result. Always remember, the carpet pad is like a sponge soaking up the urine as it passes thru the carpet. The size of urine stain in the pad can be 4-6-8 times larger compared to the stain you see on the surface.
  • Extract the urine from the carpet: Normal cleaning methods will RARELY get rid of the pet odor. Many times the urine is not only in the face fibers but also in the backing of the carpet, the pad, and the sub-floor. If a cleaner just tries to clean the face fibers they are missing most of the actual urine and will only end up making the carpet smell worse. If a home owner attempts to clean the urine themselves, most of the time this will also worsen the problem spreading the urine out further.

There are three types of pet odor removal categories and all three can be dealt with as long as you use the proper techniques. Below are the three types of pet odor issues you will usually have in your carpet.

  • Face Fiber Contamination: This is when the face fibers ONLY are affected with urine. Rarely, especially with large dogs, will the face fibers be the only part of the carpet contaminated with urine. If this is what you have in your carpet the success rate for removing the odor is really high. But as we said, most of the time the face fibers are not the only part of the carpet affected.
  • Face Fiber, Backing, and Padding Contamination: This category is probably the most common. In most cases the face fibers, the backing, and the padding of the carpet have urine in them. This is much more difficult to deal with than the first category, but in most cases it can be dealt with quite effectively. Special extraction tools called a water claw is needed in order to extract the urine out of the padding and out of the house. After all urine is removed using this procedure, traditional cleaning methods can then be done.
  • Face Fiber, Backing, Padding, and Sub-Floor Contamination: This is the most serious type of pet odor contamination you can have. Not only does the carpet need to cleaned properly “front and back” but the padding needs to be replaced, the sub-floor needs to be cleaned and sealed before everything can be layed back down and restretched.  No matter how much you water claw the pad and clean the carpet, if the subfloor is soaked in urine you will never get rid of the smell.
July 3rd, 2015|General|

Why Regular Carpet Cleaning Is A Must!!

With summer finally among us, which has came really quick this week. 100 degrees in Vancouver Wa is something we never see. The hot weather can draw family inside flocking to the A/C. Back when I was a kid, it never crossed my mind what I may be rolling around in while playing on the carpet! Almost everything that is brought/enters into your home will settle in your carpet or ontop a hard surface or even worse into your vents, that is a little scary! Alot of what you see floating in the air when the sunshine beams thru the window is actually 50-80% Dust mite droppings and dead skin flakes= Dust mite food. Have you ever smacked your couch cushion and seen a bunch of “dust” fly off? You get the point.

Dust mites, pollen, bacteria, mold, fleas and eggs, dirt, hair, pet dander and dead skin are a few things that can be located within the fibers of your Carpets, Upholstery and other places throughout your home. These substances can cause sickness, allergies, especially in children and produces overall poor air quality inside the home. It is important to get these out and away from your family.

Hot Water Extraction/ Steam Cleaning helps eliminate these listed substances that regular vacuuming can’t reach. At Greener Carpet Cleaning this is the method we use, combined with eco-friendly, Green carpet cleaning products, making this the most superior method of cleaning. The Truck mount machine, heats the water to 215 degrees +, which is sprayed into the carpet then instantly extracted thru the carpet wand, flushing the product and removing harmful bacteria, mites, pollen while the Steam cleans and sanitizes. Leaving your carpets fresh, clean and looking new again. Carpets will be slightly damp to the touch when finished. Depending on the weather outside and temperature inside the home your carpets will be completely dry in 1-2 hours, most of the time it takes less than 1 hour.

Depending on the traffic in your home we recommended to get your carpets professionally cleaned every 3-6-12 months to keep your carpets clean and looking new. Along with regular vacuuming, this will help keep your family and loved ones healthier inside your home.

 

 

 

June 26th, 2015|General|
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