Q. My Carpets Are Dirty. Why?
A. Light Reflection! When carpet is new, each fiber is smooth and reflects light in a manner that enhances its appearance. As carpet is walked on, the solid soils (sand) create abrasions and scratches that soon fill with dirt and no longer reflect light. The most common causes of carpet soiling are airborne particles from the kitchen, accidental spills, and normal wear.

Q. Why Do Traffic Areas Get Dirty Sooner And Show Wear Faster?
A. Traffic areas, or walkways, represent about 20% of the total carpet area but receive about 80% of the traffic. This traffic is often from outside, and small particles of sand and grit are deposited deep down between the fibers. These particles act like sandpaper, and as you walk they cut the fibers. When you vacuum you remove the cut fibers-thinning the carpet and creating wear patterns.

Q. How Can I Slow Down Soiling And Carpet Wear?
A. Carpeting usually represents the single most expensive item in your house, often thousands of dollars. To prevent premature soiling and wear, carpet manufacturers and professional carpet cleaners suggest five things:
• Vacuum regularly-traffic areas twice as often as other areas.
• Use recommended spotting techniques.
• Place attractive, washable mats/rugs by most-used doors.
• Have your carpets Hot Water “Steam” Cleaned on a regular basis. DuPont recommends only Professional TruckMounted “Steam” Hot Water Extraction Cleaning for their new Stainmasterr carpet.
• Reapply a carpet protector, at least in the traffic areas, after cleaning.

Q. How Often Should My Carpets Be Cleaned?
A. The time between cleanings is dependent on several factors: frequency of your vacuuming, type and color of your carpet, amount of traffic, and the method used the last time your carpets were cleaned. (Some cleaning methods cause carpets to resoil faster.)

Q. Now That I Know Carpets Must Be Cleaned Which Method Is Best?
A. In 1972 an independent research team made a survey and found that the Hot Water, “Steam Extraction Method” was superior to all other methods for cleaning carpeting. In 1988, DuPont required that their Stainmaster Carpets must be steam/water extraction cleaned or the warranty is voided. Currently there are three basic methods of cleaning carpets: Rotary Shampooing, Dry Cleaning, and Hot Water “Steam” Extraction. Each of the first two methods have what appear to be two advantages: shorter drying time and less cost. The major disadvantage is that these two methods only surface clean. While we offer all three types of cleaning, we usually recommend “Steam” Extraction. This method cleans to the base of the fiber rather than scrubbing dirt deeper into the carpet. Therefore, for your carpets to be truly clean, the first two methods will require almost monthly (costly) cleanings-compared to annual, biannual, or in some cases triannual Truck-Mounted Hot Water “Stearn” Extraction cleaning.

Q. What Is Hot Water “Steam” Cleaning, And Aren’t All Steam Cleaners The Same?
A. “Steam” Cleaning is actually hot water extraction cleaning, with the hot water creating some steam. All steam cleaning is definitely not the same. Basically, there are three types: Do It Yourself - You rent a small portable machine, use lukewarm tap water with 100 pounds per square inch (PSI) of pressure and a vacuum of 2hg. It may take you four to eight hours of hard work and your carpets will be wet for days. If you’re lucky, you won’t ruin the carpet. And, they will resoil quickly so you should clean them three or four times a year ($120). Hired Portable Machines The major difference between this and “Do It Yourself” is someone else does the work, but they still use a portable machine. The result is the same-the cost is often double ($240). Professional Truck-Mounted Hot Water “Steam” Extraction - The major difference is in the POWER.... The water is heated to 200o F, pressurized to 500 PSI and vacuumed up with a suction 10 times that of a portable machine, so carpets are normally dry in hours, not days. (This process does absolutely NO harm to your carpets.)

Q. I’ve Heard That Carpets Get Dirty Faster After Cleaning. Is That True?
A. It may be, depending on the method used to clean them. Years ago carpets were shampooed using a rotary brush. Because the shampoo and dirt were pushed down into the carpet rather than lifted out, the top looked nice for a few days. But it soon was dirtier than ever because the shampoo residue attracted more dirt. This same thing happens when you clean your own carpets, because without adequate heat, pressure, and vacuum power, you leave too much soapy residue in the carpets. They look worse in a month, and you end up cleaning them three or four times a year-at $30 each time plus four or five hours of back breaking work! With professional truck-mounted hot water “steam” extraction cleaning we leave no residue and eliminate that resoiling factor. your carpets will look nice for many, many months.

“Choose who cleans your carpet and how it is cleaned, carefully. Your carpet’s life depends on it”
- The Mohawk Carpet Corporation

Letting your “fingers walk through the Yellow Pages” is fine if you don’t slip. Many claims in phone-book ads under “Carpet Cleaning” serve as slippery ground for anyone wanting to make a well informed decision about choosing the best cleaning method.

In response to this situation, Consumer Confidence Rated Businesses has isolated what a number of major carpet and carpet-fiber manufacturers have to say on the subject of carpet cleaning methods and their products. Although there are some exceptions, a number of well known manufacturers make a point of telling their customers which methods they strongly recommend, and/or recommend against and/or simply view as “acceptable” or “adequate”.

Listen to the people who created your carpet before you listen to anyone else...

Even if you don’t know who made your carpet, reading this document will certainly give you a sense of which method or methods are likely to be best for your carpet.

We start with a detailed overview of what U.S. Axminster, Monsanto, Shaw Industries, DuPont and Lee’s say about different professional carpet cleaning methods. The remaining segment provides you with shorter summaries of what other manufacturers have to say on the subject.

Although U.S. Axminster will not endorse any one method, they are very clear about which methods they do not recommend.
“There are many methods which can be used on location to clean carpet... The basic Periodic Cleaning Methods for carpet are:
1. Hot Water Extraction...
2. Dry Foam with Extraction...
3. Dry Extraction...
4. Rotary Shampoo
5. Bonnet/Absorbent Pad (“Spin Bonnet”)

Methods 4 and 5 are not recommended on Axminster Carpet.
“It is critical when cleaning Axminster cut-pile carpet not to use spin bonnets, rotary brushes or rotary extractors. The rotary action of this equipment can severely distort the pile yarn. In addition, the spin bonnet method can leave chemical residue which builds up on the carpet.”1

Monsanto, manufacturer of WEAR-DATED® CARPET, essentially places all major cleaning methods into two categories: “Deep Cleaning” and “Light Cleaning”.

Deep Cleaning refers exclusively to the hot water extraction method. Light Cleaning refers to just three methods: (1) Dry Compound Cleaning, (2) Bonnet Cleaning “utilizing a carbonated solution”, and (3) Foam Cleaning.

Monsanto distinguishes Deep Cleaning from Light Cleaning by stating that “light cleaning” methods are: “adequate for light surface Soil”.2

Hot Water Extraction is the only method Monsanto recommends for deep cleaning their carpets. Why are other methods excluded from Monsanto’s deep cleaning category?

“it should be understood that with the dry compound, bonnet and foam methods, traces of the cleaning agent remain in the carpet. It should also be understood that after employing these methods a few times, a switch should be made to the hot water or steam extraction method.”3

In other words, the Hot Water Extraction method (when properly employed) is viewed by Monsanto as the least prone to leaving accumulating residues and the most likely to remove residues normally left by other methods.

Shaw Industries is the largest U.S. carpet manufacturer, with many well known divisions including Evans Black, Philadelphia, Market Street and Cabin Crafts. TrustMark is also the marketing division of Shaw Industries.

Every Shaw division states that the “Bonnet System” is unacceptable because it “has only a limited ability to remove soil and leaves much of the detergent in the pile”.4

Every Shaw division also essentially makes the same recommendation: “A cleaning system should clean the carpet without leaving detergent residue. TrustMark recommends the hot water extraction system, also called ‘steam cleaning”5

DuPont is very direct when recommending professional carpet cleaning methods, and what method their warranty requires: “...hot water extraction (steam cleaning) or other wet or dry methods utilizing the MASTERSERIES® Carpet Care System”

“Texture refreshing using hot water extraction is required at least every 1- 1/2 to 2 years to maintain the Stainmaster Xtra Life Texture Retention Warranty”7

Lee’s Carpet (Burlington Industries) describes the different methods with commentary that indicates:

• The rotary brush “wet method” may damage or distort a significant number of residential carpeting types, while producing “satisfactory results”7 on a limited number of other carpet types.

• The dry foam technique “... is somewhat limited in its ability to clean heavily soiled carpets,”8

• The “dry or powdered cleaning method” does not distort carpet texture, is good for removal of greasy soil, does not cause color to bleed, requires little drying time, and “can be performed by relatively unskilled persons”.9

• Hot water extraction (“steam cleaning”) “lends itself to cleaning of various textures without creating any adverse distortion of pile.” When properly implemented, “this method effectively removes soil from the carpet.”10

What Other Manufacturers Have To Say

BASF from”With Zeftron Nylon, The Memories Linger” Pamphlet ... Recommends hot water extraction, the dry cleaning method and other methods that are capable of ‘.maximum residue removal”.

The International Wool Council, from “Maintenance Techniques for Wool Contract Carpets” . Identifies the “spray extraction method” as “preferred for wool berber- style carpet.

World Carpets, from “Care and Cleaning Guide”. Indicates that van mounted hot water extraction are recommended for their residential carpets because, “these cleaners are usually much more efficient, deliver a higher degree of soil removal and reduce drying time”.
Notes:

1. Carpet Maintenance, U.S. Axminster
2. Wear-Datedr Carpet Care and Maintenance Monsanto 3 Ibid
3. Carpet Care, Shaw Industries, Inc.
4. TrustMark Carpet Care and Warranties TrustMark Carpet Selection System, Shaw Industries, Inc.
5. The DuPont Consumer Warranties: Your Complete Guide To Carpet Care & Consumer Warranties, DuPont
6. Commercial Carpet Cleaning Maintenance, Lee’s Carpet
7. lbid
8. Ibid
9. Ibid