Hot water extraction
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Hot water extraction (also known as steam cleaning) is commonly referred to as a restorative or deep pile clean and is the favoured method of carpet cleaning by most carpet manufacturers. Professionals will choose one of two types of equipment to use 1) an independent truck-mounted machine or 2) an electric portable machine which may be operated as a truck mount or portable, depending on the size or power of that machine.
It is misleading to believe that the truck mounted machine produces a cleaner result. The reality is that the quality of the cleaning depends on the skill level and training of the operator which is why it is advisable to engage an ACCI trained technician.
What consumers should understand is that there are two distinctly different ways to perform hot water extraction and one is far superior to the other.
The Basic Process or ‘half clean’ Our rating ….. 2 Star
Unfortunately HWE is misunderstood by over simplifying the process. Typically it is described as per the following;
An ACCI trained professional would call this process “a partial or half clean”. This is how the majority of untrained carpet cleaners operate and typically results in unsatisfactory outcomes that give the industry its poor reputation.
Why you should avoid this version of the process.
This method is only removing the visible ’dirt’ rather than attacking and removing the real cause of soiling…..oily soils.
Micro particles of oil from cooking fumes, motor vehicle exhaust fumes and industrial fallout in the atmosphere settle on all flat surfaces in the home and the biggest, flattest surface of course is the floor. To give you an idea, when you are in the back bedroom and can smell the fragrant fumes of a bacon and eggs breakfast, you are actually smelling the fats and oils floating in the air. These micro particles will eventually settle on the carpet to add to the continual build up of oily sticky soils over time. The more sticky soils present the more apparent soiling in the traffic areas as the carpet is now acting like fly paper for your shoes. Therefore you will note the soiling pattern in a typical household is mostly confined to the traffic areas.
Consequently a carpet cleaner using this very basic method will only perform half a clean by removing the surface soils that are attached to the oil. The true effect is that the carpet is still sticky with the underlying oily soils and will quickly resoil in a matter of weeks. What seemed to be good value on the day of the clean is now seen for what it is…..a waste of money.
The Ideal Process or ‘Full Clean’ Our Rating ….. 5 Star
A full restoration clean effectively removes both the oil and visible soil. It takes twice as long but your carpet will not only stay cleaner longer but will be softer and brighter in the process. This is what you should be looking for if you want the best value for money.
- The carpet is thoroughly vacuumed with a commercial upright vacuum cleaner.
NB Professional carpet cleaners should not be using back pack or domestic vacuum cleaners such as a Dyson. Dyson do not recommend their machines for commercial use.
- The carpet is pre-sprayed with an appropriate emulsifying detergent eg below pH 8.5 on wool carpet, below pH10 for nylon
- The detergent is worked through the pile with a rotary shampoo machine – to solublise all offending soils and oils prior to extraction
- The solublised soils are then extracted or vacuumed away into the HWE machine using a conditioner in the rinse water.
NB The waste water should be correctly disposed. Pumping waste water into storm water drainage is highly illegal environmentally toxic.
- Finally the carpet should be groomed and when appropriate, drying fans installed until completion of the work.
Dry cleaning Our Rating ….. 2 Star
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Firstly ‘Dry’ cleaning is a misnomer. This process simply uses less water than HWE so it is still wet and can take just as long to dry when used. The correct description is Bonnet Cleaning because it uses a pad or bonnet to remove soils. This system was originally designed for commercial cleaning where frequent cleaning was required to maintain appearances with a regular surface clean. Consequently Australian Standards refers to dry cleaning as ’surface cleaning.’
In this process:
- The carpet is vacuumed in the same manner as with HWE.
- A cleaning agent is sprayed onto the carpet
- A bonnet or pad is then placed under a rotary polisher and the spinning action releases suspended soil and transfers it to the bonnet or pad.