If you have a lot of carpeting in your home you no doubt are aware of the need to keep it clean. Just like hardwood and tile floors carpeting requires maintenance. On a day to day basis that means vacuuming in order to remove surface dirt and debris and perhaps the occasional spot stain treatment using a commercially available stain removal product. But there’s more you should know about cleaning your carpets. Below we’re going to go over six things of those things as well as what you should expect from carpet cleaning services.

6 Carpet Cleaning Facts

Whether you’re about to have your carpets professionally cleaned or already have and now have questions, here are 6 things you should know about the process and its aftermath.

1. Pre-vacuum – The carpet cleaning service should do a thorough pre-vacuuming of your carpets prior to the actual cleaning. This is so that dirt, pet hair, pollen and other contaminants don’t turn into a kind of super-mud that gets ground into the base of the carpet during the cleaning process. If the carpet cleaners don’t start by vacuuming your carpets something is not right and you need to ask them about it.
2. Not all cleaning systems are created equal – While most carpet cleaning services use some type of manually operated shampooing machine to clean your carpets, Crystal Clear Cleaning HSV goes the extra mile. Our truck mounted steam cleaning machine goes beyond what any simple shampooing machine can do. It also doesn’t leave behind gallons of residue that take hours and hours to dry afterward, since most effluence is vacuumed up and returned to disposal tanks in the truck.
3. Stain removal – Professional carpet cleaning services should be able to remove most stains during the cleaning process. At Crystal Clear Cleaning HSV, the truck mounted steam cleaning machine we mentioned scours your carpet right down to the base of the pile, lifting out some of the most stubborn stains you may have. That said, customers need to be aware that some stains will not respond to any type of chemical cleaning solution or steam cleaning. While such stains are rare, they do sometimes occur.
4. That smell – Many homeowners are taken back in the immediate aftermath of carpet cleaning by an odor that smells like a thousand wet dogs. (Okay, maybe 2 or 3 wet dogs.) They fear that this will be the new normal for their home. Fortunately, their fears are unfounded. That wet dog smell is actually the result of certain gases that are released from the wool in the carpet after the fiber gets wet. Once the carpet dries thoroughly the smell will dissipate. Keep in mind too that if your carpet does not contain wool fibers you should not smell wet dogs in the living room.
5. Your stain protection should continue to work – Many carpet manufacturers apply stain resisting chemicals to their carpets. Some homeowners wonder if having their carpets professionally cleaned will remove this stain protection along with the dirt and grime. The answer is that it shouldn’t. While it’s impossible to state flatly that in every case, the stain protection will emerge unscathed, the fact is that normal traffic on the carpet will typically do more damage to the stain protection than will shampooing or steam cleaning.
6. The carpet should be groomed – In cases where carpet cleaning services use standard shampooing machines to clean your carpet they should follow up the cleaning with grooming of the carpet. Because standard shampooing machines leave behind so much moisture grooming helps to separate the fibers so they can dry a bit faster. It also helps to ensure the pile is all aligned in the same direction. If the carpet cleaners don’t groom the carpet it may wind up being flatter than before with the pile falling over to the side rather than standing up. The longer drying period may also open the door to molds taking root.

Why You Should Have Your Carpets Steam Cleaned

The truck mounted steam cleaning machine we employ at Crystal Clear Cleaning HSV provides numerous benefits other methods of cleaning simply can’t touch.

• Eliminates dust mites – Dust mites are microscopic parasites that thrive by eating the dead skin we all shed. Dust mites in turn shed skin of their own and this material is known to cause allergic reactions and respiratory distress. Having your carpets steam cleaned will put an end to the dust mite dynasty that’s taken over your carpeting.
• Removes molds and bacteria – Molds are opportunistic microbes that float on the wind seeking out moist places to build a home. Damp carpeting turns out to be an ideal place for them because they can bury themselves deep in the pile and not have to worry about being discovered. But mold spores can create all types of respiratory distress and can, in some case, be fatal when inhaled. Our truck mounted steam cleaning process will eliminate harmful mold and bacteria in your carpeting.
• Boosts your home value – The cleaner and healthier your home, the greater its market value should you ever decide to sell. Our steam cleaning process provides a deeper level of clean than most other Longmont-area carpet cleaning services can provide.