I have been providing quality guaranteed carpet cleaning to many clients for many years. Most of the carpets and rugs I’ve cleaned are pretty straightforward. However, sometimes I have faced difficult stains or hidden damage. All those cases have been resolved through professional carpet washing or spot removing procedures.
I have kept notes of the problems, the various solutions we have attempted, and the exact solution that did the job to our and the client’s satisfaction. Expanded by my thoughts, some of these notes will go on this page.
I am putting all the notes and info together so this page can become a fact (GDPR adhered to, of course).
OK, here we go.
As you probably know, carpet cleaning is a tough business. This is particularly true in London, where fierce competition exists. Having lots of knowledgeable competitors keeps you on edge at all times. Always be learning new things. Get rid of ineffective old techniques. Keep ahead of the masses. Not an easy job, believe me.
It takes investment in the latest equipment and training courses and a solid decade in the cleaning carpets game to stand out from the crowd.
Take this recent job I did for a client, for example. I was tasked with deep cleaning a short pile wool rug that had been heavily soiled by foot traffic and staining. The unlucky piece of art was positioned right at the front entrance of the house (the beginning of the main hallway that led to the kitchen). And, as you would’ve probably guessed, the rug has not been professionally cleaned for ages. At least 5 years. Gosh! That’s a first 😉
Being a natural fibre rug, I had to be very careful with the water. My main weapon was a high-powered Ninja portable extractor using the hot water extraction method. Under the hood of that thing was a pump capable of generating more than 600 PSI. Add three 3-stage vacuum motors, and the Ninja becomes a mini truck-not-so-mounted monster of a porty. So, in other words, serious firepower is at my disposal.
In order to avoid soaking the rug and risk shrinkage, I had to be very quick with the wand and have less solution injected into the natural fibres. I had to add more “dry runs” with the wand in vacuum mode only in order to suck as much solution as quickly as possible. Leave this kind of rug soaking for more than the required time and you can shrink it. This means I will automatically own it (buy a new one for the client and get the damaged one), something I’d rather not do.
The other important thing to be very careful about is what cleaning material/chemical you will use. High PH stuff will damage the wool. Don’t fall for that. Go for a gentle, more PH-neutral product. Ideally, something close to PH8. It’s not the best option in terms of effectiveness, but less risky and still good. Normally these products will have the Woolsafe logo on the containers. They are safe to use on wool and wool-containing fabric/pile.
Well, I was able to penetrate deep into the fibres and lift out the dirt and grime. More dry runs meant the wool was not soaked and eliminated the risk of shrinkage. Thankfully, there were no nasty stains, i.e. wine, coffee or make-up. Just general dirt and grime from shoes.
But I didn’t stop there. I knew drying times were crucial, especially with the unpredictable London weather (even after I had used water sparingly and had a lot of dry runs with the wand). I used a high-powered fan or a turbo-dryer to speed up the drying process and ensure the rug was completely dry before our deadline.
The second biggest challenge with cleaning wool carpets and rugs is the risk of re-soiling (the first is shrinking the rug). With careful attention to detail and using the right chemicals, preventing re-soiling should be a walk in the park. Throw into the mix a couple of decades of carpet cleaning experience in London, and all is pukka each time I attend a job ;).