CARPET FAQ
DRY TIMES
Q: When will by carpet be dry? Can I walk on it immediately?
Upon completion, your carpet will be damp (not wet) and dry in approximately 4-6 hours with average air flow. Pet and stain treatments can extend these dry times as will turning off fans or HVAC system. It is important to minimize foot traffic while drying to avoid triggering “wicking.” Wicking is when an old stain, trapped in the backing or padding, transmits back to the surface as carpet dries. If you absolutely must access rooms that haven’t finished drying, either wear shoe covers or socks. Any soil on your shoes/feet can turn to mud if carpet isn’t fully dry. If carpet isn’t dry within 24 hours (other than pet treatments) please give us a call.
SURVIVING STAINS
Q: I have a stain that didn’t come out with my clean.
Stains that survive the Silver, Gold or Platinum clean typically have some sort of dye or grease component which may be successfully removed with different chemistry and cleaning techniques than standard cleans. This specialty stain removal can be performed at additional charge if desired, but is not included in the package cleans. Keep in mind, SOME STAINS ARE PERMANENTLY SET because they have changed the dye structure of the carpet. Rest assured, if specialty spot removal techniques were attempted during the clean and the spot did not respond, this stain is permanent 99.9% of the time. This is why the application of a stain guard is critical to long term maintenance of your carpet.
While our cleaning process makes it very difficult for us to “miss” a spot, we always stand behind our work and will re-clean any areas of concern at no charge. This does not apply to stains or pet damage that a customer declines our recommendation for treatment, but we are happy to return and re-clean untreated or unknown area at a reduced charge.
REAPPEARING STAINS
Q: My carpet looked great after the clean, but a spot came back a day or two later.
Stains that reappear during the first 24-48 hours is typically “wicking.” WICKING – is the movement of moisture through capillary action from deep in the carpet, backing or pad during drying. Deep set stains, liquid spills and pet urine can all wick back to the surface after a clean. While we will do everything we can to minimize wicking, sometimes it’s unavoidable. We always stand behind our work and will re-clean any areas of concern at no charge. This does not apply to stains or pet damage that a customer declines our recommendation for treatment, but we are happy to return and re-clean untreated or unknown deep set stains or spills at a reduced charge.
Example of wicking: A few drops of old iced tea in the backing of a carpet, that may have been invisible prior to the clean, could reappear as a palm sized brown stain after drying. Imagine laying a clean, white paper towel on a tea-soaked and dried out sponge. The paper towel is your carpet. The sponge is your pad. If you dampen the paper towel, you will most certainly trigger some wicking of the tea in the sponge to the paper towel. The only way to 100% prevent wicking would be to remove 100% of all stains from the carpet, backing, pad and subfloor, which is often not practical. Avoiding over-wetting and speed drying help minimize wicking, but in certain areas it may be unavoidable. Berber (polypropylene) carpet is notorious for wicking and poses significant cleaning challenges. Many times, a damp white towel with a little Ripley’s Unbelievable spot remover will take care of the wicked spot without triggering new wicking. In more severe cases, we can clean with limited moisture and touch-up the areas of concern.
Q: I have a stain that comes back weeks or months after my carpets are cleaned.
Stains that reappear weeks or months after a clean are typically a result of some sort of RESIDUE. Since we are a soap and residue free cleaner, the nuisance of recurring stains is almost completely eliminated. Occasionally, a sticky liquid spill trapped in the pad and backing may slowly reappear as the sugars “wick” from the pad. The only way to avoid this is to perform a specialty stain removal process similar to a pet treatment. This process involves treating the pad and backing and utilizing specialty tools to extract the stain from deep in the floor. This process can be performed at an additional charge if a standard clean is not enough.