You may be wondering why it is necessary to have your carpets cleaned regularly. Your carpets act as a filter for the air and since it is generally the largest horizontal surface of your home it is necessary to clean this "filter" regularly. Clean carpet is not only appealing to the eye but is also much healthier for your family and pets. Carpet steam cleaning is not only recommended by the IICRC, but also by most carpet manufacturers. The IICRC
and major carpet manufacturers recommend
professional steam cleaning every 6 to 12 months.
This not only ensures that the environment that you
live in is healthy, but also protects your carpet
investment. Carpet that is not cleaned will
last an average of two years at medium traffic
levels. The most important reason to clean
carpet is for the health of your family and to
reduce wear of the carpet fibers.
Carpet Cleaning Routine Cleaning Schedule
Below is the recommended schedule for having
carpets cleaned for a variety of different
variables. Use this table to establish a
routine cleaning schedule. This table is used
only as a guide. We can establish a cleaning
frequency guide based on your specific needs and
budget.
|
Soil Rating |
Carpet Owner |
Professional Carpet
Cleaner |
|
Vacuuming |
Spot Cleaning |
Heavy-Use Area Cleaning |
Restoration Cleaning |
|
Light Soil |
1x per week |
Daily or as soon as spots are noticed
|
Traffic areas every 12 to 18 months |
Every 2 years or per manufacturer warranty
|
|
Normal Soil (families with
children, elderly) |
1 to 2 x per week |
Daily or as soon as spots are noticed
|
Traffic areas every 6 to 12 months |
Annually |
|
Heavy Soil (families with
pets, smoking) |
2 to 4 x per week |
Daily or as soon as spots are notice |
Traffic areas every 3 to 6 months |
Semi-annually
(2x annually) |
Extreme Conditions
(large families, multiple pets) |
Daily |
Daily or as soon as spots are noticed
|
Traffic Lanes every 2 to 3 months |
Quarterly
(4x annually) |
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CONTAMINANTS IN CARPET
Here are a few of the common contaminants in carpets:
Dust mites: Microscopic insects that live in household dust and are common allergens. Dust mites live on dead skin cells and can be found in large numbers in mattresses, pillows, carpets, curtains and furniture.
Mold: Parasitic, microscopic fungi that float in the air like pollen. Mold is a common trigger for allergies which can be in carpets that have been wet for a long period of time.
Allergen: A substance that your body perceives as dangerous and causes an allergic reaction. These are numerous and many people are affected by these every year. Pollen, dander, ragweed, and others are considered to be allergens.
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OUR PROCESS
ACC uses top of the line steam cleaning extractors. We incorporate a five step process.
Step 1: Inspection
The carpet is thoroughly examined for stains and problem areas. Identifying problem areas first allows us to build a step by step system tailored for optimum soil removal.
Please review our Common Problems with carpet
section.
Step 2: Vacuuming
A carpet must be vacuumed thoroughly before any moisture is introduced to the fibers. This is an extremely important step in the process and is mandatory. If the carpets are steam cleaned without proper removal of loose soil it will cause these contaminants to be driven deep in to the carpet fiber. We
ask you to vacuum before we arrive. We will
also vacuum before the cleaning process is began.
The IICRC states that 78% of soil in carpet is dry
soil. Performing a dual vacuum process will
remove nearly all of the dry soils from your carpet.
Step 3: Spot Treatment
It is necessary to pretreat any stains that need special attention. This allows the specialized chemicals to do their job before steam cleaning is performed. You can take a look here for DIY Spot Removal.
We utilize specialized spotting chemicals and are
able to remove nearly 90% of spots that are commonly
found on carpet. It is important to
differentiate between a spot and a stain. A
spot is a soiled area of the carpet that can be
removed 100% of the time. A stain is a soiled
area of the carpet in which the fibers were affected
by a dye. These spots require advanced
techniques to remove and are best handled by
professionals.
Step 4: Pre-Spray
Prespray is applied to the entire carpet
surface. It is then allowed to dwell for five to ten
minutes before cleaning. This allows the detergent solution to penetrate in to the carpet fibers, dissolve the contaminants, and raise them to the surface for extraction.
We use only the finest non toxic chemicals.
Step 5: Cleaning
The water is allowed to heat up to 200 degrees and is then injected in to the carpet fibers at high pressure. Agitation with the wand is applied to break up any contaminants that were not dissolved by the pre-spray. With the next stroke of the wand the moisture is extracted by a high pressure vacuum, removing nearly 90% of moisture. The carpet is instantly cleaned and results are usually dramatic.
We use a neutralizing rinse to bring your carpet to
a pH of around 7. If the carpet is not
neutralized (pH 7-8) it will attract soils.
Most carpet cleaning companies do not use a rinse.
This is unfortunate as it will cause the carpet to
resoil much sooner.
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Step 6: Carpet Protectant (Optional
but HIGHLY Recommended)
We use only MAXIM Advanced Carpet Protector.
The Protector essentially forms a shield over your carpets, preventing resoiling and allowing for easy cleanup of spills. It is highly recommended by ACC, the IICRC, and all major carpet manufacturers that a cleaner apply carpet protector after any cleaning.
Watch the
Video!
We use only the finest MAXIM carpet protectors.
We have performed side by side comparison tests with
Teflon and Scotchgard. The reason MAXIM is
superior is that it contains acid dye resistors.
These resistors are applied to most new quality
carpet that is manufactured, but they wear off over
time. An example would be StainMaster carpet.
An acid dye is anything that is acidic, such as
Mustard, urine, and soda. These are extremely
common spills and Scotchgard and Teflon simply do
not protect against these. For superior
protection of carpet always ask for MAXIM Protector.
We provide a full one year warranty with all
Platinum Package cleanings. Our Platinum
Package includes MAXIM Protector. Please see
warranty details below.
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OUR GUARANTEE
AND WARRANTY
We personally guarantee all of the work that we perform. If you are not satisfied we will do everything in our power to make it right. If you are still not satisfied we will offer you a complete refund, no questions asked. Your satisfaction is our number one priority.
MAXIM LIMITED ONE YEAR WARRANTY
When you purchase the Platinum Package with the
one year warranty option you will receive a bottle
of premium spot remover. You will also receive
FREE refills of our premium spot remover for one
full year.
From the time we apply MAXIM to your carpet, your
one year warranty begins. This warranty covers
any spills that you are not able to remove with our
spot remover. We will come to your home and
remove the spot for FREE OF CHARGE. If we are
still not able to remove the spot we will refund the
price you paid for the MAXIM Protector.
WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS
We can not offer MAXIM warranties on commercial
locations, rentals, or where significant animal
issues are involved. There are issues that can
void your warrant. Failure to vacuum or not
using our spot remover will void your warranty.
We have never had to void any persons warranty and
hopefully we never will.
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COMMON PROBLEMS WITH CARPET
There are many problems that carpet can
experience. Below are a few that are the most
common.
Soil Filtration - Black lines around
baseboards and under doorways.
|
If you have light colored
carpet, you may have experienced dark around
baseboards, under doors, and especially near
the HVAC return. This soiling comes from air
passing through the carpet as it is
attempting to go through the edge of the
carpet pile, microscopic particles of soil
are deposited there (hence the term
filtration soiling). This occurs over a
significant period of time and is not
noticed until a build up has occurred.
This type of soiling is
difficult to remove because the soil
particles are so fine that they penetrate
deep into the carpet pile, sometimes into
the backing of the carpet. Can it be
removed? Sometimes. With special products,
time and effort, reasonable results can be
achieved, although not in all cases.
It is often found in home with gas heating
systems. These type of systems, when
not maintained, will deposit soot in to the
air and cause soil filtration.
To help prevent
filtration soiling in the future, vacuum the
edges of the carpeting on a regular basis,
then wipe with a damp, white terry towel. Be
careful around the tack strip. |
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