http://domesticcleaningcompany.co.uk/ The best method for keeping your carpet clean actually begins before you plan to clean the carpet. Preventative maintenance, or preventative care is the method of taking steps to prevent dirt from effecting your carpet. Domestic Cleaning Company, 23 High Street, Brinsley NG16 5BN

1. The Science of Carpet Cleaning
The best method for keeping your carpet clean actually begins before you plan to clean the carpet.
Preventative maintenance, or preventative care is the method of taking steps to prevent dirt from
effecting your carpet. Entry mats and regular vacuuming are both effective ways of preventing dirt
from building up. However, if your carpet is starting to look dirty, a thorough clean is
recommended. Although you can take the DIY approach to this, it is better to hire a professional as
carpet cleaning is hard work and things can easily go wrong, causing damage to your carpet.
During carpet cleaning there are four main principals that are used each time; dry soil removal, soil
suspension, extraction, and drying.
Dry Soil Removal
Simply put, this means vacuuming the carpet before using a carpet cleaner. This should be more
intense than your regular clean though; going over the carpet thoroughly several times to remove
any excess dry soil. Going over your carpet like this will likely only remove up to 60%. The aim is,
however, to remove as much as possible before using a carpet cleaner. This is because carpet
cleaning chemicals cannot dissolve dry soils. They are insoluble, and if large particles are trapped
in the carpet fibres, chemicals will not be able to affect them. The smaller particles will be taken
care of in the next step. So if you've vacuumed extensively and your carpet is still looking unclean,
don't worry. Vacuuming also helps to separate the carpet fibres, making the next steps much more
effective.
Soil Suspension
Suspension is the term given to particles that don't quite fully dissolve in a liquid, but are soluble
enough to be retained within it. This is the case with dry soil. If left to sit, any water used to clean
carpets would develop a layer of dirt at the bottom, as the particles settle. By this point, the dirt
will no longer be on your carpet , therefore suspension is the perfect method for 'lifting' the dirt
up. Within soil suspension itself, there are four main factors that must be considered.
 Time – Any cleaning products used on the carpet will need time to start breaking down the
soil and dissolving it. If it is left to sit for too long the soil will settle again rendering this step
pointless. For the best results, the cleaning products are normally applied straight to the
carpet and left for a few minutes.
 Agitation – To prevent soil from settling, and to help along the dissolution of particles,
agitation is essential in carpet cleaning. A pile rake or brush can be used to scrub the
carpet, further separating carpet fibres and allowing the chemicals to work on breaking
down the insoluble soil particles.
 Chemical – The chemicals used greatly impact the effectiveness of the clean. Poor quality
or too little cleaning products will not deliver the best results, even if all other three factors
are increased. On the other hand, you would think that more products would equal a
better clean. This is not the case. Too much chemicals used will leave residue on your
carpet and cause it to attract dirt much more quickly than before. This is also the same for
mixing chemicals in order to achieve multiple effects. When combined some chemicals will
bond together, leaving a residue, or damage the carpet and shorten it's lifespan.
 Temperature – For every 18°C increase over 140°C the cleaning effectiveness doubles. An
increase in temperature causes particles to move more quickly and aid the dissolution of

2. particles. This should come from the carpet cleaning machine itself. Steam is normally
produced by the cleaner, which is applied to the carpet directly, increasing the activity of
the cleaning chemicals and further aiding the suspension process.
Extraction
Once the clean is completed, it is important to extract the carpet cleaning chemicals and water
from the carpet itself. As above, any residue left behind will cause problems further down the line
so it is important to lift this straight away. Most carpet cleaners will have a built-in extraction
method, but separate wet/dry vacuums are able to do this too.
Drying
This is probably one of the most important steps. If proper drying is not carried out, all the hard
work of the clean could be made redundant. After cleaning, a carpet must be fully dried within 8
hours, or mould will develop. This can be achieved through the use of fans or heating.