January 02, 2012 at 9:27 PM

Carpet cleaning - Steam Cleaning 

Carpet cleaning has come a long way since the first carpet cleaning machines were made back in 1853.

That first machine was an upright vacuum cleaner. Whereas the vacuum cleaners professional carpet cleaners use today are highly developed and far superior to the early models.

When a professional carpet cleaner, such as Best 1 Cleaning, is called out to steam clean carpets, the first thing they use is a powerful industrial grade vacuum cleaner. This removes all the small bits and dust within the carpet, making the final cleaning results much better.

We have hospital grade filters on all our current vacuum cleaners. So, when we are using them, even the smallest of dust particles are kept within the housing of the machine and not blown around the rooms being cleaned. This is another reason why it is important to use an industrial grade vacuum cleaner prior to steam cleaning.

Then comes the cleaning machine. Originally, all carpet cleaners would have used a “hot water extraction” portable cleaning machine. A methodology still used today. 

Best 1 Cleaning uses portable carpet cleaning machines when cleaning in high-rise buildings or where parking is difficult.

When using a portable machine the technician has to carry the machine and all of the accessories to the job site. A time consuming task , especially if the cleaning job is on the top floor.

Once all of the equipment is at the job site, it is assembled and the machine is filled with hot water; hence the name “hot water extraction”.

A pre-spray cleaning product is sprayed over the carpet to ensure the desired cleaning results, and then the cleaning process starts.

The cleaning process is much the same whether using a portable machine or a truck mounted machine, with several notable exceptions - heat and suction.

This is because the truck mounted machine has a lot more heat (steam, not hot water) and suction. In the carpet cleaning industry suction is called “flow”, and is the amount of air that moves through the hoses that are connected to the machine, creating the vacuum to extract soiled water from the carpet.

A portable machine only has a holding tank of around 40 litres, and may have to be emptied a number of times during the cleaning process. Whereas the truck mounted machines have holding tanks of 400 litres.

Best 1 cleaning prefers to use Truck Mounted machines because they do a far superior clean to a portable machine. They are faster to set up, being self-contained apart from a requirement for an outside water connection.
Once we have connected the solution and vacuum hose to the machine it is ready to start work.

The next thing we do after the pre vacuum is a pre-spray, and this also varies with a truck mounted machine.

Because the pre-sprayer is connected to the truck mounted machine we can deliver the pre-spray using steam; giving greater penetration and a more even coverage over the carpet and resulting in a more even clean. With the portable machine the pre-spray is applied using a hand-held spray and cold water.

Because we apply the cleaning products in the steam from the truck mounted machine, we can use different cleaning products, with higher or lower pH levels, depending on the type of carpet we are cleaning.

The cleaning process is the application of the cleaning solution to the carpet and the removal of the soiled residue from the carpet, with steam or hot water. The major differentiator here is the ability of the truck mounted machine to deliver a much higher air-flow, and therefore a subsequently higher vacuum, for extraction.

This cleans the carpet better and faster, and leaves the carpet much dryer than a portable machine.

Some customers have told me that they have experienced drying times of two days with other cleaning companies that have used portable machines.

This would mainly be caused by poorly trained operators or poorly maintained equipment. Because, with a portable machine, the drying time should be 6-9 hours, depending on the type of carpet and the weather.

With a Truck Mounted machine the drying time is 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the type of carpet and the weather.
 
This is why Best 1 cleaning prefers the Truck Mounted steam cleaning machines. They are faster to set up, easier to use and give a better cleaning result.

Best 1 Cleaning like to provide these articles for our customers, to give them information about the different types of machines and cleaning techniques, so that they have an understanding of what to expect before and after any carpet cleaning service.

 Best 1 Cleaning and Pest Control Service all suburbs throughout Brisbane - Gold & Sunshine Coast