carpets
Professional cleaning of a carpet on a regular basis will
extend its life expectancy considerably, in addition to keeping it hygienic
and looking great.
Leading independent research recommends cleaning your carpets every six to
twelve months to help improve your indoor air quality. Your carpets act as
an air filter and that filter needs to be cleaned on a regular basis.
We’ve invested in the best cleaning systems to ensure that we are able to
clean your carpets in the most appropriate way utilising our unique
10 step process to achieve the best results every time.
þ HIGH-FILTRATION VACUUM.
First we vacuum with a powerful HEPA filtration vacuum which lifts and traps
more dirt, dust, pollens and stops them from escaping back into your home.
Most vacuum filters only remove 50 to 70% of material. HEPA filters will
remove up to 99.7% of the material, which is why our system has the Seal of
Approval from the British Allergy Foundation.
þ MOVE LARGE FURNISHINGS. We
will move larger furnishings – such as sofas, chairs and tables – but for
insurance reasons we ask you to move smaller valuable items such as
ornaments and glassware before we arrive.
þ PRE-SPOT DIFFICULT STAINS.
We will carry out specialist stain removal techniques on stains which are of
particular concern to you or those we know will be difficult to remove using
non-specialist techniques.
þ HEAVY-DUTY PRE-SPRAY. Next
we will apply a heavy-duty pre-spray specially designed to breakdown and
lift dirt and pollutants from your carpet fibres and suspend them in an
aqueous solution ready to be quickly and safely extracted using our
state-of-the-art extraction machines. Using a contra rotating soft brush
machine we will gently massage the cleaning solutions from the base to the
tips of every carpet fibre.
þ HIGH POWERED HOT WATER EXTRACTION.
Often referred to as steam cleaning, our high pressure hot water extraction
unit produces a superior clean as it's able to shoot continuously heated
cleaning solution into the carpet fibres for a split second, helping to
break up the dirt, bacteria and pollens, prior to being draw out
immediately using a huge volume vacuum.
þ RESIDUE RINSE. We always
make sure we have rinsed all the residues from your carpet to ensure its
integrity and help to retard future re-soiling.
þ APPLY PROTECTOR (WHEN REQUESTED).
Once you are happy with the clean, the protective treatment is
applied by electric sprayer, creating an invisible shield to help protect
the fibres from future stains & spillages.
þ PROTECTIVE FOIL TABS.
Furniture is replaced back onto the carpet with protective foil tabs and
Styrofoam blocks under the legs. Why? Sometimes the moisture left in the
carpet will leach out any colour-stain finish from the furniture leaving a
(very difficult to remove) stain on the carpet.
þ GROOMING. We will groom your
carpet to leave it in the best possible condition, ensuring the fibres are
tangle-free and as ‘fluffy’ as possible.
þ RAPID DRY SYSTEM. The
aforementioned grooming process coupled with the powerful vacuums helps to
dry the carpet very quickly. To ensure your carpet can be used almost
immediately, we can also use special carpet drying equipment to help reduce
the drying time to minutes rather than hours. For customers who wish to have
a dry carpet clean, we also have the Dry Fusion and Host dry extraction
systems available.
Top Tips
Entrance or walk-off mats
The use of entrance mats at all outside entrances to the house is highly
recommended, as it will significantly reduce the rate at which your carpets
will soil. They should be as large as possible to allow most of the street
dirt to be removed from shoe soles. We recommend a hard coir
mat outside and a softer washable mat or rug on the inside.The mats must be
cleaned/beaten regularly.
Fibre loss
Many newly installed carpets, particularly those with a cut or velour pile,
tend to lose fibre during the first few weeks on the floor. This effect,
called shedding or fluffing, is caused by the way the yarn is spun and the
carpet is made. It is no reason for alarm, but a natural phenomenon, which
will stop eventually. Just vacuum the carpet a little more gently for the
first few weeks and empty the dust bag or receptacle regularly.
Protective treatments
Many carpets come with a protective fibre treatment to reduce problems with
staining and soiling. These treatments, while effective in many ways, are
not bullet-proof and will eventually wear off. Quick response to spills and
regular cleaning is still required.
Pile reversal or shading
Pile reversal, also known as shading, or – wrongly – water marking, is the
effect whereby areas of velour or velvet carpet appear to become lighter or
darker in colour than the surrounding area. It is an optical effect, brought
about by localised changes in the direction of pile lay and made visible by
the way light is reflected off the carpet surface. It is caused by traffic
patterns or unevenness in the floor, but is NOT a carpet defect. Loop pile
and many hard-twist carpets are not affected by this.
Sprouting
Occasionally tufts may appear above the surface of the carpet. Do not pull
them out, but cut them level with the surrounding tufts using small
scissors.
Colour change
The carpet may change colour over time for a variety of reasons, usually due
to pile flattening, gradual soiling and slight fading of the dyes used to
colour the fibres. A good professional cleaning will usually restore the
carpet’s appearance.
Draught marking
Carpets may show increased soiling around the edges of a room, under doors
and near air ducts. This is called draught marking, soil filtration or
fogging and is caused by the pile fibres filtering out dirt particles from
the air blowing under skirting boards or doors, or from ducts.