So, how should I choose my carpet cleaner?

While this may seem like a straight forward proposal, carpet cleaners are definitely not all the same. There are many components to make good carpet cleaning. Knowledge and experience are very important but they don’t necessarily produce the best carpet cleaners. In fact, there are some operators who have been in the game a relatively short time and they are putting some of the old hands to shame.

So what are some things you could be looking for in a carpet cleaner?

Firstly, don’t be looking for the guy on the coupon. Chances are, after his coupon outlay he doesn’t have a lot of margin to play with so he’ll be very keen to get on to the next job, meaning yours won’t be properly finished.

Secondly, look for someone who has really applied themselves. There are a couple of training bodies in New Zealand. If someone has competed the IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) training courses, chances are he or she is very keen to clean carpets in the best way possible. IICRC are an international training body who are recognised the world over.

In New Zealand, we have a guideline for carpet cleaning – AS/NZS 3773. It is compiled by the Standards organisations of Australia and New Zealand. Carpet technicians who have taken the time to partake in training and continue to seek to improve themselves by continued training and research.

It is also worth mentioning equipment. Hot Water Extraction (HWE) is still the only method recognised as a restorative or wash clean. Other methods, whilst useful are still only maintenance cleaning and won’t restore a carpet to a healthy condition. The very best machinery is a petrol driven vehicle mounted carpet extractor. It will always produce better vacuum (Airflow and lift) and generally hotter water. The more heat we can produce, the cleaner and drier the carpet will be. Hot water also creates higher activity of the molecules in the cleaning solution.

But there is much more to it than that. Here are some questions you might pose to a prospective carpet cleaner.

1.  Do you pre-vacuum carpets prior to wet extraction? 
   1. Studies show that around 79% of soil in the carpet is dry particulate soil. Unless properly removed with a suitable vacuum cleaner with a power head, much of this soil will not be properly removed.
2. Do you use industry standard testing to identify the carpet fibre you are cleaning?
   1. In wall to wall carpet we use four main fibres, wool, nylon, poylester and polypropylene. Each of these has very different needs and sensitivities when cleaning. For example, wool can hold up to 30% of its own weight in water but is also very pH sensitive. So proper drying and correct cleaning agents are imperative. At the opposite end of the scale, polypropylene has around 0.01% absorbency, it is quite resistant to stains but absorbs oil (Oleophilic) so needs its own special treatments.

 3. Do you use rinsing agents?

While hot water is imperative for good cleaning and rinsing, by itself water will not penetrate a fibre as deeply as our cleaning solutions. To remove residues from these it is important to use a rinsing agent. The other benefits are that the carpet will dry quicker, stay clean longer and feel softer.

4.. Do you use drying equipment?

1. v Some carpet cleaners will offer this as part of their service. This means they are very keen to have your carpets as dry as possible and achieve the best result they can.

While these are basic points, it is worth considering how long a carpet cleaner intends to work on your carpet and what charge will there be for that. Often the cheap, quick clean ends up being very expensive in terms of cost efficiency.

At Smart Clean, we want to offer the very best service we can. We will generally be on a job for around 3 times longer than those offering standard type cleaning. Further to this, we will use rotary shampoo to apply our cleaning solution and agitate those built up oily and sticky soils and we will normally offer rotary extraction. This means each fibre is cleaned from every angle up to one thousand passes. We bring to our cleaning 25 years’ experience, the very highest level of equipment available, the highest standard of research and training, in fact, our training program has been used both locally and internationally. It is our aim to produce the best results we can and research and understand the very best and latest ways to do that whether it be with new equipment or cleaning solutions or further training, we will continue to strive to offer the very best results possible and that's why we offer our guarantee.

Whoever you decide to use to clean your carpet, I hope this short review helps you to get the very best out of your carpet and your carpet cleaner.