why you should not clean on site

[leofry]

Ok good questions for Lisa..... but anyone can answer... i agree with Lisa you can clean them much better at the shop.. you have more time... you can soak the rug then dry with airmovers...here is the problem ..........what do you say when they ask.... if you can clean them much better at home.... what about the carpet you just cleaned in my living room... is the answer........... well i could clean the carpet in your living room much better if i could take it home... but we just cant do that... ...

[Scott W]

The differences between an area rug and installed carpet include the materials they re made from (more natural materials), the construction method (more likely woven instead of tufted), the size, how the fiber absorbes and hides soils and many other factors.

Bottom line, cleaning a rug is not really comparable to cleaning a carpet.

You might explain it this way - You could get your carpets pretty clean in your clothes washing machine. But carpet is very different from your shirts, so they need to be cleane din the way that is proper for the carpet.

[LisaWagner]

You also cannot beat the dust out of the rug in the home, and you cannot thoroughly rinse it in the home for several reasons - worried about floor underneath, worried about longer dry time (natural fibers take longer to dry), worried about bleeding the dyes if you get it too wet in the home, and can't clean the fringe on-site.

Rugs are meant to be given a bath.

Carpeting used to be removed physically, and washed in plant and then re-installed ... I remember Dick Maplesden sharing with me the hate mail he got from these plant operations when he joined CFI (back then RCI) as the first "steam" cleaner member in the 50's.

It is not practical (it would be insane) to remove the carpet and wash it in-plant, but it would be a more thorough cleaning. I don't think for the labor though that they'd pay $4 a sq ft and reinstallation costs to do it.

That's why,
Lisa

[rugslayer]

I sometimes come accross monster rugs (!2' X 18' or more) that I must clean on site. Granted, I can't do what I can in my shop. However, I have had success using those products designated for wool, agitate aggressively with a carpet rake before and after pre-spray with stabilizer and detergents and using a CFR triple jet roller wand, using approximately 15-20 gallons of water with All Fiber rinse. I lay walk off nylon carpets under the fringe, hand scrub and rinse with an enclosed jet upholstery tool and lay the damp fringe on wax paper. I run a downdraft style air mover but the carpet is 95% dry before that. I use many dry strokes and extract until water is almost clear. I have no doubt that a badger would hammer out more solids, but customers are always happy and I dont have to lug a ton of rug! I always appreciate your info Lisa and look forward to your posts. MJ

[Richard Baldwin]

I tell them we can put a lot more care and attention into cleaning the area rugs in plant as they are cleaned with different procedures than with broadloom. It is also why it costs more to clean area rugs than broadloom in home.

If they asked me that question I would tell them "I certainly could clean the area rug here, but I could do a much more thorough job on it at the shop. I am also concerned about the hard flooring underneath the rug, and there isnt a practical place to hang the rug to dry it if its getting cleaned top and bottom." As for the carpet in their home, well as Lisa said, I dont think they want us ripping out the carpet to clean it at the shop.

[davenjai]

My thoughts are that wall to wall is held together with glue. Wetting the back is an water damage. Like wall to wall, area rugs are solely dependent on their backing for structural integrity. Difference is, we can clean the back. More importantly we can dust them and remove the grit that will break the knots down over time. It's about being thorough. That said, if the rug is six months old, in an area that is rarely used, fringe is perfect and someone spilled two ounces of coffee? Clean it there. People appreciate it when you look at them as something other than money.

So you then ask, should the wall to wall not be dusted then? Perhaps it should. Fact is, the glue should not be. Damaging the glue serves no purpose in protecting the clients investment.

[LisaWagner]

Another problem with surface cleaning in the home - without the thorough dusting and rinsing - is this:



You get soil and cleaning solution MUD caked in the rug at the base of the fibers. It looks great up top, maybe a little graying in some directions - but the foundation is a problem.

Over time this can lead to structural problems in the rug, in worst case scenarios dry rot of the cotton foundation.

And repeated cleaning like this mean you are not truly leaving the rug "clean" when you leave - especially if it's a rug that is several years overdue in its cleaning. These rugs - wool rugs - can hold pounds of soil before they look dirty.

These are things that need to be evaluated when you make your decision on the best course of cleaning for a rug. Doing what is best for the textile, and explaining why to the client.

Good points in this thread - thanks John for starting it up, and everyone's 2 cents.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Lisa

www.TheRugChick.com