The carpet in your office or commercial facility is often a substantial investment. An investment that requires regular maintenance, such as changing the oil in your car or washing and waxing your car. If you don’t wash and wax your car, the condition of the paint will deteriorate much faster. The same goes for the carpet in your establishment.
Which cleaning method is right for your needs? In today’s article, I will cover the pros and cons of both hot water extraction and encapsulation. We must first understand what type of carpet we are maintaining. Most commercial carpets manufactured today have a loop construction with an olefin chemistry. Olefin is an oil-based product, therefore it attracts oil. Which sometimes makes it a challenge to clean. Don’t be afraid of the correct maintenance schedule based on the amount of foot traffic that will give you a clean looking carpet for years to come. At the end of this article I will give a final recommended cleaning schedule.
Let’s first look at the pros and cons of hot water extraction. Let’s leave 1 important point to rest. There is no such thing as “steam cleaning”. There is not enough moisture to rinse and wash a pile of carpets with “full steam”. Also, there is no commercial or truck-mounted carpet cleaning machine that has the ability to produce steam only at the tip of the wand. Therefore, all wand water-based cleaning is hot water extraction. Water boils at 212 degrees at sea level. Yes. It may seem like a jet of steam is coming out of the tip of the wand when cleaning, but it’s still the same effect when you go out on a cold day, take a deep breath and see steam or what appears to be steam coming out of your mouth.
Most commercial equipment will push almost 200 degrees out from the tip of the rod. That’s hot! This is one of the cons. Too much hot water extraction tends to deteriorate the carpet backing. It can also create another condition called Dry Rot. Technically, Dry Rot is not Dry Rot. It occurs when the carpet gets wet and then dries out too often. It should be called Wet Rot. Another disadvantage is the amount of wet weather or the amount of time it takes to dry. Security issues with doors unlocked during cleaning, which is typically done after hours. The biggest advantage of the hot water extraction process is its ability to rinse the pile from the carpet and then extract it. Almost total elimination of allergens, dust and dirt. Next, let’s discuss encapsulation. We will then cover how the two of you working together will create a nearly perfect maintenance plan for your facility.
Pros and cons of encapsulation. I must first briefly describe the encapsulation process. Caution: This description of encapsulation is not scientific. It is kept basic so that most people can easily understand it.
Encapsulation: This is a specialized solution that is applied to the carpet with some type of spray. It is then fed into the pile by some form of agitation, typically a rotary floor machine with a hood or carpet-grade scouring pad. The solution wraps around the fiber like the protection of a carpet. As long as it is in the fiber, it will repel or release more surface dirt. When the carpet is vacuumed, more dirt is extracted from the fiber. Eventually, the coating that does not attract dirt on the fibers breaks down as it is sucked into the vacuum. The advantages of encapsulation are that most stains don’t come back: the carpet doesn’t get wet enough to absorb it, it dries quickly, and the carpets stay cleaner longer. It also reduces the chances of Dry Rot and won’t damage the carpet backing. It is a much faster cleaning process. The only downside I can see with the encapsulation process is that it doesn’t fully rinse the carpet. This is where we marry the two processes for a near perfect carpet maintenance program. The Carpet & Rug Institute, the leading authority on commercial carpet maintenance, suggests that for every 3-4 encapsulation processes, 1 hot water extraction process is performed. This will reduce the number of times hot water extraction is required and extend the life and appearance of your commercial carpets without sacrificing indoor air quality or cleanliness.
Depending on the amount of traffic passing through your facility, the frequency of cleaning is generally determined. The frequency can be every two months, quarterly or every 6 months. Having your rugs encapsulated will also save you money. Encapsulation is a much less expensive process due to its speed and the fact that no truck-mounted equipment is run. I’ve heard of encapsulation cleaning for as low as 5 cents per square foot. I have not seen a reputable company offering hot water extraction for less than 10 cents per square foot.
Your carpet cleaning professional can give you a better idea of what is best for your facility. I hope this article helps you make an educated and informed decision about carpet maintenance for your office or facility.
