As beautiful, soft, and noise-absorbing as carpets are, time takes a toll on them, leaving traces and trails that a simple household vacuum cleaner struggles to remove. To extend the time before a replacement is needed, you can perform a complete carpet cleaning yourself. The techniques, from iCapsol to microfiber or yarn pads, are also suitable for moisture-sensitive floor coverings and substrates or areas where a short drying time is required, such as hotel lobbies or corridors.
Complete carpet cleaning uses methods such as iCapsol, microfiber/yarn pads with a pressurized storage sprayer, and spray extraction in conjunction with iCapsol technology. Before starting work, the carpet's cleanability needs to be checked, taking into account the substrate, adhesive/fixing, carpet backing, backing materials, and the wear layer.
Carpet feels warm, dampens sound, and creates a feel-good atmosphere. Depending on the material and quality, textile floor coverings are more or less sensitive to moisture. Removing stains from textiles, unlike other coverings, involves more effort. This can quickly lead to an unkempt appearance. Carpet care and maintenance requires some expertise because the structure of the textile covering should be known as well as the cleaning characteristics of the individual parts. Here is what to consider when cleaning carpets and how to quickly remove stains during maintenance cleaning.
It is important to prepare before cleaning. First, turn off the floor heating in advance, so that the heat does not dry the applied cleaning agent. Movable furniture is removed; sketches or photos can be made for later putting back. Components that cannot be removed should be protected with plastic sheeting to prevent damage.
The iCapsol process is suitable for coverings sensitive to moisture and stands out due to its short drying times and high surface performance. It can also remove unpleasant odors with the appropriate cleaning agents.
A special diluted cleaning agent is sprayed onto the floor during the iCapsol process. The manufacturer's instructions must be followed. The floor is then worked crosswise with a counter-rotating roller machine. The cleaning agent used captures the dissolved dirt during the drying time, which takes 60 to 120 minutes. Subsequently, the crystallized dirt can be picked up by crosswise sweeping with a carpet brush vacuum cleaner, as only these machines have sufficient mechanics.
The advantage of cleaning with microfiber or yarn pads together with surfactant-free cleaning agents are the short drying times and a low rate of re-soiling. Moisture-sensitive coatings can also be processed with this method.
First, a surfactant-free cleaner is applied evenly to the textile using a pressurized storage tank sprayer. Working in sections of about 215 square feet (20 square meters) at a time is recommended. The surface is then cleaned in small circular motions with a single-disc machine with a yarn or microfiber pad. The pad absorbs the dirt.
To avoid damage due to excessive friction, it is recommended to wet the fiber pad with the cleaning agent.
If you want to speed up the drying process, the cleaned surface can be run over again with a dry pad.
The cleaning effect of the pads decreases as they are used. Therefore, depending on the surface and level of dirt, several pads are necessary for one cleaning job.
In spray extraction, the cleaning agent is sprayed onto the floor under pressure; the dirt is loosened and then vacuumed away. In combination with iCapsol technology, the process can also be used for deep cleaning carpets, allowing a more thorough clean. At the same time, there is less need for rinsing, so the carpets dry faster. Normally, the technique is used during an essential deep cleaning.
WARNING: Moisture-sensitive dirt or substrates should not be treated by means of spray extraction, as there is a risk of the dirt seeping through.
Even with regular cleaning, intermediate methods don't always achieve the desired results. That's when you need to take extra measures to keep your carpet clean and pristine as long as possible. There are three main methods to keep your carpets clean: spray extraction, wet carpet shampooing, or the combination method, which combines spray extraction with the microfiber/yarn method.
