Carpet is a significant investment in your office or commercial facility. It is an investment that will require regular maintenance such as changing your car’s oil or waxing it. The paint condition will worsen if you don’t wax and wash your vehicle. This is also true for the carpeting in your facility. Continue reading?

What cleaning method is best for you? Today’s article will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of Hot Water Extraction as well as Encapsulation. We must first understand the type of carpet that we have. Most commercial carpet today is a loop construction that has an olefin chemical combination. Olefin, an oil-based product, is highly oil-attracting. It can be difficult to clean. You don’t have to worry about it. The right maintenance plan based on foot traffic will ensure that your carpet looks great for many years. A final cleaning recommendation will be provided at the end.

First, let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of Hot Water Extraction. Let’s get one thing straight. Steam cleaning is not a term. A carpet pile can’t be rinsed and flushed with steam if there isn’t enough moisture. There isn’t a commercial carpet cleaner or truckmount capable of producing steam at its tip. Hot water extraction is the only method of cleaning wand-water-based carpets. At sea level, water boils at 212 degrees. Yes. Yes.

Commercial equipment can push up to 200° from the tip of the wand. That’s Hot! One of the downsides to this is: Extraction of too much hot water can cause damage to the backing carpet. Dry Rot can be caused by too much hot water extraction. Technically, Dry Rot doesn’t mean Dry Rot. This happens when carpets are dried out too frequently and then wet them again. This should be called Wet Rot. The amount of water required for drying or how long it takes to dry is another problem. There are security concerns with doors that have been left open during the cleaning process, which usually takes place after work hours. Hot Water Extraction is able to extract the carpet from the pile and flush it with water. It almost removes allergens, dust, and soiling. Next, let’s talk about Encapsulation. Next, we’ll discuss how these two together can create an almost perfect maintenance plan in your facility.

There are pros and cons to encapsulation. Let me first briefly explain the process of encapsulation. This encapsulation explanation isn’t scientific. This description is simple enough to be understood by most people.

The specialized process of encapsulation is applied by a sprayer to carpet. It is then worked into the pile using some type of agitation, usually a rotary machine equipped with a bonnet and carpet safe scrub pad. Carpet protection is the solution. It will trap or release additional soil from the surface of the fiber. The carpet will pull even more dirt from its surface when it is vacuumed. The non-soil-attracting coating that covers the fibers eventually breaks down and is absorbed into the vacuum. Encapsulation has many benefits. The carpet is not able to absorb soil and wicks quickly, so it stays cleaner for longer. This reduces Dry Rot, and it does not cause damage to the carpet backing. This cleaning method is much quicker. One problem with the encapsulation method is that you don’t have to flush the carpet pile. The combination of these two steps creates a perfect schedule for carpet maintenance. According to the Carpet & Rug Institute (the leading authority in commercial carpet maintenance), 1 hot water extraction should be performed for each 3-4 encapsulation steps. You will be able to reduce the time required for hot water extraction, extend the lifespan of commercial carpets and not compromise indoor air quality.

Steam Star Carpet, Upholstery & Tile Cleaning
1a/802 Pacific Hwy, Gordon NSW 2072
(02) 83112088