Drying Time for Carpet Cleaning

After Carpet Cleaning, These 3 Factors Will Impact Drying Time

Drying Time for Carpet Cleaning

Dry Carpet Cleaning / September 14, 2022

What are the steps that I can expect a certified professional to take when cleaning my carpet?

The principles of carpet cleaning are listed in the S100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning, updated in 2011. The principles of carpet cleaning include:

Dry Soil Removal - Thorough vacuuming using an upright vacuum with brush agitation and high-efficiency double-lined collection bag, or a final filter, to remove up to 99 percent of particles.
Soil Suspension - This involves the application of properly specified, formulated and mixed preconditioning agents designed to separate soil from fibers. There are four fundamentals involved in soil suspension: application of preconditioning chemicals; using heat or temperature to speed chemical reactions; agitation for proper chemical distribution, and providing dwell time so that chemical reactions can be completed before soil extraction is attempted. The acronym "CHAT" makes the fundamentals of soil suspension easy to remember.
Soil Extraction - Any method of cleaning must physically remove soils if it is to be successful. Soil removal takes place with absorption, wet vacuuming, rinsing and even dry vacuuming. The most common method for soil removal among professionals is hot water extraction.
Grooming, as necessary - Grooming has little to do with physical soil removal; however, it is needed to eliminate pile distortion and matting, to properly distribute additives, such as carpet protectors, and to create an even appearance for your inspection.
Drying - Damp carpet resoils rapidly, creates potential for slip-fall problems and ultimately, can grow bacteria with associated odor.

What is the proper way to deal with furniture indentations in carpet?

Indentations from furniture re-arrangement are a normal phenomenon in carpet. Sometimes, the situation is self-correcting when the furniture is moved and the carpet backings and pile are allowed to re-acclimate. In other cases, vacuuming coupled with light brushing can bring up the indented areas. In extreme cases, the indentation can be covered with a damp towel and steamed with an iron for a few seconds, followed by brushing while warm to "resurrect" the pile in that area. Nylon carpet pile (about 70 percent of residential carpet) responds particularly well to this procedure.

There are, however, limitations by the type of pile fiber. If the pile is made of non-resilient olefin, as in olefin Berber or level-loop olefin commercial carpet, the indentation may be permanent. That's a characteristic of the fiber. This is why non-resilient olefin often is combined with resilient nylon in several popular carpet styles.

How often should I get my carpets cleaned?

Frequently used carpet should be professionally cleaned by a qualified technician at least once a year - perhaps a little longer interval for infrequently used carpet and even sooner for carpet in homes occupied by respiratory sensitive or allergic persons or in homes with indoor pets.

[faq question="How long does it take mold to start growing in wet carpet?"]

There is no defined time frame to predict when mold will grow in carpet. For any material to support common indoor mold growth, it must:

Be organic
Be damp or wet
Have a moderate temperature (68ºF-86ºF)
Be in a stagnant air environment
Have these conditions present for several days

Most tufted carpet is made of plastic face yarns and backings, and synthetic latex. There is nothing organic to support mold in the carpet itself. Therefore, mold cannot technically grow on carpet. However, average household soil is about 40 percent organic (12 percent cellulose, 12 percent protein, 10 percent oils, 6 perfect food stuffs); therefore, mold can grow on the soil in carpet given the right conditions listed above.