Good carpet cleaning is both an art and a science that requires specialized knowledge and experience in order to be effective. Carpet is always a great choice for floor covering in a home, not just because of its beauty but also because of the wide variety of options available to the homeowner seeking coordination in the decor of each room. But carpet is also a filter that will collect and accumulate soil and detritus from the interior environment,and become stained if not cleaned and protected regularly.

Almost all carpet installed in the average home over the last 30 years or so, is made from what is known as 5th Generation stain resistant nylon. This material has been designed to address the problem mentioned above, but it comes with several limitations and carpet cleaners and householders need to be aware of this, so that appropriate measures may be taken to avoid problems.

During the 5th generation nylon carpet manufacturing process, a pigmented dye is first applied to the carpet fibers to give it the desired coloration, and then an acid dye resistor, which is essentially a colorless dye, is sprayed on to fill in the spots on the carpet fibers that did not receive any pigment. This is to ensure that acid-base dyes like those commonly found in colored beverages will not fill in those spots and stain the carpet.

Finally a protective coating is applied to the carpet. It bonds to the fibers and serves to increase the surface tension and resist all kinds of soiling and stains.

A note about protectors here.

There are several different types of protector, and each kind has its limitations. The cheapest protectors are made from either colloidal silica or silicones and are very limited in their ability to resist stains. Protectors made from fluorochemicals are much more expensive, but much more effective, and in fact this kind is the only type I would recommend. Fluorochemicals serve to protect the dye resistor and help to keep it bonded to the carpet fibers. They form a coating on the carpet fibers that helps to keep dirt from settling and lodging within the fibers. They have outstanding wet and dry soil resistance. Vacuuming and spotting is much more effective on carpet protected by fluorochemicals.

Despite this, there are limits to the protection provided. 5th generation nylon carpets are not resistant to strong disperse dyes such as shoe polish, hair spray, and mustard. They are also stained by some disinfectants, bleaches, acme medications, antistatics, biocides and fungicides, and stain resistance is affected negatively by and chemical residues remaining in the carpet after cleaning. That is another reason why it is very important that powerful equipment should be used to rinse thoroughly and extract cleaning agents completely.

Any protective treatment applied to carpet will wear off with time. Usually it will last for 12 to 18 months. Carpet manufacturers recommend that a protector like Dupont Stainmaster, 3M Scotchguard, Monsanto Gold Label or Bridgepoint Maxim, should be applied after carpet cleaning.

The protector will resist soiling, make your carpet look good after vacuuming, and increase the time interval between cleanings. Your carpet cleaner will also be able to do a much more efficient carpet cleaning job.

Author Bio: Victor Nugent is Owner and President of AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. with over 10 years experience in the Carpet Cleaning business. For more cleaning tips visit visit AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. Or Carpet Cleaning Murray Or Carpet Cleaning Draper

Category: Home Management
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