What is in my carpet and what can it do to it?

To clean carpet well, one must take specific steps to remove three kinds of soil:

Non-soluble — minerals (dirt, dust), hair (both human and animal), vegetable fibers, pollens, and pollutants;

Water-soluble — sugars, starches, salt, urine, and residues from foods and beverages;

Solvent-soluble —cooking oils, cosmetics, paint, and ink.

Please keep in mind, that some of these types of soil will not release from the carpet depending on what type of material the carpet is. As professional carpet cleaners, our goal is to remove as much of these types of soil as possible.

There is a 4^th type of soil that cannot be removed. It’s called apparent soiling and is classified into 3 categories.

Wear is missing fibers, reduction in pile height, and physical damage that has been done to the carpet fibers. Fibers get damaged when non-soluble soil rubs against them.

Fading is when a natural substance like the sun’s rays or gas discolor the carpet. Essentially the color is removed from the carpet leaving a bleached spot or entirely different color.

Shading is when light is absorbed in the carpet or reflected at different angles leaving a darker appearance. This is mostly seen in traffic areas. It can have a grey or dirty look and can be caused by a lot of twisting and turning paired with non-soluble soil that has not been removed.

What are some of the benefits to cleaning carpet?

This is a question we get asked frequently. There are lots of benefits, but before we tell you what they are, lets first understand what is in carpet.

The best example I can give someone, carpet is much like an air filter in your air conditioning unit. Every so often, usually once per month, you need to change the air filter. Carpet acts like an air filter. Dust, debris, pollens, and pollutants are circulating in your home 24/7. Gravity naturally pulls down these substances and they land on a variety of items. Imagine for a moment all the stuff you see on hardwood floors, tile, counter tops, etc. That same stuff is landing on the carpet.

As we walk and let time go by, those substances get ground in deeper and deeper to the carpet. In addition to those substances, there is animal hair, human hair, dead cells that fall from our bodies, and other organic matter from the foods we eat and beverages we drink. All that stuff eventually goes into the carpet. In addition to that stuff, bacteria and other living organisms can live in the carpet. It can be a great food source for them.

When we walk on the carpet, those substances get kicked up into the air and we naturally breathe them in. Are your allergies or asthma acting up in your home? Try cleaning your carpet and air ducts. This will improve the indoor air quality in your home. We have countless customers that tell us that those symptoms improve after having us out to perform some of our services.

Does your carpet feel stiff or sticky? This is usually from residues. Having the carpet cleaned will help soften it up and remove any sticky feelings.

Have you ever wondered why the carpet mills put in their warranty that an IICRC certified firm must clean your carpets every 6 months to 1 year to keep the warranty valid? All those foreign substances damage the carpet over time and they can potentially harm your health. Work with a professional cleaner and set up a regular schedule to maintain your carpets. You will find them lasting longer, saving you some big money in replacing carpet sooner.

Do you suffer from LPS? (Leaky Pet Syndrome)

Roughly 75% of our customers suffer from LPS. Not to mention there is an odor that follows. In order to treat this problem, one must do several things.

1) Identify what type of animal is causing the problem.
2) Identify the areas that are contaminated.
3) Clean & Neutralize the contaminated area.
4) Treat the odor molecules.
5) Treat the bacteria.
6) Introduce a new & pleasant odor.

We specialize in dealing with this ongoing problem. Feel free to call us or visit our website.

For those of you who like to read and understand how this all works, please read on. All the information below is taught through an IICRC Odor & Carpet Class, in which we are certified in.

What's worse, cats or dogs? Cats by far. Their urine is more concentrated than dog's. Both animals are very territorial and will mark their areas to keep visitors out. Even though an area can be treated and the urine smell gone, they may go back and re-mark the area. Animals on medications can complicate the situation as well. Medications may have a tenancy to make things worse.

Does a black light really work? Yes, it does. In fact we use very high intensity black lights to identify where the contaminated areas are. This helps us determine if we should do a surface treatment (treating the face yarns of the carpet) or do a subsurface treatment (complete saturation of our treatment to penetrate the pad and sub floor).

Will the yellow coloration go away after a cleaning? Yes & no. Every situation is different. Sometimes the combination of the acidity of the urine and how much Nylon carpet loves acid types of dyes, the yellow pigment from the urine can bond to the carpet fibers and permanently change the color. This usually is the case when the carpet is not properly taken care of or if a particular spot is neglected for treatment for some period of time. When cleaning urine, it is important to neutralize the urine from corroding the carpet and damaging it any further and to remove the urine salts.

Interesting facts on urine: Urine is one of the only chemicals that changes it's pH. When its wet, it is an acid based chemical. When it is dry and all the moisture evaporates it becomes an alkaline based chemical. When the moisture goes away, urine salts are left in the carpet, typically with a pretty high alkaline reading. When there is high humidity, the urine salts absorb the moisture and the salts become opened up and odor is a result of it. This is why most of our odor treatments happen in the spring.

Naturally, when cleaning urine, it is going to get wet and the odor molecules are going to be released. We apply an odor neutralizer that acts as a binding and pairing agent. It goes straight to the odor molecules and eliminates them. This still leaves one problem.

What about the bacteria growing in the urine? Bacteria LOVES the food source! They grow and thrive on it. They can cause odor and grow and contaminate the carpet. This is why it is important to treat the bacteria. The best way to do this is to deal with the food source. An enzyme is treated to eat the food source. Once the food source is gone, the bacteria naturally dies.

Lastly, we need to reprogram the brain. Over time our sense of smell gets used to the smell of urine and it does not't seem to be as bad as it really is. Once getting rid of the smell, we like to add a new & pleasant smell for the nose to pick up on. Somewhere between 3 and 5 days the odor will disapate and the true smell is left in the home.

As you can see, this is a very complicated situation. Odor is not going to go away with a magic spray or some plug-in. They will only mask the problem. One last note, if you over clean a urine area, you can acutally cause the urine to spread and penetrate into the pad and subfloor, causing more damage and costing you more money. Hire a professional and let us do what we are trained to do. Afterall, we deal with it every day and encounter a variety of situations.

What's better, hiring a professional or doing it yourself?

This is a very common question and with the direction of the economy, many people think it is a good idea to save a few extra bucks and clean their carpet, upholstery, tile, and grout themselves. Sometimes this can be a true statement, but most of the time it's not.

There is a lot more to professional textile cleaning than most people think. Did you know if you put the wrong cleaning agent on the wrong soil on the wrong type of material, you can permanently damage the material? Reflect for a moment and see if you can think of any white spots you may have discovered after spot cleaning.

Has it ever taken more than 6 hours for your carpet to dry after cleaning them? A common misconception is if a spot does not come out, then put more soap and water on it. There are a series of problems here. First, the spot being cleaned can be diluted down and spread to other fibers as well as contaminate a significant amount of the primary and secondary backing of the carpet. Second, the spot can be pushed down into the pad. Once the spot is in the pad, it may have a tendency to go away for a moment, but then come back to the surface. This is called wicking. Third, if there is a lot of water in the pad and does not dry, mold can start to grow in as little as 48 hours under the right condition. Finally, excess cleaning agents and water can change the chemistry of a spot and permanently change the color of the fiber.

Did you know many over the counter cleaning agents can take off the protective coating of your fibers? Any cleaning agent that has a pH of 10+ has the potential to remove the protective coating, leaving the material vulnerable to damage due to future soil.

For these very reasons, many carpet mills state in their warranty a company must be certified by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC, www.iicrc.org) program in order to keep the warranty. In fact, when it comes to carpet, the warranty states you must have your carpets cleaned every 6 months to 1 year. If a non-certified company/person cleans the carpet, you run the risk of voiding the warranty.

USClean is a IICRC firm and we send out skilled and trained technicians. We are also a member of the BBB and the Society of Cleaning & Restoration Technicians (SCRT). Take advantage of hiring a professional to do the work for you. In the long run, you will save yourself money because your carpet will last longer and look better. We are trained to identify what products to use on specific soil to maximize what comes out of your carpet.

What is USClean?

USClean was created in June 2005 and is a textile cleaning company. We specialize in cleaning carpet, tile, stone, grout, upholstery, & leather furniture. We also have the ability to control pet odor coming from either carpet or upholstery as well as apply fabric protectants. Green cleaning has always been a major focus to our methods of cleaning, so we use products that are much safer for people, pets, and the planet.

We currently serve the greater Kansas City Metro and are well known for our use of Biblical business practices. We follow the two commandments Jesus instructed us to do: Love the Lord our God with all our heart, strength, soul, & mind; to treat our neighbor as we would treat ourselves. Our company verse is Prov. 3:5, "Trust in the Lord your God and do not lean unto your own understanding." Another verse we try to apply on a daily basis is: 1 Cor. 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

In February 2008, we launched a new company, USClean Franchise Development, Inc., as a franchisor who's primary focus is to sell our business model throughout the United States. Currently, we have one franchise in Oklahoma City.

We are very big into education and the purpose of this blog is to provide people with education on cleaning services. Unfortunately, there is a very negative stimga in our industry and one of our goals has been to raise the bar and educate people on the value of hiring a reputable company to provide services for them.