Let’s face it a good carpet doesn’t come cheap. Therefore if you really want it to last it needs to be regularly and professionally cleaned. That said many people fail to do this because they fall prey to the influx of carpet cleaning misconceptions. With this in mind, we bring you some of the truths behind these misconceptions.
Any carpet that’s left wet for longer than 24 hours will start to have a musty smell about it. Any longer than this and within 72 hours mould spores will start to form. At this point the backing or padding will need to be replaced (if at all possible) and the carpet itself treated with a microbial agent. This is an expensive process and in some cases it mightn’t even be economically viable. Another problem with slow drying carpets (if this isn’t bad enough) is that it gives the chance for stains to reappear or for discolouration or browning to occur
What causes carpet over-wetting?
In essence the main cause of carpet over-wetting is the operator’s inexperience. The right amount of detergent, the right amount of pressure, and the right temperature of the water all play a big part in getting your carpet not only clean, but also quickly dry. One wrong element and it’s easy to have more water in your carpet than you know what to do with. The other issue is the state of the equipment in use. The water coming out of the wand needs to be piping hot, the vacuum needs to be running at full peak to be able to suck up the vast majority of excess water and debris, and finally the jets on the wand need to be the correct size for your carpet.
So knowing what we know now, what’s a safe amount of time to dry a carpet? Unfortunately much depends on the type of carpet, whether the customer has heating or A/C running, how badly soiled the carpet actually is, and what the humidity levels in the room are. That said, it should be measured in hours rather than days and falls somewhere between 2-6 hours. However as and when you can, it’s always best practice to leave heavy furniture off the area overnight in order for it to dry fully. After all the last thing you need is trapped residual moisture.
Here at Carpet Cleaning Kings we’ve been in the industry for decades. With an experienced team we guarantee to leave your carpet both clean and dry. To find out more about the methods we use the contact us on 1300 7000 75 and speak to our experienced technicians who will be only be too happy to help.
