Will my carpet shrink? This is a question that we get asked a lot and we can totally understand why. After all, the last thing you need is for your expensive carpet to shrink after cleaning so that it’s almost impossible to use it. People have carpets cleaned for various reasons – health, aesthetics, or after a room has been decorated. Whatever the reason, unfortunately disasters can and do happen. As a professional cleaning company that’s been in the business for many years we’ve seen our fair share of shrunken carpets and the one thing they seem to have in common is that usually the carpet cleaning company who carried out the clean, can’t be contacted! Now that’s really not good news. To avoid the anger, stress, and worry of this situation from happening in the first place you need to understand how carpet shrinkage occurs.
Can any carpet shrink?
Generally speaking there are 2 types of carpet that can shrink and these are Axminster and Wilton carpets. A genuine Axminster carpet will be made from wool with a backing fabric of jute (which is the woven bit on the back that weaves in with the carpet fibres). It’s quite difficult to shrink an Axminster carpet but if the jute backing gets wet because of bad cleaning, then it could cause the backing itself to shrink.
The Wilton carpets that we’re referring to are known as Belgian Wiltons because typically they’re made with polypropylene fibes and a jute backing (like the Axminster). This differs from a top quality Wilton carpet which is made from wool. Because the polypropylene can’t hold on to the moisture it means that any moisture sinks straight down to the bottom of the pile and into the jute backing, causing it to shrink. If you’re not sure if you have a Belgian Wilton, then get the cleaning company to double check before they start to clean it.
So why do these carpets shrink?
The main reason for carpet shrinkage is poor cleaning. By this we mean that the cleaning company either used under-powered equipment or the operative had a bad technique. If the cleaning machine was cheap, and probably small, it’s unable to extract enough water back out of the carpet which means it could shrink. Bad technique could mean the operative applied an excess of pre-spray cleaning agents and used too much water in the final rinse. Too much water means that the jute base swells and expands, causing stress to the structure as it seeks more space, and it’s this action that causes the carpet to shrink.
How to avoid carpet shrinkage
It’s good to know that you can still have your Belgian Wilton carpet cleaned but great care needs to be taken to ensure it’s done properly. One way to do this is to choose a carpet cleaning company that has trained in cleaning this type of carpet, and secondly a company that uses the most powerful machinery that’s available on the market. In addition, a good cleaning company should always double check your carpet first, to identify its type and to ensure that they can in fact clean it. If there’s any doubt at all, then it should either be left or a dry or low moisture clean undertaken.
Here at Carpet Cleaning Kings we have a wealth of knowledge and experience in cleaning all types of carpet using the very best equipment possible. If your Axminster or Belgian Wilton needs cleaning then you can trust our highly trained technicians to do an amazing job. Why not call us today on 1300 7000 75 to book an appointment or ask for a free quote.
