One of the many questions we commonly get asked about is carpet shrinkage once it’s been cleaned. I mean it’s a good question, after all the last thing a customer wants is for their expensive carpet to be shrunk, making it virtually useless for the room. You may want your carpet cleaning after decorating your room, for health reasons, or just for aesthetics, but whatever the reason, disaster can and does strike. Having been in the industry a long time we’ve seen many a carpet that’s shrunk and almost always the homeowner finds they can’t get in touch with the carpet cleaning company. To avoid this from happening to you, we thought it might help if you understood why carpets can sometimes shrink when they’re cleaned.
Carpet shrinkage – can it happen to all carpets?
Generally it’s just Axminster or Wilton carpets which shrink if not cleaned correctly. A genuine Axminster carpet has a deep wool pile and a back made from jute which is interwoven with the wool fibres. It’s fairly difficult to shrink an Axminster but if the jute backing gets too wet because of poor cleaning techniques and/or equipment, then shrinkage could occur.
The sort of Wilton carpets which can shrink are called Belgian Wiltons because often they’re made from a polypropylene fibre, for the surface part that you walk on, with a jute back, the same as for Axminster carpets. A good quality Wilton carpet will have woollen fibres as opposed to polypropylene fibres. When the carpet gets wet, the polypropylene fibres aren’t able to absorb much of the water with the result that it seeps right down to the base of the pile and into the backing, resulting in a shrunk carpet. An experienced carpet cleaner should always check which type of Wilton carpet you have before carrying out any cleaning.
What causes carpet shrinkage?
The main reason a carpet shrinks is because of shoddy cleaning, either through poor technique, equipment which isn’t right for the job, or a combination of both. If the hot water extraction machine is cheap and too small, then it will lack the power to remove most of the excess water which means your carpet may shrink. Bad technique could be that the technician has been heavy handed with spraying pre-cleaning agents, or has used too much water for rinsing. The act of shrinking is caused by the jute base on which the carpet fibres are woven into becoming wet. This causes it to swell and expand needing more space, and therefore putting pressure on the structure, which results in shrinkage.
How can carpet shrinkage be avoided?
The answer is to choose a professional carpet cleaning company, such as Carpet Cleaning Kings, who have extensive experience in cleaning all types of carpets, is reliable, uses top class equipment and chemicals, and provides a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. A knowledgeable technician should always check the carpet first to see if it is cleanable, and if in doubt then either leave it or undertake a low moisture clean.
If you’re in need of carpet cleaning then don’t take any chances. Call Carpet Cleaning Kings today on 1300 7000 75 to make a booking or request a free quote.
