Carpet in your office or commercial facility is usually a substantial investment. An investment that requires periodic maintenance, such as changing your car oil or washing and waxing your car. If you don’t wash and wax your car, the condition of the paint will deteriorate much faster. The same goes for the carpet in your premises.

Which cleaning method is right for your needs? In today’s article I’m going to cover the pros and cons of hot water extraction and encapsulation. We must first understand what type of carpet we are maintaining. Most commercial rugs manufactured today are a loop construction with an olefin chemical composition. Olefin is an oil-based product, so it attracts oil. Which sometimes makes cleaning a challenge. Don’t be afraid of the proper maintenance schedule based on the amount of foot traffic that will give you a clean-looking carpet for years to come. At the end of this article, I will give a recommended final cleaning schedule.

Let’s first look at the pros and cons of hot water extraction. Let us rest an important point. There is no “steam cleaning”. Not enough moisture to rinse and rinse a carpet on “full steam”. Also, there is no commercial or truck-mounted carpet cleaning machine that has the ability to produce steam only at the tip of the wand. So all water-based wand cleaning is hot water extraction. Water boils at 212 degrees at sea level. Yes. It may appear that a channel of steam is coming out of the tip of the wand when cleaning, although it is still the same effect when you go out on a cold day, breathe heavily, and see steam or what appears to be steam coming out of your mouth.

Most commercial equipment will push almost 200 degrees out of the tip of the rod. That is hot! This is one of the cons. Too much hot water extraction tends to deteriorate the carpet backing. You can also create another condition called Dry rot. Technically Dry Rot is not Dry Rot. It occurs when the carpet gets wet and then dries too often. It should be called Wet Rot. Another disadvantage is the amount of wetting time or the amount of time it takes to dry. Security issues with doors that are not secured during cleaning, which is typically done after hours. The biggest advantage of the hot water extraction process is its ability to rinse the pile from the carpet and then extract it. Almost a total removal of allergens, dust and dirt. Next, let’s discuss encapsulation. Then we’ll cover how the two of you working together will create a near-perfect maintenance plan for your facility.

Pros and cons of encapsulation. I must first briefly describe the encapsulation process. Caution: This encapsulation description is unscientific. It is kept basic so that most people can easily understand it.

Encapsulation: It is a specialized solution that is applied to the carpet by means of some type of sprayer. The pile is then worked on using some form of agitation, typically a rotary floor machine with a hood or a rug safe scrubbing pad. The solution surrounds the fiber as a carpet protection. As long as it is in the fiber, it will repel or release more surface soil. When the carpet is vacuumed, dirt will be further removed from the fiber. Finally, the layer that does not attract dirt from the fibers is detached and absorbed by the vacuum. The advantages of encapsulation are that most stains do not return: the carpet does not get wet enough to absorb the wick, it dries quickly, and the carpets stay cleaner longer. It also reduces the chances of dry rot and does not damage the carpet backing. It is a much faster cleaning process. The only downside I can see with the encapsulation process is that the pile is not completely rinsed out of the carpet. This is where we join the two processes to achieve a near-perfect carpet maintenance schedule. The Carpet and Rug Institute, the leading authority on commercial carpet maintenance, suggests that for every 3 to 4 encapsulation processes 1 hot water extraction process should be performed. This will reduce the amount of time it takes to extract hot water and extend the life and appearance of your commercial carpets without sacrificing indoor air quality or cleanliness.

Depending on the amount of traffic passing through your facility, the frequency of cleaning is generally determined. The frequency can be every two months, quarterly or every 6 months. Encapulating your rugs will also save you money. Encapsulation is a much less expensive process due to its speed and does not operate truck-mounted equipment. I’ve heard of potting cleaning as low as 5 cents per square foot. I have not seen a reputable company offering hot water extraction at less than 10 cents per square foot.

Your carpet cleaning professional can give you a better idea of ​​what is best for your installation. I hope this article helps you make an informed and informed decision about carpet maintenance in your office or facility.