You can walk on them more or less straight away if you really NEED to.

Ideally, you want to leave it as long as possible. With our machines and techniques, the carpets should be touch dry within a couple of hours.

You must have completely clean shoes on (preferably without a dark coloured sole which can transfer on to the carpet).

If you have dirty shoes (especially trainers that have been worn outside), the dirt will transfer on to the newly cleaned carpet.

No… if done properly, quite the opposite.

Professional cleaning will keep your carpets in far better condition for longer.

Think of it as the same as having your car serviced. You would not drive your car until it grinds to a halt, would you?

Regular maintenance means they stay in tip top condition and it’s the same for your carpets.

When you rub paintwork down you use abrasive sandpaper. Sandpaper is basically sand, stuck to paper. Your carpet is also full of sand and grit. Every time someone walks on it, this grit rubs against the fibres, causing wear and tear. This is why carpet cleaning is so important.

This is entirely up to you.

Ideally, an empty room is best, for two reasons. One, it allows us to see everything and two, it makes drying easier and faster.

There will be however, times when this is not convenient or desirable to the homeowner. For example, you may have large furniture that never moves from it’s position. It may be a problem to move it (which may damage items inside) or it may cause damage if placed back on top of a damp carpet. This is best discussed during the site visit.

No absolutely not.

As professionals, rinsing is an important part of the process. It’s vital that all cleaning solutions are rinsed out. Many “cowboys” do not bother and leave the carpets full of sticky detergent residue. This attracts dirt and dust which makes the carpet get dirtier quicker afterwards.

Yes and no.

The most popular cleaning method is using what is called hot water extraction. This is known to many people (incorrectly) as “steam cleaning”. Carried out by a professional, it is nearly always the best way to clean carpets and upholstery (with a few exceptions that a Pro will know about).

Steam cleaning is a high temperature method used in degreasing situations (cleaning kitchens or say, lorries or factory floors).

It should not be used for cleaning carpets, particularly those whose fibres are man-made.

I have seen numerous examples of carpet or upholstery fibres being melted due to excessive heat from stem cleaning machines.

Normally, by the time someone contacts us about this the permanent damage has been done.

 

No, at least not until say twenty four hours afterwards.

If you use a vacuum cleaner on a damp carpet, the dust and dirt from the cleaner gets transferred to the clean carpet. This usually leaves a dirty brown line, roughly the width of the vacuum cleaner.

As long as possible. Ideally, overnight. See below.

The most important thing is to get the room as well ventilated as possible. Many post cleaning problems are caused by people closing windows and doors following cleaning.

Worse still is closing up rental properties and leaving them closed up with no ventilation for days on end. It’s the best way to grow mushrooms!

I don’t know of any professional in this country that uses one but if they did, I would estimate a few hours. That is with using our professional vacuums, agitation machines and dryers. I have however known of several cases where untrained amateurs have left carpets wet for up to six days (seriously)!

See above. If done properly (using the right solutions) this should not be the case (especially if they have stayed and used dryers).

We do know of a specific situation where a certain carpet adhesive can break down and smell like dog urine. Luckily, this is very rare and has not happened to us.

See point 5 above. Your carpet has not been cleaned (or more specifically rinsed, afterwards).

It’s a bit like shampooing your hair and not rinsing afterwards. All of the shampoo is left in. This is sticky and attracts dirt (hence carpets looking dirty quite quickly).

This will vary according to your situation. For instance, a farmhouse kitchen that has hordes of dogs running through will need more regular attention than say, an elderly person’s bungalow (hopefully). A good rule of thumb for professional cleaning would be say twice a year.

There is no such thing.

Whatever the Pro decides is the best for that situation.

We have four different systems, each of which is the best method for different scenarios.