Professional carpet cleaning technicians are trained to care for a wide range of fabrics, carpet, and rug types. Whether you need a routine rug cleaning or you have tough carpet stains or odors that need to be dealt with, a Best Pick professional carpet cleaning company is ready to help. They’re equipped with the right tools, equipment, and expertise to treat your carpet, rug, or upholstered furniture with the care it requires.
When hiring a carpet and upholstery cleaning company, ask them what methods and cleaners they would use, how long the work would take, and how long the area will need to dry before it can be used again.
Baltimore Carpet Cleaning
Carpet cleaning methods
Inevitably, your carpet will get dirty to the point where it needs professional cleaning. It’s a good idea to have your carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture cleaned regularly, even if you don’t have serious spills or stains to address.
There are a few different ways that carpets can be cleaned. All of these methods involve a thorough vacuuming of the area, to start. This is an essential part of the preparation process.
Hot water extraction uses a hot water extraction system, which is usually mounted on a truck. During this cleaning process, the technician sprays on a cleaning agent and uses a soft brush to work it into the carpet. After approximately 15 minutes, the technician rinses the carpet with hot water, which gets pulled back into a reservoir along with whatever oils, dirt, and grease were released from the carpet fibers. Carpets typically dry within 12 to 24 hours.
The dry extraction cleaning method involves a machine that works a special cleaning medium into the fibers of the carpet to collect the dirt, oils, and grease. The medium is then vacuumed up. This method is a bit more expensive, since it requires more time from the technician. But an advantage of this cleaning method is that the carpet can be used almost immediately after the cleaning is done.
Another dry method, encapsulation cleaning has been mostly used for commercial carpets but is becoming more popular for residential cleaning. A cleaning solution is applied to the carpet with an oscillating carpet-brush machine. Dirt, oils, and grease get trapped in small, quick-drying crystals. The crystals are then vacuumed up, and the dirt goes away with them. Only a short dry time is required.
Upholstery cleaning services
Hot water extraction works for most fabrics, but it’s important to check your furniture for cleaning instructions. Cleaning methods vary depending on fabric type, and you want to make sure to use the right method.
You can find cleaning details on the furniture tag, which is often located someplace out of sight, like under a couch cushion.
Water-based cleaning, indicated by a “W” on the tag, is used for synthetic fabrics. An “S” indicates solvent-based cleaning, a method used for natural fibers.
If there is no furniture tag or information from the furniture seller on how to clean the upholstered item, an upholstery cleaning technician can perform a burn test. This involves a fiber strand from the material being burned; the way it burns reveals the fabric type.
Keeping your carpets clean
To protect your carpets and keep them clean between service, you can use the following methods:
- Vacuuming
- Removing shoes indoors
- Door mats
- Rugs
- Rearranging furniture periodically
Vacuuming protects your carpet by removing particles that would otherwise be ground into the fibers over time. It is recommended that you vacuum at least once a week. Consider a robot vacuum cleaner to make this chore easier.
Having family members and guests remove their shoes upon entering the home will keep more dirt and other particles from getting into the carpet in the first place.
Placing door mats at entryways also prevents more dirt from entering the home and getting on your carpet. Be sure to clean or shake out the mats regularly.
Rugs provide protection in high-traffic areas; they can extend the life of your carpet by reducing the wear directly on the carpet. Rugs should be vacuumed and cleaned regularly.
By rearranging your furniture every once in a while, you can prevent wear on your carpets. Over time, furniture can crush the carpet pile and create deep indentations. By rearranging the furniture, you can see these indentations and fix them by spraying a bit of water on the area and brushing the fibers with a pile-grooming brush. Rearranging furniture also changes traffic patterns through the room, changing which areas of the carpet are seeing the most wear.
The Best Picks for Baltimore Carpet Cleaning Companies
The survey team at Best Pick Reports contacts Maryland homeowners each year to find the best carpet and upholstery cleaning companies in the area. All Best Pick companies must adhere to our strict quality standards to maintain their status as a Best Pick, which is why we conduct our research annually.
We’re proud to present the findings of our objective research in a clear, easy-to-navigate format that helps you find the right cleaning company for your needs. Contact a Best Pick Baltimore upholstery and carpet cleaning company today to make sure that your cleaning is handled by a pro. You’ll be pleased with the entire experience—we guarantee it!
