What’s the Difference Between Dry and Wet Carpet Cleaning?
Carpets get dirty. It’s a fact of business life. From the moment you install commercial carpeting or carpet tiles, they take in debris and filter airborne particles. They also encounter plenty of spills, some of which end up deep in the carpet pile.
Of course, routine janitorial vacuuming and instant spot-cleaning improve the surface appearance of carpets. But vacuums and spray cleaning products cannot reach deep into fibers to lift ground-in residue. The only way to thoroughly clean a carpet is with professional deep-cleaning. But is it best to choose a dry or wet carpet cleaning process to elevate a business’s environmental hygiene?
While both cleaning methods do part of the job, dry cleaning presents clear advantages that all facility managers and property owners should know about.
Dry Carpet Cleaning’s Competitive Edge
Before we dive into the differences between hot-water extraction and dry polymer-based carpet cleaning, let’s talk about carpeting in general. Carpeting is a textile. Like most other fabrics, carpet collects everything around it, from breathing zone allergens to spilled tea. Of course, you can’t put a carpet in a washing machine like you would a shirt or a pair of pants. But if you could, it’d react the same way after being cleaned.
Initially, carpet saturated with water and soap releases most stains and dirt. However, after being repeatedly exposed to detergents and water, it can contain residue that may lead to resoiling.
For this reason, washing carpets with any type of water isn’t ideal. Additionally, it can cost $350,000 to replace 90,000 square feet of carpeted space. Consequently, the less residue you leave in your carpets as you clean them, the better.
Aside from causing carpets to retain residue, hot-water extraction cleaning creates a mixture of dirt and water. When a carpet is doused with hot water, fibers become soaked with gray water that can linger. Though high-powered vacuums do suction out some of the messy mixture, what remains can rise to the surface of the pile and cause the carpet to look streaky even after the water evaporates.
More significantly, wet carpet can become a mold breeding ground, which can cause both unpleasant smells and indoor air quality issues.
Dry cleaning using MilliCare ’s protocols eliminates those worries and possible environmental health issues related to wet carpet cleaning. In addition, our process requires 99.5% less water than what’s typically used in traditional wet carpet cleaning. How? Our process relies on dry polymers. Once activated by a small amount of water, the polymers grab onto particulate and won’t let go. We then vacuum away the polymer-captured debris.
The overall process requires practically no downtime — a valuable proposition for 24/7 operations. And stubborn spots don’t return later because their sources have been completely removed. Best of all, dry-cleaned carpets smell fresh without lingering chemical or detergent odors.
Beyond being kind to carpets and textiles, dry cleaning is also kinder to the environment — and a business’s budget. All MilliCare technicians bring self-contained, portable machinery and products to the job. They don’t prop open doors for hours or burden the power grid. MilliCare customers say they experience 85% in energy savings per visit (compared to competitors).
Over time, that means commercial entities get to keep more of their money — not to mention extend the life span of their carpeted floors.
Be Gentle on Your Carpets
If you have carpeted areas throughout your building, maintenance is a necessary expense. Protect your flooring investments by opting for dry polymer-based cleaning; it’s the only way to ensure your carpets remain like new for longer.
Want to learn more about MilliCare ’s unique dry encapsulation method of carpet cleaning? Contact a local technician today for a free in-office demonstration of our proprietary process.