1. How long
does it take the carpet to dry?
Dry times vary depending on humidity, temperature, fiber content,
density and air flow. Generally they are dry in between 4 and 24
hours. Tri-Star’s system promotes rapid drying.
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2. Can I
walk on the carpets immediately?
Yes, however you will need to have clean shoes or socks. And limited
outside to inside traffic. Tri-Star recommends letting carpets dry
before allowing heavy foot traffic.
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3. Do I have
to wait all day for the carpet cleaner?
NO, We schedule in 1 to 2 hour blocks for arrival times. For example,
we might schedule you for 9:00 to 10:00 AM or from 2:00 to 4:00
PM and so on.
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4. How long
should I wait between cleanings?
Because dirt is an abrasive, like sandpaper, every time you step
on the carpet you grind dirt into your carpet fibers. This cuts
your carpet, just as if you had used a knife, causing it to wear
out faster. A dirty carpet will not last nearly as long as a clean
carpet. And while vacuuming helps, by itself, it's simply not enough.
Then, the longer you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more
damage you do to your carpet and the faster it wears out. So get
them cleaned regularly.
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5. Are there
any other reasons to clean my carpet besides getting the dirt out?
As you probably know, outdoor air contains pollens, fungus, bacteria,
air pollution, cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and hundreds of other
chemicals. When you and your family members come into your home,
you carry those pollens, bacteria, and chemicals in your hair and
on your skin, clothing, and shoes. Not surprisingly, all those chemicals,
pollens and bacteria wind up — you guessed it —in your
carpet.
If you have allergies, asthma, emphysema, or other
breathing problems, one major source of your problem could be the
pollens, fungus, and chemicals in your carpet. So in addition to
getting rid of dirt, another important reason to clean your carpet
is to get rid of pollens, fungus, bacteria, chemicals and the tars
and residue from tobacco smoke.
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6. Is there
really a difference between one carpet cleaner company and the next?
Yes! Many companies own hot-water cleaners, but a large number of
employees don't know how to use them. The company may own good equipment,
but the employees may not know how to use it correctly. This is
why it's important that you choose your carpet cleaner carefully.
The best carpet cleaning companies are those that
have been certified by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and
Restoration Certification, known as the IICRC. A carpet cleaning
company cannot buy this certification. The carpet cleaner must earn
the certification through study, experience, and the successful
completion of formal, written examinations.
Cleaners who are certified by the IICRC have, in
effect, earned a degree in carpet cleaning. The IICRC provides written
credentials to the companies it certifies. So before you choose
a carpet cleaner, ask to see written proof of the company's IICRC
certification.
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7. What about
the companies that advertise really cheap cleaning? Are they any
good?
Here are two important points to consider…
Point #1: The price you see offered may not be for
the services you want performed.
Before you select a company, decide what you want
to accomplish. If you want the carpet cleaner to remove only some
of the dirt, you can choose from hundreds of companies that use
small shampooers or other cleaning methods. Or, you can even rent
a machine at the grocery store and do the job yourself.
On the other hand, if you want your carpet thoroughly
cleaned — if you want to remove the harmful dirt, bacteria,
pollens, chemicals and tobacco residues — then you need to
hire a company that uses a hot water cleaner mounted in a truck.
This is the only way to assure that your carpet remains healthy
and free from dirt, disease-causing bacteria, and hurtful chemicals.
So remember that the price you see offered may not be for the services
you want performed.
Point #2: The price you see advertised may not be
the price you pay.
Many homeowners have learned that the low price they
saw advertised was not the amount they were charged. And if you've
ever hired a carpet cleaner, you too may have been the victim of
false or misleading advertising. You probably learned the hard way
that some carpet cleaners offer a cheap price — usually between
$3.95 and $9.95 per room — and then pressure you into paying
a lot more once they get inside your home. Some of them may even
break the law by using illegal bait and switch tactics. As in all
businesses and professions, the carpet cleaning industry has its
share of bad apples. By their misleading advertising and false promises,
they cast a dark shadow on our entire industry.
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8. Can I
figure how much it will cost?
Consumers often think that if they want to clean four rooms and
the price is $20 per room, then the price will be $80. But this
is not always true. Honest and reputable carpet cleaning companies
usually price carpet cleaning by the square foot. So if you'd like
me to tell you the exact cost of cleaning your carpet, I need to
know the exact number of square feet that you want cleaned. Call
650.365.7707 for rates or an estimate.
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9. What are
the differences between “dry cleaning” and “hot water
extraction”?
You can choose from two primary methods to have your carpets cleaned:
Dry cleaning or hot water extraction.
DRY CLEANING – DRY FOAM
When a carpet cleaner uses dry foam, he applies shampoo to your
carpet, allows it to dry, and then sucks the dried shampoo into
a vacuum. Can you imagine applying shampoo to your hair, allowing
it to dry and then removing the shampoo from your head with a vacuum?
This method can leave a residue in your carpet, which is one reason
dry foam is not very effective.
DRY CLEANING – DRY-CHEM
The dry-chem method is similar to dry foam. The major difference
is that when dry-chem is used, the company sets a large cotton bonnet
on your carpet. Using a machine, the bonnet spins from side to side,
absorbing the dirt that's in the carpet. After the bonnet is saturated
with dirt, another cotton bonnet is applied. Bonnet cleaning is
like trying to use a large towel to rub the dirt out of your carpet.
Like dry foam, it's not very effective.
DRY CLEANING – DRY-COMPOUND
The dry-compound method spreads an absorbent mixture that looks
like wet sawdust all over your carpeting. Then the machine brushes
the mixture into the carpet, which in theory causes dirt to absorb
into the mixture. When the mixture has dried, a vacuum cleaner sucks
the material out of the carpeting. Because the carpet is not rinsed
in any way, this method is not very effective.
HOT WATER EXTRACTION
The second carpet cleaning method is called hot water extraction.
This is a fancy way of saying that a hot water cleaning solution
under high pressure is forced into the carpet and then sucked out
of the carpet. This method is also referred to as steam cleaning
even though steam is not used. Shaw Industries, the world's largest
carpet manufacturer, recommends hot water extraction. There are
two types of hot water extraction.
PORTABLE vs. TRUCK MOUNTED EXTRACTION
Portable extraction is done with a small machine. Truck mount extraction
means a large cleaning machine is mounted in a truck or van. Not
surprisingly, the truck mount extraction cleans much better because
it heats the water to a higher temperature and shoots the cleaning
solution into the carpet at higher pressure which breaks up the
dirt, bacteria and pollens. Then the machine uses high suction to
draw the dirt out of the carpet. This is the method my company uses.
No question, the most effective way to clean carpeting
is with a hot-water unit mounted in a truck. It's the most powerful
cleaning machine on the market and the only machine that thoroughly
cleans your carpet and rids it of dirt, harmful bacteria, fungus,
chemicals, pollens and tobacco residue. Methods that use cold and
even warm water remove dirt -- but are not as effective as the hot-water
truck mount method.
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10. Will
hot water damage my carpet?
Some people believe that hot water damages your carpet, but this
is not true. By washing and then rinsing your carpet with hot water,
we clean your carpet completely — in the same way that the
person who showers and then rinses off the dirt and soap will be
much cleaner than the person who takes only a sponge bath.
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