I just figured out to use copy and paste to get my article here. I hope Rick doesn't mind using his bandwidth!

ROBERT M. WITTKAMP’S ARTICLE #ICS94

It appears that the old adage “WHAT’S NEW IS OLD AND WHAT’S OLD IS NEW” is once again proving true in the carpet cleaning world. One of the hottest “buzz words” today, especially in the world of commercial carpet maintenance, “encapsulation” AKA “crystallization”, is a replay of things as they were when I entered this field some 30 years ago.

Way back in 1970 when I first started “steam cleaning” carpets there were only three extraction machines in the county in which I live. At that time almost all carpets were maintained using a “shampoo” process. As steam cleaning began to be accepted we would sell against the shampoo cleaners by showing the dirty water we extracted which contained the soils we had removed. Then we would ask of the shampoo cleaners the rhetorical question: Where does the dirt go in your process? The answer we received was “it’s removed during the dry vacuuming part of the procedure”. This lead to the consumer’s question, usually presented after we had finished the cleaning, “do I have to vacuum this carpet tomorrow to remove the soils?” At which point we proudly proclaimed: “No ma’am, we remove the soil, that’s the difference!”

Although shampoo cleaning remained the process of choice for most commercial cleaning there was a trend in the industry to reduce costs associated with the cleaning. This was accomplished by making the shampoos cheaper by using cheaper raw materials which led to a drift away from the nice dry residual shampoos of the ‘70s to the sticky, foamy shampoos of the ‘80s. Thence came the resoiling problems which often accompanied shampooing. About 5-8 years ago advances in shampoo chemistry were introduced which have resulted in changes in the way that shampoo cleaning is performed and the way it is perceived. These advances usually centered around the use of polymers in the shampoo formulations.

These polymers allowed the shampoo residues to truly encapsulate remaining soils, usually in a crystalline structure, allowing their subsequent removal during the dry vacuuming phase of the carpet maintenance cycle. The continued success of this crystallization/encapsulation activity has brought some pretty big players to the market, including at least one major fiber producer and several carpet manufacturers, also several smaller players in the form of cleaning chemical formulators. There are about ten formulators currently on this crystallization bandwagon with most making claims that improved carpet appearance will accompany use of their product or system. Anecdotal evidence from the field seems to support these claims.

Numerous application systems are touted for the use of these polymer based products. It seems as though almost any method or equipment can be used to apply the cleaning agent (shampoo) to the carpet face pile where it can work its magic of releasing soils and encapsulating them in the residues of the cleaning agents. Recommended application techniques range from use of a rotary shampoo machine to rotary extraction units to cylindrical brush applicator/agitator to adding the product to the rinse water in a HWE system to merely spraying on the surface with a compression sprayer. While these residues are generally very similar in crystalline structure they seem to vary most widely in brittleness of the crystal which will influence their ease of removal. And remember it is the removal of the crystals that effects the removal of the soil.



Production rate claims range as high as 7000 square feet per hour. As magical as these polymer products seem to be they do not remove the need for daily maintenance including dry vacuuming. To keep production rates in perspective it is important to note that all of the players in this “game” mention vacuuming as an integral part of the process. This vacuuming may take the form of prevacuuming performed immediately prior to the shampoo application, to post vacuuming after shampooing and drying have been accomplished, to regular daily maintenance vacuuming. So far we haven’t stumbled on a product that just ”makes dirt go away”.

Some questions remain to be answered about this process such as will it replace bonnet cleaning, will it eliminate the need for periodic HWE, will it have any affect on IAQ, are there applications for this process in the residential market, etc? I think that time will answer those and any additional questions that will arise. There is no doubt that some cleaning challenges, such as cleaning in high traffic 24 hour settings, speed of drying, operator training, equipment expense, sticky residues and more, will be reduced with this technique. Many carpet manufacturers will celebrate the fact that one of the results of using this procedure will be an increased emphasis on good carpet maintenance in the form of regular dry vacuuming. Dry soil removal is one of the keys to long carpet life and increased end-user satisfaction.

It would appear that the crystalline/encapsulation technique is a win-win for all involved. As the fortunes of all involved in the carpet value chain rise with the continued and growing use of carpet the apparent success of this system bodes well for all of us. Indeed this may prove to be one of the greatest advances in carpet maintenance to have occurred in my 30 year involvement with the industry. Only time will tell. The marketplace will be the final judge. Just keep watching. I hope that you’ll benefit from my observations! Keep an open mind and see where it goes.
Until next month, SEEYYAA!!!!!

One more thought: The opportunities generated by encap cleaning will make some cleaners very rich. The smart ones that is!! Bob Wittkamp

Nice article Bob.........now if the non thinking naysayers
were only able to read.....LOL.

great read! thanx for posting it Bob

received me Cimex tonite around 6:30 p.m. can't wait to try her out tomorrow and saturday

boy is that thing a bear! nice and heavy, must put out some serious agressiveness. i will definitely need to use my ramp. anyone not using a ramp?

thanx --- Derek.

Me. Yes, my Cimex is VERY HEAVY! When I first received it, I had another person to help me lift it into the van because I assumed there was no way I could do it alone. Wrong!

Somehow, I have figured out how to lift it in and out of my van by myself.

...although, I do hear the theme from "2001, a Space Odyssey" playing in my head every time!!! LOL

You Da Man!!

I don't get the magazine any more, so I am glad to have read it here!!

Thanks, Bob!!

Gary