How many times can I encap an office carpet until it will be time to HWE?

So far I have done it at least 5 times and it always comes out good.

Thanks

Here's the answer:

If your encap program is performed at routine intervals and the cleaning is performed adequately for the traffic of the building, you may very likely find that HWE can be pushed back considerably or out of the picture altogether. On the other hand, if the carpet no longer responds to encapsulation, because the encap intervals or the cleaning has not been sufficient, then HWE would be an appropriate step to flush the carpet at that time.

Bottom line: Many cleaners expect to plug HWE into their maintenance cycle. They get to the point where they'd expect to perform HWE and they inspect the carpet, only to find that the carpet does not need HWE at that time. So they hold off HWE cleaning until later. Then at the next expected HWE interval, they inspect the carpet again, same story - carpet looks great. In other words, the encap system is taking care of their carpets without the need for HWE. And this sounds like what you may be experiencing.

I think that the limiting factor here is perception. It's been perceived that encap is an INTERIM method. In reality, experience is showing that it may be far less INTERIM than was formerly purported. In the majority of cases encap can serve very well as a stand-alone method, if adequate encap cleaning is performed. Now I won't argue with anyone who wants to supplement encap with HWE because it's a terrific cleaning method for flushing a carpet, where that may be needed. If a carpet is loaded with soil and it needs a good rinse, HWE is the best approach. Yet with a GOOD encap program you'll likely find that the carpets can be maintained and HWE will become an infrequent consideration, or it may not be needed at all. You're the professional, so simply inspect the carpet and determine what cleaning is required to maintain the carpet's optimum condition. Encap may likely be all that's required on the majority of properly maintained carpets.



Rick Gelinas
encapman

This issue is similar to stripping & waxing, how often does it need to be done?
With a good scrub & recoat program, refinishing a floor can be put off indefinitely. I only encap my facility carpets, the scheduled cleanings are before the carpet looks dirty and my carpets have never looked better. This along with an aggressive vacuuming program can minimize the need to HWE.