I cleaned a 10 year old carpet the other day. I used the ds and pretreated with ds 50/50. I checked back the next day and the traffic area was still dark. I asked Dru about it and he explained the shadow effect, scratches on carpet fiber, etc. I was driving so couldn't write things down. Would you mind to explain this again. Also, is it true that carpet should not be cleaned with water over 120 degrees?

Not sure what you and Drew talked about specifically. But it is true that 10 year old carpet in a high traffic area can become damaged. The surface of the fiber becomes dulled or delustered from abrasion. This changes the appearance of the fiber. And it also affects the way it cleans. It's a lot harder to clean a scratched fiber.

Let's illustrate it another way. You go and buy the new red Ferrari that you've always dreamed of. It glows in the sunlight - man it's sweet looking! From clear across the parking lot it's a thing of beauty to behold. And then I come along with some fine grit sandpaper and scuff up the front fender in a big circular pattern. Ain't I a nice guy? Now take a look at the car from across the parking lot. What do you see? You see a shiny car with a big nasty looking dull spot on the fender. That's because it doesn't reflect light properly anymore. That spot looks terrible, even though it isn't even dirty at all. And if we add soil to the surface of the car, that spot looks even worse still. And when you try to wash the car, that spot holds soil and is much harder to clean.

This analogy can help you to understand what occurs when a carpet gets abused from years of heavy traffic. It also highlights the importance of establishing good dry soil recovery into the regular carpet maintenance. Good entry mats should be used and good vacuuming should be performed on a regular basis.

This scenario may or may not be what's causing the dull traffic lanes that you're seeing. It could be any number of things. But at any rate the fact that it's a 10 year old carpet in a high traffic area lends itself to having some degree of surface damage to the fiber.

Oh and yes, carpet can be cleaned at 125 degrees or greater. Olefin is the only commercial carpet fiber that could be damaged by high heat, since it has a much lower "heat set" than any other type of fiber.

Hope this answers your questions well enough. Oh and sorry about your Ferrari.















Rick Gelinas

Hey Tony, what system did you use to clean this carpet with ??

HWE - ENCAPSULATION - BONNET ??

What was the carpet fibre ??

Wool - Nylon - Polyprop - Olefin - etc; ??

Cheers,

Shortestwun

I've seen the light, and changed my wicked ways.
www.get.shorty.com.au

I used rotory machine, three brushes, not sure of the carpet kind