For some people, the term “Carpet Extractor” might sound a little foreign or perhaps exotic. Though this is a very common term used by commercial property managers, as well as building maintenance and custodial staff.
It’s important to note that carpet extraction does not mean removing the carpet from the commercial property. Instead, it is a method of deep cleaning carpets that goes far beyond what a standard vacuum cleaner can ever hope to accomplish.
What Are The Benefits Of A Carpet Extractor?
A professional-grade carpet extractor does more than just suck up dust, it effectively deep cleans the carpet down into the deeper layers of the pile. This serves to remove dust, dirt, grime, and other microscopic materials that can shorten the overall lifespan of the carpet. It also helps to give the carpeted room a clean and friendly odor.
Carpet extractors also do a superior job of maintaining the overall appeal and appearance of the workspace, while also helping to maintain the health and appearance of your carpets.
How Does A Carpet Extractor Work?
A carpet extractor machine uses a special low-moisture technique and a professional quality cleaning compound that encapsulates any dust, dirt, or grime that is left behind in carpets. This compound essentially bonds with stains, as well as common carpet chemicals, dirt, and grime. It effectively separates them from the carpet fibers and captures them for a superior level of cleanliness.
Conventional Carpet Cleaning Versus Carpet Extractor Cleaning
Even the most powerful and well-designed vacuum cleaner only draw dirt off the surface and mid-fiber regions of a carpet’s pile layers. It does very little in the way of stain removal. Ultimately, traditional dry vacuuming is a handy way to take care of a carpet in the short term and for some carpets, it’s something that can be done daily. With this sort of strategy, you might be able to add a decade or more of extended life to your commercial carpeted areas. Just don’t expect a traditional dry vacuum to handle deep cleaning and stay removal.
Carpet extraction takes the process of cleaning and maintaining a building’s carpet to the next level. It is an essential part of the overall strategy of keeping the building’s environment clean, while also helping to prolong the life of the carpet. This is a much more cost-effective option compared to replacing a prematurely worn-out carpet. Best of all, the cleaning chemical left behind by extraction protects carpet fibers from becoming soiled again for a few days or weeks after the carpet extraction cleaning session.
Which Is Better A Carpet Extractor Or A Carpet Steamer?
Steam cleaning a carpet was the go-to way to effectively deep clean even the deepest pile carpets. Though carpet extractors have taken their own spin on this. While both do very similar things, there are some distinct differences between a carpet steam cleaner and a carpet extractor.
One of the benefits of steam cleaning is that it does help killing germs as well as effectively reducing the overall presence of allergens. This can be a major benefit for commercial properties with tenants who are concerned about the dangers of “Indoor Air Pollution.” Most carpet steamers need to be performed on Friday nights to allow the carpet to dry over the long weekend.
Though a carpet extractor does a better option for removing stains, accumulated dust, grime, and soil on the carpet. Since extractors use a low-moisture extraction technique it also tends to have a much shorter dry time than a carpet steamer. Most of the time the carpet is perfectly dry within an hour or two. This means you can have your office or commercial property’s carpets cleaned by a carpet extractor any night of the week, and rest easy knowing everything will be ready for normal operation the next morning.
It’s also worth noting that a carpet extractor doesn’t use any heat. Some special types of carpeting react poorly or can be damaged by the heat of a carpet steamer. This makes a carpet extractor the ideal cleaning method for some of these synthetic fiber carpets.
Will A Carpet Extractor Work On Any Type Of Carpet?
Versatility is one of the great things about carpet extractors. Some vacuums and carpet cleaners can only work on short pile carpets. Even then their overall effectiveness is somewhat limited.
With a carpet extractor, the specially formulated cleaning compound and the low-moisture extraction process make it highly effective for a lot of different carpet types. This is great for an office or commercial retail space that has decorative carpets in entryways or other key locations. Especially if that carpet is made from a synthetic fiber that reacts poorly to the heat generated by things like steam cleaning.
Is A Carpet Extractor Better Than A Carpet Shampooer?
A lot of custodial staff and commercial property managers who use carpet shampooers to eliminate stains often complain that the carpet looks off or sometimes even “Grimy” after shampooing. This is often related to the shampooer not being able to remove all of the dusty, dirt, and grime hiding in the deeper layers of the carpet.
Ultimately, a carpet that has gone too long without a good deep cleaning is better suited for a carpet extractor than a carpet shampooer. Especially if that carpet has a deep pile.
Carpet Extracting With A Proactive Approach
Ultimately, carpet extracting is something that is most effective when it’s part of a proactive cleaning routine. Daily vacuuming is an important element of maintaining a building’s carpeted areas. Though it has its limitations. Scheduling routine carpet extracting rather than waiting for the carpets to get stained or badly soiled first will go a long way toward preserving the overall health and appearance of your carpets.
The fact that the cleaning compound used by a carpet extractor also helps keep a carpet from being soiled again also helps make your daily vacuuming efforts more effective. This sort of strategy can help add decades of life onto your commercial property’s carpets, which can save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
