FAQ

Q: What Do I Do Before Cleaning?

• Please remove breakables and nick nacks from tables and other pieces that will be moved by our crew. If there is a large amount of small items such as boxes, magazines, shoes, plants, etc., please remove them if you want the carpet cleaned in these areas.
• Arrange for pets and children to be away from the area we are cleaning, and away from all equipment, hoses, etc.

Q: How long does the carpet cleaning process take?

About an hour per 300 cleanable square feet. This varies depending on soil, size of job and the number of technicians performing the work.

Q: How soon can I walk on it?

Keep pets, children and regular traffic off of carpet for period of 6 hours. The homeowner may use the carpet lightly immediately after cleaning by wearing white socks. Wait 24 hours before removing Styrofoam blocks and plastic tabs that are put in place to protect the furniture and carpet. Most carpets dry within 2 to 8 hours. Some carpets may still feel slightly damp for up to 18 hours depending on humidity, air flow, type of carpet and soiling condition. This is normal and will not cause any problems.

Q: Do you move furniture?

We can move the furniture or get as close to the furniture as possible, it’s up to you. Our regular pricing includes moving sofas,chairs, tables, end tables, ect. in the living areas. Beds, dressers etc. are left in place under our regular pricing structure.

Q: Can you clean carpet or rugs over hardwood floors?

Yes, we have our system set up where the backing of the carpet or rug is not saturated, therefore no problem with wood floors underneath. No problem with edges either. Our rinse does not affect hardwood floors.

Q: Is Protecting My Carpet That Important?

When carpeting is made, it has two protective properties. One is a “dye blocker” or “stain resist” property. This is simply a clear dye that fills in the empty dye sites so that it is difficult for a spill or spot to penetrate the fiber. The second is a “soil resistor” or “fluorochemical” like 3M Scotchgard or Dupont Teflon. This product is sprayed on the yarn and baked on at a high temperature. This helps to resist against common dry soil and to act as a barrier between the spill and the dye blocker. It is important to know that the dye blocker is effective only against that type of stain and that most of the protection for the fiber is still provided by the second protective coating. This second protective coating gives the surface tension, the resistance to dry soils, oily soils and any other type of stain. It also serves to protect the dye blocker.

In spite of hundreds of millions of dollars that have been spent to promote this product, and in spite of what the customer may believe, carpet is not “bullet proof”. Here are a few problems that can be encountered when dealing with carpet.

1. The protection will wear off. Both the dye blocker and the fluorochemical are subject to wear and reduction in effectiveness. Most of the manufacturers recommend that a fluorochemical like 3M Scotchgard or Dupont Teflon be re-applied after cleaning.
2. Even when the carpet is at its peak, it is not resistant to some stains. Warranties do not cover stains caused by plant fertilizer, acne preparations, insecticides, dyes, inks, corrosive liquids, bleaches, coffee and other hot spills and any cleaning chemical with a PH above ten on the PH scale.

Can you get out…

America’s Ultra Clean can remove any spot that is not a permanent stain. However, there are conditions in which permanent staining is present. The following is a list of conditions which may or may not allow spots to be removed. The percentage listed next to the condition is the percentage of CHANCE we have of removing it, NOT the percentage of stain that will be removed.

YELLOWING (50%) – Yellowing can be as simple as neutralizing the spot or area by spraying a solution on it or it can be impossible to remove. There are many unknown causes for yellowing. It is so common that we have 5 different products on our trucks just for yellowing.

FILTRATION SOILING (black lines around baseboards) (25%) – We can usually get some of the filtration soiling out, but it almost never comes all the way out. Filtration soiling is when carpet “filters” soil going through cracks and crevices. The particles are so fine and it goes all the way down the sides of the yarn and through the backing which makes it almost impossible to remove.

URINE (50%) – When urine is fresh and has not been cleaned by an alkaline spotter, the chances are good. If the urine has been there a long time, the chances are slim. However, urine will continue to deteriorate the carpet, so it is extremely important to remove the urine deposits even if the spot does not come out. Every day we remove urine spots and every day we find urine spots that will not come out, so it’s unpredictable. Very important to know however, is that we have a urine treatment procedure that is available. When cleaning a urine spot, we first apply a urine pre-treatment that helps to break down the urine and neutralize it. The spot is then thoroughly extracted. If spot is still there, we use other specialty spotters to attempt removal.

URINE ODOR – We have two odor treatment processes in addition to our urine spotting.

• Minor Odor Treatment: We will saturate affected areas with an enzyme. It usually helps the odor somewhat and is a good alternative to a costly major Odor Treatment.
• Major Odor Treatment: This process involves locating the areas that are affected. We flood the area with an acidic based solution that will help break up the urine salts that harbor bacteria. We have a special tool called the Water Claw that we use to extract solution. We continue to flood the area with water till we can no longer see any yellow urine coming up through the clear top of the tool. As a final step we treat the carpet and pad with an enzyme product that is very successful in eliminating the urine odors. This process is highly effective.

VOMIT (50%) – Same as urine. If red from cat food, see red dye removal below.

BLOOD (75%) – If blood has not been cleaned, if hot water or alkaline cleaning products have not been used, chances are good, but no guarantee.

RUST (85%) – Chances for rust removal are excellent, however never a guarantee.

RED DYE (crayon, make up, Kool-aid, cat food vomit, fiberglass insulation (5%) – Red dye is almost impossible to remove unless conditions are exactly right. If the carpet is new, chances are better. In many cases the only way to remove red dye is with a heat transfer process in which we apply a product to the spot, lay a wet cloth over it and apply an iron to cause the spot to transfer onto the white towel or apply steam. The spot is then rinsed well. Very low chance of red dye removal in most cases.

LIPSTICK (50%) – Chances are good that we will be able to remove it with solvents. However, some lipstick may be in the red dye catagory which give it a slim chance for removal.

FURNITURE STAIN (01%) – Almost impossible.

COKE (95%) – Usually not a problem.

TEA (70%) – Tannin spots can sometimes cause a permanent stain, but we usually have fair success.

COFFEE (70%) – Same as tea, however coffee many times is spilled when very hot which can make it more difficult.

KETCHUP (50%) – Ketchup can go either way. Sometimes it comes out easily, other times it enters into the red-dye category.

MUSTARD (15%) – Can be very difficult at times. Not always impossible, but many times it is impossible.

PAINT (ENAMEL) (20%) – Although we have removed a lot of enamel paint, there has also been a lot that we have not. Case by case basis, no guarantee.

PAINT (LATEX) (75%) – Usually good results, however colored latex can permanently stain carpet and hardened latex can be impossible. If this should happen to you, lay a wet towel on the spill and try to keep it as wet as possible until the spot can be cleaned professionally.

CRAYON (50%) – We carry excellent solvents, but can go either way.

WATER RINGS (70%) – We carry special products for water rings and have good success overall, but sometimes it still doesn’t come out.

Q: What about reoccurring spots?

If the spot returned within a day or so after the cleaning, then it was either not removed and wicked back, or it was not removed but appeared that it was removed. If the spot returned after a week, two weeks or a month or so, it probably either has some residue from cleaning agents left behind, or the spot was oily or sticky and was not totally removed, thereby collecting soil in that same area again. Spots reappearing can also be caused by not applying protector when needed.

Q: My carpet has bleached or faded spots, can you correct that?

If there is color loss in the carpet, you could have it repaired by replacing that area of carpet with another piece from a closet or it may be able to be spot dyed, but we do not provide either of these services.

Indentations from heavy furniture – No guarantee can be made on removing indentations from furniture. In addition to the pile of the carpet being crushed, the backing of the carpet is indented. Heat and moisture and hand grooming with our equipment will help tremendously, but it may take time to completely release back to normal IF it comes back all the way. Severe cases do not come back 100%.

DO YOU CLEAN…

BERBER – Absolutely. Berber is a weave, not a particular type of fabric. Berber is simply a type of loop construction that may come in olefin, nylon, wool, or a blend. Berber requires a more thorough cleaning than other carpets because the “flushing” action needs to take place to get under, around and through the loops. Other companies that are not as thorough have a number of problems with Berber because they leave soil behind that “wicks” back to the surface.

SISAL, SEAGRASS, GRASS – Yes.

WOOL – yes, we have special products that we use for wool. We clean wool often. We use lower pressure, lower temperature and take special drying precautions for cleaning wool.

HAITIAN COTTON – Yes, we have special Haitian cotton cleaner.

SILK – Yes.

RAYON – Yes.

CHINTZ – Yes.