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FAQs

Why should I get my carpets cleaned by a professional?

A true professional cleaner will have stronger and more effective cleaning agents and equipment than any home owner can rent or buy. Not to mention the years of experience, training, and the supplies available to the professional.

We see it a few times a year where a home-owner creates major problems with the do it yourself machines,and over the counter spotters. Most of the time correctable, but not always and ends up being costly.

Aren't all professional carpet cleaners the same?

No, there are many types of cleaning procedures that professionals use. Many are effective, but most manufacturers of carpeting require that hot water extraction along with Approved cleaning agents be used. With today's high tech carpet construction and protection levels, some carpets can be purchased with a warranty of up to 20 years. These carpets require cleaning by an I.I.C.R.C. trained technician so as not to void manufacturers extended warranties. The wrong cleaning agents or method could be disastrous, and not only void the warranty but ruin the carpet, and make the carpet attract dirt and soils. Mission floor takes the time to do the job right and uses the most advanced equipment and cleaning agents available.

Why did my carpets get dirty faster after the last professional cleaner cleaned them?

There are three main reasons why this happens. The most common reason is that the professional's equipment was not strong enough to thoroughly extract all soil, water and detergent from the carpet, leaving a residue that attracts soil and dust. This commonly occurs with electric portable units and dry cleaning systems. Major problems can occur If the carpet takes to long to dry, drying should never take longer than 8 hrs. Dry systems and under powered units depend on using more chemicals to get the carpets to look clean, but leaving chemicals behind can cause rapid resoiling, stiff carpet fibers and is just unhealthy.

A second reason is, many cleaning companies still use older cleaning chemicals that are not compatible with today's advanced carpet protection systems. Older cleaning chemicals are much cheaper and more affordable to the low priced carpet cleaner than the advanced pre-treatments and detergents of today. These cleaners are known as Cationic cleaning agents which have a positive (+) charge to them, which is opposite the negative (-) charge that your protected carpet and upholstery already has. Using this type of cleaning agent negates the protection on the fiber and allows dirt and dust, which has a negative charge, to cling to the fabric and reduces the fabric stain resistance, leaving an overall dirty appearance even away from traffic areas. This also makes the application of protectors ineffective because the protector is not attaching itself to the fabric but to the residue of the cleaning agent.

The third reason is very simple, the technician is simply cleaning too fast. This does not give the equipment, no matter how strong, time to fully extract even the best pre-treatments and detergents and even light soil from a carpet. Mission floor care promises to always take plenty of time to clean, and will never leave any chemical behind in the carpet.

Also, the carpet age has a factor in how well it will clean, and has a carpet protector been reapplied after regular cleanings.

Why do some spots keep on coming back even after professional cleaning?

This occurs when liquids are spilled into a carpet. The liquid passes through the backing and into the carpet pad where it is absorbed and can spread out much larger than the size of the spot on the carpet surface making it difficult to extract the liquid completely the first time. Once the padding has absorbed a liquid it is very difficult to extract and should be replaced to stop the spot from returning. In some cases it may be as far down as the sub-flooring which must be replaced to completely fix the problem. This is especially true in pet accidents. Technical term known as Wicking which is defined as The capillary action causing deep carpet soils and other organic substances to move towards the end of the carpet fiber during drying. A common cause of "browning".

Knowledge of how much liquid is actually in the carpet is important to determine the course of action. In minor cases where the spill is only as deep as the backing, repeated extraction will normally fix this problem.

Another reason is that there may be detergent left behind by the customer or previous cleaners from spot cleaning which hasn't been completely rinsed out. This will attract new soil to that spot and show up darker than the rest of the carpet. This however can be fixed with rinsing and cleaning.

Also the carpet may be on a concrete floor and the floor was not properly cleaned and sealed before the carpet was laid down, this creates a kind of bottomless pit of soil because there is no barrier between the carpet backing and the pours dusty concrete, plus their could be a wide variety of foreign objects under the carpet like mud, staples, nails, etc....

How much does it cost?

This is usually the first question we get asked over the phone. Most of the time the average home owner doesn't know what else to ask, or they say they are calling around getting estimates. Well I think we have all been upset when buying something cheap and finding out cheap price usually means cheap service or products. Most home owners don't know what to ask or much about the services they are being quoted a price for, so making a decision on price alone sometimes becomes a factor.

Most professional companies in all in home trades have a low priced competitor and most of the "low ballers" will be out of business in less than 2 years. The so called low ballers will give a low price over the phone only to get into your house and try to up sale. Many of the up sales should be included in a professional cleaning such as, pre- treatment, vacuuming, spotting, we have even heard of water dump charges, and mileage charges. Most low priced carpet cleaners don't carry insurance, and the employees are subcontracted and paid on commission. These low ballers don't care about repeat business or referrals just about making a quick dollar. Most low ballers use out-dated equipment, old oil leaking vans, out dated chemicals, and have no training.

A professional company like us have overheads and time spent elsewhere then in the clients home all these factors have to be looked at in our pricing. We do not just pull a number from the sky to charge. Our charges have to cover Insurances, workers comp, health insurance, warehouse space, office equipment, supplies, training, company vehicles, gas and maintenance, and many more things.

Carpet cleaning prices should be in the range of $.24 to $.34 cents for the average carpet cleaning. Some situations may be more, for instance, pet stains require more work and usually two visits, red cool aid stains, and human body fluids. Any extra charges are always discussed before hand and a work order written out. Carpet protector is the only add on charge we offer, and is one we recommend. I am always available for a in house estimate, and carpet inspection free of charge.

How long should my carpets take to dry?

Today's modern truck mounted machines, with proper use, should allow the carpet to dry within 3-5 hours. (Atmospheric conditions greatly influence the drying time). Under ideal conditions, such as hot, dry summer days, and cold winter days with high indoor heat, carpets and upholstery can dry in as little as 1 hour. It is very important to dry carpets as quickly as possible, not only to reduce inconvenience to the customer, but more importantly to prevent the start-up of the mold and mildew growth process, which begins in as little as 36 hours.

Why is a truck mounted system better than a machine I can rent or buy myself?

Truck mounted systems are the most powerful yet gentle way to clean carpet and upholstery. These machines can produce water temperatures up to 250 degrees F. Temperatures over 180 degrees F. are much more effective in cleaning and dislodging soil and spills from carpet fibers. Also, the hotter the water used, the shorter the drying time as there is faster evaporation. Our modern truck mounted system uses a water softening unit to reduce the amount of minerals left behind after cleaning, thus leaving a softer feel to the carpet and ensuring the proper application of carpet protectors.

Portable electric machines that can be rented don't have the necessary heat to remove soil efficiently, thus over-wetting can occur, and with the lack of suction power, carpets take too long to dry and leave behind embedded soil and detergent.

Another problem caused by using these home or rental machines is once you have cleaned a carpet that contains spills, you have made cleaning the carpet much more difficult later, because these machines do not have the vacuum power to lift spots from liquids spilled into the carpet. These spots can contain sugars, coloring and salt. Once they are pushed into the backing and padding of the carpet instead of being extracted the spot will almost always re-appear on the surface later because of it's depth. Repeated use of these machines will drive the spots even deeper into the padding and some cases into the sub floor making removal of the spot completely, almost impossible.

Some of the rotary dry cleaning machines can damage carpet fibers by fraying and destroying the factory heat set twist to the yarn and prematurely remove loose yarns that cut pile carpets have to increase density, thus increasing fiber loss and shortening the life of the carpet. Dry systems only clean the surface so if a spot is deeper than the surface it will remain or reappear.

Mission floor care is currently using the most powerful slide in truck mounted unit in San Luis Obispo county. Our Power Clean genesis unit produces 850 cfm and is powered by a fuel injected Nissan 4 cylinder engine, more power means cleaner, dryer carpets.

Will professional cleaning of my carpets change the appearance or texture of the carpet?

No, soil is what changes the appearance and texture of carpet fibers. This happens when dirt is scratched through the carpet from foot traffic causing a dull look to the carpet because light is no longer refracting the same way through the fibers. This can even remove a certain amount of color and will damage protection applied by the factory.

Professional technique of a properly trained carpet cleaning technician will not allow any damage to occur or moisture to penetrate the backing of any carpet or area rug. With proper cleaning agents and water softening systems attached to today's high tech truck mounted machines, routine cleaning of your carpets is now more beneficial than ever before, thus extending the life of your investment and reducing contaminants in your home environment.

So go ahead and have those carpets cleaned as often as you like, the less dirt in your carpets the longer they will last, and the better they will perform if a stain should occur.