Carpet Protection
ServiceMaster of Victoria, along with every carpet fibre producer, recommends high quality carpet protection be applied after every professional cleaning. They also recommend cleaning every 12-18 months because this frequency will minimize the damage caused by abrasive soils.
In our opinion, it is of the utmost importance to understand why carpets appear to wear out. We say “appear” because carpets don’t actually wear out. More accurately, they “ugly out.” If soil is allowed to stay on carpet fibres, they become damaged gradually with tiny scratches that eventually cause a clear fibre to become slightly opaque and “grey.” This has the appearance of soiled traffic lanes, so even though your carpet has been professionally cleaned it still appears to be soiled. We call this “apparent soiling,” and it is the number one cause of dissatisfaction with customer carpet cleaning experiences.
At ServiceMaster of Victoria, we carefully inspect your carpet and inquire about its history before pricing your work. If carpet has not been professionally cleaned in 3-5 years, we may recommend restorative types of methods in order to remove as much of the hiding soil as possible, leaving your carpet as soil free as possible. This amounts to almost twice the cleaning, thereby minimizing soils that may have a tendency to “wick” back up during the drying stage.
4 Reasons Why You Should Protect Your Carpet
1. Reduces permanent stains.
A great looking carpet can be ruined by an ugly spot. Unprotected carpet doesn’t repel spills as well as protected carpet. Protector will allow you to remove spots and spills easily and more effectively, therefore helping you to avoid permanent staining.
2. Helps save your heavy traffic areas from becoming damaged.
Traffic area soil is very abrasive and scratches the carpet fibre causing them to become dull and grey. Also, this damaging soil can easily bond to an unprotected carpet. By having protector applied after cleaning, you will increase the life and look of your carpet dramatically. When you vacuum your protected carpet the soils will release from the carpet pile much more effectively.
3. Make spots easier to remove.
Many spots can be removed easily with just water without the use of harsh chemical spotting agents.
4. Makes your next professional cleaning more effective.
Having high quality carpet protector applied to your carpet will enhance your next cleaning by making it easier for our cleaning technicians to bring your carpets original beauty back to life.
Does It Work?
3M Scotchgard and Dupont Teflon were initially created as a soil retardant by making carpet fibres slick and unable to hold onto dry soils. A secondary benefit is that it also creates a surface tension that causes wet soils to bead, allowing enough time for them to be easily removed before they can penetrate into the fibre, potentially causing permanent staining.
The chemical is safe when professionally applied and extremely effective when measured and applied correctly with the accurate measurements and techniques. Buying a can of Scotchgard is NOT the same as when it is applied by professionals – it cannot be applied evenly enough to provide enough protection.
While soil protectants are extremely beneficial, it is important to understand that it is not bullet-proof and it will not last forever. Name-brand protectant such as those made by 3M and Dupont should be reapplied whenever the carpet is professionally cleaned (every 12-18 months) since both traffic and cleaning can remove them. This and regular professional cleaning will also preserve the carpet warranty.
Are Soil Protection Chemicals Safe For Children & Pets?
According to 3M’s official website, “3M’s new fluorochemical technologies have been extensively tested which show they are stable polymers with minimal to no environmental impact and have minimal toxicity, even when given in large doses in laboratory tests. In addition, the new fluorochemical technologies are based on materials that will not bioaccumulate in people or wildlife. These new products not only have excellent protection performance, but they also have a very favorable environmental, health and safety profile”.
The original formulations posed some risks for birds when they came in direct contact of the aerosol. Today we apply an odourless non-aerosol, whose carrying agent is water and poses no significant risk for people or pets.
According to 3M, birds are susceptible to a respiratory condition called “teflon toxicity” or “PTFE poisoning/toxicosis.” Deaths can result from this condition, which is due to the noxious fumes emitted from overheated cookware coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). This chemical is found on most non-stick cookware and appliances, some stain repellant products, and other household items.