Steve Borcherdt is the owner of “A Fresh Clean Look” carpet and upholstery cleaning. We interviewed him about the importance of getting your carpets cleaned professionally.
When did you get started in the carpet cleaning business? 
Steve got into the carpet cleaning business about 11 yrs ago. He was doing window cleaning, then started work with hard surfaces, and finally ended up starting his own carpet cleaning business after learning the trade from an old carpet cleaning master!
Tell us about the carpet cleaning process?
Carpet cleaning is essential to maintaining a healthy indoor environment and to maximize the life of your carpet. Regular vacuuming is as important as regular deep cleaning to remove as much soil as possible.
A Fresh Clean Look’s 10 step carpet cleaning process:
- Pre-inspection to identify homeowner’s concerns
- Pre-spray the heavily soiled areas
- Dry vacuum the high traffic areas
- Move most of the furniture
- Deep clean using state-of-the-art, truck mounted, high heat extraction equipment
- Give special attention to treatments to problem stains and areas
- Wipe down baseboards
- Groom carpets to accelerate drying
- Replace furniture on protective pads and blocks
- Complete a post inspection with client to ensure your satisfaction
What kinds of things live in our carpets?
Everything!!! Everything that was once airborne is now in your carpet… Some examples: asphalt, bacteria, chemicals, dirt, dust, earth, food particles, fungus and germs! GROSS!!
What type of equipment/chemicals do you use to clean carpet?
Steve doesn’t use green cleaners simply because they don’t work! He does use top of the line, truck mounted equipment capable of high water temps of 235 degrees F and lots of vacuuming. His cleaner contains basically the same ingredients as the laundry detergent used to clean clothes. They are usually no more volatile or dangerous and are often fiber specific depending on the type of carpet being cleaned.
How soon before I can walk on my professionally cleaned carpets?
As soon as they are cleaned you can walk on them but, Steve does recommend using booties and limiting dirt from outside. It typically takes damp carpet about 2-6 hours to dry fully.
How often should I get my carpets cleaned?
If there are no kids and no pets you can typically have the carpets cleaned annually. However, if you have dogs and kids, Steve recommends vacuuming at least 2 times per week and having the carpets cleaned every 2-3 months. (Find a helpful guideline chart at IICRC)
What is the best method to remove stains?
The key point is to remove stains as soon as possible! The longer the spot is there, the deeper the spot penetrates becoming a stain. There is no wonder remover! To remove a stain properly depends on the make up of the spot. It is water, solvent, or oil based? If it doesn’t come out with water, then call a professional!
How can homeowners remove pet odors from carpets?
It depends on the degree or extent of the contamination, and may need to be remediated topically (e.g. surface cleaned) followed by subsurface extraction to eliminate the source. Depending on how severe the contamination was, you should probably consider having this done professionally.
What are the benefits of getting carpets professionally cleaned?
Professional cleaning involves hotter water, higher pressure to flush the dirt out, stronger detergent, and a higher amount of vacum pressure to remove the dirt and excess water. There is also the convenience of having someone else do the work for you (DIY carpet cleaning can take quite a bit longer as a result of lower quality tools) and removing the risk of ruining your carpet. To learn more, watch this video about the importance of carpet cleaning.
What’s your favorite DIY tip on carpet cleaning or maintenance?
First and foremost, DON’T RISK RUINING YOUR CARPETS BY DOING IT YOURSELF. If you have a spot, use water and blot the spot out. If that doesn’t work, call a professional!
And, if you’re using Oxyclean or Resolve, throw them out! As soon as the sun hits an area cleaned with one of those cleaners, your carpets will bleach. Use water to get spots out – it’s truly a powerful element! The earlier you can get to the spot, more likely you will be able to get the spot out.
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